Customer Reviews

Onkyo M-282 2-Channel Power Amplifier

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this amp to drive a passive homemade sub and it has done nothing but please me. I'm running it at 4ohms to each channel, and it pumps out serious power. Despite the lower resistance, its heat dissipation is lower than my receiver. I do not believe Onkyo's numbers for this amp, they have to be higher. When I hooked it up to my main front speakers, it revealed an exellent range of frequencies at any volume. This piece is a great example of Onkyo quality for a low price, I'm still curious as to why they discontinued it.

I bought this 2-channel amplifier to drive a pair of in-ceiling speakers in another room. For my application, this amp is perfection. I'm certainly glad I didn't buy the similarly-priced but much-less-powered unit from Audio Research.

The output power is phenomenal - noticeably stronger than the 150w per channel output spec from my Sony ES reciever. Either Yamaha is being conservative or Sony is misleading. The sound quality is very clear, low noise, and free of distortion even at loud passages. Frankly I'm stunned at the performance for this low a price point.

This unit is beautifully finished, and looks at home with the rest of my components. It's actually smaller than I expected as well. The front of the unit has a hard power switch, and a standby/on indicator that is red on standby (soft power off) and orange when on.

The rear of the unit has a 2-channel RCA input, a 2-channel RCA output (passthrough), one set of speaker connectors (accepts banana-type and wire), a 12v trigger input, and the power cord input. There is an input level adjustment (essentially a volume control) but in my application, I found it best to set this at maximum volume and let my in-wall volume control adjust the level. There is also a switch to control auto-power settings: disabled (power is controlled by the front switch), audio (front switch remains on, unit changes from standby to on when audio signal is detected), and 12v (external 12v trigger). There is quite a long delay from power-on to on, and in my setup, I chose the OFF mode - where I turn the unit on from the front when I want to use it. The supplied power cord is quite hefty and probably overkill.

Note that unlike several other reviews here, my unit did not get very hot - certainly far from the heat generated by my Sony ES receiver. Nor did I experience a 60Hz hum when the unit entered standby.

Finally, although some reviews say this unit has been discontinued, it still appears on the official Onkyo web site, and availability seems good. So I would say it's not discontinued.

In summary, this is the "perfect" 2-channel audio amp - highly recommended without reservation. And an unbelievable value for near-audiophile performance.

I was looking for a "cheap" amp to drive my 2nd zone "background" music speakers. My price point was around $200 and this unit has a good look to it, so it would fit in next to my more "up scale" B&K separates.

The Good:
It came double boxed and packed well, (always a good sign).
It has a hi-end look to it, (good fit and finish).
The sound is clear and clean, no hum, or hiss (from the speakers, see the bad)
It makes you understand why you spent 10 times as much for your main amp.

The Bad:
The thing is a space heater even when in "stand by" mode the heat is coming from the inexpensive power transformer.
The two tone LED is red when in "stand by" and a cheap orange when "on" I guess green or blue would be better for "on" for me.
I found that when I turned everything "off" to go to bed the transformer has a 60Hz hum to it that can be heard if you are standing a few feet away.

Conclusion:
It seems like a good amp, and if I compare it to the price I paid for my B&K amp it is a good value. Time will tell if the "budget" components will hold up over time. Because of the heat and hum from the transformer I would suggest not using this unit as part of your main music or surround system. I was going to give it 4 stars for looks and features but the heat and hum drag it down to an average 3.

Onkyo M-282 2-Channel Power Amplifier
The reviews by others of this product helped me decide to try it out, and I'm glad I did.

I've had a Carver 0.5t "Magnetic Field" High Current 2-channel Power Amp since 1988; serious power (220 RMSw/ch into 4 ohms....140RMSw/8 ohms)..driving my MAIN LEFT and RIGHT Front HT loudspeakers. And this was power back-in-the-day, when audio manufacturers followed "the rules"; disclosing continuous power into all channels driven, into a nominal impedance, over the entire audible frequency range, and specifying the THD applicable to all this as well.

The Carver was great.....that is, until it gave up the ghost a few weeks back! I was highly upset, but I did REALIZE I got 20 years outta the thing; you can't say that about a LOT of the consumer electronics being sold nowadays! Carver's been long gone...& even when they were STILL AROUND and owned by someone besides Bob Carver, the quality went down the hill...so I figured a worthy replacement would be some high-end esoteric amp...way beyond my budget.

I started searching and found good reviews on the Onkyo M-282, and I know Onkyo makes some high-quality Home Theater Receivers...but being a separates man..a HT Receiver was out of the question. So I ordered the product, it arrived a day earlier than expected, and I must say, it performs extremely well....considering the price.

Admittedly, I've gotten used to the "warmer" sound of the old Carver amp, but the M-282 does bring out a few details (with the same loudspeakers), and it essentially pumps out the same quality and quantity of power as the Carver...because the Onkyo follows the old FTC "Power Ratiing" disclosure that MOST amplifier/receiver manufacturers today (making HT gear) have abandoned.

I'm impressed enough, that I'm gonna pick up 2 more M-282s...one for the Center Channel and 1 for my Rear Channels. And they only cost approx. $200. Not bad at all! The auto-signal-sensing-turn-on/shut-off feature is really nice, and outside of the POWER LED being "orange" when the amp is ON, I have no complaints.

For those still liking the flexibility & performance of separates, Onkyo gets high marks. I highly reccommend this product.

I have been using this AMP for the better part of three years. It has never failed, overheated, or given an unsatisfactory performance. It looks sexy and performes like a pro. You will not be dissapointed; I'm not.

I have owned this amp for three years now and couldn't be more pleased. Based on my positive experience with this amp and great reviews, I've just ordered an Onkyo receiver. I just looked at the relatively few poor reviews of this amp and am shaking my head in disbelief. Do people not know what a power amp is? Power amps don't have volume controls, tone controls or balance controls. that's what the preamp is for. The Onkyo does have an input level control to insure compatibility with your preamp; but unless you have a weird preamp design, you'll put the input control at max and forget it. Hum? What hum? The Onkyo is dead quiet - even quieter than my mega-bucks Van Alstine laboratory-grade power amp. In fact, the Onkyo is is quiet as any power amp I've owned in over 40 years of audiophile collecting. In addition to not having any of the negatives cited in the, again, relatively few few poor reviews, what amazes me most is just how good this amp sounds. I was just not prepared for this quality of sound reproduction at this price point. I was hoping for good sound and i got excellent sound. I would never spend more bucks for a power amp again. this is one of the finest audio purchases I've ever made.

About the only thing I didn't like about my 40-inch Sony LCD HDTV (KDL-V40XBR1) was the undistinguished sound of its built-in speakers. I solved the problem with this Onkyo power amp in combination with a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 40 2-way bookshelf speakers. The audio output of the TV is fed into the RCA-type audio input of the Onkyo amp. I set Onkyo's volume control (placed on the back of the unit) about a half-way point, and control TV's volume with the Sony TV remote. The resulting sound is much better than the low-fi sound from the TV's built-in sound system -- richer and better defined. The Onkyo amp just sits on a lower-level of the TV stand; I don't have to do anything with it. My black Onkyo unit is almost invisible. When I power up the TV, in a few unnoticeable seconds the Onkyo amp's IDLE mode changes to ON mode, and the sound comes out of the Polk speakers. When I turn the TV off, the amp returns to the idle mode. It's as though the Onkyo power amp were built into the TV. I don't detect any noticeable hum from it, and it does not generate excess heat, as some reviewers complained about. For my rather basic needs, this is an ideal solution. I am totally satisfied with this Onkyo power amp.

I purchased this amplifier about 1 year ago to bi-amp my Polk Monitor 60's along with my Onkyo TX-SR504 which produces 75 watts RMS per channel which I believe to be about 100 watts RMS per channel. This amplifier is QUITE a bit louder then my Onkyo receiver in terms of power and sounding clear. When I'm not watching movies and I'm playing my receiver for music I truly play it very very loud and the Onkyo M-282 seemed to be a good bit louder then my receiver. It will get hot but not more then a receiver after using it for a while and I find the Onkyo to be a superb buy. The price is right and the specs are real and are not over-rated like quite a bit of manufacturers these days. The specs with Onkyo are either exact or a little bit underrated in my opinion and for the price, this amplifier is such a great deal. I have been a fan of Onkyo for quite some time now and this M-282 only redefined my love for the brand!

I purchased this amplifier to replace a center channel amplifier in my home theater system. The previous center channel amplifier had been very expensive (>$2500) and had totally failed after only 7 years of service. The M-282 has turned out to be an excellent and inexpensive replacement amplifier. It works exactly as described. I have no audible hum coming from the unit. It is totally quiet. It runs so cool that I can barely feel any warmth on the top of the unit. The auto power feature works beautifully and turns on within 1 sec of an audio signal being sent to the amp. The sound quality of my Aerial Acoustics C3 center channel speaker when powered by the M-282 is indistinguishable from its sound quality when powered by the amplifier costing 10X as much. I am totally pleased iwth the M-282.

Tom

The 'Hum' some reviewers are talking about is NOT the Onkyo amp.....
What it is, is a low level output to the subwoofers-the rca line level outputs on the back of the unit
stay active even if the amp is turned off! If you have these connected to a subwoofer you will hear a very low level
signal coming from the subs, that is, if your source input is active!! So again, you have your preamp on fm, but you turn the onkyo off, the sub will still output a very slight bass signal that can be mistaken for a 'hum'.
Gerard Masters