Anyone heard the Onkyo TX-LR552 Digital Receiver?

intelonetwo · « **on:** 21 Nov 2004, 07:34 am »

In my search for a digital amplifier that suits the majority of my needs, I have run across the Onkyo TX-LR552 which seems to have everything except automatic room calibration.

Has anyone heard it, or know what digital chip technology it uses?

Currently, I have on order the Pioneer Elite EX-500 system, which features a Pioneer Elite VSX-50, and matching DVD player.

Here is the link to Onkyo's website where the unit is displayed.
http://www.onkyousa.com/model.cfm?m=TX-LR552&p=i&class=Receiver

gongos · « **Reply #1 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 08:47 am »

Beware of those crappy binding posts.

intelonetwo · « **Reply #2 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 09:19 pm »

I have been looking at those crappy binding posts, however all of the new digital receivers with exception of the Kenwood units have crappy binding posts, which puts them all in the same league.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #3 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 09:41 pm »

The Panny 30 has better binging posts for the front speakers, but the cheddar ones for the rest...

intelonetwo · « **Reply #4 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 09:47 pm »

At this point, the binding posts arent even an issue only b/c most the digital receivers have cheese for binding posts. We can hope for better as the future of digital receivers advances.

gongos · « **Reply #5 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 10:01 pm »

I don't think this receiver even has binding posts. From the pictures I saw, it looks like those push spring clips.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #6 on:** 21 Nov 2004, 10:43 pm »

You are correct, this Onkyo appears to have the same push clip things as the JVC's, and the Panny for most channels - I know that it bugs audiophools such as ourselves, who already have invested in some form of speaker cable, but for the "set it and forget it" target market for these receivers, I am sure it is fine.

Should give a couple of people the opportunity to try out the Cat5e or Cat6 speaker cables - they will fit in those clips for sure!

intelonetwo · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Nov 2004, 05:56 pm »

Has anyone looked at the THD on this receiver? It is 5%, what gives? It must be b/c it is a proprietary digital amplifier design by Onkyo

. All the other digital technologies are all under 1%. ??

Has anyone seen this? Does anyone know what digital chip technology the Onkyo uses.

_scotty_ · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Nov 2004, 07:35 pm »

This is again a case of building a product with no power supply or a bad design because the company believes that the target portion of the market that this receiver is aimed at cares more about looks and features than they do about how it sounds. The thing may or may not have 40 watts rms with something like acceptable distortion. This is another entry into the bottom of the market utilizing the cheap digital amplifier approach. You always have to remember who they aimed these products at. Because of the cost cutting approach the product maybe unsuitable for high fidelity applications.
As always,Caveat Emptor, Scotty

intelonetwo · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Nov 2004, 03:29 am »

That really sucks to _scotty_ because the Onkyo has all of the features that one would want in a digital unit. OSD, Component I/O, Digital I/O, Video Upconversion, the works, but the unit is pushing terrible distortion.

JnC · « **Reply #10 on:** 2 Dec 2004, 05:55 am »

I have one that I picked up last week open box at CC on a whim. I'll try to answer any questions you have.

First up, it does generate some noise when cranked up. But so far it's difficult to judge or measure. I did a crude measurement by placing a SPL meter on the center channel, setting the receiver to a digital input but without the input source playing. The volume knob ranges from "0" to "80", I believe the relative units are dB's. At a setting of 70, I was barely getting to the threshold of the meter about 52 dB noise floor. At the maximum setting, I was hearing a hiss of about 57 dB. If anyone has a better way to measure this, let me know. I'd like to know if the Panny's generate any noise.

I find that I do most of my TV and movie listening at a setting of "40 to 45". A setting of "40" for CD audio via DVD generates SPL's of around 70 to 78 dB. I don't think I've exceeded "60" when cranked up for music... it's quite loud at that point. You can do the math.

I don't think I want to exceed 60 for the time being. However I do find that I easily get accustomed to the loud volume settings... if there is any THD at these volume levels, it's not tiresome. I only can notice distortion subtleties if I get close to a front channel and pick apart an instrument. From 10ft away, it's much harder to discern.

I'm running Infinity Primus C25 center, Primus 150 f/r, 12" Primus sub. The receiver's crossover does support 60, 80, 100, 120, and 150 Hz settings.

As far as the amplifier chipset, it's still unknown at this point. It does use the same Cirrus Logic chip as the Panny xr70 for DSP and logic processing. The power board section has rather large caps, twice as much than the XR70. However the torroid filters near the power stage heat sinks are not wound as dense nor as abundant as they are on the Panny. Perhaps this is where the published THD creeps in.

Overall, I think it has a bit of a warm sound to it. For a digital amp, it handles analog inputs quite well. On the digital side, there appears to be abundant headroom for sound effects while watching DVD's and the like. It's quite easy to disassemble sound effects from the clarity of the audio.

Regarding OSD, while a spec on Onkyo's website, it is not mentioned in the manual. I didn't see any OSD when I hooked up the composite monitor output. I think this is a misprint.

I'd love to get a XR70 for comparison, but I don't know of availability with a free 30 day return policy. Although I suspect I'd probably wind up keeping the Panny and returning the Onkyo.

Regards,
JnC

intelonetwo · « **Reply #11 on:** 2 Dec 2004, 10:16 pm »

JnC Thanks for the comparision. The torodial filters may well be were the distortion creeps in. However very similar to your situation, I am not able to turn the volume up very loud which would keep distortion to a minimum. The OSD thing is odd, b/c all the ads I have seen for the unit list an OSD thru the component (monitor) output. Weird maybe you have to enable it, or just look in your manual.

If I get a chance this evening I will measure my Pioneer VSX-50 in the same manner you did measuring the Onkyo to see if I can get similar or different readings. I will come back and post my findings.

So far the Pioneer EX-500 combination that I now have now performs very well. Their are not treble or bass controls, however it does do room correction which I guess corrects for proper treble and bass.

If the Onkyo had Onkyo's new room correction which is on the 602, that would be great.