Onkyo TX-NR6100 AV receiver review

The TX-NR6100 has a characteristic checklist that seems designed to cowl each base anybody shopping for a £799 AV receiver may want for, from Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding by means of to an MM phono enter and DAB. 
However, actually, I would not anticipate something much less from Onkyo.

AV fans of a sure classic could have fond reminiscences of the Japanese marque, because it actually appeared to seize maintain of the AV receiver market within the Nineties and 2000s courtesy of a sequence of fashions that launched concepts and codecs – corresponding to THX certification and Dolby TrueHD decoding – earlier than you knew you even wished them. Added to this, the worth factors of its AVRs, from price range to flagship, have been at all times enticing.

On the finish of the 2010s, nevertheless, the wheels got here 
off the Onkyo practice, as varied company strikes – coupled to adjustments within the client electronics market – noticed it 
stop UK distribution. It is solely this yr, due to a brand new possession construction (the corporate, together with the Pioneer AV division it is owned since 2015, is now below the umbrella of the Premium Audio Firm, additionally the house 
of manufacturers together with Klipsch and Jamo), that it is returned to the UK. And within the case of the TX-NR6100 receiver, its comeback appears to seek out it in business-as-usual mode. Okay, there’s a lot about this AVR that is new over the past Onkyo mannequin we auditioned, however the fundamental ethos hasn’t modified. The NR6100 needs to be high-value AV.

The THX issue
The essential specification is that it is a seven-channel receiver, with THX Choose certification and amplification rated 
at 165W per channel. The THX badge marks it down 
as assembly the organisation’s standards for a mid-sized 
room (there aren’t any THX Compact receivers, nor THX Dominus for that matter), and brings with it a set 
of options, together with a trio of THX listening modes, and a few bespoke instruments, corresponding to Loudness Plus, designed to keep up an efficient steadiness between LCR and encompass channel information at low listening ranges.

The rated energy output naturally raises eyebrows on a £799 receiver, so it is price remembering that Onkyo chooses to measure a single channel, with a 1kHz sign, into 
a 6ohm load with a THD of 1%. 
A much more modest output can 
be anticipated in a real-word listening situation, which on this case will usually imply a 5.1.2-channel or 7.1-channel configuration. There is not any choice to increase the soundfield to 9 channels through exterior amplification. For that you just’d have to look greater up the model ladder to the TX-NR7100 (£999).

This new mannequin’s styling is paying homage to Onkyo’s receivers of the late 2010s, all purposeful proper angles 
and front-panel controls on full show. These embody a set of considerably old-school treble/bass/vocal tone controls, plus Film/TV, Sport and Music listening preset keys along with no fewer than 12 supply choose buttons, the latter excellent news for these bored with spinning a rotary dial to seek out the enter they need.

Above this row of supply buttons is a big, green-lit textual content show, which is conventional in the best way it exhibits the chosen supply, sound format, operational audio system, and so forth, and is switched off when the amp is put into Pure Audio mode.

The part on listening modes within the TX-NR6100’s guide runs to fifteen pages, not least as a result of these blanket Film, Music, Video games choices cover quite a few sub-divisions. On supply are Orchestra, Unplugged, Sport-Sports activities, and so forth, all imparting – not at all times agreeable – DSP. 
Maybe of extra curiosity is the amp’s Stereo Assign mode, which switches two-channel playback from the entrance L/R audio system to peak, encompass or rear pairs.

The receiver’s six HDMI inputs are break up between ‘8K’ (v2.1) and ‘4K’ trios

App or zap?
There is a distant management provided with the TX-NR6100 
for day-to-day operation, and it is a light-weight, rubber-keyed affair that is good for switching inputs, adjusting quantity and getting into the amp’s onscreen menus. It is not probably the most intuitive zapper round, so will take some getting used to, and Onkyo’s Fast Settings button would ideally overlay its changes on the TV/projector picture, relatively than have them showing on the amp’s entrance panel.

Slicker operation of fundamental performance may be achieved through the Onkyo AV controller app, free for iOS and Android units, however most important setup is thru the onscreen menus. 
An odd wrinkle with the amp is the Net consumer interface, which – in case you comply with the directions within the guide 
– provides entry to instruments regards community setup. Nevertheless, 
Onkyo identified to me that 
by logging in as a ‘ciuser’ it opens 
up the total set of changes. 
So, perhaps, point out that within the guide subsequent time?

The TX-NR6100, as a result of it is 2023, additionally gives voice management by means of related Amazon Alexa or Google good audio system. These methods are all a part of what Onkyo describes as its ‘Sensible AV receiver’ tech. Put merely, this implies the receiver is not tied into one platform, a la MusicCast or HEOS, however makes use of DTS Play-Fi, Chromecast (enabling community setup through the Google Residence app, 
which is helpful), AirPlay, two-way Bluetooth and different techniques to cowl off streaming music wants. In the meantime, for hi-res audio lovers, the amp will playback DSD to DSD256, and PCM audio to 192kHz/24-bit, over a community or USB connection.

Wired connectivity consists of coaxial and optical digital audio, twin subwoofer pre-outs, a quartet of stereo analogue audio inputs (plus the aforementioned MM phono) and six-in, two-out HDMI. Three of those HDMI inputs can move 4K/120 and 8K/60 video, and ship the VRR and ALLM gaming options from appropriate gear.
Calibration is thru Onkyo’s easy to make use of AccuEQ system, with a provided puck-shaped microphone. 
There’s not one of the complexity or in-depth tweakery of Dirac right here, not the Audyssey-style choice of including extra performance through a paid-for app. You simply plug within the mic, run the check tones, and the amp does its factor. And most patrons at this value level will probably be proud of that – this ease of use is extra a characteristic than a bug.

As soon as up and operating, and with first a Polk Monitor XT Atmos system after which KEF’s R Sequence Meta audio system in tow, it did not take me lengthy to note Onkyo’s receiver is kind of warm-running (as lots of its earlier fashions was), so giving its chassis good respiration room is advisable.

Decide a preset
For stereo music playback – a helpful option to get a measure of a receiver’s inherent sound – the Pure Audio or Direct modes are the purist choices, with subjectively no apparent distinction between the 2. Apparently, the assorted music modes for multichannel playout are largely subtly totally different relatively than exaggerated – for instance, Orchestra and Unplugged are flip-a-coin comparable.

Spinning a choice of tunes, from Rod Stewart’s Seventies hit ‘Younger Turks’ to the languid jazz-tinged blues of Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown’s ‘Generally I Slip’, discovered the Onkyo amp placing in an honest music efficiency for an AVR at this value. The brass devices and gently distorted guitar on the latter sounded smoother and extra tonally nuanced than I would been anticipating. However it does grow to be clear that the amp channels battle to dig deep into bass components, usually coming throughout a bit ‘one-note’ relatively than wealthy and supple. As 
I usually do with a multichannel receiver, I discovered listening 
in All-Channel Stereo mode to be a pleasant compromise.

This absent final ounce of bass element with two-channel music turns into much less essential with the TX-NR6100’s multichannel efficiency, the place there is a subwoofer taking on numerous the slack. And with Quick and Livid 8 
(4K Blu-ray) and a 5.1.2 setup, the amplifier exhibits off a well-etched encompass area and a fast, forceful sensibility with Foley results. Throughout the clown automotive race by means of the streets of Havana within the opening act, automotive engine sounds are thrown left and proper, motorbikes wheel out and in, and the clanking, gritty element of Dom’s automotive falling aside piece by piece is properly separated from the underlying soundtrack.

There is a feeling that all of it sounds a bit secure at a low/reasonable quantity, however in case you wind up the extent the sound unfurls, the amp taking up a extra aggressive nature.

With a 5.1 speaker setup, Dolby’s Top Virtualizer 
and DTS’s Digital X processing modes are designed as 
sonic saviours, however the try at recreating a 3D sound expertise from a 2D system at all times appears a bit disjointed. The true deal is best. When Dom’s flipping automotive on the finish of the Havana race is tracked because it flies by means of the air, the arc of the sound design is properly conveyed.

Ice, ice child
For the remainder of the film, the TX-NR6100 turns in an all-action efficiency. Gunshots, punches, crashing automobiles, explosions, flying submarines – every part appears to be approached with glee, the receiver showcasing pleasing dynamics (albeit not unburstable energy). It has the power to go away you feeling each suitably battered by film results but in addition impressed by a soundtrack’s smaller particulars, such because the sound of spraying snow as Dom’s Dodge Charger races throughout the ice in Quick & Livid 8.

Whereas its mid-range can discover loads of tonal distinction 
in movie scores, and dialogue is not swamped in hectic soundmixes, I did discover this receiver faltering a bit of with components of the soundtrack to Prey (Disney+) the place it struggled to remain clean with a number of the devices, together with the piano. On the identical time, it had no bother capturing the beautiful subtlety constructed into this Atmos observe, taking my listening room deep right into a North American forest replete with light results, buzzing bugs and babbling water. And with the extent up excessive, the impression sounds when Amber Midthunder’s hero practises her axe-throwing abilities, plus the sensation of exact placement, was startling. Her weapon flies by means of the air, from the rear left of the soundfield to 
a dead-centre stage, and it splices bark with a pointy crack adopted by a properly decaying echo.

Up for the struggle
Total, Onkyo’s TX-NR6100 is a sub-£1,000 receiver 
with severe attraction. Outdoors of the pretty fundamental calibration mode it hits all the appropriate characteristic factors, together with one or two (corresponding to Chromecast built-in) which are minor however extremely helpful. It is also bodily alluring in its broody, black guise and a responsive app makes up for a less-than-stellar distant management.

Its sound efficiency is on the cash too. There’s sufficient energy right here to fulfill its mid-sized room/speaker ambitions, and the presentation of Atmos soundmixes is well-judged, due to strong FX placement and separation 
to go along with some dynamic aptitude. There’s numerous competitors 
available in the market, however Onkyo’s AVR is prepared for the struggle.

HCC Verdict: 4.5/5

Onkyo TX-NR6100

Worth: £799

eu.onkyo.com

We are saying: The seven-channel TX-NR6100 {couples} copious options with a energetic, dynamic sound efficiency. Setup is not in-depth, however few will complain at this value.

Specs

DOLBY ATMOS: Sure DTS:X: Sure IMAX ENHANCED: No MULTICHANNEL INPUT: No
MULTICHANNEL PRE-OUT: No MULTICHANNEL OUTPUT (CLAIMED):
7 x 165W
(into 6ohm, one-channel pushed, 1kHz, 1% THD) MULTIROOM: Zone 2 OFF HDMI: Sure.
6 x inputs and a couple of x outputs OF INPUTS: 2 x digital audio (1 x optical and 1 x coaxial); 4 x analogue stereo DIMENSIONS: 435(w) x 174(h) x 380(d)mm WEIGHT: 9.8kg

FEATURES: Licensed THX Choose; FM/AM/DAB tuner; twin subwoofer outputs; MM phono enter; 6.35mm headphone; Ethernet; Wi-Fi; two-way Bluetooth; tone controls; Film/TV, Music and Sport listening presets; AccuEQ calibration; Dolby Atmos Top Virtualizer and DTS Digital:X; Stereo Assign Mode; HDMI 2.1 on three inputs (incl. VRR and ALLM); Apple AirPlay 2; Chromecast; DTS Play-Fi; Onkyo Dynamic Audio Amplification; hi-res audio playback through community and USB to DSD256 and 192kHz/24-bit