Onkyo TX-NR708 - bad news!

QuadraphonicQuad

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From what I understand, reading posts on AVS Forum and the Denon 3808 instruction manual addendum, the Audyssey Dynamic Volume is just that - you set the volume to the level you want and it then compresses/limits/expands as necessary to keep that level you set - sort of the thing that Dolby originally intended with Dialog Normalization, but they never really got it to work right or mastering engineers to set the correct dial norm values (and they still are often not set right or consistently)

BTW, it's bizzare to see many DTS encoded titles on DVD and Blu-ray sporting Dial Norm values now - in fact, until I was given the Denon 3808, I didn't even know DTS had implemented Dialog Normalization. I so associate Dial Norm with Dolby AC-3, and DTS used to screech about how unnecessary it was, that it just seems strange to see DTS Dial Norm -4 on the display
 
Yeah, really, I have no interest in volume normalizing. I'm sure there are some people who really like it, but I just don't have a use for it. The Dynamic EQ, though, has made all the difference in my listening.
 
Probably they'll just replace it with a refurbished unit. That's about all they'll do nowadays. Labor is too overpriced.

I have a TX-NR906 that developed a well-known problem with the HDMI circuitry. Foolishly, I'd bought an extended warranty from Fry's, but by the time I needed to take advantage of it, they no longer sold anything as good. Fortunately, it was still under the Onkyo warranty, so I drove it 120 miles (Sacramento -> Mountain View) to the repair shop.

The tech told me they'd start with a firmware upgrade and, if that didn't work, they'd replace the entire HDMI board, but it would take weeks to get one.

True to their word, about a month later the repaired unit showed up via UPS (Onkyo's warranty covers one-way shipping) and has been working fine for the last three or so months.

Of course, it's now relegated to the bedroom...being unable to learn my lesson, I bought a new TX-NR5008 before temporarily parting with the TX-NR906.
 
The Dynamic EQ is what I've really wondered about - especially considering it changes the surround levels and everything depending on the volume you've set - I do a lot of late-night listening and it seems like the D-EQ would come in very handy. I have no interest in the Sirius satellite radio or the HDMI CEC control additions, so a hundred bucks seems a high price to pay to get D-EQ, the one thing I really want.

I think Audyssey is one of the most amazing technologies ever added to receivers - I worked as a projectionist and tech assistant, for both 35mm and large format IMAX theaters, for over 10 years and am well acquainted with theater alignment and what can be done with the various EQ in the cinema processors, as well as room treatments and THX requirements, etc... and the speaker matching and final sound quality that Audyssey creates after its measurements is simply amazing - it's like I've installed the most perfectly matched high-end speakers in a perfectly treated room. I've never heard the same model of theater speakers match as well as Audyssey achieves. Of course, Audyssey was originally designed for aligning and matching the speakers and room in IMAX theaters; to be more precise, that's what the multi-million dollar research project started out as. So to say I'm a fan of Audyssey is an understatement.

But, it seems as if I'll skip the Denon D-EQ and D-Volume upgrade for now.
 
I bought the TX-NR905 when it first came out, and had to have it replaced twice, right out of the box. The first time there was no audio output at all. It seems that the unit thought that there were headphones plugged in (the little headphone icon always stayed on), so back the unit went. The second time, the audio output only lasted for five minutes and cut out. I was actually able to replicate this on the phone with the Onkyo tech. Of course Onkyo wanted me to drive to the next state (150 miles) to have it fixed. No thanks, so back that unit went. Fortunately, the third unit has been working fine for the last couple years. (Although you could easily cook a steak on top of it if you wanted. It gets HOT.)

I give thanks to the folks at Crutchfield, who's great support got me through these problems with no hassle. (But it seems that they stopped carrying this unit soon after.)
 
I bought this onkyo model this april and I a little bit worry about all that I read in this thread... My actual problem is, that my receiver turns on by itself ramdomly. I didnt programed my cable tv remote to use the receiver but sometimes it turns on.
i.e. (all with cable tv remote)
change the tv volume the onkyo turns on
change channels onkyo turns on
remote resting in the couch, onkyo turns on

this things happens ramdomly sometimes a few times consecutive, sometimes take some time to turn on by itself...
strange right?
 
efonseca, I'm guessing, but it sounds like CEC communication. If connected with HDMI, remote control signals can be carried through the HDMI cable from one unit to another. This is supposed to make things easier to use just one remote but I can see where it could cause confusion and possibly unwanted operation.
Perhaps there is a setting in the TV menus to disable CEC.
If the strange behavior stops when the HDMI cable is disconnected, it must be CEC.
 
thanks quadsearcher for your prompt response, right away when I arrive to home I will check that feature to see if it is the cause of the ghosts in my brand new receiver...
btw sounds rasonable because i did not even programmed all my remotes!
 
I'm feeling much better about my Onkyo after letting it sit overnight unplugged. Everything is working fine now, and the reset led me to using the Audyssey Dynamic EQ, which made ALL the difference. Don't overlook this feature!
 
I'm feeling much better about my Onkyo after letting it sit overnight unplugged. Everything is working fine now, and the reset led me to using the Audyssey Dynamic EQ, which made ALL the difference. Don't overlook this feature!

Hi, it's been a while since you last posted in this thread, I'm wondering if the problem ever returned, and if it did, did the same reset fix it again? I'm thinking of getting the same amp, but am worried about this problem. Thanks in advance.
Ashley.
 
Hi, it's been a while since you last posted in this thread, I'm wondering if the problem ever returned, and if it did, did the same reset fix it again? I'm thinking of getting the same amp, but am worried about this problem. Thanks in advance.
Ashley.

The bad news is that I ultimately had to take it in for repair, which I did in late-July 2011. I drove an hour to an authorized Onkyo repair center, only to have them call me a week later to say that Onkyo had not paid them in several months for warranty work, so they wouldn't fix it under warranty. I told them to go ahead and fix it, and I paid them $141. Since I bought it new for $599, it was still a pretty decent price in the end.

The good news is that I haven't had a problem since. It's a great receiver if you don't mind paying someone to rebuild the one faulty part.
 
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