Everyone wants that audio experience to pack a little emotion. Onkyo wants to make that an everyday option. In fact, they're making it a company mission.
Onkyo just announced its new "Emotion Delivered" slogan, which is designed to convey the company's amplification philosophy. The cornerstone of this new concept is high current. This promises to deliver the ultimate speaker control, accuracy, and musical audio reproduction. Onkyo also says that its products can handle all of the impedance fluctuations and dynamic changes that you typically get with today's movie soundtracks.
Now that the company has a new slogan, it's time for them to demonstrate it. Onkyo will soon release the TX-NR737 and the TX-NR838, two new AV receivers that combine THX Ultra2 Plus certification with the latest in 4K/60Hz and HDCP 2.2-compliant video and wireless hi-res audio connectivity.
Because both receivers have the THX seal of approval, it means that both have been through over 2000 laboratory bench tests. The end result promises a near-theater experience, with audio soundtracks reproduced exactly as the director intended.
Each AVR has Wide Range Amplifier Technology (WRAT), with a custom high-output transformer, customized capacitors, and low impedance copper bus-plates. Other features include Three-Stage Inverted Darlington Circuitry amplification, dual Digital Signal Processing (DSP) engines, 192kHz/24-bit Burr Brown D/A conversion, and AccuEQ room calibration.
Designed to be the cornerstone of any home theater, each of these components has seven HDMI inputs and two outputs. One of those input options is located on the front panel, with MHL support. That same input and four of the ones on the back can support Ultra HD video at 60 frames per second. HDMI input number three and the main output also includes the aforementioned HDCP 2.2 compatibility, which allows each receiver to play copy-protected Ultra HD media and other streaming, broadcast, or physical video content.
Also worth noting is that the additional HDMI output on the TX-NR737 is designed for hooking up a projector, while the TX-NR838 has 7.2 multichannel pre-outs, five digital audio inputs, and a 12-volt trigger-out for a second zone.
One of the other options to help set the TX-NR838 apart from the pack is a Pure Analog Path mode, which can physically shut down all of the digital circuitry in the receiver. This will allow signals to pass directly from the phono or analog audio outputs, without any electrical interference. This also means that this AVR can double as a pure-analog power amp for a turntable, an SACD player, or a Blu-ray player.
Both of the new AVRs have built-in Wi-Fi and DLNA support for streaming high-res audio. Onkyo lists 5.6 MHz DSD, Dolby TrueHD, and gapless 192kHz/24-bit FLAC and WAV as supported file formats. Users can also stream music wirelessly to the receiver via Wi-Fi or each receiver's Bluetooth 2.1 +EDR. Both options can even support streaming music services, such as Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM, Slacker, AUPEO!, and TuneIn Radio. (Just FYI: Subscriptions and/or fees may apply for those added services.)
Onkyo has also packed each of these receivers with Qdeo upscaling, InstaPrevue Technology, and support for the company's free remote app.
Look for the TX-NR737 and the TX-NR838 to start selling sometime in May with prices of $899 and $1199, respectively.
Where to Buy:
