Considering Onkyo Tx-NR626

johnniekipper

Hi,
I am thinking of buying my first ever AV receiver. I am considering the Onkyo TX-NR626 as this got a very good recomendation in home cinema choice. Is this the best in that price range or is something else better ? I like the wifi/bluetooth capabilites.

What 5.1 speaker set would you recommend ? must be compact.

house is currently being rennovated, is there a special speaker wire I should be putting in the walls ?

Thanks
John

Richersounds.ie: John

John,

Many thanks for the post and apologies for the delay getting back to you - the 626 is really excellent value and if you want Bluetooth and wifi there are very few other options around at this price.(£279.95) however there are several Bluetooth 'Dongles' around now and I wouldnt let the 626 Bluetooth be your main consideration as its inexpensive to add one of these dongles ( like this: http://www.richersounds.com/product/wireless-docks,-speakers-and-portables/qed/uplay/qed-u-play) You could also consider the excellent Denon AVRX2000 at just £2999.95 or possibly evn better the Pioneer VSX923 with a Dongle - the VSX923 is now heavily discounted to £249.95: http://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/pioneer/vsx923/pion-vsx923 - the advantage of the Pioneer and the Denon is that these both have Airplay included as standard - the downside is that they dont have bluetooth and wifi - meaning you are back to dongle city!!

On the Home Cinema pack here are a few recommendations ( based on the Onkyo 626 as your favourite )

Tannoy TFX 5.1- £239.95
http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/tannoy/tfx-5.1/tann-tfx5.1-blk

Wharfedale DX1 - £329.95
http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/wharfedale/dx1-hcp/whar-dx1

The best sounding combo I have heard yet with the Onkyo 626 has to be the new award winning ( and really stunning looking) Q Acoustics Q7000i and we discount the two together if bought as a system to £999.95 - have a look here: http://www.richersounds.com/package/system-savers/home-cinema-separates-bundle-deals/pah011540 and see the What Hifi Award winning review of the QA7000i system here ( reviewed at £900 just for the speaker pack!) http://www.whathifi.com/review/q7000i

We have all of these available from stock and keep us posted if we can assist in any way,

Best regards,

John Mc & Crew 


 

johnniekipper

Hi John

Thanks so much the detailed response. I have a few follow-up queries.

I store my music on a NAS, so I presume the AV can play that if it has wifi ?

I would also like to play the music from iphone, I presume I need the bluetooth for that ?

Will all those receivers handle my 3d blu rays to my 3d tv ?

There is a big price difference between the Tanoy/Wharfadale and the Q accoustics - would I need the difference ?

Is your demo room ready ?

Thanks
John

Richersounds.ie: John

johnniekipper wrote: »

Hi John

Thanks so much the detailed response. I have a few follow-up queries.

I store my music on a NAS, so I presume the AV can play that if it has wifi ?

I would also like to play the music from iphone, I presume I need the bluetooth for that ?

Will all those receivers handle my 3d blu rays to my 3d tv ?

There is a big price difference between the Tanoy/Wharfadale and the Q accoustics - would I need the difference ?

Is your demo room ready ?

Thanks
John

1. No problem playing music from your NAS drive - the AVR does not have to be wifi, but once its connected to the network that will work no problem ( in fact generally we would recommend a wired or internet over mains connection to the router for best performance)

2. iPhone - Bluetooth is the easiest way of squeezing the sounds out of your iPhone to the system, but Airplay is Apple's default streamer ( as featured in the Pioneer or Denon) Bluetooth is great in that it will work with ANY bluetooth enabled device - but its limited to under 10 meters range whilst AIrplay will work anywhere in your wifi network

3. All 3D ready, no problem - make sure you get a decent 3D enabled HDMI lead to patch your BR player to your receiver and then your AVR to the TV - if you are wall mounting your TV and bury a cheapo non-compliant HDMi in the wall it can lead to a world of pain, better to buy a decent branded cable to ensure that this one is decent quality ( doesnt have to cost the earth) I'd stick to the recognised brands for this like Monster, Cambridge or best of all at reasonable money - QED.

4. Each of the 5.1 speaker systems I recommended really is a step up in quality based on their respective qualitys - the QA7000i really is exceptional and it also looks great ( to be fair the Tannoy TFX looks great as well, the Wharfedales are perhaps slightly dumpier looking, but they do sound great!)

The Dem room is always ready and we will happily set up any of these combos for you - if you are coming up, just give us a call to make an appointment and we will have a system set up for you.

Thanks again and keep us posted if we can assist,

John Mc & Crew

 

johnniekipper

Hi John

I am will be there on Thursday afternoon , hopefully around 3.30 to demo all of those if thats ok ?

Thanks
John

Richersounds.ie: Kenny

johnniekipper wrote: »

Hi John

I am will be there on Thursday afternoon , hopefully around 3.30 to demo all of those if thats ok ?

Thanks
John

Hi Johnniekipper.

Just trying to confirm the items you wish to have a Demo of so we can get the appointment in our diary.

There are three amps listed above:
Onkyo 626
Denon AVRX2000
Pioineer VSX923

Also three speaker packs:
Tannoy TFX
Q Acoustics 7000i
Wharfedale DX1

Connecting up 9 systems one after another will be time consuming and might keep you here at our store for sometime. We do have another Demo booked in on the 13th but its not until 5:30pm. That gives us a few hours to get through as much as possible.

We look forward to having you at our store and we can get the coffee on and the demo started. Please bring any music or movies you are familiar and we can use them for the demo.