Spent a lot of time researching this purchase, I wanted something that would last as long as my previous Onkyo which was purchased back in 1998. The old one did not have the features a modern unit has, so it was time to upgrade. Listening to Leo Laporte, The Tech Guy, 4K is the future, and HDCP 2.2 copy protection is going to be required to play most of that content. This unit supports that and much more making it ready for the future.
For now, having all the inputs is great; HDMI (front and back, two out), optical and coax audio, and all the other analog connections. Powered zone 2/3 is great, have a Bluetooth transmitter attached to zone 2 and can now have wireless audio outside. Integrated wireless networking with all the built-in apps and the ability to define your own URL's. The UI is much improved, very easy to use. The physical design is very simple with clean lines and just the necessary controls exposed, everything else is nicely covered by the sturdy front flap. It supports phonographs and has the Pure Audio option. I had no problem setting it up; made all the conections and configured all the options intuitively and quickly. Very pleased. The only problems are the DLNA freezes mid-track (probably a Windows problem) and there is no power out connector. For the future, I plan on adding some speakers to my home audio, repurposing the ceiling speakers, and taking advantage of the Dolby Atmos feature.
Something else I like is the way audio and HDMI pass-through is handled. I was concerned about how the HDMI signals would be handled if the unit were turned off. The unit allows you to configure one HDMI input for pass-through to either the main or sub HDMI outputs when the unit is off. Also, the unit automatically picks up the audio when it is on (i.e. does not pass through to TV), but the audio is passed through to the TV when the unit is off (this is configurable as well, but this is how I chose to set things up).
A software upgrade was available once I got it connected to the network. About 10-15 minutes was required for the upgrade, the unit could not be used during the upgrade. Once the upgrade completed, everything worked fine and all the configuration settings remained.
I got everything I wanted and more. Very pleased with the unit.
UPDATE: Another thing I discovered after using the receiver for a while was how to get inputs to work with zone 2. Zone 2 will play the current main input selection no problem. For instance, if you are watching DirecTV using HDMI 1 for input, that audio will stream through zone 2 simultaneously without problem. But, if the main input is switched to another HDMI input, say the blue-ray player, then the DirecTV audio is not available to zone 2 over it's HDMI input; the blue-ray player input is though if that is selected for zone 2. Bummer, what to do? Most all my devices have analog audio outputs that work simultaneously with their HDMI output. So, I just connected every device I could using analog RCA cables to different unused analog inputs on the Onkyo (e.g. Game, TV, PC) and it worked. Now I can listen to pretty much any input on zone 2 while something else is selected on the main input.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Videos
Page 1 of 1Start OverPage 1 of 1
-
Videos for this product
2:31
Click to play video
Onkyo TX-NR838 7.2-Ch Network A/V Receiver w/ HDMI 2.0
Merchant Video
-
Videos for this product
2:29
Click to play video
What is Atmos?
Merchant Video
Reviews with images
Bluetooth beware!
Onkyo fan here. The 838 is the 2nd one I've purchased new. The reason I upgraded to the 838 was for some of the updated features, especially bluetooth connection capabilities. Therein lies the reason I'm writing this review. I've had the receiver over 2 years now and a few months ago noticed something wasn't right with the sound when streaming through the bluetooth. With the Christmas season coming I got terribly busy and didn't have time to check into it... until recently. Let me first say that through numerous parties and gatherings the bluetooth streaming capability was a huge hit. Multiple devices have connected multiple times. This last week my son brought a friend over and was going to show off the system. I was at work. He called and said the bluetooth sounded funny and that the main screen on the receiver "goes black" after 3 seconds once bluetooth has been selected. Long story short, the bluetooth has partially crapped out. When I got home I decided it was time to look into this and indeed the display on the unit goes black, and the sound sounds like garbage. We get sound, but only through the main, front, left and right speakers.... no subs, no center, no surrounds. A huge disappointment as this was THE main reason I decided to upgrade from my old Onkyo in the first place. BTW, all other inputs and selections work and sound as they always have (great!) So I call tech support... of course I'm about 4 months out of warranty. I explain to the guy that this is typical of my luck, however, I am still very interested in getting the unit fixed. "Okay" he says, "what state are you in?" Kansas. "Ohhhhh, the closest regional tech repair place is in Michigan, 10-12 hours away." So, I would have to send the unit in (how much do you think it would cost to send this beast UPS 800 miles!?)... PLUS.... $80 just to check it out, THEN wait to hear from them so they can tell me how much it would be to fix it.... no way to know that cost (which again, knowing my luck it would be hundreds of dollars). So, here it sits with a built-in bluetooth feature this is busted. I do have a work around, though it means extra wires and a few more dollars invested. I bought a bluetooth receiver and plugged it into the rca AUX input on the front of the unit. The sound seems every bit as good as I remember the units bluetooth sounding and at least my family and I can continue to stream our favorite musical content. I'm just disappointed this $1000 unit didn't make it 2 years without a major hiccup. Still an Onkyo fan, but am now cautious and will be paying attention to see if others have issues. As a note, the tech on the phone said this was the first he'd heard of an issue exactly like mine. Just my luck.
