Customer Reviews

Onkyo A-9555S Integrated Digital Stereo Amplifier (Silver)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I ordered this amp on a whim as a companion for an Onkyo DX-7555 (single disc "audiophile" CD player) since they share a sophistocated remote system. I owned, and still own, a somewhat esoteric AudioLab 8000S which I consider to be sonically flawless and offering great flexibility even though it's almost 15 years old and really didn't expect the Onkyo to be much other than a typical import amp with a lot of bells and whistles but not outstanding performance.....big surprise. This amp is easily the sonic equal of my "British hand crafted" AudioLab, is robustly built and very, very musical. A great bargain at less than $500.

Particularly rewarding is a better than decent MM phono section allowing me to retire a separate head amp for those rare occasions when only vinyl will do. Additionally, while the unit includes bass/treble/and a subtle "loudness contour", the additional circuitry can be bypassed for a "direct" mode which essentially provides a straight wire of gain to your speakers...very clean and powerful. With the companion CD player it's a knockout combination and I recommend it highly.

I've been listening to this amp for a couple of weeks now and it is a very good amp. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars as I like it, but it isn't great. Don't get me wrong, it is much better than 90% of AV receivers out there, but if you're looking for true audiophile sound, this amp won't quite get you there, as some professional reviews may easily lead one to believe.

Good points:
-Smooth, somewhat lush "tube-like" sound that is forgiving and never bright or harsh.
-Very good midrange quality with some nice warmth that is very natural.
-Full bass.
-Nice overall build quality (except for the binding posts and other connectors).
-Simple, easy to use remote.
-Front panel controls have a high quality feel and the layout is very nice.
-The look is understated and elegant.
-Good to have a removable power cord for upgrades.

Bad points:
-The "tube-like" sound can be a litle too rolled off in the high notes. I don't hear all the detail and decay in the highs that I've heard from higher end gear.
-The bass, while full and tuneful, lacks definition and leading snap.
-Dynamics are okay. I don't get the attack and immediacy I've heard from other (high priced / audiophile) amps. The jump factor is toned down a little.
-The binding posts and RCA connectors work fine, but when connecting cables, they move quite a bit. I'm sure they're fine, but they don't exactly instill a feeling confidence that they'll hold together over the long haul.
-A product of this caliber should have pre-out / main-in jacks or atleast a pre-out for a subwoofer.

Overall I like this amp. I've just been spoiled by higher-end gear. I would say that the sound is very competitive with upper mid-fi integrated amps from NAD, Rotel, and Cambridge Audio to name a few. All these product brands have their strengths and weaknesses in general. It really comes down to preference, the type of music you mostly listen to, your listening space, and synergy between your other components. In the end, this amp is really quite nice and should easily fit into most people's criteria for good sound quality at a reasonable price.

I bought this amplifier after a very favorable review in the Nov, 06 issue of The Absolute Sound, and I'm really glad that I did. The dynamics of the sound remind me of Sonic Impact (another class D amplifier) but without the distortion, particularly in the upper frequencies. This amplifier sounds relatively warm, quite listenable and produces music effortlessly and cleanly. The silver chassis looks amazing; too bad the golden color is not available in the US, or the more powerful 9755 model. I highly recommend this amplifier.

Bought the Onkyo to replace a Pass Aleph 3 (30 watt class A) high end amp that listed for four time the amount. I was looking for simplicity, and of course a remote control - which on the Onkyo is a joy to use.
The sound, oh the sound. It is clear, full-bodied, transparent, lush, and offers deep and taut bass that makes my toes tap.
I connected a NAD 531i CD player to the Onkyo and the sound is immensely satisfying across the sonic spectrum.
Not quite as satisfying with my VPI turntable rig running into the Onkyo's phono stage, but not a bad showing for a full-featured amp that sells for around $700.
I did, however, replace the stock power cord with a PS Audio AC cord and that deepened the already deep bass and made vocals even more coherent. Nice improvement. Am running this amp with HD-14 speaker cables (see [...]). Overall, I'm really happy with the sound quality with this amp. A touch of high end sound at a low end price.

I replaced my old Yamaha receiver with this Onkyo amp, and also got the related tuner and single-disk cd player. I used them with my old speakers while my new ones (Aperion) were arriving, and my reaction was "Wow!" All of a sudden the sound was bigger, clearer, and brighter.

If you're looking for a stereo amp in the $5-900 price range, and care about sound, you won't regret buying this component. It's all it promises to be.

My old separates amp died (again) so it was time to upgrade. I was using the NAD 1600 preamp with the NAD 2400 THX for 17 years. Also using Klipsch KD-5.5 speakers and a Paradigm PDR-12 subwoofer.

The sound using the Onkyo A-9555 is a giant improvement over the NAD separates in most reagards. The sound detail is lush especially in the midrange frequencies. I was surprised to hear how well I could pick out individual tracks in a dense rock mix that otherwise seem to wash out. The clarity is great for hearing subtle EQ and compression effects in the mix. The treble is a bit bright depending upon your hearing and taste for crash cymbol at high SPL with very slight distotion. Treble perfect for classical music. This issue with treble may be an artifacte of some rock mixes being pushed too close to digital over. It sounds stellar! I hope it's rugged - I can't comment on that. A strong buy in this price range in my opinion.

Strengths: Detail, clarity, beautiful midrange, smooth remote volume control. Beautiful build and finish.

Weaknesses: treble can be a bit brittle at high SPL for crash cymbol; remote only controls Onkyo brand CD players via RI link. NAD separates had smoother sound.

One thing I wish it had: RCA plug for subwoofer (must run A+B outs with sub).

This unit is as good as or better than any high end separates I have ever used. A week after getting the Onkyo 9555, I sold my very expensive Classe amp and preamp. It also outperformed a $5K B&O ICE-based amp that I borrowed from a friend. Read between the lines on the Stereophile review and you will realize that this unit is as good as anything out there. Any differences are splitting hairs, and very tiny ones at that.

I had been looking for an amplifier for a couple of months to satisfied my reborn
interest in vinyl which was sparked with the Audio-Technica AT-PL120 I purchased earlier this year. I had originally bought the AT to digitize my old albums many of which were not available on CD but most importantly, the cost of replacing so many records (..so little time). On my way to all digital, something funny happened. I was suddenly reminded of how pleasant analog is/was. I began to play all my old records and after putting a couple to cd I stopped and just started listening to them. Like I use to do back in paleolithic times.
Of course after hearing what was I soon wanted what could be. An analog lovers plight. Black Hole would actually be more apt. First step replace the OEM cartridge to a Shure M97xE. Next upgrade to the Music Hall P1.2 phono preamplifier. Next a new turntable mat-I made my own out of cork and Sorbothane. Much better, for about three months. Something was missing. I needed a new amp.
I was getting ready to spend about $1500 for a power amplifier. I looked up the usual suspects; Adcom, NAD, Parasound, Rotel and newcomer Vincent. I would use the amp in conjunction with my A/V receiver, the Yamaha RX-V663 which I would use as a preamp. It has pre-outs for its main and surround channels.
But then I read Stereophiles Recommended Components for 2009. And there amongst $150,0000 turntables,$17,000 tonearms, $5,000 cartridges and $30,000 mono block power amplifiers was the Onkyo A-9555, list price:$800. What's up with this? I did some more research. And then some more research. I was about to go down to J@R Music World to listen to it, but when they put it on sale for just over $400, I pounced on it like Kirstie Alley on a Big Mac. I figured I could always return it and I could listen to it in my listening room with my own speakers!
I know from experience that any audio gear needs time to break in, but if what I heard is a sign 'Of Things To Come', punch my ticket and beam me up Scotty. How sweet it is!(Now I'm getting carried away, sorry about that). But seriously (Airplane anyone?), This amp is fantastic. The overall sound is rich, warm and tube like. Not really tube but tube-like. Almost like my old Fisher 500-C all-tube tube receiver, yet with a more robust powerful bass. The bass is not as tight as as more expensive amps but tight bass and a tight wallet never did go well together. But considering its price point it is full and bloomy yet you can here the individual strings as they are plucked.
As others have mentioned the highs do roll of a bit so system matching is a must.
If your system leans towards the lush already adding more greenery will only make
it harder to tell the forest from the trees. I found that the Audio-Technica AT-440MLa, a bright-some say overly bright-cartridge works for me. As for digiatl audio the Onkyo takes away some of the high frequency shrill I find so annoying in many (most?) CDs. All-in-all a sweet heart of an amplifier with a fairly deep and wide soundstage and excellent imaging. Highly recommended! Two thumbs up and a bag of chips.

By-the-way I've always found Ms. Alley to be and extremely beautiful women. No matter what size.

If you are a music lover and/or an audiophile on a budget, this is a great little integrated amp for you. It is well built and good looking, it has most of the features people really want or need, it sounds great and it is a raging bargain! That's a pretty tough combination to beat. Oh, I could complain that it doesn't have remote tone controls, but those are very hard to come by in any two-channel audio product that aspires to audiophile credibility.

My only kick so far, is that my high-efficiency horn speakers do reveal some unwelcome switching noise from the input selector and also a mild turn-on pop. Otherwise it is quiet in operation. And to be fair, if your loudspeaker's sensitivity are in the average range (87-92dB), you'll probably never hear what I'm talking about.

Another caveat to be aware of: There are no pre outs / main ins, so you can't add an external power amp or any kind of processor (EQ, etc.). What you see is what you get!

Sound quality though, in my opinion, is superb . Maybe not the last word in bass control, but otherwise excellent...very quiet, with airy highs and lightning-fast response. The power rating is conservative, and dynamic power is excellent. It is also quite capable of driving 4 Ohm speakers; something most affordable receivers can't do well these days.

All in all, I would strongly recommend this amp for it's solid performance, good feature set and very good build quality.

Precise is how I would describe the sound of the Onkyo A-9555. I have a set of Mordaunt Short 906 floorstanders paired with the Onkyo and the combo sounds fantastic. The bass is clean and punchy while treble and midrange is crystal clear. Vocals sound incredibly transparent and stereo effect has dead on positioning. The only downside Ive noticed is that bad recordings are easily revealed. A few amps Ive owned in the past were Parasound separates (HCA-1000A Amp and P/HP-850 Pre), Cambridge Audio Azur 640A and Marantz integrated amps. The A-9555 beats them all in clarity, bass and timing. Definitely follows Onkyo's tradition of high end performance and value for the money.