Why I will never purchase another Onkyo again

[Mixolydian]

My current Onkyo receiver is over 10 years old and has never had a single issue.

 

[giantpandaman2]

The Yamaha I have for my main system is rock solid. I have an Onkyo that I use for my computer that's lasted for about ten years.

I think an Onkyo is still good bang for the buck. From everything I've seen, though, they run too hot, though. If I bought an Onkyo I'd rig up a fan. There are a lot of good receivers brands nowadays, imho. Yes there are some variances in sound to receivers, but, personally, I think they really only show up when you get to speakers that cost magnitudes more than the receivers.

As quickly as connection technology changes (Component, HDMI 1, 1.4, 2.0) sometimes it's not worth it to get a top of the line receiver that you have to replace quickly. Onkyo occupies the "replace in a few years to keep up with technology" niche. Personally, once you get to the expensive receiver area (>$1000) I think people are better served with preamp/amp combinations.

 

[alanwest09872]

My current Onkyo receiver is over 10 years old and has never had a single issue.

Thats because in the last 10 years Onkyo has gone way down hill. They used to make some really good stuff but now its just horrible

 

[Muadib]

My Onkyo PR-SC885 has served me well since 2007. Their customer service was top notch then, as they quickly fixed the sound issue I was having with it. Sorry to hear that their quality has fallen.

 

[Exterous]

when i was looking at receivers, onkyo was on my list ... until i did some research. they kind of have a recent track history of not lasting very long and going bad early. since i was going to be spending over $1k on a receiver, i went with a higher end denon instead and haven't had any issues with it in almost 2 years.

Huh...my sr806 that I got in 08 is still running like a champ despite getting quite hot. I'll have to remember this if I ever get around to upgrading everything

 

[taq8ojh]

How to Use There, Their and They're

I love you.

 

[tential]

Why does everyone make Denon out to be expensive? Marantz is more expensive, but it's a higher end line. Denon is competitively price with many models at a variety of price points. No one is saying you have to buy the most expensive model, same with Onkyo. Onkyo makes expensive models as well. The difference is they seemed to be plagued with QA issues. Makes it hard to recommend.

My requirement is that it must be cheap with preouts. Denon receivers that have preouts are more expensive than Onkyo receivers with preouts by a hefty margin after rebates/discounts. Hence why Denon is "more expensive" than onkyo or "expensive".

If you are just looking for a receiver then I guess you can pick up a cheaper Denon but I'm thinking in terms of getting a baseline of features:
Preouts, Decent Audyssey Level, etc.

 

[tential]

The Yamaha I have for my main system is rock solid. I have an Onkyo that I use for my computer that's lasted for about ten years.

I think an Onkyo is still good bang for the buck. From everything I've seen, though, they run too hot, though. If I bought an Onkyo I'd rig up a fan. There are a lot of good receivers brands nowadays, imho. Yes there are some variances in sound to receivers, but, personally, I think they really only show up when you get to speakers that cost magnitudes more than the receivers.

As quickly as connection technology changes (Component, HDMI 1, 1.4, 2.0) sometimes it's not worth it to get a top of the line receiver that you have to replace quickly. Onkyo occupies the "replace in a few years to keep up with technology" niche. Personally, once you get to the expensive receiver area (>$1000) I think people are better served with preamp/amp combinations.

Yup this is exactly why I purchase Onkyo. It's lasted me for awhile and there is ZERO reason for me to pick up a receiver for $650+ (some recommend 800-1000 I see) which is what many of the decent Denon/Marantz receivers cost.

Paying that much for a receiver wasn't worth it as the amplifier section was not beefed up accordingly with the price I was paying. So I purchased my Onkyo as a preamp and then purchased amps. Comes out to close to the same price but I have a ton more wattage to play with. I wanted to go with an Emotiva Preamp or something but the cost is so much and I feel they're always slightly behind on a key feature I'd want.

 

[sm625]

My Onkyo doesnt even have a fan. I thought this odd right off the bat, so I simply took an old PC fan, one with nice convenient grills on it, and I wired it up to my PC's 12V supply and set it on top of the receiver blowing down on it. The receiver is already configured to be powered on whenever my PC is powered on (via a USB powered relay) so it only makes sense for the PC to control its cooling also. I dont actually know if my Onkyo even needs the active cooling, but what harm could it do?

 

[ImpulsE69]

I've never been a brand loyal type person, but for some reason when it comes to audio gear I've mostly ended up going with Pioneer and never felt bad about it.

 

[Aharami]

Have to agree there. I loved my Onkyo TX-SR876, especially considering what I paid for it. Nice solid piece of receiver. Then the Audyssey calibration settings started disappearing every now and then, forcing me to recalibrate every week. Now the front left channel has gone out. If I can't fix this issue, this will be my last Onkyo receiver. Moving on to Denon or Pioneer Elite

or maybe I'll get an amp and treat the 876 as a preamp. Does Audyssey still work if using the AVR as a preamp?

 

[Claudius-07]

Bought my first ever "real" receiver with my then girlfriend, now my wife, like 10 years ago and it was the Onkyo 605. It's been the best thing ever and everyday I marvelled as to how I lived without something like that. It's now being used in my office/media/game room connected to my computer and has never had any issues – I am still in awe of how steady and strong it is – it does get hot but never had any issues.

Then I decided a while back I needed something with more HDMI inputs for the actual TV room and the 605 only has 2 in. So I went and got the Onkyo 808, it was everything I could ever dream about... It lasted 1 year until I started having issues with it simply NOT turning on, or turning on and no audio and having to manually turn it off which then became having to unplug it and plug it back in. Sigh it was so amazing when it worked. I got it fixed and then it started doing it all over again, issues with the HDMI now. It sits, covered in plastic in my basement, forgotten. I have since then tried to figure out where Onkyo went wrong… was it different manufacturing, was it trying to save a buck or two.. or did I just get lucky the first time and unlucky the second.

My wife spent days yelling at me since I could get anything to work properly, like it's my fault of course. She also complained about the size, the huge sub, the 35 speakers, all the components that never got used and the wires, etc. I went on Amazon and on a whim, found.... wait for it... a Yamaha soundbar/subwoofer combo the Yamaha YHT-S401BL to be exact. I cannot begin to tell you how good it sounds, especially when I simply added two slim L/R speakers to the single soundbar. The bass from the built in sub is great, it works, it’s small, it’s silent, my harmony-save your marriage-remote works flawlessly with it – all wires hidden/inside wall, 3 HDMI in, which is all we need for the TV room, Cable box, HTPC and a bluray player which never gets used. Had this for 3 years and no issues.

I am done with expensive massive receivers… no longer see the point.

 

[Childs]

I've had two Onkyo receivers, and both died, probably due to overheating even though they were out in the open. I did like them though...the night time mode doesn't seem to be on my E300 or AVR1700, but I probably won't buy Onkyo again.