Onkyo TX-RZ50 - AVR with the latest HDMI 2.1 chipset

Home Theater Lobby
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According to Vincent, this is a pre production unit from Onkyo but in terms of delivering a bug free experience, this is the very first one. All the VVR, ALLM and host of HDMI 2.1 8K promises for gamers can finally be a reality. This is looking good for most Amp/AVR manufacturers to finally consider acquiring the new chipset and kick start the HDMI 2.1 board upgrades for some of the Amp/AVRs that they promised for an upgrade to the HDMI board.

Onkyo always surprise us and months ago, rumours were Onkyo was out out business. Well this pre production unit certainly put the speculation to rest. Rejoice Onkyo fans.

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Dirac Live is with Onkyo now….

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This is going to be a game changer at this price. With dirac live

Hope it reaches our shore soon

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Yes. Definitely a game changer for Onkyo. Onkyo has always been a VFM brand in the AV community. With Dirac as the EQ, it will definitely sound a lot better.

Rejoice Onkyo fans.

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Waiting for this. :grin:

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Timestamp 7.20 , why u should always use a thumb drive to update the firmware on the unit instead of through the net

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Surprise to see Onkyo still retains the “puck” mic for Dirac live calibration? The chap clearly doesn’t know what he is doing with the Dirac calibration.

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If i am not wrong, NAD avr with Dirac also uses a puck mic type of mic… They should at least get a better mic la imo to optimise the powers of dirac

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You can use a UMK 1 mic for calibration instead of the mic that comes with it. Not sure if it does make a difference.

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Provided Onkyo allows the cal file for “that UMik 1” to be used and I doubt it.

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Ya definitely if a better mic is included would have been nice… or the options provided to use one will help for sure

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So, I’ve had my Denon X3600 for over 2 years, and loved it a lot. Works great, sounds great. My 5 ground level speakers powered by the Emotiva BasX A5. All good.

But - as usual - it’s time to change! So I’ve been eyeing the Denon X3800 for a while. Then I thought, why no love for the RZ50? :sweat_smile:
The one thing that the Onkyo was poor in was very obvious - the Denon has 4 independent sub outs vs Onkyo’s 2 sub out (identical). My listening room is small and probably have space for at most 2 subs. So, I was not too concerned with that lack of multiple sub outputs.

The pros for the TX-RZ50 had more power and Dirac Live!!

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So, I went to Lazada and bought the Onkyo (plus a free pair of Wharfedale D300 3D Atmos speakers).
Delivery was quick - think 2 days. So, today - since have time, started to do Dirac calibration for the 1st time (I’ve watched some Youtube videos earlier). When I learnt that it would require 13 points of measurements - I thought it would take a very long time. But in fact, I think it was much faster than measuring 5 points with Audyssey.

I ran the Dirac Live app from my Windows PC. It is so easy and nice to use compared to Audyssey.

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I downloaded a Harman Kardon target curve for Dirac (to use as sample) and modded it to suit my place and speakers. I’m using:
External amp: Emotiva BasX A5 powering fronts (LCR) and rear surrounds
Front: Polk Reserve R200 bookshelves
Center: Polk R300
Front Atmos: Wharfedale D300 3D (up-firing)
Rear Atmos and surround: Polk TL2 satellites
Subwoofer: Kreisel DXD808
Bass shakers: ADX Bass Shakers

Played many of my usual Atmos/DTS-X demo clips and I am once again hearing things I’ve not heard before with my old setup. How could that be possible?! :stuck_out_tongue:
Atmos playback is superb and sounds so much better. Bass control is excellent.

Before calibration, I hooked up the RZ50 without the external amp. I believe I don’t really need my Emotiva anymore (it’s for sale now!).

Do I have any regrets getting the RZ50? Hell no! It’s excellent. Dirac Live is really a game changer.

I know the Denon will get Dirac Live soon - but it’ll possibly cost US$259 for the license or US$349 for the full version. US$500 for multi-sub support! Plus Denon’s Audyssey mic might not be usable for Dirac calibration (maybe, maybe not). That’s quite a lot of extra cost.

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Thx for sharing the review. So good.

Concur too that dirac live is a game changer, compared to audyssey.

I was a Dirac Live (DL) user b4 (coming from audyssey) and I can attest to that. It brought my whole HT system to a whole new level. I believe Denon when paired with DL will be formidable.

Great to hear your review as there’s not much posted online so far for the new onkyos w DL.

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Congrats on your new toy.

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i left Onkyo n went Denon…
u left Denon n went Onkyo…
Hehehehe!!
Congrat’s on your Purchase buddy.
Cheer’s!!

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Envy! Although I got the Denon X3800H, I probably would have gotten this if it had been available earlier. I only had Yamahas all my life so either Denon or Onkyo would have been fine. And I would be playing with Dirac now instead of in March with a lighter wallet to boot.

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Used to have the TX-RZ830 before the Denon X3600. Loved the RZ830 too. Actually, after changing to the Denon, I missed the slam and super-engaging sounds of Onkyo.

So, when it was time to change - I was deciding on either the 3800 or the RZ50. Denon’s 4 independant sub-outs were really tempting, but Onkyo+Dirac - that made me choose the RZ50.

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Hope DL can bring onkyo back to its good old legendary days where its HT sound signature is power.

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Wise choice indeed. I’d pick Dirac Live over audyssey anytime. I can also observe you were happy with your decision after experiencing both Room Correction technologies at your place and your feedbacks seems to favour the Onkyo with Dirac live …. Same experience at my place when I moved on from audyssey to Dirac live some years back…

At this stage, you would have realised that although the denon measured better (ASR measurements), it doesn’t necessarily translate to a better experience. What I’ve also noticed is that whilst some of these gears do tend to have “cleaner sound”, they seem to lack in energy as well. They sound a bit more lean. Which explains why you are having a better experience with the slam and oomph on the Onkyo …

Happy for you that you found your preferred choice of Processor having compared the two… congrats and enjoy !!