On a Whim I picked up a New ONKYO TX-NR676 Surround Sound Receiver today

[Harvestor]

$50 Dollars a month for 6 months at Best Buy....
I will be giving my Review and impressions on it by next week after I watch a few
Blu-ray movies.
This will be set up for 5.1 in my living room using my Cerwin Vega D9's in Front and Acoustiflex model 12 in Rear. .all use 15 inch woofers ...
This ONKYO Receiver is stable to 3 ohms.
It has been in production since 2017 and was a fresh unit dates January-5-2019 ..
The model TR- NR686 That replaces the 676 has THX Cert but no other changes known yet...
Here's what speakers it will be driving



Better picture of Rear Acoustiflex

 

[Harvestor]

Here's my Subwoofer 12 inch Rockford Fosgate 3 inch dual voice coil Punch HX2 with a 1000 watt RMS into 2 ohms Kenwood amp with 1 Farad Cap and RS-70-M 70 AMP power supply. .. quite an awesome LFE Pressurization for a single subwoofer setup
This Subwoofer was one of the made in the USA in Michigan back from 2000-01 era...

 

[onwardjames]

Onkyo's home theater receivers, of which I've had many, are reliable, and tend to be head and shoulders above the Pioneer/Sony stuff around the same price.

You did good, Harvestor. Enjoy.

 

[chip18sw]

A three ohm rating ... is kinda weird?? But with those speakers, I doubt you'll have any issues.

 

[Harvestor]

A three ohm rating ... is kinda weird?? But with those speakers, I doubt you'll have any issues.

Yeah that's encouraging and nice to know it's not one of those receivers that are only stable down to 6 ohms.. here is one of the quotes from ONKYO's website

(
Channels 100 W/Ch (8 Ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.08% THD, 2 Channels Driven, FTC)
210 W/Ch (6 Ohms, 1 kHz, 10% THD, 1 Channel Driven)
Dynamic Power 240 W (3 Ohms, Front)
210 W (4 Ohms, Front)
120 W (8 Ohms, Front) . )

It also has a PHONO INPUT which is kind of neat, so anyone considering using one of these receivers can have that option.

https://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=TX-NR676&class=Receiver

 

[Harvestor]

So far I watched about 15 minutes of
Star trek into darkness Blu-ray...and im pretty impressed.

While it's not as powerful as my Pioneer Elite it is way more than sufficient for most people.. .. including myself.

Without even looking at the manual, ......the setup was very easy and the remote intuitive and very easy.. but I am used to these modern surround sound receivers and for me it was even easier than setting up a Pioneer Elite.

 

[Harvestor]

One thing I have not figured out is...
Unlike my Pioneer Elite receiver I am not seeing any indication or indicators that show what format is being decoded with a particular DVD or Blu-ray. .. I. E. DTS or TRUE-HD Or DTS-X ... All I keep seeing in the on-screen info display is Dolby d no matter what Blu-ray movie or dvd disc I have playing

I've spent just over an hour trying to find out whether or not the unit tells you what it is currently decoding for audio and I haven't figured that out yet..

 

[onwardjames]

One thing I have not figured out is...
Unlike my Pioneer Elite receiver I am not seeing any indication or indicators that show what format is being decoded with a particular DVD or Blu-ray. .. I. E. DTS or TRUE-HD Or DTS-X ... All I keep seeing in the on-screen info display is Dolby d no matter what Blu-ray movie or dvd disc I have playing

I've spent just over an hour trying to find out whether or not the unit tells you what it is currently decoding for audio and I haven't figured that out yet..

I am using an Onkyo I snagged here on Bartertown on the cheap (dude had fixed the fatal cap issue from 2006-7, and I bought it) and it has a bad time always showing what is actually being decoded. For example, when watching Netflix, I know it is DD, but the screen simply says "multi" wtf that means.

With my Blu Ray copies of Game of Thrones, I have to select the SECOND soundtrack to get the far superior TRUE HD.

Not always easy to figure out. Hang in there.

 

[Boonaroo]

I have an Onkyo HT receiver and absolutely love it. I have in doing a 7.3 setup in my living room. I also have an Onkyo BluRay player.

I always do the setting on the BluRay player when selecting what audio format I wish to listen to.It will USUALLY select DTS TrueHD 5.1 if that is what is 1st on the menu options but not always. It depends on the disc, when it was made and the formats available then.

I also have a Denon in the bedroom and it always selects multi channel on its input but I still select the format on the disc.

 

[Pyrrho]

That receiver is not rated for use with 3 ohm speakers. The dynamic power rating is misleading. If one goes to:

https://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=TX-NR676&class=Receiver

And clicks on "Specs" and scrolls down, it states:

Speaker Impedance 4 Ohms–16 Ohms​

And even that is somewhat misleading; if one looks at the owner's manual:

http://filedepot.onkyousa.com/Files/own_manuals/SN29402768A_TX-NR676_676E_BAS_En_171113_web.pdf

And looks on page 14 of the manual, one will see that for anything below 6 ohms (4 to <6 ohms), one should make a selection in the setup telling it that the speakers are 4 ohms. So, without doing anything in the settings, the minimum is 6 ohms. In other words, special precautions are used for anything below 6 ohms; the amplifier "naturally" is designed for 6 ohms and above.

 

[Harvestor]

.

 

[KRab]

Thanks for posting this....got a TX-NR676 for Xmas (thanks to my family!) from the same source....use it mainly for watching Roku-stuff and listening to LPs. I have 2 turntables hooked up to it....the Micro Seiki DD33 is hooked up to the phono input, and the Project Debut Carbon is connected to the CD/TV input thru a Rega Fono Mini a2d. The Rega has a bit more gain, but the phono on the Onkyo isn't bad. I'll be switching the TTs in a month or so to compare. Running 5.1 with the front channel speakers (Fluance XL7F) "bi-amped". After living with it for a month, I'm pretty much satisfied with it. I doesn't do everything perfectly, but does what I ask of it. I'll have to try a BluRay Movie thru this thing one of these days....

 

[charles 1973]

That receiver is not rated for use with 3 ohm speakers. The dynamic power rating is misleading. If one goes to:

https://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=TX-NR676&class=Receiver

And clicks on "Specs" and scrolls down, it states:

Speaker Impedance 4 Ohms–16 Ohms​

And even that is somewhat misleading; if one looks at the owner's manual:

http://filedepot.onkyousa.com/Files/own_manuals/SN29402768A_TX-NR676_676E_BAS_En_171113_web.pdf

And looks on page 14 of the manual, one will see that for anything below 6 ohms (4 to <6 ohms), one should make a selection in the setup telling it that the speakers are 4 ohms. So, without doing anything in the settings, the minimum is 6 ohms. In other words, special precautions are used for anything below 6 ohms; the amplifier "naturally" is designed for 6 ohms and above.

Thank you!

These are pretty much standard ratings for most new HT receivers . I too was concerned when my new Yamaha RX-A770 also suggests switching into low power mode for speakers under 6 ohms. Once you do that, That 100 wpc receivers power plunges to about 40 wpc with all 7 channels driven.

That said, If we use a sub to do the heavy lifting, That 40 wpc is still adequate for most folks. But make no mistake, these are by no means HT powerhouse receivers. Only in stereo mode does it make the advertised 100 wpc and then only for 8 ohm speakers.

 

[Harvestor]

Thanks for posting this....got a TX-NR676 for Xmas (thanks to my family!) from the same source....use it mainly for watching Roku-stuff and listening to LPs. I have 2 turntables hooked up to it....the Micro Seiki DD33 is hooked up to the phono input, and the Project Debut Carbon is connected to the CD/TV input thru a Rega Fono Mini a2d. The Rega has a bit more gain, but the phono on the Onkyo isn't bad. I'll be switching the TTs in a month or so to compare. Running 5.1 with the front channel speakers (Fluance XL7F) "bi-amped". After living with it for a month, I'm [pretty much satisfied with it. I doesn't do everything perfectly, but does what I ask of it. I'll have to try a BluRay Movie thru this thing one of these days....

Okay after watching most of X-Men days of Future past I can say that this receiver is a definite improvement over my Sony 2000 series from 2005 .. even though the Sony was rated slightly higher RMS power this Onkyo actually puts out more powerful dynamic Sound everywhere..
Compared to my Pioneer Elite it's definitely down on power but not an issue at all... 99% of the people would say this is more than enough...
Its ability to decode is just fine.. I discovered that using the remote control down on the bottom left touch on the MOVIE/TV button several times to scroll through the different sound parameters using DIRECT shuts off all equalization touching on the MOVIE/TV one more time after DIRECT setting gives you what you need to be properly decoding whatever format but also allowing The equalizer to be turned on.
After the initial setup with the microphone I implemented my own improvements to the distance setting and equalization and level volume
I'm running my Center Channel at + 7
The front channels at + 3
The rear channels at + 8

On the quick menu I run the BASS at + 3
And the TREBLE at + 10

On the crossover setting I run FULL BAND on the front channels.
90Hz on the CENTER CHANNEL
FULL BAND on the rear surround

I'm set to 5.1 CONFIGURATION
The subwoofer is set LPF of LFE @ 120Hz

The Double Bass is off..

PICTURES TO FOLLOW OF HOW I SET THE EQ .....
DOING THIS IS IMPORTANT TO GET THE MOST POWER OUT OF THE RECEIVER YOU MUST USE THE EQ FOR THE MOST DYNAMIC POWER

 

[Harvestor]

SUBWOOFER EQ SETTING above.


SURROUND above


FRONT SETTING above

 

[Harvestor]

CENTER CHANNEL Setting

 

[kfalls]

I researched the receiver online at several etailer sites and noticed a lot of complaints. 18%-20% gave the unit one star. What was more surprising is the variety of complaints issued, won't power up, video but no sound, sound but no video, can't setup Zone 2, HDMI board failure, tuner failure. All listed in 2018. Front channels stable to 3ohms? Any load? It will be interesting to see how this thread progresses.

 

[Harvestor]

I researched the receiver online at several etailer sites and noticed a lot of complaints. 18%-20% gave the unit one star. What was more surprising is the variety of complaints issued, won't power up, video but no sound, sound but no video, can't setup Zone 2, HDMI board failure, tuner failure. All listed in 2018. Front channels stable to 3ohms? Any load? It will be interesting to see how this thread progresses.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where there is no picture or sound my suggestion from experience is change the HDMI cable to a different one.....
Rule that out before blaming the receiver

 

[KRab]

I had this problem with my last HT receiver....it was an Integra 40.2 refurbished. All of a sudden, there was no HDMI input...just the blue screen. Sound was ok, pass-through worked, and I could get the picture from the TV through the digital optical cable, but Nothing through the HDMI input on the receiver. I tried changing cables, and input ports, but...nothing. I ended up running all the HDMI inputs into the TV, and to the receiver through the digital optical cable. It worked ok....but, in principle, it bothered me. So I looked for the closest thing I could find to the 40.2 (without actually purchasing another one) and ended up with the Onkyo TX-NR676. It has a few features the Integra didn't have, like Bluetooth, and there were some things I thought were lacking, like the AccuEQ room calibration, which only works from one position, whereas the Integra gave you multiple calibration positions from its Audyssey MultiEQ. But....rated power was comparible, both had a phono input, and the remote from the Integra works for most of the Onkyo's functions. You'd think they were made by the same company or something ;^). I'm a little concerned as to the long-term reliability of the Onkyo.....but it does have a warranty..and nothing lasts forever....
The punch line is: I checked the receipt on the Integra...and it's still under warranty...which means boxing it up and sending it 300+ miles....

 

[charles 1973]

Before buying any new audio product I always check out reviews, Both personal and in the press, Ask the dealers that I trust, Maybe get some opinions from fellow AK'ers. That's about all most of us can do. And from what I see about the NR676 looks to me like a reasonably good product. No worse that some others. Many manufactures have HDMI board problems, Not just Onkyo. Also I think it's more likely people who are having problems are more likely to write a review, And Onkyo sells one heck of a lot of AVR's.

My only experience with Onkyo is my 2001 575v DD/DTS 5.1 AVR. And it is still a real gem. Sound quality wise I would put it up against a ton of vintage receivers (at least the 70 wpc amp section) and any sub $1,000 HT receiver today. I bought my new Yamaha Aventage RX-A770 because my dealer no longer sells Onkyo gear. But I still have a lot of respect for Onkyo's AVR's.