Onkyo TX-RZ50 Smart 9.2-Channel THX Certified Network AV Receiver BLACK

The new RZ-50 arrived yesterday. Well packed, secure, and wrapped in shrink wrap. No issues on packing. This is one killer receiver. It has SO many bells and whistles that you could spend all your time adjusting the outputs. I didn't. I SKIPPED DIRAC LIVE ENTIRELY. And I'm glad I did. I would HIGHLY recommend SKIPPING it in setup. I had read reports from some users about “thermal shutdown” issues during room calibration, so I chose to skip Dirac Live. Audyssey MultEQ was actually better. Denon still uses this room calibration. I bought all new 8K high quality HDMI cables, and it made a difference. Using a 55" LG 4K TV on the wall. I just set up my speakers to 7.1 and I have two SVS PB3000 Subs. Adjusted the speaker volumes manually...(very easy). I can say that by doing this, it was all I NEEDED to get this puppy to perform. This is an upgrade from the TX-NR818 which was a great receiver until it really screwed up and wouldn't send DTS signal anymore - I think the chip failed (common issue). There is definitely more volume now from my Monolith 7 channel amp (what a HEAVY monster !!). 200 watts PER EACH channel, and you don't have to push the Onkyo hard at all. Whereas I used to run the old NR818 at reference levels around 82 volume - I only have to go to 75 for the same volume on the RZ-50. Definitely reference quality. So this new Onkyo is definitely not working hard. The THX music setting is very good. The SVS Subwoofer APP is a bit lacking. It doesn't identify the PB3000's anymore, but identifies some other SVS sub model (strange). It still works good though - I can adjust each sub still. I don't know what's up there. I would recommend this new Onkyo. It is rated at 120 watts per channel under the manufacturer’s specified test conditions, which is probably good for most people. (Look for the power rating PER CHANNEL - it is not 250 PER CHANNEL.) I prefer to power the speakers with the Monolith and use the Onkyo RZ-50 as a pre amp. I am running a mix of Martin Logan Motion and SVS speakers in this setup. I'm quite content the way it is now. I would definitely recommend a separate power amp though if you're going to push the volume to reference levels. It sounds great. SACD and DVD-AUDIO are excellent through the OPPO. Once the OPPO dies, I will go with the Magnetar UDP900 MKII 4K UHD Blu-ray Player. The RZ-50 has been out since around 2021 and still seems to be a high end receiver. I bought this receiver for the PRE OUTS, so I could use a bigger amplifier. Easy connections to the Monolith. Aside from the Dirac Live being a dud........this is a great upgrade in receivers. Highly recommend it as an upgrade and for the ability to use it as a pre amp. I probably could have gone with the RZ-30 that has pre outs, but for the small difference in price, I went with the RZ-50 and don't regret it.

I think the TX-RZ50 is still a good deal. I notice that there is not much up-mixing capabilities with this AV receiver in comparison from previous model or even the Old 9 and 11 channel NR model. The OSD display is not even close to the detail and quality of the old RZ and NR model...but RZ50 has all the latest tech and DIRAC :)