Customer Reviews

Onkyo TX-NR5008 9.2-Channel Network Home Theater Receiver

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased the Onkyo TX-NR5008 as part of a home renovation project. I purchased in late February, but didn't deploy it until May 2011. This is my first Onkyo receiver, my previous setup was a Rotel Amp and Processor. It worked great for 8 years, but it was time to upgrade.

As almost everybody that has reviewed this receiver, I did a pretty exhaustive online review. I liked what people were saying about it and I like the specifications. So I took the plunge along with a Definitive Technology Mythos SSA-50, Polk Audio Atrium 45 All-Weather Speakers, Polk Audio RC60i In-Ceiling / In-Wall Speakers, and a VIZIO XVT3D554SV 55-inch 1080p 480Hz 3D LED HDTV.

The features that I wanted were:
- Networkability, including internet radio and DLNA support
- Three zone support
- Support for HDMI 1.4a (3D support)
- Plenty of Inputs

The TX-NR5008 statisfied all these requirements. Once the installation process began, it was relatively straight forward. Lots of cables to hook up. Not overly daunting, but plan on taking some time. Just remember this is a heavy receiver so make sure it has a shelf / drawer that will support it.

Initially performance was excellent for about 1 month.

- The three zones worked great. Slightly complicated on the remote side. I easily learned it, but my wife still hasn't.
- Sound quality from DT Mythos Soundbar is great.
- Internet radio worked great. Using Powerline ethernet for a hardwired connection.
- Didn't work great with a Wii. Video latency issues. My son was disappointed.
- Video / Audio from HD Cable Box and Blue Ray was good.

After about a month that is when the problem began.
- The receiver quit recognizing the remote. I also have a Logitech Harmony Universal Remote. It wouldn't work with this remote either. The remotes would turn on the TV and the Cable Box.
- Started to get video dropouts. Had to unplug the HDMI cable and plug it back in. This would fix it for a while.

Emailed Onkyo technical support and did not receive a response for seven days. It took another five days to respond back to me after following their suggestion.
- Followed the manual, reset the remote and receiver. Upgraded the firmware (very easy to do).
- Tried to call several times but kept getting voice mail.
- Finally go through and the customer support person had me go through and reset the remote again and check to make sure the remote and receiver were on the same channel. Authorized me to take it to a repair center about an hour away.

The repair center has now had my receiver for 1 month. I called and they indicated a part had been ordered and that it was a known issue and a Technical Service Bulletin was issued. The repair center has had the part for two weeks, but I can't get an answer as to when I will get it back.

I am very unhappy with the service the Onkyo has provided. I purchased their top of the line receiver for a nice chunk of change, and customer support has abysmal. I would never purchase another Onkyo product. It has been a very disappoint experience.

Update 1:

I found out that Onkyo has issued a recall for several of their receivers including the TX-NR5008.[...]

I have been without a working receiver for 2 months (over 1 month in the repair center).

Update 2:
Almost 3 months and still no receiver and no contact from Onkyo. The worst customer service I have seen. I cannot recommend any Onkyo product. The 3rd party repair center just called and they just received the part and it will only be another 3 weeks. Outrageous.

Like many "gear heads" a great deal of research online and in various A/V mags went into the prep for purchasing a new receiver for my dedicated home theater. I had been a pretty loyal Denon owner in the past with my last one being the 3808ci. It was a great unit but I wanted a new receiver with the Audissey x32 that could better calibrate for new front high and wide speakers. I also wanted the newest HQV Reon processor for enhanced upscaling of video. Frankly, this Onkyo was much more price efficient than the current Denon equivalent. I took the leap and purchased thru Amazon...one of my best decisions of 2010! It did take me a couple of shots with Audissey, playing around with the microphone positioning; but, the end results were fantastic. My Paradigm speakers never sounded so full and brilliant. The depth and soundstage this receiver creates blows away any receiver I have ever had. A couple of key features for me...1) a full rich soundstage even at lower volumes; 2) the THX Ultra2 Cinema settings... Hats off to Mr. Lucas!... I have never been a fan of using "enhanced" preset sound settings but this is absolutely amazing. If you have at least a 7.1 speaker setup this setting will transform your typical hohum cable TV 5.1 Dolby into a 7.1 aural soundfest! I have found that when I have guests over to watch a blu-ray in 5.1 DTS Master HD, and the back row seating is occupied, near the back surround speakers, I will use the THX to bring the back surrounds to life for them. They love it, and IMHO there doesn't seem to be much, if any, loss in sound integrity. A similar setting, THX Cinema, will even make the inherent 2.0 sound from sources such as Netflix or Amazon VOD come to life. Of course, this is all just my opinion but for this home theater junkie it's like heaven. Oh, and BTW the video upconversion is excellent too. In this price and category, I believe you are unlikely to find a better A/V Receiver; the equivalent...maybe; better... I don't think so... Do your own due diligence and enjoy whatever your purchase may be!

This is the 3rd Onkyo receiver I have purchased. The other 2 didn't die, they just became outdated. I was originally looking for a couple models below this level, but the Amazon virtually half-price made this lower priced than than those, and an absolute bargain. My only negative is that using Zone 2 or Zone 3 doesn't allow you to use the full 9.2 channels, but being able to pump out internet or computer tunes to the pool for the kids while still being able to watch Bluray movies in 7.2 THX definitely outweighs the negative. The receiver was very easy to set up and it's filled with the latest technology. If you plan to use the internet and network connectivity I highly recommend purchasing the Netgear XAVB5004 Internet Adapter. It streams at up to 500Mps, works off of an electical outlet, and allows you to connect up to 4 devices to it. I never experience any speed degradation with this combination.

I have had the Onkyo TX-NR5008 for about 4 months now. My past experiences have been with a high end Yammie, a mid level Pioneer, Sony's, Akai, Teac, others. This is by far the highest end receiver I have had. I have yet to fully explore the potential of this receiver as I have not hooked it up to my network. I am still discovering which sound processing (or none) I prefer for music, movies, games, etc. With the choices available it's a lot of fun.

1st off this thing is a TANK. Really it has a firing rate of... well O.K. it's not actually a tank but it is very heavy and pretty big. You'll need a good space for it to fit and breath. I have never had any heat problems but some people complain about the heat of this unit. My only complaint is how cumbersome it is. And that might not be a bad thing as it has a toroid transformer which I do not know if I would notice the audio difference from a standard transformer. But on paper it is apparently better.

One of the major reasons I purchased this receiver aside from the build quality was video capability. It has plenty of HDMI ins and outs (I only need 1 out and three ins) but there are more if needed. The 5008 also has video upconversion or the ability to do a straight pass through. This is great if your source is clean and has the resolution you want. You can also adjust the white balance and video noise of the signal on a PER SOURCE BASIS. Very cool.

A friend of mine challenged me to run a little volume test. I couldn't run from the challenge. So we cranked up some Rush to ear pearceing levels and neither the 5008 nor my Axiom M-60's broke a sweat. We were bombarded with a wall of blazing drums, screeching guitar, and of course funky bass. It was like front row in a rock concert! The TX-NR5008 will deliver, just make sure you have speakers that can take it.

What about low levels? I can get very tight and defined bass at low volume levels. This could be a combination of the speakers and the receiver, but whatever it is it is working.

As the centerpiece of my home theater I am very confident in the quality and performance of the Onkyo TX-NR5008. It is a receiver that I chose over other brands for many reasons. Build is one of them, along with features, power, and reputation. I did a lot of research and listened to a few good receivers. The Onkyo won by a large margin. I'm happy with the purchase and have not been let down one bit. Do your own research, don't just take my word for it. You may choose another product. However if you choose the Onkyo I'm sure you'll be completely satisfied with it's capabilities and performance. I highly recommend this receiver.

***update***

A few points to add as I have been combing through the manual. The TX- NR 5008 also features some very advanced volume correction utilities: Dolby Volume control and Audyssey Volume control. Both are basically regulating volume fluctuations. For example when a commercial comes on and it is way too loud so you turn the volume down. Then of course your program dialogue gets lost and you turn the volume back up, etc. They aid in controlling that dynamic.

Additionally they moderate tonal fidelity at various levels. What this means is that when you turn the volume up or down these process the signal at various bandwith frequencies so that you do not miss various sounds at low volume.

Other notes: You can utilize a 2nd and 3rd zone on the TX- NR 5008. The zones allow you to use a set of speakers in another room or patio etc. The speakers can be directly wired to this Onkyo or a set of RCA cables can be used from the 5008 to an external amp. Your choice!

I had previously forgot to mention one other major part of the video upscaling: the 5008 uses the HQV Reon-VX processor. One of the highest regarded video processors currently available. There are other video processors in other receivers. The preference is really up to the user. The HQV Reon-VX takes any video source from any video connection and allows you to upscale to 1080p (or lesser or none). I absolutely based my purchase on the video upscaling as the key to my home theater needs. Also the white balance control was vital (many t.v.'s lack white balance adjustment). BTW all 8 HDMI inputs are 1.4 for people that are interested in 3D.

As mentioned around the internet in reviews, etc. This receiver is a powerhouse at 145Watts into 8ohms. It is NOT for the feint of heart. Also, it is rich in very advanced features. But along with all that muscle and brains it is balanced with definitive quality and form. I have no hesitation recommending the Onkyo TX-NR5008 as the director of any mid to lower high-end home theater system where separates would be the only step forward.

I bought this receiver having waited years for B&K to offer high resolution codec decoding on their receivers. That never happened and I've heard B&K is bankrupt. That left me looking for an up-to-date receiver that had enough horsepower to handle a 7.2 system 100% Martin Logan electrostats. The Martin Logans are great speakers but require a lot of juice and the ability to handle impedance loads 4 ohms and below. I am happy to say that the Onkyo TX-NR5008 has the chops to do that. The sound is definitely different from what I had with my old B&K AVR307. The B&K can produce amazingly open sound with my MLs. The Onkyo maybe just a little less so. In exchange, however, the detail and stage presence with the Onkyo is just amazing. Imaging is amazing and on most recordings whether music or high res Blu Ray movies the best way I can describe the sound is 3D. The receiver has a phono input. I had been using an old DBX decompression hardware with my turntable that helped bring my old vinyl up to similar dynamic range as CDs. I found out with the Onkyo that I did not need the DBX unit. In fact it made the phono sound worse. The phono in THX music mode sounds amazing. My only two complaints about the receiver are its weight (of course you get some great power supplies because of that weight) and the fact that it won't accept spade connectors for the speaker hook ups. I had to cut off all of the spade connectors from my speaker leads to hook up the speakers. Anyway, you won't be sorry with this purchase. Highly recommended.

Excellent receiver, set up is a breeze, the performance is unparallel. After doing some research for the best receiver out there it all came down to this baby. And trust me this is the best value right now. It's amazing at how quickly it recognized everything I plugged thru HDMI. The internet radio gives you a lot of different stations to choose from. I can't keep describing all the features because I'll never finish this review. This is a replacement for another onkyo receiver the TX-NR905, I'm not new in the home theater world and so far this is the best receiver I've owned. This receiver GOT FIVE STAR in the Home Theater magazine review on the december edition which are 4 or 5 categories value, performance, ergonomics, features etc and it got 5 star on each of them. Just check around you all will see!!

Onkyo TX-NR5008 9.2-Channel Network Home Theater Receiver

I have been an Onkyo product owner for over 30 years. Their first internet connected product needed a little more work. Functionality was limited but hey, it was a beginning. This product is getting closer with only a couple features I would recommend. But then I get ahead of myself.

Hardware is very sturdy and well built. I can't say that for the junk Nakamichi I had. The connectors popped off, soldering was crap....anyway not a problem with Onkyo. The remote is ok and the backlight is really useless, at least being able to ready any button at my age. It has lots of features and I do like the layout. Buttons seem sturdy and have a good feel. One of the features of network connectivity is the iPhone/iPod/iPad interface into the receiver. Those buttons are much easier to read of course but the features are very limited. They are reduced to basic input selection, Bass, Tone and volume adjustments.

Sound quality great for my level of hearing. The bone reproduction of a cello as compared to Nakamichi, Dennon, Yamaha, and Sony receivers (high-end models I've tried and returned in the past) is exceptional. This was a comparison using the same series of speakers between all models and, for the price point, Onkyo beat them all. The same results with the Blue-ray version of AVP. I use this movie for the sub woofer reproduction, large stones. Klipsch sub driven by the Onkyo performed well. As compared to the other receivers, Onkyo produced quality effects.

The tuning feature using the Audyssey MultEQ XT32 Room Correction and Speaker setup performed well and created a good baseline tuning configuration. Bass was a little light for my taste but I would consider that personal preference. Balance on the rest of the system seems fine.

Being able to re-label the inputs is a feature I'm happy to see. Not that important in the grand scheme of things but when your family has trouble remembering what is connected to a standard labeled input and explaining it over and again can make a person crazy.... Everything else from network access to OSD layout in nothing exceptional but it works reliably. One feature I was hoping to get with iPod/MP3/Network Media capabilities was a function aloowing a Jukebox function. Allow people to browse available media and queue songs, this would be way cool when hosting parties. They have the iPhone app already. Having that feature built into the receiver? Nobody could compete.

I'll work on more details when I've had the unit longer.

My second Onkyo TX-NR5008 AVR performs 5 of 5 and delivers as advertised (especially 3D) with flawless performance over 200 hrs run time.

My first TX-NR5008 stopped working after approximately 5 hours run time. I talked to Amazon customer service on a late Sunday afternoon and I had a new unit delivered to my house early Tuesday morning (about 40 hours after initial call) at no additional cost. It is this kind of customer service combined with great prices that makes Amazon my first choice to shop and purchase.

Okay, before shopping for this puppy, I did a lot of magazine research, my interests being that I wanted to get something that was state-of-the-art, affordable, and would not give me a migraine when trying to set the thing up or use it.

One of the magazines gave this receiver their highest rating,in sound and features and simplicity.

List price was $ 2,800.00 or so, a bit much for my budget. When I saw it on Amazon for significantly less, (and after asking my wife, of course), I ordered it.

I am happy to report it sounds better than anything I have ever had, it has easy access to its features (meaning no long unending menu chains that kill all the fun), it supports both 7.2 set-up and Bi-amping of my main speakers. (It will also do 9.2, for those with too much money.)

I love music when it is well-reproduced, and I also love good sound-effects when watching a DVD; this machine delivers it all for a good price. I would not hesitate to order this again, I am happy with it in every way.

Oh, also this: for an incredibly capable and complex box, it really is easy to grasp and use. I would happily and honestly recommend it to anyone, and I promise I am not being compensated for this review in any way.

I've had several Onkyo receivers because they are just solid performers. The NR5008 is certainly no exception. This thing is an absolute beast handling any task you can throw at it.

As part of 9.2 home theater system comprising of Polk Audio RTi A9 floorstanding speakers, CSi A6 center speaker, FXi A6 surround speakers, OWN5 back surround and high/wide speakers, DSW2000 subwoofers, Mitsubishi WD-82838 with 3DC-1000 3D, OPPO BDH-93 3D blu-ray player, the Onkyo TX-NR5008 does an admirable job of unleashing every ounce of sight and sound the system's capable of delivering.

The auto-calibration feature is second to none and calibrates the sound stage while taking into consideration room acoustics. The end result is a beautifully neutral and transparent sound stage with seamless delivery of sound. The only word to describe it is "breathtaking".

If you're on the fence as to whether or not to spring the extra money to get the Onkyo TX-NR5008 my suggestion is not to hesitate and just buy it. I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt it's one of the best investments you'll make and will create an incredible listening and visual experience.