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Onkyo TX-RZ50 Review (Home Theater AVR)

Rate this product:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 96 31.6%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 114 37.5%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 63 20.7%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 31 10.2%

  • Total voters
    304
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amirm

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airgas1998

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I have had 2 previous generation Onkyo/Integra AVR's that handled difficult speaker loads without complaint... TX-SR876 and DTR 70.4 - both of these were rated at 140W/ch@8ohm - with 2 channels, they have been measured at 170W@8ohm.

They also weigh around 50 or 60lb's - and worked well with speakers that drop down to 1.6ohm (my Gallo's)

The current RZ50 is a relative lightweight - and with most of the weight being in the transformer, I think it is power/current constrained.

The RZ50 seems more like their previous/past generation midrange AVR's - not a flagship model.

Perhaps this will be the upcoming RZ70/90?
my rz900 is 47lbs compared to this 31lbs.....hhhmm wonder what changed...guess what... I have 4ohm speakers and no issues driving them...
 

Miker 1102

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I don't want to single one person out, but all the people who say "but it has DIRAC".

It would be like comparing two vehicles, [1] the manufacturer put in the money, time and effort to limit road noise to under 50 dB at 70 mph, while vehicle [2] cheaped out and tried to sell you garbage because of their brand name and their car output had 70 dB road noise at 70 mph.

Instead of creating more rigid chassis, adding the proper insulation and shocks, the manufacturer of vehicle [2] decided to add BOSE noise canceling technology that used the output of the car audio system to make the vehicle appear to have road noise of 50 dB and then reviewers argue the two are equal (in terms of road noise).

The fact is, I can use REW and so can anyone else who wants to put in a little (ok, a lot of) time and effort (but it's a hobby, so I enjoy spending the time). So I agree with @amirm and I want the best product for the price. Lastly, while DIRAC has its share of fanboys, I've yet to see anyone take the exact same setup, swap out a top-line Yamaha (YPAO), Denon (Audyssey), Adcom (DIRAC) and then put 100 people into that room to A/B/C the three systems.

Do you know why none of the three will do that, because inevitably they will not get a consensus, because different people will like a different room correction, stating A lacked this, B lacked that, C lacked whatever else. With REW, I can ignore a pre-set curve and do what makes me happy.

Sorry for the rant, but this is only the 1,000th such post I've read essentially saying "Ignore the mess, it has

I don't want to single one person out, but all the people who say "but it has DIRAC".

It would be like comparing two vehicles, [1] the manufacturer put in the money, time and effort to limit road noise to under 50 dB at 70 mph, while vehicle [2] cheaped out and tried to sell you garbage because of their brand name and their car output had 70 dB road noise at 70 mph.

Instead of creating more rigid chassis, adding the proper insulation and shocks, the manufacturer of vehicle [2] decided to add BOSE noise canceling technology that used the output of the car audio system to make the vehicle appear to have road noise of 50 dB and then reviewers argue the two are equal (in terms of road noise).

The fact is, I can use REW and so can anyone else who wants to put in a little (ok, a lot of) time and effort (but it's a hobby, so I enjoy spending the time). So I agree with @amirm and I want the best product for the price. Lastly, while DIRAC has its share of fanboys, I've yet to see anyone take the exact same setup, swap out a top-line Yamaha (YPAO), Denon (Audyssey), Adcom (DIRAC) and then put 100 people into that room to A/B/C the three systems.

Do you know why none of the three will do that, because inevitably they will not get a consensus, because different people will like a different room correction, stating A lacked this, B lacked that, C lacked whatever else. With REW, I can ignore a pre-set curve and do what makes me happy.

Sorry for the rant, but this is only the 1,000th such post I've read essentially saying "Ignore the mess, it has DIRAC!".
I think you are oversimplfying this a tad. Throwing Dirac in with YAPO...not even close. Dirac is the vital important ingredient here becaue it works very well.
 

Urvile

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I'll pass on the RZ50 for now, even though my existing amp is entry level, for the most part has been fine driving my 4 ohms speakers.
( BTW the only time I've ever heard them clip is the the Netflix Ta-dum sound )
I hope the RZ80 or RZ90 will be better driving them.
 

TallDan

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Lots of speculation with little real world use. If someone can setup the Onkyo TX-RZ50 in multi-channel stereo mode, let it run for several hours and listen to it at the end of the test. Then unplug it, wait 60 sec and turn it back on. Then answer the question - "Does it sound the same through the entire test"?

That answer would tell me what I need to know. :D
I just did this for 30 minutes or so. I got the internal temp to report as high as 62c but seemed to top out there and no apparent issues with audio quality or sudden volume changes.
 

Rottmannash

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Yeah. Same on the tx-rz50: that echoy mode for stereo (which is a default) is garbage. Reminds me of the similarly gimmicky Pro Logic II modes. Echoey? Why would believe a stereo mode would have any effect at all, especially an echo? Are you employing DiracLive when listening to stereo mode? I've heard nothing untoward on that mode or any other.
 

TallDan

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Yeah. Same on the tx-rz50: that echoy mode for stereo (which is a default) is garbage. Reminds me of the similarly gimmicky Pro Logic II modes. Echoey? Why would believe a stereo mode would have any effect at all, especially an echo? Are you employing DiracLive when listening to stereo mode? I've heard nothing untoward on that mode or any other.
Honestly not sure, It could have been all channel stereo with dirac live and that might explain it. My first run with dirac I tried to go through it quickly and did not have good results at all. The next day I reran it and it was much better.
 

Miker 1102

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Yeah. Same on the tx-rz50: that echoy mode for stereo (which is a default) is garbage. Reminds me of the similarly gimmicky Pro Logic II modes. Echoey? Why would believe a stereo mode would have any effect at all, especially an echo? Are you employing DiracLive when listening to stereo mode? I've heard nothing untoward on that mode or any other.
I ran the Pioneer vsx-lx305 in Dirac and the stereo mode was garbage and it echoed in extended mode. I waited a long time for an amp with Dirac but I had no regrets about returning it. I was hoping to try the RZ ..there has been great discussion on here and I am still a little on the fence. I
 

Rottmannash

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I wish we could know more about the conditions to trigger it for sure. I don't agree with "people haven't noticed so it isn't a problem", however. It could be, but too little is known IMO. Bookshelf speakers have become so common and many like the KEF LS50 or LS50 Meta are only have a sensitivity of 85 and are less than 4ohm. Now imagine in a 7.1 setup. It seems quite likely it could be an issue. I don't know if @amirm has the unit still, or feels it worth investigating what levels trigger it, but the fact it can be triggered and the owner not know it is a problem imo. It's too bad the amps are relatively poor compared to amps in the Denon's. I would think with adding amps to the LCR would greatly reduce the issue from ever happening, but who knows.


Why these comments keep appearing is beyond me-the "amps are relatively poor compared to amps in the Denon's" is a bit inaccurate. Check the Dyno results on the Williston Audio Labs YT channel for any Onkyo AVR-you will see they routinely exceed their rated specs for power output into 2 channels. I believe a more accurate statement might be "the amps in the RZ50 are being pampered by circuitry possibly intended to protect them from overheating/damage".
 

Rottmannash

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Just had a look back at the RZ50 Prepro measurements - seperate from the amp measurements - it falls right into line with the well regarded Denon's ... seems like the Amps really are the main weakness.
Are the amps a weakness? Or are the amps being pampered/protected? It appears they produce rated power into 8 ohm loads, as advertised.
 

Rottmannash

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Thank you.

Perhaps I should have stated why I was curious. I'd love to know of those who gave it a golfing panther that own it and given the measurements, how many of the internal amp channels are they using and with what speakers, and what are their real world results?
I didn't give it a golfing panther but do like the unit-running C and front heights via AVR and the rest + powered subs externally amplified and it sounds great. No complaints, especially after running Dirac Live via the PC app and a UMIK-1 mic.
 

Doodski

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Are the amps a weakness? Or are the amps being pampered/protected? It appears they produce rated power into 8 ohm loads, as advertised.
It appears the amps are not high current output. Anything low Fr or impedance and the amp goes to clipping and maybe protection/limiting kicks in.
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Miker 1102

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I wish we could know more about the conditions to trigger it for sure. I don't agree with "people haven't noticed so it isn't a problem", however. It could be, but too little is known IMO. Bookshelf speakers have become so common and many like the KEF LS50 or LS50 Meta are only have a sensitivity of 85 and are less than 4ohm. Now imagine in a 7.1 setup. It seems quite likely it could be an issue. I don't know if @amirm has the unit still, or feels it worth investigating what levels trigger it, but the fact it can be triggered and the owner not know it is a problem imo. It's too bad the amps are relatively poor compared to amps in the Denon's. I would think with adding amps to the LCR would greatly reduce the issue from ever happening, but who knows.


Why these comments keep appearing is beyond me-the "amps are relatively poor compared to amps in the Denon's" is a bit inaccurate. Check the Dyno results on the Williston Audio Labs YT channel for any Onkyo AVR-you will see they routinely exceed their rated specs for power output into 2 channels. I believe a more accurate statement might be "the amps in the RZ50 are being pampered by circuitry possibly intended to protect them from overheating/damage".
Yes. I have seen the test results for a Sony Avr that I have from Wilson that tested well. Much better than I thought.
 

nashmoss77

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Hello, Im new on this forum. I understand that the measurements are to be taken with a grain of salt. However, pretty much every review I've seen on this forum has been negative. Is it not the case that every piece of kit needs to be assessed relative to its market fit and category (2ch vs Receiver etc). Am i missing something, or is it simply the case that affordable kits simply measure "poorly" compared to the AHB2s of the world.

I was looking to get recommendations from y'all for a receiver with Dirac under $3000. Would appreciate any help.
 
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amirm

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Hello, Im new on this forum. I understand that the measurements are to be taken with a grain of salt. However, pretty much every review I've seen on this forum has been negative. Is it not the case that every piece of kit needs to be assessed relative to its market fit and category (2ch vs Receiver etc). Am i missing something, or is it simply the case that affordable kits simply measure "poorly" compared to the AHB2s of the world.
Due to lack of scrutiny from press covering this industry, the products have slipped back in performance or stuck in decades back level. Our testing here is far more rigorous than what you see elsewhere so naturally we find more problems.

Overall, in AVR category Denon does very well. Good DACs and amplifiers. They run warm though. And don't have Dirac. Audyssey with the help of their App does very well though.
 

Miker 1102

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Hello, Im new on this forum. I understand that the measurements are to be taken with a grain of salt. However, pretty much every review I've seen on this forum has been negative. Is it not the case that every piece of kit needs to be assessed relative to its market fit and category (2ch vs Receiver etc). Am i missing something, or is it simply the case that affordable kits simply measure "poorly" compared to the AHB2s of the world.

I was looking to get recommendations from y'all for a receiver with Dirac under $3000. Would appreciate any help.
I have audtioned probably four brand new avrs this year and one used from the 1500 to 2k range. I would go to three k. The majority of tests done here are many times not audible but do show some flaws. SINAD , analog inputs, and sampling levels are big issues. I have found that based on my experience the sound and real world exposure should be used with bench testing. So real world scenarios for thr recent rz 50 would make me feel better. I was persuaded by Amirs methods to go with a Denon products because they tested so well and I have been coming around. Sound is very subjective but we need the measurements. For avrs, I think the best choices are Denon and then probably a higher range Integra for your 3k. I owned a 2k Maranatz that ran way to hot right out of the box so I have stayed away from them. I was debating the RZ50 but will probably try the next step up ,( if I cannot control myself and want the new amp) lean toward that Integra product coming.
 

nashmoss77

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Due to lack of scrutiny from press covering this industry, the products have slipped back in performance or stuck in decades back level. Our testing here is far more rigorous than what you see elsewhere so naturally we find more problems.

Overall, in AVR category Denon does very well. Good DACs and amplifiers. They run warm though. And don't have Dirac. Audyssey with the help of their App does very well though.
Appreciate the kind, thoughtful response!

I will look into the current crop of denons
 

dlaloum

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Appreciate the kind, thoughtful response!

I will look into the current crop of denons

I would not be writing off the house of Onkyo/Pioneer/Integra...

I was well aware that none of the AVR's (including far more expensive ones) would provide the amplification I require... I have run my speaker with previous generation Onkyo AVR's putting out 170Wrms/8ohm... and achieved improvements when I moved to amps capable of 1200Wrms/2ohm - something no AVR does.

So realistically I was (and still am) searching for an AVR which can handle surround and height duties internally, but with good pre-outs for external amps.

My downselection then went - what is the most economical, high quality, full pre out AVR available - and the answer is the Integra DRX 3.4 ... the electronics would be identical to the NR7100, which should have the same prepro specs as the RZ50 (bar dropping a couple of channels) - based on the Review of the RZ50 - I have a high level of confidence that it will perform to a high standard as a prepro/dac, and I already have the amps I need for R/C/L....

The Denon X3700 was on my shortlist, but I really want to try Dirac - most people seem to prefer results with Dirac, and my past Audyssey experiences have all been disappointing.

Also of note: the Nanny protection circuits that we are all beefing about, have been in place for years on Onkyo and Pioneer AVR's (and other manufacturers too) - and have been reported on in a number of reviews - notwithstanding, most users are reporting excellent results in real world installations.

So, yes, the Denon has amps that do not suffer from an overly sensitive protection circuit (not necessarily better... but definitely more convenient) - on the other hand Denon is Audyssey... and Onkyo is Dirac....
 
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