Is music on ONKYO TX-NR905 really as bad as review says???
- Thread starter admin_exported
- Start date
What, this review? The one merely saying that "music playback is a slight letdown", and qualifying that comment with the explanation that "the '905 is fractionally blurred at the bottom end."? The one that goes on to add that in this respect "It's more than a match for price-comparable competition"
I don't think that's saying in any way that it's bad with music, just that it's not as stunning with music as it is with movies, which is very stunning indeed.
As a user of the TX-SR875, one step down from the '905, I'd say this is one of the most musical receivers around. But then that's MHO.
I don't think that's saying in any way that it's bad with music, just that it's not as stunning with music as it is with movies, which is very stunning indeed.
As a user of the TX-SR875, one step down from the '905, I'd say this is one of the most musical receivers around. But then that's MHO.
and in turn would you be indicating that the 875 is the best all round performer out of the two??
Thanks
Thanks
I have just bought an 875 and I am gob-smacked at how musical it is. To give you an idea, my system did comprise of 2 Cyrus Mono power amps and a Cyrus Pre, the CD player is a marantz KI Sig CD17 with Epos ES22's bi-amped, top end Van Den Hul interconnects and speaker cables.
A friend who is to be fair a bit of a genius at putting together and setting up a system spent all day with me on Saturday, the first area he looked at was to get the best possible sound from my CD player, we spend a good few hours testing with 2 reference CD's and I know listen to CD's through the Onkyo 875! I cannot recommend this amp highly enough.
A friend who is to be fair a bit of a genius at putting together and setting up a system spent all day with me on Saturday, the first area he looked at was to get the best possible sound from my CD player, we spend a good few hours testing with 2 reference CD's and I know listen to CD's through the Onkyo 875! I cannot recommend this amp highly enough.
Gander:and in turn would you be indicating that the 875 is the best all round performer out of the two??
No.
No.
In the past I've always had 2 separate systems, 1 for hi-fi, 1 for AV. That is until I bought an 875 amp. However, due to lack of rack space because of the imminent arrival of a Denon Blu-Ray transport I'm having to change my current NAD cd player for the smaller, better Cyrus. To get the best out of the Cyrus I'm thinking of adding a Cyrus power amp and connecting it to the pre amp part of the Onkyo. Any suggestions as to whether that's a worthwhile investment?
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
- Jun 27, 2008
- 567
- 1
- 18,890
AV amplifiers are built for one purpose only. Movies. They have to incorporate picture switching, conversion, scaling and processing, room EQ circuitry, multi-zone capabilities, and somtimes internet connectivity. Some of the better amplifiers are tremendous value for money, offering more facilities than most people will ever need. Obviously all this costs money, and manufacturers have to design and build AV amplifiers within certain budgetary constraints. For this reason, most AV amps don't use hi-fi grade or bespoke components, and have to rely on cheaper mass produced off the shelf ones. This will affect quality. For many, this is not an issue, as many people's sound quality expectations lower with the ongoing degeneration of sound quality within our society. For the majority, an AV amp will be of sufficient quality to replace their hi-fi/mini system, But for those that have a mid priced, 2 channel based hi-fi system, AV amps just aren't going to cut it. It's all very well trying reference CD's and the like, but a lot of these sound good on anything. Try something a little more 'normal'. Something that lacks a bit of bass and dynamics, that is compressed and lacking life or depth. These sort of discs tell a different story.
Ok, I am not a true audiophile. ÿHowever, I listened to the Onkyo 905 in pure direct mode hooked up to Focal Chorus 816V speakers and I was very impressed. ÿThen again, i don't know if it was the speakers or the Onkyo! ÿBut I figure it must have been pretty good. ÿI ordered the Onkyo 905 and I am happy I did - in the end, if I want even better sound I could eventually get a good 2 channel power amp.ÿ
This is interesting Andrew. If you were comparing the stereo perfromance of the 875 with a standard stereo amplifier, what sort of price point are we talking about? Is it as good as a Roksan Kandy for example, or more like a Rotel RA-04?
Andrew, would adding a stereo power amp from the Onkyo's preouts to the front 2 speakers make a big difference to stereo performance?
Not really. You'd do better to use a high-quality integrated amp for the stereo sources, and connect the front channel preouts of the receiver to that for AV use
Andrew Everard:Not really. You'd do better to use a high-quality integrated amp for the stereou sources, and connect the front channel preouts of the receiver to that for AV use
Andrew - what would you recommend? Connecting an integrated amp in this manner or bi-amping the front speakers and using the Pure Audio option on the Onkyo receiver?
Andrew - what would you recommend? Connecting an integrated amp in this manner or bi-amping the front speakers and using the Pure Audio option on the Onkyo receiver?
If you're prepared to spend serious money on a CD player and amp - let's say £500+ on each as a starting point - then I'd go the preouts and integrated route. If not I'd go for biamping.
Andrew Everard:If you're prepared to spend serious money on a CD player and amp - let's say £500+ on each as a starting point - then I'd go the preouts and integrated route. If not I'd go for biamping.
Put it this way - my wife has already said that once I get my new CD player (and a dock for her IPod Nano - not Nana alas) then "all 'this madness' must stop..."
Bi-amping it is then....
Thanks again Andrew
Put it this way - my wife has already said that once I get my new CD player (and a dock for her IPod Nano - not Nana alas) then "all 'this madness' must stop..."
Bi-amping it is then....
Thanks again Andrew
Andrew Everard:Not really. You'd do better to use a high-quality integrated amp for the stereo sources, and connect the front channel preouts of the receiver to that for AV use
What would the difference be using a high quality integrated amp over a power amp? I'm assuming both would be connected in the same way and that the volume control on the integrated amp would be a slave to the av amp's volume control when using the amp for dvd / sky playback and vice versa when listening to cd's / ipod dock. Can the audio from an integrated amp 'pass through' the av amp without being affected / downgraded?
I currently have an onkyo 875 and Monitor Audio RS6AV speakers and am considering adding a Cyrus CD 6SE and either the matching integrated or power amp from the range. Or possibly the Cyrus CD 6SE or 8SE and leave it running through 'pure audio' on the Onkyo.
What do you think would work best?
What would the difference be using a high quality integrated amp over a power amp? I'm assuming both would be connected in the same way and that the volume control on the integrated amp would be a slave to the av amp's volume control when using the amp for dvd / sky playback and vice versa when listening to cd's / ipod dock. Can the audio from an integrated amp 'pass through' the av amp without being affected / downgraded?
I currently have an onkyo 875 and Monitor Audio RS6AV speakers and am considering adding a Cyrus CD 6SE and either the matching integrated or power amp from the range. Or possibly the Cyrus CD 6SE or 8SE and leave it running through 'pure audio' on the Onkyo.
What do you think would work best?
As I said in an alternate post, I have a TX-NR905 partnered with B&W 683 fronts (and various other B&W surrounds), and I'm more than impressed with it's audio performance. Playing two channel music in Onkyo's Pure Audio mode, I challenge anyone to really, really say there was something wrong with the audio reproduction.
As with most forums and sites, you find there's an awful lot of self-appointed "experts" who haven't heard or don't own the kit they're commenting on. Or misreading reviews and finding negatives that don't necessarily exist.
As with most forums and sites, you find there's an awful lot of self-appointed "experts" who haven't heard or don't own the kit they're commenting on. Or misreading reviews and finding negatives that don't necessarily exist.
mv:What would the difference be using a high quality integrated amp over a power amp? I'm assuming both would be connected in the same way and that the volume control on the integrated amp would be a slave to the av amp's volume control when using the amp for dvd / sky playback and vice versa when listening to cd's / ipod dock. Can the audio from an integrated amp 'pass through' the av amp without being affected / downgraded?
I currently have an onkyo 875 and Monitor Audio RS6AV speakers and am considering adding a Cyrus CD 6SE and either the matching integrated or power amp from the range. Or possibly the Cyrus CD 6SE or 8SE and leave it running through 'pure audio' on the Onkyo.
What do you think would work best?
The advantage of the integrated amp route is that the AV receiver is entirely out of the equation for music listening. You connect the CD player, any other audio=only sources and the receiver's front channel preouts to the stereo amp, meaning that signal from the stereo sources only goes through the integrated amp, and the same amp only works as a power amp for the front speakers when using the AV processor.
I currently have an onkyo 875 and Monitor Audio RS6AV speakers and am considering adding a Cyrus CD 6SE and either the matching integrated or power amp from the range. Or possibly the Cyrus CD 6SE or 8SE and leave it running through 'pure audio' on the Onkyo.
What do you think would work best?
The advantage of the integrated amp route is that the AV receiver is entirely out of the equation for music listening. You connect the CD player, any other audio=only sources and the receiver's front channel preouts to the stereo amp, meaning that signal from the stereo sources only goes through the integrated amp, and the same amp only works as a power amp for the front speakers when using the AV processor.
Gerrardasnails
Well-known member
- Sep 6, 2007
- 295
- 1
- 18,890
MattSpeed:
As I said in an alternate post, I have a TX-NR905 partnered with B&W 683 fronts (and various other B&W surrounds), and I'm more than impressed with it's audio performance. Playing two channel music in Onkyo's Pure Audio mode, I challenge anyone to really, really say there was something wrong with the audio reproduction.
As with most forums and sites, you find there's an awful lot of self-appointed "experts" who haven't heard or don't own the kit they're commenting on. Or misreading reviews and finding negatives that don't necessarily exist.
I don't imagine there is anything wrong with the 905's stereo playback. However, your last line might be describing you. Have you listened to your speakers with a £500 + stereo amp and cd player? If not, how can you say that the 905 in pure audio mode is similar or as good as a separate stereo set up?
As I said in an alternate post, I have a TX-NR905 partnered with B&W 683 fronts (and various other B&W surrounds), and I'm more than impressed with it's audio performance. Playing two channel music in Onkyo's Pure Audio mode, I challenge anyone to really, really say there was something wrong with the audio reproduction.
As with most forums and sites, you find there's an awful lot of self-appointed "experts" who haven't heard or don't own the kit they're commenting on. Or misreading reviews and finding negatives that don't necessarily exist.
I don't imagine there is anything wrong with the 905's stereo playback. However, your last line might be describing you. Have you listened to your speakers with a £500 + stereo amp and cd player? If not, how can you say that the 905 in pure audio mode is similar or as good as a separate stereo set up?
Thanks for the advise Andrew,
I just have 1 last question. Will the volume control on the integrated stereo amp affect the volume of the front speakers when using the Onkyo for tv/dvd viewing etc? and vice versa for stereo listening?
I just have 1 last question. Will the volume control on the integrated stereo amp affect the volume of the front speakers when using the Onkyo for tv/dvd viewing etc? and vice versa for stereo listening?
Yes you just have to choose an amp volume setting that balances it up with the rest of the receiver channels, then leave the amp volume setting alone and control the system using the receiver volume when watching movies/TV. When playing stereo music through the amp, the receiver has no effect at all, and can be turned off.
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
- Jun 27, 2008
- 567
- 1
- 18,890
MattSpeed:As with most forums and sites, you find there's an awful lot of self-appointed "experts" who haven't heard or don't own the kit they're commenting on. Or misreading reviews and finding negatives that don't necessarily exist.110% true.
Similar threads
TRENDING THREADS
-
Bose Quiet comfort battery replacement
- Started by jonboywalton75
- Replies: 3
-
-
-
-
-
-
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram