Onkyo has formally introduced the TX-NR809, their newest THX Select2 Plus-Certified, 7.2-channel, network-capable Home Theater Receiver, bringing with it a host of major upgrades versus last year's model TX-NR808, which it is set to replace. That's quite a lot to digest, so we'll break it down for you.
The Onkyo TX-NR809 adds not one but two of the industry's most advanced video upscaling and processing circuits, both the Marvell Qdeo and IDT's HQV Vida. It also incorporates the Imaging Science Foundation's ISF Video Calibration technology for the first time at this attractive mid-level price point.
Audio-wise, the TC-NR809 gains Audyssey's MultEQ XT advanced automated calibration and Dolby Volume for an optimal listening experience at any volume level. There are now front and rear USB ports to support connected digital storage devices as well as Onkyo's optional wireless USB adapter. Direct digital connection via the front-panel USB port allows us to access MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, high-quality FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, and AAC audio files stored on a ubiquitous USB flash drive or an iPod/iPhone. It also offers improved home integration capabilities with Zone 2/3 pre-outs and a bidirectional remote control with on-screen remote control setup for connected home theater components, plus Macro-commands for four different activities such as Blu-ray watching or music listening.
The onboard video processing is ably handled by the aforementioned HQV Vida VHD1900 in addition to Qdeo technology by Marvell. Vida offers upscaling of all 480i/p, 576p and 720p video sources to 1080p output, while Qdeo, performs full 4K (3840 x 2160) upscaling of 1080p sources for more demanding home cinemaphiles.
The Vida processor incorporates Auto HQV and HQV StreamClean features to further enhance video images in real time and eliminate the problematic noise common to compressed video. With multi-cadence tracking, expanded 12-bit color processing, and four-field motion-adaptive de-interlacing, Vida optimizes the quality of both standard- and high-definition video images. Again, the TX-NR809 also supports ISF calibration for optimized video performance.
The Onkyo TX-NR809's generous 135-watts-per-channel amplifier section is more than ample to achieve THX Select2 Plus Certification. Each of the seven amplifier sections employ the company's low-negative feedback Wide Range Amplifier Technology ("WRAT," I think the W is silent), three-stage inverted Darlington circuitry, and the High Current Power Supply (HCPS) uses a massive transformer. In addition, TI Burr-Brown 192 kHz/24-bit DACs are used on each channel to ensure that all digital signals are converted perfectly to analog sound.
The Onkyo TX-NR809 uses several different audio processing technologies to work with the room acoustics and improve the ambient dimension of the listening experience. The new Audyssey MultEQ XT room-correction technology allows full-spectrum acoustic measurements from multiple locations for more accurate results. Audyssey Dynamic EQ provides loudness correction, and Audyssey Dynamic Volume assures an enjoyable listening level while maintaining superior dynamic range. Audyssey DSX high or wide channels, or Dolby ProLogic IIz height channels, are also supported for hardcore listeners wanting to enter the realm of expanded audio recreation.
The front panel of the TX-NR809 offers a convenient HDMI input, but the real action is around back, where a whopping seven HDMI ins are provided, plus two HDMI outs, with lossless audio processing via Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding and full 3D passthrough support. Most every legacy analog and digital connection has also been integrated, including multi-channel analog audio, stereo, digital optical and coaxial inputs, and yes, even a phono input! There are also two sets of component video inputs, plus composite/S-Video inputs (something of a rarity these days) for four devices. And the multichannel analog preamp outs can pair with a separate component power amplifier.
And yes, Onkyo remembered the home networking. The TX-NR809 is fully certified for both Microsoft Windows 7 and the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) to more easily work with other entertainment streaming gear. A wide variety of audio file formats can be played back over a home network, wired or wirelessly (by adding Onkyo's optional UFW-1 wireless USB adapter), or more directly off of an attached USB device. An iPod or iPhone can easily be connected via the front-panel USB, or with the optional dock patched into Onkyo's proprietary Universal Port. This "U-Port" can also be used for an optional HD Radio Tuner, as well as upcoming wireless devices. Home network connection provides access to abundant Internet radio and popular streaming music services such as Mediafly, Pandora, Slacker, Napster, Rhapsody, vTuner, SIRIUS XM Internet Radio and Last.fm.
The TX-NR809 is Onkyo's first 2011 AV receiver to use a bidirectional, preprogrammed, customizable RI remote control. In a boon to buffs averse to programming and reprogramming their various device codes, it maintains up-to-date RC control codes for connected devices, when connected to the Internet. And with the receiver's Overlaid Graphical Onscreen Display ("O, GOD"?), users can speed through onscreen setups while still viewing their program beneath. The receiver also sports bidirectional Ethernet and RS232 ports for control, IR input and output, two 12-V triggers, firmware updates via Ethernet and USB, GUI Navigation via HDMI, powered Zone 2, and Zone 2/3 pre-outs.
If there's any sort of connectivity, performance feature or other doodad we were expecting at a suggested retail price of $1,099 (available this month) that's not here, maybe it's time to lie down with a cool compress....
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