Meanwhile, a few weeks have passed since the first tests and to this day I am satisfied with the Onkyo TX-NR646. However, there are also shadow pages to report.
Listen to the sound
The films in the most widely used audio formats Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby True HD sound really very good. The highs as well as mids are great, however I have the impression that the bass is a little uncontrolled. Here, however, you can manually intervene and adjust this a little. By the manual setting possibilities one comes then with some exercise but very fast to great listening experience. Especially with action films like the Alien I tested as well as the Bourne series, it's really fun. It is not uncommon to have a shot or a horror scene.
Other findings so far
If you really want to find out, however, what is technically possible with the Onkyo TX-NR646, you should have access to the demos offered by DTS as well as Dolby bluray. Although here are only short film excerpts, these demos are a composition of the best film scenes, at least from the sound.
Previous problems
The short excerpts from films such as "The Dark Knight Rises", "Oblivion" or "Life Of Pi" have often led to open mouths of the guests who have found themselves in the cellar home cinema Code>
Conclusion and evaluation
The Non plus ultra, however, shows a test with films on which one of the new 3D surround sound techniques is available. Dolby Atmos was already present in the predecessor model TX-NR636. Since the sound format is already a little on the market, there are already the first films with American Atmos soundtrack. These include, among others, the films I tested "The Expendables 3", "Transformers 4" and the previous highlight "American Sniper". I also had the opportunity to hear the great "Gravity" in the English soundtrack. All these films show a real enrichment with the new 3D sound. Helicopters and shots actually fly overhead and you're in the middle of the action. Again, the Bluray test is recommended. A pity is only that the Onkyo as 7.2 receiver supports only 2 treble loudspeakers. The resulting 5.1.2 configuration does not quite correspond to the optimum which is recommended by Dolby. Two additional speakers would be required (5.1.4).
The further 3D sound format with the name DTS-X supplements Dolby Atmos with this year's Onkyo middle class model. DTS-X will only be available as an update from late autumn, but you can already imagine that in this case, all buyers of this year's models are already looking forward to great listening experiences.
I was able to test the measurement method AccuEQ developed by Onkyo and also used with the TX-NR646 several times in the listening room. As already suspected, Onkyo seems to have improved this compared to last year's version. The measured distances of the loudspeakers correspond to the actual distance and the lowering or raising of the individual loudspeaker levels is also comprehensible. In addition to the fact that all loudspeakers are now also measured, this is a great development.
As I mentioned in my last review, I have occasionally noticed picture misfires. At first I suspected here a defect of the cable or problems with the used projector. Another tester contacted me and told me about similar problems. Since I unfortunately can not conclude a final problem with the projector or the wiring, I will not attribute this problem in the assessment to the Onkyo. Here you simply have to monitor whether these years are affected by problems with the HDMI boards. For predecessors, Onkyo has extended the warranty due to existing problems. Should there be problems again, Onkyo will surely show up here as well.
Another problem that has already been confirmed is the registration in the music streaming service Deezer. Despite the input of the correct registration data a message appears that these are not correct and the Onkyo refuses his service here. This problem I could already confirm by further users. Although Onkyo has provided an update very soon after the release of the TX-NR646, this problem has not been fixed.
As a conclusion, the three-month test reveals that Onkyo is very well positioned in the middle class with the TX-NR646. The decision is separate from Audyssey and the self-developed AccuEQ to use can still be considered critical, however, the own measuring system hopefully, as also done this year, continue to improve constantly. The features are very good for a middle class model. Eight HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs, the possibility to connect two subwoofers, the integration of the two 3D sound formats Dolby Atmos and DTS-X, as well as built-in Bluetooth and WiFi receivers are great.
The Onkyo TX-NR646's current retail price of € 629 (current price around € 550), and the purchase of the Onkyo TX-NR646 two free Dolby Atmos capable speakers, leads to a purchase recommendation from my site
Overall, I would give the device a rating of 9 out of 10.
No comments:
Post a Comment