Onkyo TX-RZ30 AV Receiver Review

[peng]

For an amplifier what is the easiest thing to do, for more power ?

1. Higher voltage ?
2. Or more current at the same voltage ?

Maybe lowering the resistance of speakers is done for letting them use more power with the same amplifier technology...

Not sure what you are really asking, but I would only say that if your speakers have high nominal impedance such as 8 ohms or higher, then make sure your amp has higher than enough voltage output. If 6 ohms or lower than focus on current capabilities, make sure it could deliver more current than your speakers may draw.

To be on the safe side, and/or without having to worry about enough or not, use amps that have more than enough rated voltage and current outputs.

Since most, if not all speaker manufacturers typically published "power requirements with no mentioning of voltage and/or current" (unfortunately), so in general, if your speaker's recommended power requirement is 200 W maximum, then if an amp is rated say, 400 W into 8 ohms, you shouldn't need to worry about voltage or current, you will be covered.

 

[EWL5]

I think we are at a point where some of think it's a "throw the baby out with the bath water" issue and others think dump or don't buy because of one tragic flaw, that in fact virtually every owner who posted in this thread has not seen and because of Amirs high standards. It seems to me that if Onkyo were to come up with a firmware update that displayed a warning of some sort, even if one had to throw a breaker or pull the plug if it did happen, many would buy this AVR for its many features, pre-out, Dirac, two sub management, 7 channels, etc. It goes on sale all time at or close to half price and not everyone has giant home theater and almost all use powered subs in there setups.

Edit: deleted speculation

 

[popej]

Sounds to me like the tragic flaw has something to do with it not having the horsepower to run ART.

Are you just speculating to spread rumors? RZ70 won't have ART either, obviously it is not because of a lack of power.

 

[valerianf]

"it is not because of a lack of power"
Regarding ART it is the "power" of the DSP that is required!
It seems that all the current RZ AVRs do not have the required processing capability.

 

[Rickysa]

FWIW, I'm pretty happy with mine...my wife made me watch the new Michael Jackson movie last night and it sounded pretty awesome.

 

[EWL5]

Are you just speculating to spread rumors? RZ70 won't have ART either, obviously it is not because of a lack of power.

Not trying to spread misinformation. I apologize!

I think @valerianf is right in that the horsepower comment was DSP-related. That makes sense why the RZ70 can't do it either!

 

[landco1]

Unfortunately, the author of the review does not help people choose a receiver, but rather misleads them.

Measurements of audio equipment in isolation from psychoacoustics make no sense.

 

[popej]

Unfortunately, the author of the review does not help people choose a receiver, but rather misleads them.

Measurements of audio equipment in isolation from psychoacoustics make no sense.

The scope of review is very limited and obviously recommendations apply only to this scope. This could be confusing. Still it is one of the most informative review you can find in net.
I don't miss psychoacoustics here. Knowing measurements I can relate them to basic knowledge of psychoacoustic myself.

 

[EWL5]

Unfortunately, the author of the review does not help people choose a receiver, but rather misleads them.

Measurements of audio equipment in isolation from psychoacoustics make no sense.

It doesn't appear you understand the purpose of this review nor the website as a whole. There are plenty of sites that make you feel good about your purchase (Andrew Robinson YT videos, AVS, etc.) and this site is not one of them. Additionally, if these sites have measurements, they're not normally including 4 ohm ratings in tests that stress the AVR and expose the manufacturer. If you truly don't care if your AVR has a robust design, then feel free to ignore all reviews here! I for one don't want to pay more and get less.

There's nothing misleading about measurements being made across tests that are, for the most part, the same across all the AVRs that Amir comes across. If the "Science" part of ASR is intimidating, I suggest you move on.

 

[welwynnick]

Unfortunately, the author of the review does not help people choose a receiver

I thought most of us got a pretty clear impression of what the author thought of the Onkyo.

performance disappoints
represents that of a 16 bit device
landing in the middle of a bunch of lackluster results
so far behind desktop products
less than ideal attenuation
poor wideband response
Power limiting to just 36 watts
Distortion sets in early
The power limiting alone is enough to make my blood boil
I can't recommend the Onkyo TX-RZ30.

Seriously, who would buy a $1100 receiver if it was advertised as producing only 36 watts?

 

[Timcognito]

Measurements of audio equipment in isolation from psychoacoustics make no sense.

What the units and measurement tests for psychoacoustics?

 

[popej]

Seriously, who would buy a $1100 receiver if it was advertised as producing only 36 watts?

It is not adverised at 4 Ohm at all, and it is not that different from other AVRs. I think Denon 3800 is about 50W, when set to 4 Ohm.

 

[Timcognito]

How about an $800 one

https://www.adorama.com/onkyo-tx-rz30-9-2-channel-8k-av-receiver/p/ontxrz30bmdc

 

[peng]

Seriously, who would buy a $1100 receiver if it was advertised as producing only 36 watts?

That is irrelevant, because it was not advertised like that at all.

 

[EWL5]

I think Denon 3800 is about 50W, when set to 4 Ohm.

I know what you're doing and it's not right. The difference is with all other AVRs, you can elect to put it in 4 ohms mode if you want. The issue w/the RZ30 is that it's not elective when it sees a challenging load! This is exactly why I've called it "unintended 4 ohm mode". Tell me another manufacturer that currently does this! Also, please link to that 50W result for the 3800 when switch is flipped to 4 ohms as I'd like to do some fact-checking. For the record, the 3800 puts out 168W into 4 ohms, 2CH w/the impedance switch at default.

The 2021 PAC AVRs and the RZ30 are outliers on ASR for these tests and currently live in infamy (famous for the wrong reasons).

 

[Oddball]

Very few people would choose 4 ohm setting for listening that would need to bring excitement. I think we all know by now how RZ30 works and compares to others. It is cheaper than 3800H and if listening levels are low then it's a fair game.

But then, saving a couple of bucks and forgoing wattage and ART capability of 3800H is a different matter.

 

[popej]

The issue w/the RZ30 is that it's not elective when it sees a challenging load!

That's problem for Amir, not for users. Or do you have any link to user complains?

Also, please link to that 50W result for the 3800 when switch is flipped to 4 ohms as I'd like to do some fact-checking.

It is my estimation based on power draw at idle. I have tested 3800 for a week, then sent it back, because it didn't work correctly. You are using 3800? Then it is not that difficult to check.

For the record, the 3800 puts out 168W into 4 ohms, 2CH w/the impedance switch at default.

No doubt, that Denon is good. But you can't say, that RZ30 doesn't work as specified - you get what you pay for. It even does 162W/4Ω until protection kick in.
It would be interesting to see measurements for 6 Ohm, 1 channel. There is specification for it, which can be verified. It should be 170W/1% THD.

 

[Timcognito]

Seems like owners are not having problems but non-owners see Amir's tests as pass/fail do have problems. In HT, powered sub(s) are unloading the the AVR and there are 6 and 8 ohm and higher sensitivity speakers to buy. No Maggies for the RZ30. To me the issue is no display warning and not sure but that seems like it could be alleviated with a firmware update. There's a lot there for $800 and higher budget buyers will have more options.

Asked Google: if a speaker has a sensitivity of 85 what SPL will 35 watts produce Answer: 100.4 dB

 

[Oddball]

I can't see any reason why to argue in favour of 35W AVR. How much SPL it can produce will be dependent on many other things. If someone wanted to sell me 35W receiver and persisted in doing so, I would ask for a court restraining order. I do understand that 100W is not much more, but it will definitely take the peaks with more grace than 35W AVR. At this wattage, we might as well go tubes.

 

[Timcognito]

I can't see any reason why to argue in favour of 35W AVR. How much SPL it can produce will be dependent on many other things. If someone wanted to sell me 35W receiver and persisted in doing so, I would ask for a court restraining order. I do understand that 100W is not much more, but it will definitely take the peaks with more grace than 35W AVR. At this wattage, we might as well go tubes.

Agreed, but it really depends on the use case, valued features and budget. At this price some compromises to get full range Dirac and two sub management among others need to be weighed against the probability of an output limit, especially when owners here are not seeing it. Could Onkyo have done a better job? Absolutely.