Onkyo TX-8050 Network Stereo Receiver

[Nikhil]

Its been a long time since my last visit to the forum. Great to see the community active and in full force.

I'm planning to drop some moollah for a mostly stereo setup in my apartment living room. It seems logical to go for a network receiver that handles all the usual requirements of media these days. The CD player is almost dead if not soon to be extinct. I'm also a little partial to Onkyo despite the barrage of Denon/Marrantz info being sent my way. Why? I think the Onkyo's high current approach works beautifully with a wide range of speakers.

After having a look around I'm planning to go for an Onkyo TX-8050 Network Stereo Receiver + Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 Floorstanders.

Price for the Onkyo TX-8050 Rs 39,000 retail
- price is subject to negotiation
Price for the Wharfedale Diamond 9.5s Rs 30,000
- free Monster Cable thrown in to sweeten the deal.
- need info on this price as it seems high for an older model speaker :sos:

I have managed to schedule an audition for the Onkyo receiver on Friday but they would like to push their own SKF 4800s. I'm hoping that the receiver sound when I go over later this week.

Would be nice to have some feedback from you all. Thanks in advance!

 

[varthurravi]

TX-8050 sells for rougly around Rs. 13.5K (260.0 USD) on Amazon.com.
What a pity, here it costs almost 3x. I was also considering this model, but looking at the price you have mentioned for this model, I think I will have to drop it.

Anyway, do keep us updated about SQ if you decide to go for it.

 

[Nikhil]

After having asked for an audition of the TX 8050 at the Hyderabad Onkyo Service Centre, I went over with the wife on Monday last week. Our basic expectations were that it should be a decent Stereo setup with all the necessary network connection capabilities. Having looked up several reviews online I had a pretty good idea what the TX 8050 was capable of.

The Onkyo guys setup the TX 8050 with the SKF-4800. We handed over an old Hall & Oats (yeah we're old school) CD to get things started. I immediately knew the SKF 4800s were not for us and one look at the wife confirmed my suspicions. Sound was not bad but was not up to what we were tuned into ie the Wharfedale Diamond 9.5s. Still I wanted to be fair and give the setup a fair chance. Switched the CD to Journey and started off with "Who's Crying Now". The amp needed to be played around 40 -45 before you could get any real power into the vocals. However the speakers still didn't really have what we wanted and we decided to just try out the different features of the amp and see how things sounded with our regular home electronics - my iPad & portable Hard Disk and my wife's iPhone.

We were in for some surprises. We first tried connecting the iPad to the amp via the Headphone out and into the CD input on the amp. The sound was dead. I was stunned at how much the drop off was. Changing to the Phono input made no difference and we were really deflated with the whole thing. We switched to the iPhone to see if things could improve but there was nothing. We were really in trouble. Whats the point of network amp if we can't get it to sound right here itself. The Onkyo guys scurried to bring in an iPod dock which they gathered was the better way to connect. It was a little better but still not what the amp sounded like when connected to the CD player earlier. After a little discussion we got hold of an iPad USB cable and that was it! Unbelievable that the best way to get your iPad/iPhone music into the amp is via the USB port in the front of the TX 8050. After that we knew that amp had what was needed to drive the speakers of our choice.

We spent a good hour and a half at the Onkyo Service Centre and Srinivas and his guys were more than helpful at the audition. Their job is to sell mostly HT setups through their dealer network so dealing with a stereo enthusiast like me was not really their strong suite. Still they were honest and enthusiastic about the audition and I would say they are good guys. If you need to contact them for an Onkyo setup PM me for the contact info.

Considering that the amp was brought to Hyderabad on my request and the quality time they spent in helping us with the audition I wasn't going to push them too much on price. Srinivas gave me a price of Rs 35k all inclusive including help with setup at home if needed. I was considering receivers in the 25K-30K range so we ended up paying about 5K more for the wireless/network features of the TX 8050 plus service support. I suppose you can do better but I wasn't going to push the Onkyo guys too much. I was happy with their service.


TX-8050 Network Stereo Receiver

I'm sure you guys can google all that you need to know about the amp. Its a solid network device that does all I need from it. My next step was to audition a decent speaker to match the amp. I've also not mentioned much about the Network features but that wasn't what I was looking for at this audition. I will write more about that in my next post.

Here are the specs straight off the Onkyo India site:

ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

AMPLIFIER PROCESSING AND CONNECTIVITY FEATURES

Power Output (8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC) : 80 W/Ch
Dynamic Power* : 160 W/Ch (@4 ohms) ** Product Brochure says @ 6 ohms)
THD + Noise : 0.08 % (20hz-20kHz, Half power)
Frequency Response : 5 Hz-100 kHz (+ 1 dB, -3 dB)
Phono(MM) : 80 dB (IHF-A)
CD-Tape : 106 dB (IHF-A)
Phono Overload (1 kHz) : 60 mV (MM, 1kHz, 0.5%)


Product Features

Power Output (Stereo at 8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC) : 80W/Ch
Dynamic Power** (4 ohm) : 160 W/Ch
Video Input/Output Terminals : 4/2
Audio Input/Output Terminals : 6/2
Internet Radio Capable : (vTuner, Last.fm, SIRIUS XM Internet)
Number of Presets : 40
USB Input : (works with iPod/iPhone)
DS-A1 Compatible : (via U-port)

General Specications

Dimensions (W x H x D) : 17 1/8" x 5 7/8" x 12 15/16" (435 x 149.5 x 328 mm)
Dimensions (W x H x D) : 17 1/8" x 5 7/8" x 12 15/16" (435 x 149.5 x 328 mm)
Weight : 19 lbs. (8.6 kg)

 

[anm]

does it have airplay? then you can stream directly from your device without any wire.

 

[anm]

I would have suggested an appletv over networking features of the amp itself.

 

[varthurravi]

Nikhil,

Apart from the network capability, how does it compare with a lesser/similar priced popular stereo amps like Marantz, NAD, CA, etc (with or without Network capability) in terms of sound quality?
Just curious to hear your comments on this, if you got a chance to compare!

 

[dhiralj]

Hi guys, I'm new to this thread and to India. I'm from Portugal, Europe and have only been in india for 3 months.

I'm a sound lover but never had a decent complete system.

Also going for a stereo setup and looking into the same Onkyo Tx-8050.

I was thinking of ordering the same from Amazon.com or the Onlyo Tx-8030 from Amazon.de . I'm comparing the amp with a Harmon Kardon Hk-3390, what do you guys think?

Is it same to order from Amazon? I already ordered my plate and pot from the USA last week and it arrived in 4days and custom, shipping, etc all included. It was all delivered by DHL/Blue Dart. I was very impressed with the speed and quality of service but I'm ad 10 year old Amazon client and never had and problems with them.

Meanwhile, I'm also very interested in pairing the amp with the Wharfedale Diamond 10.4 towers. I'm comparing these with the Boston Acoustics A250 from HIFIMART.com from Mumbai. Any views? Any other deals I should know about? I always loved Wharfedales but i'm open to ideas.

Thanks guys, Dhiral

 

[Nikhil]

Nikhil,

Apart from the network capability, how does it compare with a lesser/similar priced popular stereo amps like Marantz, NAD, CA, etc (with or without Network capability) in terms of sound quality?
Just curious to hear your comments on this, if you got a chance to compare!

varthuravi, I heard the Onkyo TX 8050 compared with a NAD in Bombay during my speaker audition at Lakhozy. The NAD sounds more musical to some and has a little more punch to drive maybe a larger speaker. However, the Network capability is a huge reason I picked up the TX 8050. If you take out the network capability the cost would be about 5K- 10K cheaper as well.

Marantz to me a is a glorified Denon. Consider a Denon instead and you may get something a little cheaper for very comparable sound (they're built with the same/similar DACs etc). They are still very good amps and I think people have to just choose what they like. I have no experience with CA.

 

[Nikhil]

does it have airplay? then you can stream directly from your device without any wire.

Yes it connects wireless(ly) to your router. Very good feature set here specially when you have all your media stored on a computer or media server.

I would have suggested an appletv over networking features of the amp itself.

AppleTV is great and I'm already getting one. Still there's a little more to it. Will cover it when I'm getting one with my setup. There are some apps as well which make the iPad a virtual media control centre.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Nikhil]

Meanwhile, I'm also very interested in pairing the amp with the Wharfedale Diamond 10.4 towers. I'm comparing these with the Boston Acoustics A250 from HIFIMART.com from Mumbai. Any views? Any other deals I should know about? I always loved Wharfedales but i'm open to ideas.

Thanks guys, Dhiral

Dhiral, the amp is in my opinion very well matched with the Diamond 10.4 or even the 10.5 for that matter. Speakers are rated at 130 W @ 6 ohms and Amp is rated at 160 W at 6 ohms so the TX 8050 will drive these speakers very well. I like this combination very much.

 

[Nikhil]

We were in Bombay last week and my wife walked into Lakhozy Electronics on Thursday to check out some speakers (preferably Wharfedale Diamonds). I think she made a good impression on Harsh and Priyesh over there because she spent about 2 hours chatting and listening to what they had to say. I have to say they're really nice guys and it was nice to meet with them later.

To make a long story short Lakhozy is a PSB/NAD distributor so they ended up auditioning the PSB Image T5 Towers for us. They also have the Onkyo line in their portfolio so they hooked up a TX 8050 for us and it was smooth sailing after that. The PSB Image T5s are really in a different class than the Wharfedales and my wife had fallen for them so all I really was doing was to check if they matched my taste. I also reasoned that heck we already have the Diamond 9s so might as well hear something different this time. I do plan to connect the Diamonds to the TX 8050 to see how they compare eventually.

I used Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms" to check out the PSBs and immediately the highs leaped out of these speakers. Amazing mid range and highs were apparent straight away. The only real issue if any was a slight lacking in the bass or low end. Not much but not a serious problem either. The speakers were great and very neutral. I also auditioned the next up Imagine T-Towers. Great speakers but I could not hear that much difference between the Imagines and the Images (definitely not double the price worth at least). I felt the Images did more than enough for what we were looking for.

We also auditioned the Imagine Minis which were jaw dropping. I have never heard a bookshelf with this much sound stage as the Minis and I was ready to pick them up and pair them with a sub woofer if needed. They were that good. My wife was set on the Imagine T5s though and that was the only reason I did not take them. I was that close because these are that good and sound that big.

Price from Lakhozy for PSB Image T5 Towers: Rs 53,000/-
Delivery to Hyderabad by air

PSB Image T5 Towers:

We had a lot of fun listening to some of the high end gear at Lakhozy which I have to thank Harsh for his patience with us. Among those we listened to were a pair of Revels, a pair of sweet sounding Zingali Zeros and a monster pair of Harman Everest DD66000 which we were really lucky to have a chance to hear. We also checked out some of their pro gear like D&B audiotechnik which was awesome. I have to say Harsh and Priyesh were more than accommodating and we enjoyed our time with all at Lakhozy. Great guys who really love what they do.

 

[Nikhil]

The speakers arrived on Tuesday by courier from Bombay and we set them up as soon as we could. Hooked up PSBs to the TX 8050 amp with SUPRA 2.5 Classic speaker cables. Cables were thrown in free of charge from Lakozy. I connected them bare wire to the amp and speaker posts.

The TX 8050 takes the iPad USB cable straight into the front USB port. Not needing anything else we've been burning in the speakers since Tuesday evening. We were playing some of our standard mp3 downloads and we could immediately hear the downgraded sound. Switching to some higher quality mp3s and the speakers got going with their characteristic clear highs and mids. After connecting to a friends Disk Station via the incredible DS Audio app we started playing some FLAC files which were to say the least just amazing. Its unbelievable whats possible these days. Streaming the media over our home 2 Mbps connection was a piece of cake. Still not using the amps built in network capabilities but still amazing when you combine the receiver with an iPad. I will also be installing the O Remote app which will be a lot of fun.

The setup renders a reasonably honest sound in that bad media will be exposed as had happened to us. We were fine with our music on the PC and iPad/Phone but playing it through the TX 8050 and Image T5s clearly made us want to change our media quality. We've been playing the setup for a few days and the speakers have settled in quite nicely. You have to turn the volume up to 40-45 levels to get room filling sound. We've been burning in the setup at about 30-35 level but really at that level the music doesn't have much weight behind it.

As I write we're listening to Queen and Freddie Mercury is giving the speakers all they can handle. "Who Wants to Live Forever" more than adequately pushes the tweeter and mid range drivers to their limits. Brian Mays guitar sounds warm and smooth as Freddie voice takes the drivers thru the entire frequency range in a hurry. I'm definitely enjoying this. Fans of bass may find the Image T5 setup lacking but its only a preference. If I get the feeling I might add a sub to the setup to beef up the bass a little bit.

Pictures and more to follow ... thanks for following this so far!

 

[Nikhil]

Its been 10 days since we got this setup and the speakers have settled in well. Week 2 into the burn in and the Image T5s have really started to find their voice. A couple of changes have been made to the setup and I can say that I am really pleased with the sound. Folks the TX 8050 is the real deal. Very good options for the new networked household.

Last week our Sony CD storage was on the blink. Got it going two days back and the sound when using the CD source had more "weight" behind it. Earlier the sound was restrained to some extent over the wifi. I assumed this was mainly due to the speaker drivers still being a little taut. Whatever it is, after using the CD source, the base has come alive and we're getting "room filling" sound with a lot more definition in the lower ranges.

This got me looking up the source signal to the amp. Apparently there was some loss over the wireless so I tweaked the incoming signal +5dB using the "IntelliVolume" feature which allows you to set the input level for each source. This fixed the sound very nicely.

I also picked up the Onkyo UWF-1 Wireless LAN Adapter (Rs 2,500) which allows you to connect to your wifi network. I haven't checked connecting to any of the internet radio sites but connecting to my PC was pretty straight forward. DLNA support is very smooth and you can play your music via Media Player 12 on your Windows 7 machine. Media Player 11 on Win Xp/Vista is also supported. Enable Music Streaming on the Stream menu in Media Player 12. Thats all thats needed to setup your media server on a Windows 7 machine. Supported file formats are MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, WAV, AAC, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and LPCM.

A router with 100 Base TX switch is recommended and mine connected to my Airtel Wireless modem/router without a hitch. I have my wifi router running WPA2 which the TX 8050 connects with smoothly. The connections (Initializing ...) takes a couple of seconds when you switch to "NET" as the source. Here again setting up your input signal with the "IntelliVolume" setting fixes a little drop off in signal.

I recommend the O Remote app which you can get on iTunes if you have an iPad/iTouch/iPhone device. The app gives you a great interface to control your entire home entertainment system. Multiple setups just need to use an Airport Express to connect and you will have a great multi room setup. There's a lot you can do with iTunes Home Sharing over AirPlay - you can transfer music, movies, and TV shows among up to five authorized computers in your home.

Hope you found this interesting.

 

[Audioholiq]

Hi Nikhil.

Thank you for all your thoughts on TX-8050.

I'm Anil from Cochin. I am also willing to buy this. Please let me know from where I can get a negotiable rate for this model. The last price offered for this model is 38K in Kerala. Still can we get this for 30K or less anywhere in India. Ebay offers but I guess they are 120V/60Hz version. do you have any know how about this. What will be the quality of goods purchased from Ebay/Amazon? Are they refurbished one's?

Please let me know the contact details of the Onkyo supplier who can sell for a cheap rate. Could you please email the details to [email protected]

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Anil
Cochin|Kerala
Mob : 09400466699

After having asked for an audition of the TX 8050 at the Hyderabad Onkyo Service Centre, I went over with the wife on Monday last week. Our basic expectations were that it should be a decent Stereo setup with all the necessary network connection capabilities. Having looked up several reviews online I had a pretty good idea what the TX 8050 was capable of.

The Onkyo guys setup the TX 8050 with the SKF-4800. We handed over an old Hall & Oats (yeah we're old school) CD to get things started. I immediately knew the SKF 4800s were not for us and one look at the wife confirmed my suspicions. Sound was not bad but was not up to what we were tuned into ie the Wharfedale Diamond 9.5s. Still I wanted to be fair and give the setup a fair chance. Switched the CD to Journey and started off with "Who's Crying Now". The amp needed to be played around 40 -45 before you could get any real power into the vocals. However the speakers still didn't really have what we wanted and we decided to just try out the different features of the amp and see how things sounded with our regular home electronics - my iPad & portable Hard Disk and my wife's iPhone.

We were in for some surprises. We first tried connecting the iPad to the amp via the Headphone out and into the CD input on the amp. The sound was dead. I was stunned at how much the drop off was. Changing to the Phono input made no difference and we were really deflated with the whole thing. We switched to the iPhone to see if things could improve but there was nothing. We were really in trouble. Whats the point of network amp if we can't get it to sound right here itself. The Onkyo guys scurried to bring in an iPod dock which they gathered was the better way to connect. It was a little better but still not what the amp sounded like when connected to the CD player earlier. After a little discussion we got hold of an iPad USB cable and that was it! Unbelievable that the best way to get your iPad/iPhone music into the amp is via the USB port in the front of the TX 8050. After that we knew that amp had what was needed to drive the speakers of our choice.

We spent a good hour and a half at the Onkyo Service Centre and Srinivas and his guys were more than helpful at the audition. Their job is to sell mostly HT setups through their dealer network so dealing with a stereo enthusiast like me was not really their strong suite. Still they were honest and enthusiastic about the audition and I would say they are good guys. If you need to contact them for an Onkyo setup PM me for the contact info.

Considering that the amp was brought to Hyderabad on my request and the quality time they spent in helping us with the audition I wasn't going to push them too much on price. Srinivas gave me a price of Rs 35k all inclusive including help with setup at home if needed. I was considering receivers in the 25K-30K range so we ended up paying about 5K more for the wireless/network features of the TX 8050 plus service support. I suppose you can do better but I wasn't going to push the Onkyo guys too much. I was happy with their service.


TX-8050 Network Stereo Receiver

I'm sure you guys can google all that you need to know about the amp. Its a solid network device that does all I need from it. My next step was to audition a decent speaker to match the amp. I've also not mentioned much about the Network features but that wasn't what I was looking for at this audition. I will write more about that in my next post.

Here are the specs straight off the Onkyo India site:

ONKYO SIGHT & SOUND - INDIA

AMPLIFIER PROCESSING AND CONNECTIVITY FEATURES

Power Output (8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC) : 80 W/Ch
Dynamic Power* : 160 W/Ch (@4 ohms) ** Product Brochure says @ 6 ohms)
THD + Noise : 0.08 % (20hz-20kHz, Half power)
Frequency Response : 5 Hz-100 kHz (+ 1 dB, -3 dB)
Phono(MM) : 80 dB (IHF-A)
CD-Tape : 106 dB (IHF-A)
Phono Overload (1 kHz) : 60 mV (MM, 1kHz, 0.5%)


Product Features

Power Output (Stereo at 8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC) : 80W/Ch
Dynamic Power** (4 ohm) : 160 W/Ch
Video Input/Output Terminals : 4/2
Audio Input/Output Terminals : 6/2
Internet Radio Capable : (vTuner, Last.fm, SIRIUS XM Internet)
Number of Presets : 40
USB Input : (works with iPod/iPhone)
DS-A1 Compatible : (via U-port)

General Specications

Dimensions (W x H x D) : 17 1/8" x 5 7/8" x 12 15/16" (435 x 149.5 x 328 mm)
Dimensions (W x H x D) : 17 1/8" x 5 7/8" x 12 15/16" (435 x 149.5 x 328 mm)
Weight : 19 lbs. (8.6 kg)

 

[Audioholiq]

WANTED: Onkyo TX-8050 Network Stereo Receiver

Hi Guys.

Please let me know from where I can buy Onkyo TX-8050 in negotiable rates,
I wish to purchase the same soon.

Please revert to my email or call 09400466699 - Cochin/Kerala

Thanks

Anil
email: [email protected]

 

[pannags]

Hope you found this interesting.

Hey Nikhil, many thanks for a brilliantly written review. I have an Onkyo TX-SR608 and use it with a pair of Wharfe 9.2s, mostly for music. Having learnt the nuances better, I'm planning to pick up a TX-8050 and pair it with a Diamond 220s, for my in-laws.

The availability of the 8050 is a concern though. I apparently need to place the order and wait a good 4 weeks for delivery. The current best selling price is 27k.

Hope to get my hands on the amp soon.

 

[pannags]

TX-8050 sells for rougly around Rs. 13.5K (260.0 USD) on Amazon.com.
What a pity, here it costs almost 3x. I was also considering this model, but looking at the price you have mentioned for this model, I think I will have to drop it.

The availability of the 8050 is a concern though. I apparently need to place the order and wait a good 4 weeks for delivery. The current best selling price is 27k.

I just got an update from the dealer that the price has been revised to 45k!!! Oh yes! It retails for ~ 17k INR in the US.

With that, I officially bade goodbye to Onkyo. They seem bent on not wanting to do sales in the India region.

 

[Nikhil]

I just got an update from the dealer that the price has been revised to 45k!!! Oh yes! It retails for ~ 17k INR in the US.

With that, I officially bade goodbye to Onkyo. They seem bent on not wanting to do sales in the India region.

On checking online I can see it listed for US$300 in the US.
Landed that should be approx Rs 30K incl duties etc.
However prices are always very reasonable in the US.

Prices in India will tend to be higher due to higher local costs and low volumes.

 

[pannags]

On checking online I can see it listed for US$300 in the US. Landed that should be approx Rs 30K incl duties etc.
However prices are always very reasonable in the US.
Prices in India will tend to be higher due to higher local costs and low volumes.

You're right. The advert I saw from a google search is for a refurbished piece.

(ONKYO TX-8050 80watts x 2ch Network Stereo Receiver | Accessories4less)

I guess volumes do influence pricing quite steeply! The Onkyo 608 I picked up in 2011 cost INR 45000 vs ~ INR 25-30000, say, in the US.

OTOH, I wonder how the likes of Cambridge Audio keep the difference in pricing across geographies considerably low