Customer Reviews

Onkyo TX-NR901 THX Select Network A/V Receiver

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

 

 

This receiver is excellent. Sound quality is great, esp. if you take adavantage of the 7.1 speaker setup. I highly recommend it for its quality as a reciever.

If you are buying it for its NetTunes capability - i.e. connecting the reciever to a computer to get Radio and play stored music, be warned.

NetTunes is an immature product. I have never gotten it to work with MP3 songs off my computer using verying compressions. This means I need to store music in wav format - a lot of disk space.

The hookup cannot be wireless. It must have a hardwire ethernet connection to your computer. I use a router.

Finally but not least, the NetTunes user interface is TERRIBLE. Building playlists is almost impossible. You must drag and drop songs individually and you must drop it exactly onto the playlist or it will not work. If you are expecting a Media Player or iTunes quality interface, forget it.

I am giving up on iTunes and buying a product that uses a optical digital connection to the Onkyo Reciever with a USB interface to the computer. I can play any format using almost any player - i.e play MP3 off of Media Player onto my reciever.

The Onkyo TX-NR901 is a solid center of a home theater system, priced a bit above comparable receivers but worth it for the discreet amps and versatility. I do knock off a star for the fact that both setup and functionality are unnecessarily complex along with the internet audio function being a nice marketing gimmick with relatively little support.

Onkyo isn't nearly as well known in the US as other brands, but for at least 20 years they've produced some relatively good quality equipment. My 1980s vintage Onkyo Integra amp was still well ahead of most amps on sound quality but I finally gave up the ghost to replace it once I decided to upgrade to a full surround sound system.

As an AV control center I can't fault the TX-NR901. The multifuncton learning remote takes a bit of practice to program but can pretty much learn and replace any remote on your couch. There are something like 10 discreet inputs (even including one for an LP player!) that more importantly can be programmed to accept different audio or video assignments so that, for instance, if you have only one optical output on a device it can serve multiple configurations. The TX-NR901 also nicely automatically switches back and forth between audio modes, although you've got something like 15 DSP options so there's always another one to choose. The advanced menus let you configure pretty much anything under the sun. My only small complaint with the controls is inserting a 1/4" plug into the headphone jack disables speakers.

As an amp, its solid. I'm using a set of new Magnaplanars with this (infamous for huge 4 ohm power requirements) along with my old Dahlquists as surround and center speakers and have yet to notice any distortion or power issues whatsoever. This probably has something to do with the fact that each channel has a discreet amp - 8 total! - which is why this weighs a ton. The tuner is decent, comparable to my old high end Denon TU-600. Only objection here is that the TX-NR901 doesn't like to switch inputs between analog and digital; output is based on what you put in, which can prove annoying when you're running analog only from a Laserdisc, for instance.

Three objections are price, the internet audio feature, and complexity. Comparable receivers by other manufacturers with similar features and audio quality tend to retail for about 2/3rd to 3/4s the price of this, but I'm brand loyal so didn't real care about that. Where I'm a little more disturbed is that the internet streaming audio and file sharing features of this are relatively primitive and not well supported. It's neat getting Radio Norway (incidentally, many streaming audio stations that sound good through PC speakers sound horrible through your mains!) but many of the stations available through Nettunes don't work. Support is also mediocre; trying to ask Onkyo for help on Nettunes gets you referred to an unhelpful webpage. File sharing works a bit better, but the marketing here is ahead of the technology.

Complexity deserves a separate mention. Probably because of the massive functionality of this, the setup here is just amazingly hard...menu after menu of features, including a bulky internet recognition one that really doesn't work well. You can in fact use an 802.11b wireless node with this as long as its a Ethernet to wireless adapter (fools the Onkyo that its plugged in), but getting it to work right took me a couple of days. Not something I'd recommend setting up alone for all but techies.

Still, a nice center for a home AV system. You could do a lot worse than this.

The thick box sports Onkyo's own branded and oversized power transformer and really good caps - not only in power supply but - it seems - in driver stage as well (sparingly, though). It has to be the caps that beef-up the machine's lows to ballance brighter highs. To me, the sound quality matters most. I don't mind the maker's cutting on "advanced" features like HDTV-support, extra speaker extensions or internet, the machine still FEELS expensive due to "grade" parts and electronics. True, the category falls between two chairs somewhat - and the temptation is high to save and get a cheaper receiver, but alas, I realize that I will loose the "grade" quotient in parts then. And I've long stopped to regard the THX mark as anything but indication of inflated price and a maker's needless taxing.

After a month the sound channels went out on this receiver and the output to my TV was only Black & White. Fortunately, there was a certified shop within 30 miles of my house. I brought it to them and they fixed it but it took them 2 months. After getting it back, the same problem happened again after about a month. I moved out of the country before I could get it fixed. Needless to say, I'll never buy another Onkyo. My pioneer didn't have this many problems.

Yea,Yea the reciever sounds good no complaints. Just like a hundred others. The distinguishing feature for these amps is it's advertised network capability. That was the deciding factor in our purchase of this product.

Do not be fooled!!! Yes you can plug a Cat5 cable into this machine beyond that there is no network capability! The "software" should be classified as as a virus. No excuse for producing software of this nature. It does nothing it says that it will and can lock up a machine.

Shame on Onkyo!!! Do not purchase these products. You will loose several days of your life to corporate lies. I will never purchase any Onkyo product again for any reason.