SHOULD YOU STILL BUY ONKYO RECEIVERS? ONKYO NR7100 REVIEW
SHOULD YOU STILL BUY ONKYO RECEIVERS?
Last week, Onkyo Home Entertainment officially filed for bankruptcy and was delisted from the Japanese stock exchange, according to Forbes magazine. So it would appear that Onkyo Home Entertainment, based in Japan, is kaput. While it’s understandable you might think news of Onkyo’s bankruptcy will affect your recent receiver purchase, according to Premium Audio Group –a subsidiary of Voxx –they will continue to develop, build and support products under the Onkyo, Integra and Pioneer name. Here is an official statement from Paul Jacobs, President and Chief Executive Officer of Premium Audio Company.
PAUL JACOBS, PREMIUM AUDIO COMPANY RESPONSE TO ONKYO BANKRUPTCY NEWS
“Demand for Onkyo and Integra products has been very high and we expect this to intensify in the coming years. We have been working very closely with Sharp to ramp up production and have grown our business significantly since the acquisition was completed. We have big plans for Onkyo and the other brands sold through 11TC and as we build production and expand distribution, believe sales will more than double in the near-term. Rumors or any statements to the contrary about the Onkyo brand are simply unfounded and misleading.”
Onkyo bankruptcy update and Onkyo 7100 receiver review by Andrew Robinson.
ONKYO TX-NR7100 RECEIVER REVIEW
So with that out of the way, let’s take a look at the Onkyo TX-NR 7100 AV receiver. The 7100 is a 9.2 channel home theater receiver, meaning it can power up to nine speakers and two subwoofers, just know the subwoofer outs are not independent of one another. You can drive any type of speaker configuration from stereo to 7.2.2 setup and almost everything in between. There are no preamp outs –apart from the subwoofer outputs –that will enable you to go beyond nine channels so if you’re needing 11.2 you need to look elsewhere.
NR7100 RECEIVER SPECS
The 7100 is rated at 100 Watts per channel with two channels driven. Still, this is a THX Certified receiver, meaning it is guaranteed to recreate the same volume levels you would experience in a commercial theater when seated twelve feet from YOUR screen. Now, obviously as you add speakers you can expect the power to drop (which is common) though you don’t need to be THAT concerned as the 7100 is likely going to be fine driving most mainstream speakers with impedances above six Ohms and whose sensitivity rests above 85dB or so.
ONKYO HDMI INPUTS
The 7100, like most current Onkyo, Integra and Pioneer receivers supports 8K/60, 4K/120 across all of its HDMI inputs. HDMI inputs one through three meet the 40 gigabit per second spec whereas inputs four through six are the 24 gigabit variety. Gamers will no doubt love the support for 4K/120 pass through, variable refresh rates as well as auto low latency. Of course the 7100 has ARC/eARC which also means you get Dolby Atmos as well as DTS:X and even IMAX Enhanced support. Then you’ve got Ethernet, WiFi, AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth support, which gives you compatibility with services like Chromecast, Google Assistant, Alexa, Room and more! Seriously, there isn’t much the 7100 doesn’t offer by way of features –hell, it even has a decent moving magnet phono preamp.
Onkyo NR7100 Receiver
SETTING UP THE NR7100
Now, setting up the NR7100 is no different than just about any other modern receiver. The on-screen menus are nice if not a little basic, but if you’re new to home theater or surround sound receivers there is an on-screen guide that will take you through the process. For more advanced users you can dive right in and find the 7100’s manual adjustments which are sufficiently detailed –though maybe not to the level of say Yamaha. Either way, the initial setup of the 7100 isn’t too difficult, nor does it require you to set aside an entire afternoon before being able to enjoy a movie.
DIRAC ROOM CORRECTION
Now, one feature I haven’t gone over yet is the 7100’s inclusion of DIRAC room correction software. The TX-NR7100 ACTUALLY has two different auto room correction options, Onkyo’s own AccuEQ, or the more advanced DIRAC Live. You can get good results with AccuEQ, but let’s be real, if you’re buying a receiver with DIRAC Live support like the 7100, you’re probably going to use it. Unlike say an Emotiva processor or NAD receiver, DIRAC Live’s implementation within the 7100 is WAY more streamlined. It works with the included low-profile microphone and your smartphone –so no dongles or laptops needed here, which is NICE! And the process is largely plug-n-play, only requiring you to make the necessary changes to the microphone’s position when prompted.
The results pre and post a full (or even quick) DIRAC calibration can be dramatic –game changing even, depending on your room’s issues. That said, I have seen DIRAC take what was once an arguably unlistenable system into respectable territory, so I don’t want to downplay its effectiveness. You will experience notable gains in terms of clarity, definition and spaciousness regardless, but in already well-treated rooms, the change may be less dramatic.
Those of you who may not be in a position to treat your room acoustically, or who may have to live with unconventional speaker placements will likely find DIRAC to be an answer to your hifi and home theater prayers. Those of you who wish to tweak your speakers’ sound to taste –maybe you want to up the treble or bass frequencies –will no doubt LOVE DIRAC’s manual adjustment capability inside the App. You can even store your preferences into memory for recall later, which is a nice touch!
ONKYO TX-NR7100 SOUND
As far as sound goes I’m actually going to keep this pretty brief, because, well, we’ve somewhat reviewed this receiver before. The Pioneer 305 receiver we reviewed back in December is essentially the same as the 7100 reviewed here. I thought the Pioneer 305 was terrific and I think much the same with respect to the Onkyo. In fact, I can detect little if ANY difference between the two apart from their obvious physical differences and menus. Though the Pioneer remote WILL control the Onkyo and vice versa. So let’s just cover the bases real quick.
GAMING WITH THE ONKYO 7100
Gaming with the Onkyo 7100 and it’s video prowess proves there is nothing to complain about. I was able to game at 4K/120 courtesy of our PS5 and Call of Duty, no problem. While I’m not the biggest fan of first person shooters, I can say that I do like driving games and detected zero perceivable lag when playing Gran Turismo. While GT is a 4K/60 game and not 4K/120, even in its highest graphical settings the motion and gameplay was buttery smooth, so to you gamers out there, I have zero hesitation in recommending this AVR if you’re wanting to hook up multiple next gen consoles.
MUSIC AND MOVIES WITH THE ONKYO NR7100
Obviously, when it comes to music and movies, the NR7100 largely delivers. I say largely because if you have less than efficient speakers, a truly large room –as in larger than ours –or just insist on playing everything at full-tilt, all channels driven, all the time, you may have moments where you feel like the 7100 is straining to keep pace. You may sense a slight loss in low-end grip and some thinning or possibly even distortion in the highs. But come back down to Earth and listen at more reasonable volumes (and even volumes a click or two above reasonable ) and I doubt many of you will find much if anything to object to here.
WHAT SPEAKERS ARE GOOD WITH THE ONKYO 7100?
The Onkyo 7100 receiver had zero issues driving a complete Klipsch speaker setup featuring the new RP-600M IIs and 600C Center. We also built a KLH Audio home theater built around a pair of KLH Model 5s as left and right mains with the new Model 3 acting as a center. For two channel listening I even tried it on a pair of Revel Concerta2 M16s, no issues; JBL Stage 190 towers, again, nice pairing as well. If I had any reservations about the 7100’s sound quality it would be this; for whatever reason, at louder than typical volumes, say anything over 85-90dB, I feel the sound does seem to thin a little –and if you have a speaker with a bit of treble forwardness, you may experience slightly more forward or energetic highs. But then again, for some of you, Kristi being a good example, finds this trait somewhat helpful, if not preferable as it can result in dialog seeming more clear compared to receivers from the likes of Marantz. I’m not saying one is better than another, just saying, that is about the only sonic attribute that stood out to me with respect to the 7100 –or Onkyos in general.
In terms of functionality, I find it difficult to fault the 7100. It works as advertised and gave me ZERO trouble during my review period. The App is great. I love the remote –though I wish it was backlit –but its button layout and hot keys for things like dialog, treble and bass controls are great! I suppose at this price point some of you may be clamoring for things like Auro3D, which we’ll go over in our upcoming Marantz review because I have some feelings about that shit. But all-in-all, the 7100 may not be the sexiest AVR on the block, but it works and for whatever reason costs $100 less than the Pioneer despite being essentially the same product.
WOULD I BUY AN ONKYO, INTEGRA OR PIONEER RECEIVER?
So, the two burning questions that remain are; would I buy an Onkyo, Integra or Pioneer receiver in 2022? And if so which one? To the first question, yes. While I understand the recent unsettling news, the brand as you know them WILL carry on. Onkyo receivers so far have proven to be pretty trouble-free, at least in my experience, and we have two of them, the RZ-50 and this 7100, and neither have given me any grief. Now, with respect to which receiver to buy , all three brands have three distinct models, and based on your needs and the needs of your surround sound setup it should be pretty obvious which is going to be right for you.
For example; if you want to grow your home theater over time and have the ability to connect more powerful amplifiers down the road you’re going to want the RZ-50 (or the Integra DRX 3.4 or Pioneer 505). If you can get by with a 9.2 channel receiver with almost no upgradability for future expansion, go with the 7100 here or the Pioneer 305. Now, stock issues being what they are, you may not be able to get the brand name you ultimately wanted, but rest assured, when cross shopping these three brands, you’re not going to get radically different performance. So if the 7100 is suddenly out of stock, snatch a Pioneer 305.
HOW DOES THE ONKYO NR7100 COMPARE TO OTHER AV RECEIVERS?
As for how the 7100 compares to other brands such as Denon, Marantz or Yamaha. It’s really going to come down to personal preference. I haven’t been too keen on Yamaha’s latest upper-tier AVRs, though they did just get a firmware update so maybe I need to revisit them before passing final judgment. If you are looking for the most apples to apples receiver from Yamaha, you’ll want to check out the RX-A6A - just know that it is more than double the price. The A4A is closer in price at 1500 however it comes with fewer channels.
The Marantz NR1711 costs about the same as the 7100 here, and while it’s lower on power at a mere 50 Watts and has two fewer channels, it’s still a viable option to consider alongside the 7100. I still do not recommend the Denon S960H which is the closest in price to that of the 7100, so if you wish to own a Denon receiver know that you’ll have to spend roughly $500 more and go with the X2700H to be comparable, or “better” than the 7100.
CONCLUSION - SHOULD YOU GET THE NR7100?
In the end I hope this video has helped to dispel a few rumors as well as give those of you who are legitimately on the market for a home theater receiver a better understanding of what to consider when shopping for either Onkyo, Integra or Pioneer products. The Onkyo 7100 is a solid performer that while not wholly unique –at least within its own family of brands –stands out among the competition in that it offers up a lot of next gen features for a fair price. While it does not embarrass or even upset my current favorite AV receivers –the Onkyo RZ50 –it may be all the receiver a lot of you need and for less money which is why, I would recommend checking it out for yourself.
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