Onkyo TX-8050 owners, an internet radio question.

[Pistol Pete1]

Interesting, very interesting

:? Just a shame that my £800 denon only powers the centre and rear speakers now, and gives out a signal to the sub, rather than using all channels for the price I paid......saying that, it sounds awesome, whatever source I'm listening to...

 

[matthewpiano]

I can only compare it to other stuff I've owned or heard extensively. Purely as an amp, I'm far more satisfied with it than I was with the Arcam A18, which I paid £500 for. It drives speakers more easily, has a much more balanced sound, a more tuneful bass, more openess at the top end etc. I also don't feel I've made any compromise on sound quality by choosing it over the Rega Brio-R I was going to buy. In terms of cheaper amps like the Marantz PM6003 and its competitors, IMO it is better than any of them. It drives the Quad 11Ls better than anything I've ever had before including the A65+, A70+, A18 (all Arcam), a Naim Nait 3R and a Cyrus 7.

Would I put it up against the likes of the Naim Nait 5i? I'm not sure. I'd have to have a good listen to the Naim again to say so with any confidence. I suspect that in pure hi-fi terms, the Naim would out-perform the Onkyo.

Am I bothered? Not really, and I'm not here to be an evangelist and persuade everybody else to get one. There is no amplifier out there that will suit everyone. I don't even wonder how it might sound with other partnering kit. I think the CD6003 is as good as CD replay gets for reasonable money to be honest, and I don't think it would be easy to improve on the Quads with a sensible budget either.

I think the best thing about owning the Onkyo is that it satisfies me so much that I don't give a monkeys whether something else might sound better. I'm enjoying the music and I've stopped caring about how my system might compete with other kit out there. Everything I play through it, whether it be from vinyl, CD, or computer/internet sources, is thoroughly enjoyable and involving. I'm content to concentrate on exploring new music and on enjoying familiar music and I think that says more than anything else.

Well i've heard the A18 (and an A65) for quite extensive periods and I have owned a Nait 5i so your response was useful. (Never heard Leemas or HK amps.)

You see I still want to have a serious try at Harbeth P3ESRs (a long standing 'itch') and forum wisdom has it that circa 100 wpc amps would be best with 83db/8ohm sealed cabinet speakers even at moderate volumes. Alan Shaw (designer and Harbeth MD) has stated many times that any 'competent' amplifier, of any kind (working within it's limitations), will drive P3ESRs.

Now if the Onkyo is more 'competent' than amps like the A18/A65+ (and I can well believe that) and on a par with amps like HK990/Leema Pulse/Naim Nait etc... well you can see where I'm going.

A hideously expensive amp/all-in-one upgrade may not be necessary if the TX-8050 can be the 'competent 100 wpc' amp that will have enough grunt AND match (or better) the quality of some well regarded £500 - £1500 amplifiers.

It is frustrating not to see any TX-8050 reviews like the one my M-CR603 got in Gramophone for instance. (Where the reviewer 'pushed the envelope' by trying £1000 and £1500 PMC speakers with success or the ####+ review of the CA 650A/650C pairing with £1000 speakers.)

I would love to see a review of the TX-8050 with far better/more expensive speakers than it is typically going to be sold with.

All I can say is that I've always struggled to feel like I've got the best out of the Quads, and I've been using them on and off for 7 years now. The Onkyo gets everything out of them that I always suspected they could give, and more. I've still got the 650A here but it has lived in its box since I got the Onkyo.

As to how the Onkyo will work with the Harbeths I really can't help. I haven't heard the Harbeths and I don't know enough about them. I would also stress that in a straight sound quality shoot out I suspect a Nait 5i would pip the Onkyo and, personally I'm not sure that I'd want to put it up against anything considerably more expensive than the Naim. In the £1,000 plus region you are getting close to some beautiful amps like the Creek Destiny 2 and the Sugdens. That the Onkyo can comfortably fight its corner up to the £500-£700ish range makes it spectacular value for me, and given that many of us (including me) would struggle to justify spending more than that sort of money, it is a superbly thought out and satisfying buy. It is quite possible that the Onkyo would surprise me up against those £1k+ amps but without some proper comparisons I'm not prepared to put my head above the parapet and make any statements about that. As I've said before, I'm not interested in finding out either because in the context of my system, room and listening requirements, it is giving me everything I want.

 

[the record spot]

Yip.

Anything this machine not do!!!

video procesing and no hdmi input

That's not 100% true. There is a composite (not component) video output on the back of the Onkyo which will take a signal from your iPod Touch or Apple phone and stream it to your TV. I don't have a composite cable input on the back of the Sony TV, but connected the composite cable up to the green component "in" socket and the iPod assumed it was outputting to the TV. I need to get an adapter, if they're cheap, try it out.

Minor downside here is it's only 480i as per the limitations of the Composite video connection, but in theory, it will do a basic video throughput job!

 

[the record spot]

Question from the wife...... Got itunes on pc.....will she be able to stream the tunes/playlists through this onkyo? (Can you tell i know nothing about this technology!!! )

From memory, I *think* so, but might be confused here. It did pick up the music files and play those, but seems to prefer a slightly different track ordering system than the Apple format delivers in its naming conventions. I'd need to put my network cable in and am streaming Mubi's movie service to the TV just now. Sorry!! Will try later though.

Thanks RS....... Using wired connection then? I'd have to purchase the optional dongle for all this (pc/internet radio, etc), which I assume will work just as well....?

Yes, I use the homeplug and share between the Onkyo or the TV. Not tried the wireless dongle, money I don't need to spend really. I'd rather not say about the dongle's capabilities, but assume it ought to be okay.

Bear in mind though, the Sony equivalent for its TVs did not have a good, or at least flawless, reputation. At £70 a throw for one of those, that's not brilliant feedback.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Question from the wife...... Got itunes on pc.....will she be able to stream the tunes/playlists through this onkyo? (Can you tell i know nothing about this technology!!! )

From memory, I *think* so, but might be confused here. It did pick up the music files and play those, but seems to prefer a slightly different track ordering system than the Apple format delivers in its naming conventions. I'd need to put my network cable in and am streaming Mubi's movie service to the TV just now. Sorry!! Will try later though.

Thanks RS....... Using wired connection then? I'd have to purchase the optional dongle for all this (pc/internet radio, etc), which I assume will work just as well....?

Yes, I use the homeplug and share between the Onkyo or the TV. Not tried the wireless dongle, money I don't need to spend really. I'd rather not say about the dongle's capabilities, but assume it ought to be okay.

Bear in mind though, the Sony equivalent for its TVs did not have a good, or at least flawless, reputation. At £70 a throw for one of those, that's not brilliant feedback.

No, not good at all......

My router is positioned above the lounge so I get 'excellent' signal strength in here on my laptop. I assume it will be ok knowing that, or it would be sent back!!

 

[lesmallett]

I can't see from the manual, but is the volume digital and so can a standard volume level be set for each time the machine is switched on.

 

[the record spot]

Not sure how you mean Les; I've set mine with the volume at a reasonable level for my place, which is quite low. This isn't something you can set for each input, although you can set the audio "mode" instead - so, stereo, pure audio, stereo optimised, mono, direct, etc and the amp will remember this. The volume you just set manually as I understand it.

 

[lesmallett]

My ability to write has left me sadly.

What I meant is when I switch my av amp on the volume is always set to 25. Will the Onkyo do the same?

 

[the record spot]

Gotcha. It'll remember the volume it was set to when it was switched off previously. It won't default to a particular setting.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Not sure how you mean Les; I've set mine with the volume at a reasonable level for my place, which is quite low. This isn't something you can set for each input, although you can set the audio "mode" instead - so, stereo, pure audio, stereo optimised, mono, direct, etc and the amp will remember this. The volume you just set manually as I understand it.

Not a deal breaker in my view, as I have to set the volume manually on my pioneer for tv/movie watching.

Onkyo AV's tend to get hot....this the case for this machine too?

Any news on itune's working?

 

[the record spot]

Runs okay, though I have given it the shelf with the most room on the rack. No problems with excess heat. Not tried the iTunes thing yet. Still watching Mubi via the TV and off to bed shortly; a tad under the weather this weekend. Sorry!

 

[lesmallett]

Not a deal breaker but I'm not sure I can get my 2 housemates to set a particular volume if they switch between music and movies with the Harmony remote.

Need to find a remote friendly solution to prevent any accidents.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Not a deal breaker but I'm not sure I can get my 2 housemates to set a particular volume if they switch between music and movies with the Harmony remote.

Need to find a remote friendly solution to prevent any accidents.

Well my wife has worked it out!!!!! :O

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Runs okay, though I have given it the shelf with the most room on the rack. No problems with excess heat. Not tried the iTunes thing yet. Still watching Mubi via the TV and off to bed shortly; a tad under the weather this weekend. Sorry!

Fair enuf, RS......

Your help with this matter has been much appreciated already.......hope you feel better in the morning...

 

[lesmallett]

If the misses gets it guarenteed the other housemate won't. He can't change the wallpaper on his laptop.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

If the misses gets it guarenteed the other housemate won't. He can't change the wallpaper on his laptop.

:doh:

 

[DIB]

Good news, the rest of the family like it too!

Now when they are on the PC and want to listen to Spotify or Youtube or whatever, they only have to switch on one box again ( via Toslink).

One little thing, this unit is a hairs breadth short of 15cms high and the space between the shelves on my cabinet is 15 cms, so there was virtually no space for ventilation. Currently sat on the top of the unit, but not ideal what with dust etc.

Currently listening downstairs at a low non-family waking volume, and I have no complaints. This was a factor for me, as I'm an early riser and two of the family work shifts so I need something good at very low levels. I reckon it beats the Evo 2 in this respect.

Hooked up with my Mission 752's, this combo has cost me a net figure of £330. It's hard to find fault at that price.

Later today I'm going to put the phono stage through its paces properly, but a quick listen yesterday to Led Zeppelin IV put my mind at rest with regards to vinyl playback.

Just thinking now about adding a matching Onkyo CD player to complete the set. No rush though.

.

 

[the record spot]

Runs okay, though I have given it the shelf with the most room on the rack. No problems with excess heat. Not tried the iTunes thing yet. Still watching Mubi via the TV and off to bed shortly; a tad under the weather this weekend. Sorry!

Fair enuf, RS...... Your help with this matter has been much appreciated already.......hope you feel better in the morning...

Okay, just had a quick tryout with DLNA and it doesn't appear to do the iTunes thing on the network, however, it will if you connected your Apple device via the USB to the amp's fascia. Streaming from the laptop from other music files is pretty clean however. I use EAC and not Windows Media, but it works well. Not the answer you'd hoped for alas. One other thing, you're advised in the handbook not to connect a computer directly via USB to the amp. No idea why, but that's the word from the horse's mouth.

 

[the record spot]

Good news, the rest of the family like it too!

Now when they are on the PC and want to listen to Spotify or Youtube or whatever, they only have to switch on one box again ( via Toslink).

One little thing, this unit is a hairs breadth short of 15cms high and the space between the shelves on my cabinet is 15 cms, so there was virtually no space for ventilation. Currently sat on the top of the unit, but not ideal what with dust etc.

Currently listening downstairs at a low non-family waking volume, and I have no complaints. This was a factor for me, as I'm an early riser and two of the family work shifts so I need something good at very low levels. I reckon it beats the Evo 2 in this respect.

Hooked up with my Mission 752's, this combo has cost me a net figure of £330. It's hard to find fault at that price.

Later today I'm going to put the phono stage through its paces properly, but a quick listen yesterday to Led Zeppelin IV put my mind at rest with regards to vinyl playback.

Just thinking now about adding a matching Onkyo CD player to complete the set. No rush though.

.

Hey result! It's reassuring to know it'll work well with more expensive gear. Reckon you'd need to be looking at £700+ to better the original Missions today.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Runs okay, though I have given it the shelf with the most room on the rack. No problems with excess heat. Not tried the iTunes thing yet. Still watching Mubi via the TV and off to bed shortly; a tad under the weather this weekend. Sorry!

Fair enuf, RS...... Your help with this matter has been much appreciated already.......hope you feel better in the morning...

Okay, just had a quick tryout with DLNA and it doesn't appear to do the iTunes thing on the network, however, it will if you connected your Apple device via the USB to the amp's fascia. Streaming from the laptop from other music files is pretty clean however. I use EAC and not Windows Media, but it works well. Not the answer you'd hoped for alas. One other thing, you're advised in the handbook not to connect a computer directly via USB to the amp. No idea why, but that's the word from the horse's mouth.

I saw that warning about connecting the pc directly....

I assume it sounds great if you use an ipod directly through the front usb port? As good as if you were streaming?

 

[the record spot]

Hi Pete, yes that's it in a one-er. It just takes the data feed from the input device going in by USB and the Onkyo applies its own DAC to handle the conversion. Sound quality's great (I think). This applies to external hard drives, iPods and iPads and so on.

 

[the record spot]

Does the Onkyo require Premium or will it work with the Free one?

I assume it'll work with whichever falvour of Spotify you have mate; the functionality's enabled in this receiver, much as per the rest of their product range that's come equipped with it from the off (e.g. the TX-NR609). I've had the Premium service for ages now but doubt you'll have a problem.

No worries, I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't, Sonos only works with Premium and I still haven't got round to upgrading for that, I just don't get the chance to listen often enough to justify it (at home at any rate, all my listening's in the car, or sometimes at work).

I'll drop the Onkyo guys a line on Twitter, they usually reply soon afterwards (maybe not so soon at weekends...!) - see what they say. I imagine it would be fine, but hang fire and let's see what they come back with.

Update: Onkyo replied via Twitter to say the TX-8050 works with any of the available Spotify versions, free included.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all,

I would like to come back to the display issue that was raised at the very beginning of this thread.

I am close to buying the TX 8050 and all I am interested in is streaming FLAC audio from a NAS directly to the Onkyo via DLNA. I.e. no PC / Windows Media Player / other software etc. in the loop! Please interpret all questions below in this context. Thank you! Questions I have are:

1. what meta info does the TX 8050 show on its display during playback? Title, artist, or only file name ?

2. does the TX 8050 support gapless playback? If not, how long are the gap times between two files?

3. to what extent does the TX 8050 support playback of a series of files? does it support playlists? or does it support playing all files in a certain NAS folder? or anything else to that end?

4. is navigation of the FLAC files on the NAS via the Onkyo's display / remote control feasible? i.e. is it straightforward to browse the NAS directories to locate a certain folder and play all files in it?

5. is fast forward / rewind / skip track supported for FLAC streaming via DLNA?

Thank you very much for your time and answers!

 

[dariushifi]

Hello there,
[*] 1. Onkyo has two rows with 14 characters. They both scroll and display title, artist, album. Everything what is on [*] WMP. Display button on remote allows to change preference and shows track time and kb/s .[*] [*] 2. It does not support gapless playback. [*] [*] 3. It does support playlist. It does support various forms off subfolders. I mean it can have
16 step subfolders. It is very flexible. On display you have a choice to play all music, artists,

Playlist, folders. You will see all our subfolders from external hard drive no problem. ‘RS’ is using it and he is very

happy the same as I am.

4 . I am using straight forward usb connection to my hard drive storage. I find and play my FLAC Hi Res tracks no

problem. I find navigation easy and fast. I can not comment on NAS, although I believe it should be similar.

5. You can skip track the same way as WMP. If that particular track you can fast forward in WMP. Onkyo will do the

same.

Most importantly, in my view, it sounds great. Especially for this money .

 

[the record spot]

I don't use FLAC (prefer WAV, not too fussy about the finer points of one v. the other) so haven't responded to this and won't in great detail. However, the file access and read from an HDD or NAS will be more or less the same I'd assume. The Onky will read the drive, thereafter drill down to the appropriate folder and files/tracks. You steer the ship using the remote (either on the supplied handset, or via Onkyo's rather good app).

Once you're used to it - as in, five minutes getting used to it - you're off. It's a doddle and nicely implemented. There are various display options too, so you can see a variety of info on your source drive. Very cleverly done IMO.