Onkyo TX-RZ30

[ban25]

The RZ30 is driving directly two large tower speakers and a center.
Another amplifier is driving the 2 surround speakers.
The configuration is 5.0

If you set it to Dolby/DTS upmixing, you won't get any relay clicks when going from 2.0 to 5.1 and visa versa. FWIW, the Dolby upmixer is very mild, you will struggle to hear anything mixed into the surround channels from a stereo source -- just make sure to enable "Center Spread" to keep the stereo image (otherwise it likes to dump everything into the center).

 

[valerianf]

I finally found the solution against the sibilance: Re-EQ is enabled.
For music (Amazon music HD) I use DTS neural x with vocal set to 2.
There is no relay clicks with this configuration or Netflix.
Only Google TV is activating the relay clics, but I do not care too much.
This week end I will test Dirac and I worry that the sibilance may be back.
I was not able to get rid of it when using manual EQ.

 

[valerianf]

Going on with my RZ30 investigations this weekend I tested the Bluetooth transmitter functionality.
The idea is to use some earbuds when people are sleeping.
But the Onkyo implementation is not easy to use: the Mute button from the remote is cutting the speakers and the earbuds!
Worst, when the earbuds already paired are activated by removing them from their box, no sound is going to them!
The Bluetooth transmitter functionality is for me unusable and I will continue to use the air buds with the Roku Ultra that is behaving properly.

 

[Timcognito]

Going on with my RZ30 investigations this weekend I tested the Bluetooth transmitter functionality.
The idea is to use some earbuds when people are sleeping.
But the Onkyo implementation is not easy to use: the Mute button from the remote is cutting the speakers and the earbuds!
Worst, when the earbuds already paired are activated by removing them from their box, no sound is going to them!
The Bluetooth transmitter functionality is for me unusable and I will continue to use the air buds with the Roku Ultra that is behaving properly.

Try turning the set volume down and using the HP volume. That's how they worked for my 96 yo mom. Mute is mute.

 

[aspen63]

What do you think about putting rz30 into a niche with only 3.5 mm gap above the receiver. Need to drive a 3.1 setup with bookshelf speakers.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Electronics Expo (USA), an authorized Onkyo online dealer, is currently selling new samples of the Onkyo TX-RZ30 AVR for $799.

Onkyo TX-RZ30 9.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver | electronicsexpo.com

Elevate your entertainment with the Onkyo TX-RZ30 9.2-Channel Network A/V Receiver, offering immersive audio, 8K video, and seamless streaming.

www.electronicsexpo.com

 

[Power Pop 23]

What do you think about putting rz30 into a niche with only 3.5 mm gap above the receiver. Need to drive a 3.1 setup with bookshelf speakers.

I would prefer a minimum of 51 mm clearance above any AVR to dissipate heat.

 

[aspen63]

I would prefer a minimum of 51 mm clearance above any AVR to dissipate heat.

So would I but the constraint is strict. Do you have rz30? Does it get really hot with moderate load? I read somewhere that it has a fan to help dissipate heat.

 

[Power Pop 23]

So would I but the constraint is strict. Do you have rz30? Does it get really hot with moderate load? I read somewhere that it has a fan to help dissipate heat.

I forgot to welcome you to ASR. I own a similar Pioneer '505' AVR andI I can feel a fair amount of heat in a 2.1 configuration.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Marantz and Yamaha have made AVR's that are not as tall as typical AVR's. The Marantz Cinema 70s is compatible with the $19.99 Audyssey MultEQ Editor app that Amir recommends in his review from 2020.

Marantz Cinema 70s AVR Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Marantz Cinema 70s home theater Audio/Video Receiver (AVR). It was kindly drop shipped by a member and costs US $1,200. The 70s sports the new industrial design of Marantz AV products which I very much like. It looks even more attractive in...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Audyssey Room EQ Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Audyssey Room Equalization. Audyssey is standard technology in a number of Audio/Video Receivers such as the Denon AVR-X3600H I recently reviewed. The standard version in the AVR is mostly all or nothing so I downloaded the Marantz/Denon...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[dlaloum]

What do you think about putting rz30 into a niche with only 3.5 mm gap above the receiver. Need to drive a 3.1 setup with bookshelf speakers.

Get an AC Infinity cooler for it...

 

[valerianf]

Finely I succeeded to get the RZ30 install working properly.
I had to place all the peripheral on the hdmi inputs of the RZ30 because there was an issue with the ARC of my Vizio TV.
Regarding the sibilance of the treble, it was an issue with one of the tweeter that is damaged or was making some distortion.
It is a fact that the RZ30 is more detailed and go higher in the high frequencies than my aging Yamaha.
Next step for this weekend is testing Dirac.
About the settings of the RZ30, there are so many option that it is easy to have one of them ruining the experience.
Once the setting resolved, the picture is beautiful and the sound is promising.

 

[valerianf]

So this weekend I tried Dirac Live and need to say that it is a complete failure, completely no adapted to real world situation.
I was unable to make any calibration!
Reason is simple: I live in an appartement in LA: the back ground noise floor is high.
Tentative from the AVR: 3 measurements minimum are required and not ever one finished.
Even with +6db generated output the first measurement fails at 78dB because of a too high nose floor.
Well, let us try with Dirac on a laptop.
First the minimum number of measurements is 9: are you kidding!
Good news, there is no more any +6dB limit.
Bad news: as soon as the output level is increased a saturation message blocks any measurement.
Did the Dirac engineers/software programmers once went out of their lab to make real tests?

After this painful experience I switched to AccuEQ and it saved the day.
The good news is that AccuEQ can be activated when keeping the manual Equalizer.

In the past I used YPAO with my Yamaha and never got any measurement issue.

 

[Moonbase]

So this weekend I tried Dirac Live and need to say that it is a complete failure, completely no adapted to real world situation.
I was unable to make any calibration!
Reason is simple: I live in an appartement in LA: the back ground noise floor is high.
Tentative from the AVR: 3 measurements minimum are required and not ever one finished.
Even with +6db generated output the first measurement fails at 78dB because of a too high nose floor.
Well, let us try with Dirac on a laptop.
First the minimum number of measurements is 9: are you kidding!
Good news, there is no more any +6dB limit.
Bad news: as soon as the output level is increased a saturation message blocks any measurement.
Did the Dirac engineers/software programmers once went out of their lab to make real tests?

After this painful experience I switched to AccuEQ and it saved the day.
The good news is that AccuEQ can be activated when keeping the manual Equalizer.

In the past I used YPAO with my Yamaha and never got any measurement issue.

What was the was the back ground noise level? If I was say 40db you would want to set the output to around 80db I.e 40db over the noise floor.
Any eq is going to be effected by background noise, so pick a time in the early morning or something to reduce the impact.

 

[EWL5]

What was the was the back ground noise level? If I was say 40db you would want to set the output to around 80db I.e 40db over the noise floor.
Any eq is going to be effected by background noise, so pick a time in the early morning or something to reduce the impact.

40 dB is too much. You need no more than 20-25dB margin!

 

[EWL5]

So this weekend I tried Dirac Live and need to say that it is a complete failure, completely no adapted to real world situation.
I was unable to make any calibration!
Reason is simple: I live in an appartement in LA: the back ground noise floor is high.
Tentative from the AVR: 3 measurements minimum are required and not ever one finished.
Even with +6db generated output the first measurement fails at 78dB because of a too high nose floor.
Well, let us try with Dirac on a laptop.
First the minimum number of measurements is 9: are you kidding!
Good news, there is no more any +6dB limit.
Bad news: as soon as the output level is increased a saturation message blocks any measurement.
Did the Dirac engineers/software programmers once went out of their lab to make real tests?

After this painful experience I switched to AccuEQ and it saved the day.
The good news is that AccuEQ can be activated when keeping the manual Equalizer.

In the past I used YPAO with my Yamaha and never got any measurement issue.

Most people don’t know how to run Dirac w/o help. Here’s a good starting point:

https://www.avsforum.com/posts/59508402/

 

[valerianf]

For the first time I succeeded tonight to make a one point point measurement and generate a correction curve using Dirac.
As I am living in front of an avenue, it was difficult to get a non rejected measurement.
Here are my tips:
• I downloaded the new today Dirac software for laptop.
• I checked that all the declared speakers are working properly.
• The puck mic needs to be trashed, I used a Dayton eMM6 with a home made 90 degree correction curve.
• I set the mic gain at a very low level and boost the amp output level to compensate the ambiant noise.

Et voila, Dirac made some magic.
Testing with Amazon music HD, the sound quality is better than with AccEQ.
Out of the box, the sound quality of the RZ30 with my speakers was bad.
I was close to send it back.
Dirac effectively corrected my room cancellations and resonances.
It also corrected my speaker un-flat frequency response.
I only had to correct the level between the speakers, but that is an easy task to do manually.

Now I have to work on the speakers that have damaged tweeters and a crossover to modify.

The RZ30 is a capable AVR, but difficult to tune because there are so many adjustments.
The end result is very good with movies, and good only with music.
For its price tag it may be difficult to find a better offer.

 

[valerianf]

After several tests, I found some weak points for the RZ30:
1) There is a very strong hiss that is present even when there is no input sound (i.e. pause of a video).
The work around is to set to zero the tone correction (bass, treble).
2) The sounds in the high frequencies are very enhanced and from a low quality sound material (i.e. YouTubeTv) there is some strong and annoying sibilance.
I found a workaround only working with Amazon music HD: PCM going directly to the AVR DAC (192 kHz).

These 2 issues are deceiving.
Reading other forum the 1) is also present with the RZ50 and RZ70.
I will keep the RZ30 until Arcam updates its AVRs: they now have access to the Denon/Marantz technology.

 

[EWL5]

I will keep the RZ30 until Arcam updates its AVRs: they now have access to the Denon/Marantz technology.

They may have access to the technology (due to Harman's acquisition of Sound United) but I believe the engineering will remain largely the same for product differentiation.

Look at what PAC has done w/Onkyo, Integra, and until recently, Pioneer. Those AVRs have very little differentiation for the same segment other than a couple of inputs/outputs and marketing terms! It is probably for the best that Pioneer pulled their license from PAC (we may well have seen the last of Pioneer Elite AVRs)!

 

[Sweefu]

No info on internals yet but I would imagine they would continue to use the Burr Brown PCM1690 as on the 7100, RZ50, etc. I would not put it past Onkyo to downgrade from that to cut costs but I would be surprised if they did!

Has anyone been able to confirm the DAC? Cheers