Customer Reviews

Onkyo TX-NR808 7.2-Channel Network Home Theater Receiver (Black)

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I bought the ONKYO TX-NR808 to replace my aging 10 year old Lexicon DC-2 pre-amp and Carver Professional amps. The Onkyo powering Miller and Kreisel THX 750 5.1 speaker system.
I figured that after 10 years I could use a audio update even though the Lexicon is still a amazing piece of equipment but I didn't want to spend $6500 this time around.

I wanted a receiver that had all of the newer DTS and Dolby surround formats and could power the 4 ohm M&K speakers (8 vs 4 ohm setting in the setup menus).

It sounds great I love the video switching and the great on screen display of settings.

I have a Netgear 9150 Digital entertainer Elite hooked to it with only one HDMI cable. Being able to use the HDMI really cleans up the cabling since it can also send the audio over the same cable. Same thing goes for my HD cable box, HDMI no seperate audio cable needed.

I haven't had any problems with the Ethernet not connecting, even though I did let it update via the internet. The streaming off connected networked computer is nice also, without any problems. Pandora works flawlessly.

For the price and features it cannot be beat.

Also Amazon has it for the lowest price.

UPDATE: 07-02-11
Still no problems. I now have a HTPC hooked up running WMC and Boxee.

Awesome product for the money.

I previously bought a 1120k receiver and returned it for this one. Please see my companion 1120k review and the LSI15 review (right speaker even though I bought both) if you're curious.

I used this amplifier to drive 4 ohms speakers. Most audiophiles will tell you to get external amplification to drive them. I am usually skeptical of these claims.

Myth: You will need external amplifiers to drive 4 ohm speakers. False. I pushed these with an Onkyo 808 135 watts at 8ohms, not sure about the 4 ohms spec as Onkyo doesn't advertise it. There was absolutely no clipping at ear blistering level. No harshness whatsoever from the LSI15 that I heard from the C-5. At high volume, the Energy C-5 gave me a headache. However, the LSI were still extremely smooth. Those speakers (LSI15) are 89db efficiency at 1 watt, so if I push it to 110db, it would require only 128 watts to push. 110db is far louder than comfortable for most living rooms. I guess if you like listen to it louder, then external amplification would be needed. Most normal people wouldn't. Tip: Don't set the receiver to 4 ohm mode. Leave it at 8 ohms. The 4 ohm mode only serve to cut the power output to protect the receiver. My receiver has two fans that I never noticed turning on. Onkyo got smart by inserting fans. Previously, they were hot enough to cook eggs. Would external amplification improve sound quality? I have my doubts. I am a firm believer in amplifiers used for extreme volume only. Normal listening level does not require an amplifier to improve quality (relative to this receiver, lesser receiver may have issues). However, if anyone has an amplifier and wants to prove me wrong, I'm ready to be a believer.

The Onkyo 808 is a huge beast with a very hefty heat sink with dual fans. It has every single high-end adjustable settings you can think of. The only thing I discovered is that the noise correction caused my Netflix stream to ghost. However, that may be due to the noise correction algorithm coupled with the 120hz mode on my TV. Turning off the noise correction fixed the ghosting for me. The quality of the up conversion is good but perhaps a little soft for SD. I do not have an A to B comparison with the Pioneer so I can't be sure which is better. If the Marvell is better, I didn't notice it. However, I would not suggest buying an audio receiver for the video processing chip. Most SD look bad regardless of up conversion, and most high def source look best at native resolution of your TV. I've been reading on the Internet that the Marvell chip is so much better than the Faroudja. There is definitely an improvement on up conversion for either chips, but you can't make SD look HD no matter how hard you try. At least for me, DVD's looked like crap (in comparison to HD) on both the Pioneer and the Onkyo receivers. Therefore, I chalk up conversion as tie for both = equally crappy.

The HDMI is good. My PC picked up the receiver as an output source quickly.

PROS:
135 Watts
Drive 4ohms speakers well
OSD for volume
Excellent Internet radio functionality
Regular cable for IPOD
Dual fans to cool heat sink
Per input level gain
Per speakers cross-over
Dual subwoofer output
Trigger
Firmware upgradeable (make sure you update right away)

CONS:
Warmer than the Pioneer
Update 12/10/10: No dialogue enhancement
No Iphone App

This receiver is actually very good. I returned the Pioneer even though I got an extremely good deal for it. If you don't need the 135 watts, I recommend the 708 instead. However, at the current $70 online price difference between the 708 and 808, I would get the 808 for insurance. Who knows, you may want to buy 4ohm speakers later on =) and you'll save yourself the upgradeitis agony. The Pioneer 1120k is currently about $100 cheaper than the 708 street price. It's an excellent receiver if you only need 110 watts and no trigger. However, if you want Internet radio functionality, volume OSD, and per input volume gain, per speaker cross-over, pick the 708 or 808 instead.

Update (11/15/10): After having used it a few weeks, I have not discovered anything wrong with it since I updated the firmware immediately when I received it. The firmware updated pretty easily over the Internet (make sure its in USB mode first or you'll get an error). The Internet radio is very cool and works flawlessly. You do not need conventional radio with this option since most radios networks have an Internet versions online. I found some online Internet radio with 256k quality as well as radios from around the world.

I had to adjust my input to +6db to my UVerse box and +3 to my HTPC to make it the same level as the PS3 (which is always louder for some reason). I don't suggest anyone purchase any receiver that lack this feature. My old Denon had it and this one has it. I missed it immediately when I bought the Pioneer. The online display shows both volume level as well as the input label as well so I don't have to look at the receiver through the glass door which is a plus. I have not heard the fan come on yet so I believe the dual fans may be installed as a precaution rather than a necessity (then again, it's not Summer right now).

All in all, I'm very happy with this receiver. I originally wanted a Denon 3111 as a replacement but Denon is not budging on MSRP right now which means it would have cost me almost twice as much as this one. There are currently no other receivers on the market that has the comparable features as this one at this price range.

Update 12/10/10: Added the two Cons. I do miss the dialogue enhancement and the Iphone app was very cool on the Pioneer.

So I purchased the TX-NR808 to replace my Onkyo TX-SR800 mainly just for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA decoding, but man was I blown away by the overall sound quality improvement with standard DD, DTS, and stereo as well! I am a very expianced home theater installer, and I am ashamed to say that I didn't realize how much of a difference 35 watts per channel would make. I have a 7.1 speaker setup featuring Polk Audio RTi10 tower speakers and a Velodyne 10" powered sub, which have always sounded great, but let me tell you that these speakers have never sounded so amazing as they do now with this receiver! WOW! Any source that i've run through it(CD, DVD, iPod, or Blu-ray) has resulted in a sonic explosion! Highs, mids and lows all are perfectly represented by the 808. So.... the real question most people want to know the answer to is.... "Does Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD sound better then standard DD and DTS?" The answer is ABSOLUTELY YES! I watched Kung Fu Panda to compare the difference and it was immediately obvious that the Dolby TrueHD trumped the DD track in every way. Then I put in "Crank 2" to hear what a DTS-MA HD 7.1 mix could do. Let me say that once the DTS logo started I was left absolutely speechless until the credits ended! Sonic power and clarity is all I can say. With either format you get improved ambiance, harder hitting bass, and amazing dynamic range which creates an unequalled movie watching experiance! No movie theater can even come close the the sound quality I now have in my home theater!

I will now list some of the other improvements that this receiver does that my old one didn't.
1. I now have the volume displayed on my screen via the HDMI out on the receiver. Very handy since my components are in the room behind my theater room!
2. I can connect it to my home network and play all my music from my computer instantly!
3. The receiver programs the remote for you after you tell it what components you have. Awesome!
4. It takes any video input whether it's composite, s-video, or component and sends it to your TV, upconverted to HD through the HDMI out!

To summarize. . . with all the features that this receiver has for the low price that I paid through Amazon I couldn't be happier with the TX-NR808! This is bar none the best receiver that I have ever heard for under $1,500!

For a $1099 product, Onkyo needs to hire a bunch testers instead of taking advantage of consumers for testing.

1. Network connection issue - keep initializing forever
2. Not working with iPhone 3G OS4.0
3. Not working with iTune m4a files
4. Picky USB connection - ok with Seagate Freeagent Go 500gb drive, but not working with WD Element Portable 500gb drive

Above is my free bug report. For details, go to avsforum. (This is definitely my last time being a free beta tester for Onkyo. I quit.)

Edit: After 08/13/2010 firmware update, the network "Now Initializing" issue is NOT fixed. I have to unplug and replug my network cable each time to workaround the "Now Initializing... Forever" bug. However, the sound quality is improved after firmware update though. Better image, deeper sound stage and tighter bass in stereo. More detail and alive in movie.

Edit: After 10/27/2010 firmware update, the network "Now Initializing" issue is finally fixed for my old Netgear router. Moreover, the sound quality seems getting even better on network streaming after update. The treble is more detail and alive. Very happy with this product today and will give it 4 stars.

"With a USB drive and bunch high quality flac files (or streaming over network), the sound beats $1000+ CD players in the old days."

I bought this 135W A/V receiver to power a 5.1 set up with JBL speakers including 890's for the fronts and 830's for the surrounds. I needed the 1.4 HDMI capability to connect with a Samsung 46C8000 and I wanted more power than my prior A/V, a 100W Sony, was capable of delivering because, even though the JBL's are great, they need a lot of juice to bring them in to full blossom.

The set up was easy and the sound clarity, accuracy and other performance criteria were met superbly. The receiver's 1.4 HDMI's 3D performance (Monsters and Aliens) was excellent. On 2D, I ran the first 15 minutes of a BD Master & Commander through the initial battle scene. Holy cow, the cannon balls were hitting me in the chest, my deck (floor) was shaking and shrapnel was flying from every corner of the room.

The Onkyo is pretty big and heavy though, measure your expected positioning carefully.

All things considered, it does a great job and you could spend a lot more and get no better performance.

Brilliant.

Bottom line: the sound is exquisite. Mind you, my 808 is pushing some excellent Monitor Audio RS6s (5.1 setup), and they speak to one another spectacularly. Tight highs and sweet lows.

Onkyo has created an AVR that is sensitive and capable of detecting subtle nuances. Here are three examples:

Dark Knight (Blue-Ray): crisp sound and noticable improvement visually. The very slight pixelation of my five year old Panny plasma was made indiscernible by the 808's wonderful Faroudja DCDi. Furthermore, the rumble of Batman's tumbler is awesome.

Pearl Jam: Immagine in Cornice (DVD): upconverts to 1080p impeccably. You are surrounded by the audience to amazing effect. Goosebumps. Beautiful.

Red Dead Redemption (first gen X-Box 360/ no HDMI): Sound vastly improved. Can't say I noticed any visual distinctions, but that's not surprising as it is not HDMI. Having said that, audiophiles will certainly enjoy hearing the gentle grinding of dust and dirt under the protagonist's tarnished leather boot. Gun blasts are deep and penetrating.

Overall I am very pleased with this product. I've not experienced any of the aforementioned problems--i.e. NO BUGS! Even the networked sites are quick and fun to play with.

To quote The Dude: "It really tied the room together" (Coen 1998).

I purchased a new Onkyo TX-NR808 Receiver from Amazon in November 2010. I checked a number of locations and found the best price at Amazon. This receiver is feature-laden and you get a lot of bang for the buck with it. Onkyo has always been a quality company with reasonable prices, and this receiver is no exception.

I liked the auto-calibration feature named Audyssey MultEQ, which helps you set up the surround sound for each speaker using a microphone. It seemed to work pretty well, although I had to increase the subwoofer volume more than was recommended.

I'm still working on the internet connection. Keep in mind that you will require a standard wired, Ethernet cable connection. You will need to run a cable from your computer/router if you want to use this feature. A wireless connection (like on my PS3) would have been great! Being hooked into the internet and your computer will give you access to internet radio, all of your itunes music files, and other features that I have not even explored at this point.

There are so many features, that you really must read the owner's manual if you want to use this receiver to its fullest. For example, there are a million (okay - not quite that many) listening modes for different types of sources, to include several different Dolby versions. There's about six pages in the manual devoted just to the listening modes. You will want to play with this as you're watching movies, TV, radio, etc., because the sound can really vary. Dolby Pro Logic IIx has worked well for me for movies and TV.

A big plus is that this receiver has the new HDMI 1.4a with Audio Return channel, 3D capable HDMI connections. If you want to run a 3D TV, this will do the job. My last receiver did not have HDMI, and boy, it sure is a lot easier just to run the HDMI cables. There's hardly any connections to make!

I have always liked Onkyo products and this one appears to be well-made. I recommend it.

Onkyo TX-NR808 7.2-Channel Network Home Theater Receiver (Black)

My goal was to simplify my electronics collection by consolidating a few pieces into one. I didn't want to give up my Adcom GFA-5400 2- channel amp, but I was willing to part with my GFP-715 preamp, as long as I could find a mid line receiver that supported a pre out zone. This Onkyo fit the bill. My love of the Adcom amp is that it neither sounds too bright nor too warm. The amp sounds just right to me. The Onkyo provided two additional duties as well. First, to drive my Bose Acoustimas 15, 5.1 speakers, secondly another powered zone for my outdoor speakers. I guess another goal was to not bring down the wrath of the 'purchasing department' by spending too much money. Amazon was offering a deal that was too good to pass up on this receiver, a mid line product at close to low cost product pricing. The other thing that caught my eye was the network capability and DLNA functionality. Out music library sits on a HTPC (nice component style Zahlman case). I ripped our music into FLAC format a few years ago and I use J River Media Center to manage the library. Media Center includes a DLNA compliant library server. The Onkyo imediatly found it's place on the wired network and my HTPC music server showed up under NET/USB. Prior to this, I used a Roku M2000 that used digital coax out to an Adcom digital audio converter then to the pre amp. Ok so now I've eliminated two components. I also eliminated my Adcom AM/FM tuner. It's nice to have the large display of the TV to show what's playing from the music library and Pandora.

The video portion of the setup went well. My new Tivo Premiere box easily plugged into the VCR/DVR HDMI in, the Sony Blue-Ray player too. I built the HTPC before HDMI mother boards were out so it has component video out and digital coax out too. I've still got some fooling around to get the TV resolution to match up with the HTPC resolution but I think that will not require too much effort.

I'm very pleased with this Onkyo. The manual is comprehensive but could benefit from rewrite to address some organizational shortcomings. Unless you're an experienced AV user, be prepared and willing to sit down and read the manual before hooking things up. I spell geek with five e's and I'm glad I took the time to practice a little restraint and take a few notes first. I've read other reviews where people failed to get the NET/USB or the zones to work but I suspect they weren't doing it correctly. One pleasant surprise I had was that the combination of the Bose and the Dahlquist speakers is very interesting when I play them together (co-located).

As others have noted, consider the size of the unit for your application.

All said, I'm glad I purchased this receiver, the quality of the sound and functionality easily meets my needs. I would not hesitate recommending the TX-NR808 to anyone.

I just purchased this receiver (from Amazon who had the best price, BTW!), and I have to say that the unit is really awesome. The long list of features is exhausting, and we haven't begun to explore them all yet. I will update later as we do that. But I wanted to post one thing that people should know about this unit, and Onkyo in general. While Onkyo hardware is technically spectacular and gets great reviews, their product documentation sucks! The user manual is unclear at times and reads like an old IBM manual (constant references to other pages and sections in the manual). When we called Onkyo tech support for advice (good luck getting through, BTW!), the guy who handled our call was very professional and helpful, but when I mentioned that the documentation was clear as mud, he simply said that's what they were there for! Hello???? I'd rather have well written, clear documentation, thank you very much! The other thing you need to know about this unit is that (partly because the documentation is so sucky) it is not a trivial task to set up your A/V theater center with it. Allot beaucoup time and beaucoup patience to make it work right and to use all the features. If you afford it, hire a professional to set it all up for you! It's worth it!!!

My "bubble" about the quality of Onkyo products has been burst by this product!

I bought this from Amazon in Dec 2010.

The system is experiencing the following issues - either all of them together or sometimes by themselves:

- On Power on, system hangs after 3-5 minutes of use. Cannot use front panel buttons to change any setting nor does the remote control works. It just hangs. Only way to do anything is to physically power it down from the outlet. But this has made the system useless. I cannot use it now for more than 3 minutes on any given day.

- System is possessed! While in use, it will start cycling through the various A/V options - Phono, Tuner, TV/SAT, and so on ... it will keep cycling through them, even though I did not initiate them - hence - being possessed! It has even switched itself on sometimes on its own in the middle of the night - even though I did not set any timer functions. But this stopped happening because of the hang problems above.

- System hates me! I used the Audeyssey auto-settings for my speakers as well as setup some personalized internet radio stations. Since the hanging issue, it now resets all my settings at will. So while previously I could use the system for about 3 to 5 minutes every day, I can't do even that anymore now.

Obviously it went for repairs - to DTR in Denver - twice. They changed bunch of components (including the front panel electronics). I was told by them that they have a lot of NR808s coming in for repairs. Very unusual for a new product. After the second round of repairs, the remote control is not working (IR panel is probably broken because manual operation is possible). Have tried everything, but sending in for a third time consecutively is not going to work for me. Fortunately, Amazon came to my assistance.

I have been using Onkyo products in two continents for the last 20 years! It stops now.

My review - Amazon is a great marketplace - and since they sold it back then (and not Onkyo as it is today), they took care of it.
Onkyo - poor service, made a bad, untested product. Warranty repair centers are far and wide - so it meant I had to pay for one way shipping. For a 50lb box, that was very expensive!

Don't buy!