Onkyo TX-NR7100 AVR Review

[dlaloum]

Is it a new discovery? I don't see any indication of this problem in distortion measurements by Amir.

Subjective comparison between a robust Onkyo and Integra flagship AVR's, Quad 606 and XLS2500 power amps and the Integra DRX3.4 AVR (same amps as the NR7100) - only the DRX3.4 sounded less than perfect driving my speakers - all the others handled the speakers fine and sounded as they should.
The speakers are a 4ohm spec/nominal, design but with 1.6ohm minima.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

My 1.6ohm speakers (4ohm nominal spec) - connected to my Integra DRX3.4 - sounds like rubbish - imaging is confused, vocals are poor... then you use the DRX3.4 as a preamp and feed it into my Quad 606 or Crown XLS2500 and it suddenly sounds the way it should.

Same speakers sounded identical to how they sound on the 606 or XLS2500, when running off my Onkyo TX-SR876 or Integra DTR70.4 - both of which are high current AVR's.

The Integra DRX3.4 / Onkyo NR7100 / Pioneer LX305 (all of which have identical amp circuits) - are NOT recommended for 4ohm speakers.

(and I am not talking about the so-called protection mode... which I did not encounter, even though my speakers are a particularly difficult 4 ohm design)

Any speakers with difficult load needs separate amps for any ave.

 

[andrewskaterrr]

Subjective comparison between a robust Onkyo and Integra flagship AVR's, Quad 606 and XLS2500 power amps and the Integra DRX3.4 AVR (same amps as the NR7100) - only the DRX3.4 sounded less than perfect driving my speakers - all the others handled the speakers fine and sounded as they should.
The speakers are a 4ohm spec/nominal, design but with 1.6ohm minima.

1.6ohm is very low. Most AVRs and a lot of amps will have an issue driving that. I don't think most 4ohm speakers even drop that low, it's usually just a few.

 

[dlaloum]

1.6ohm is very low. Most AVRs and a lot of amps will have an issue driving that. I don't think most 4ohm speakers even drop that low, it's usually just a few.

Like I've been saying - 8ohm speakers (nominal) should be fine, 4ohm speakers can be a problem - This is not a high current amp, and is not well suited to 4ohm nominal speakers... even the mildest 4ohm Nominal speakers tend to have dips down to 3ohm.

And yes I know that my speakers are relatively unusual... but they really do demonstrate the point.
I chose to purchase the DRX3.4 rather than the NR7100, because it has a full set of pre-outs, in the knowledge that I would most likely need them is it would probably not cope with my mains. - That assumption was proved correct.
However the DRX3.4 has demonstrated that it is an excellent prepro - and its handling of my surround and height channels (via its internal amps), has shown that it is just fine within its speaker matching constraints.

These AVR's are great value, and provide excellent performance, but you do need to match them with the right speakers, or use external amps with them in the case of the Integra DRX3.4 or Onkyo RZ30.

 

[dlaloum]

Any speakers with difficult load needs separate amps for any ave.

Not always, the vintage Onkyo SR876 and Integra DTR70.4 coped without trouble - the similarly endowed current generation RZ70, DRX8.4, LX805 should handle difficult speakers without trouble. - Horses for courses...

 

[andrewskaterrr]

Like I've been saying - 8ohm speakers (nominal) should be fine, 4ohm speakers can be a problem - This is not a high current amp, and is not well suited to 4ohm nominal speakers... even the mildest 4ohm Nominal speakers tend to have dips down to 3ohm.

And yes I know that my speakers are relatively unusual... but they really do demonstrate the point.
I chose to purchase the DRX3.4 rather than the NR7100, because it has a full set of pre-outs, in the knowledge that I would most likely need them is it would probably not cope with my mains. - That assumption was proved correct.
However the DRX3.4 has demonstrated that it is an excellent prepro - and its handling of my surround and height channels (via its internal amps), has shown that it is just fine within its speaker matching constraints.

These AVR's are great value, and provide excellent performance, but you do need to match them with the right speakers, or use external amps with them in the case of the Integra DRX3.4 or Onkyo RZ30.

Ya had I known the 3.4 was going on sale for $20 more than the NR7100, I would've bought that instead. I didn't find out until months later.

 

[antcollinet]

Like I've been saying - 8ohm speakers (nominal) should be fine, 4ohm speakers can be a problem - This is not a high current amp, and is not well suited to 4ohm nominal speakers... even the mildest 4ohm Nominal speakers tend to have dips down to 3ohm.

And yes I know that my speakers are relatively unusual... but they really do demonstrate the point.
I chose to purchase the DRX3.4 rather than the NR7100, because it has a full set of pre-outs, in the knowledge that I would most likely need them is it would probably not cope with my mains. - That assumption was proved correct.
However the DRX3.4 has demonstrated that it is an excellent prepro - and its handling of my surround and height channels (via its internal amps), has shown that it is just fine within its speaker matching constraints.

These AVR's are great value, and provide excellent performance, but you do need to match them with the right speakers, or use external amps with them in the case of the Integra DRX3.4 or Onkyo RZ30.

On the other hand, I think people tend to worry too much about narrow dips in the impedance curves of speakers.

Sure - if you are driving test tones, then when you test into that narrow dip, all the power is at that frequncy, and a current limited amp is going to struggle if you are trying to generate full power at that particular frequency

However, music is a wideband signal. The energy focussed on a particular dip will be relatively small proportion of the overall energy, and the current demands are going to be correspondingly small also.

Obv it can become an issue if you are trying to drive a 4 ohm speaker at the full power capability of the amp. But if not most amps - even AVRs' will cope with typical 4 ohm speakers. Though perhaps not yours.

 

[andrewskaterrr]

On the other hand, I think people tend to worry too much about narrow dips in the impedance curves of speakers.

Sure - if you are driving test tones, then when you test into that narrow dip, all the power is at that frequncy, and a current limited amp is going to struggle if you are trying to generate full power at that particular frequency

However, music is a wideband signal. The energy focussed on a particular dip will be relatively small proportion of the overall energy, and the current demands are going to be correspondingly small also.

Obv it can become an issue if you are trying to drive a 4 ohm speaker at the full power capability of the amp. But if not most amps - even AVRs' will cope with typical 4 ohm speakers. Though perhaps not yours.

Exactly, but if a speaker dips to 1.6ohm for example, then it most likely has an overall low impedance around say 3ohm, but they label it a 4ohm speaker. That could be an issue for a lot of AVRs. IMO if you are buying speakers you should be using measurements to make your choice, and you should be aware of it's impedance graph.