Onkyo TX-NR1010/ Home cinema
amplifier
Rupees 1.5 lac worth of home cinema
amplifier is a pretty ferocious proposition. These heavyweight slabs of
electronics have become ever bigger, ever more powerful and, in recent years
especially, ever more packed with features. Being the brains and brawn behind
your surround sound experience remains the key task for this Onkyo TX-NR1010 AV
receiver. But take a quick look at the associated logos for all the technology
inside and you’ll soon realize quite how much more it can do.
Onkyo
TX-NR1010
A heavyweight in every sense
Perhaps that’s why it needs to be so darn
big. It’s a brute, weighing in at 27.5kg. You might want to grab a friend to
get it out of the box; and do double check you have space on your AV rack
before you shuffle towards it laden with amplifier.
This machine is of course 3D Ready but more
headline-grabbing nowadays is the 4K up scaling ability (one for the future for
most of us). It is THX Ultra2 Plus certified – the highest THX certification
around and also snaffles Audyssey’s top of the range MultEQ XT32 room
calibration and correction technology. Audyssey DSX and DTS Neo: X processing
modes are present, which means this 7.2-channel amplifier supports height and
width channels. All Dolby and DTS modes are here too.
Internet connectivity is the other big area
of growth and the Onkyo TX-NR1010 is as action-packed as any on this front.
There’s internet radio, so you can stream and control your music directly from
your amp provided you have premium subscriptions. DLNA streaming with support for
24-bit/192kHz files is a nice bonus, too, though there’s no sign of Apple
AirPlay on any Onkyo cinema receivers. The USB input on the front will work
with smartphones and tablets, however and there is the Onkyo 2 remote control
app for those, too.
It has power, but this is no blunt tool
We take our pick from the nine HDMI inputs
and fire-up the Star Trek Blu-ray. And it’s not long before that familiar Onkyo
sound comes slamming out of our speakers. Move up the price range and Onkyo’s
home cinema amps simply get more effortlessly powerful. There’s scale and
tension to string-laden soundtracks, masses of weight and power when the ‘wrap
drive’ kicks in and authority to voices. Keep turning the volume up and, well,
you’ll admit defeat before the 1010 does. It’s unflappable.
For all this power and scale, the Onkyo is
far from a blunt tool. Effects steering is excellent: accurate and rapid. That
said, it does lack a little transparency with subtle dynamics – at both ends of
the sonic spectrum. Detail retrieval is impressive but at this level we expect
a little more clarity. Without it the NR1010 loses a little punch and
precision. This is made more apparent when listening to two-channel music.
You can’t argue with the spec-sheet, nor
the ability to fill a room with powerful sound, but when it comes to complete
control of fine details, the Onkyo gives a little way to some tough
competitors.
Move up the price range and Onkyo’s
amps simply get more effortlessly powerful. There’s scale and tension to
string-laden soundtracks, masses of weight and authority to voices
Round the back…
1. Wi-Fi is extra
The USB input on the front is phone/tablet
friendly, the one on the back is good for a wi-fi dongle.
2. HDMI in/out
You get nine HDMI inputs (plenty surely?).
There are also two outputs for a second screen or zone.
3. Twin subs
Two pre-outs mean you can have two
subwoofers in your system, without needing an adapter.
4. Input info
InstaPrevue will show you the images being
fed into the amp’s other inputs as thumbnails.
Rating: 4 stars
For: Smart
and solid build; powerful, weighty sound; impressive scale; exhaustive features
Against:
Lacks a little ability with subtle stuff
Verdict: A
beast of a home cinema amplifier: there’s no questioning its power, it’s just
that a little more precision is required at times
Also consider
Pionner SC-LX86/ $1,079.99: 5 stars
A multichannel powerhouse, the
Award-winning SC-LX86 sets the pace at this price point
Pionner
SC-LX86
|
Onkyo
TX-NR1010
§
Price: $1,799.99
§
Website: www.onkyo.com
§
Video scaling: 1080p
§
Weight (kg): 27.5
§
Channel/ power (w): 7x200
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Dimensions (hwd, cm): 22x44x59
§ Rating:
4 stars
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