Onkyo's 2009 top end recievers finally announced....

[marscay]

I tried one at home, really wasn't impressed in the slightest. £1000 for an amp that whilst crammed full of features, IMO didn't sound any better than the Yam E800 I had at the time on SD-DVD. Whilst I can only speculate on how it would compare against my present processor, I'm guessing it wouldn't do too well.

Well i paid £500 brand new for my 805 so my viewpoint is slightly different i guess, if i were to go into sub £1000 for a receiver i would definitely pick a Yamaha as i think they're the best overall receivers but i still think the Onkyos are very competitive especially when you get one for a nice price like i did. They certainly aren't *****.

But yes our respective processors destroy any Onkyo receiver, as they should.

I sold my 805 a few days ago to a guy who uses all Linn stuff and when he got it home and set it up he was quite surprised how it was for 2 channel a lot better than he expected, pretty funny i thought (bad ears maybe )

 

[FrankJH]

Ive always detested the look of yamahas (and the remotes arent that much better from what I remember)

Maybe Im thinking of the models from years ago - but the boring grey they seemed to insist on made everything look naff to me

Until recently they also wouldnt do THX processing of anykind either - I think they may have relented in the last 12 months but I cant remember

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Ive always detested the look of yamahas (and the remotes arent that much better from what I remember)

Maybe Im thinking of the models from years ago - but the boring grey they seemed to insist on made everything look naff to me

I have to say that I've always been confused at making a buying decision on audio kit based upon how it looks. Still, maybe that's why I bought a boring BMW and not an Alfa.

 

[FrankJH]

I have to say that I've always been confused at making a buying decision on audio kit based upon how it looks. Still, maybe that's why I bought a boring BMW and not an Alfa.

Because unless you have even more money (and space) to put your kit in some enclosure, its permanently on display and more often than not also right next to the tv, so in your line of sight when ever you are watching the screen

In this case I would find yamahas distinctly offputting to say the least

BMW's imo still look pretty good - I would say a similar comparison is something like old style subaru (which I always thought looked really good) compared to a Citreon - that used to look like wedges of cheese on wheels

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

Because unless you have even more money (and space) to put your kit in some enclosure, its permanently on display and more often than not also right next to the tv, so in your line of sight when ever you are watching the screen

In this case I would find yamahas distinctly offputting to say the least

BMW's imo still look pretty good - I would say a similar comparison is something like old style subaru (which I always thought looked really good) compared to a Citreon - that used to look like wedges of cheese on wheels

I love the analogy, apart from the fact that I really like the design of Citroens at the moment, IMO they're the best looking mainstream cars on the market and I still have respect for designs like the old DS and CX. Subarus in comparison look to me like a bunch of boxes sellotaped together. Don't get me wrong, I've driven some Scoobs and rather like them to drive, wouldn't buy a Citroen unless someone pointed a gun at my head, but I do like the Citroen style of design.

As for the look of kit, my power amp is housed in a Ikea TV stand that was around £20. With the age of my son, it's covered in to prevent fiddling fingers so is completely invisible. The rest of my kit is on £75 s/h Quadraspire stand to one side of my sofa, again making it mostly invisible. Didn't strike me as exhorbitant sums of money for either.

Sorry, I'm blathering and being well off topic here.

Anyone actually have any further views on the new Onkyo kit?

 

[marscay]

Anyone actually have any further views on the new Onkyo kit?

On a pure selfish note comparing the RRP of the Onkyos to my new gear yes i think my Arcam kit is an even bigger bargain than it seemed already

More strictly on topic though, in terms of looks i think the Onkyos really are pit bull ugly and i am surprised that their processor range don't get an updated facia to the receivers. To a casual observer it looks very similar to their entry level receivers, for £2k worth of kit i think it deserves a little prettying up or something to make it stand out a little bit.

Harmon Kardon are another offensive looking amplifier, probably moreso than the Onkyos.

 

[FrankJH]

I love the analogy, apart from the fact that I really like the design of Citroens at the moment, IMO they're the best looking mainstream cars on the market and I still have respect for designs like the old DS and CX. Subarus in comparison look to me like a bunch of boxes sellotaped together. Don't get me wrong, I've driven some Scoobs and rather like them to drive, wouldn't buy a Citroen unless someone pointed a gun at my head, but I do like the Citroen style of design.

As for the look of kit, my power amp is housed in a Ikea TV stand that was around £20. With the age of my son, it's covered in to prevent fiddling fingers so is completely invisible. The rest of my kit is on £75 s/h Quadraspire stand to one side of my sofa, again making it mostly invisible. Didn't strike me as exhorbitant sums of money for either.

Sorry, I'm blathering and being well off topic here.

Anyone actually have any further views on the new Onkyo kit?

I was meaning (really) old Citreon's - I think the CX, which admittedly where clever with their rear suspension, but looked downright awful to me

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

I was meaning (really) old Citreon's - I think the CX, which admittedly where clever with their rear suspension, but looked downright awful to me

Guess I've just got a soft spot for them. I remember driving a CX20 when I was learning. Just looked to me like something out of UFO (i.e. the old 70s Gerry Anderson sci-fi series). On top of that, just think how it compared.
On the one hand you had a leaf sprung rear wheel drive Ford Cortina, on the other a hydrolastic suspension system, power steering, front wheel drive, heavy power assisted brakes, space age interior and lots of electrics. Sure, they used to break down and were a b.....d to repair, but...but.
Oh, almost forgot, Citroen owned Maserati for a while in the 70s and stuffed a Masser engine into a CX to create the SM. Awesome!

 

[^TANK^]

On a pure selfish note comparing the RRP of the Onkyos to my new gear yes i think my Arcam kit is an even bigger bargain than it seemed already

More strictly on topic though, in terms of looks i think the Onkyos really are pit bull ugly and i am surprised that their processor range don't get an updated facia to the receivers. To a casual observer it looks very similar to their entry level receivers, for £2k worth of kit i think it deserves a little prettying up or something to make it stand out a little bit.

Harmon Kardon are another offensive looking amplifier, probably moreso than the Onkyos.

I think they look quite smart personally.

 

[james.miller]

stop blathering you people

you either love or hate onkyo's. I like the looks of the 80x onwards, mainly because all the models below that have that silly circular button on the right hand side that really just looks very tacky. the 80x's and onwards have far less going on on the front panel and look purpousful imo. They are far from the prettiest but hey ho, i dont care

 

[^TANK^]

stop blathering you people

you either love or hate onkyo's. I like the looks of the 80x onwards, mainly because all the models below that have that silly circular button on the right hand side that really just looks very tacky. the 80x's and onwards have far less going on on the front panel and look purpousful imo. They are far from the prettiest but hey ho, i dont care

I just think they make a great weapon if needed quickly lol.