The new Onkyo TX-8390 is designed for stereo music as well as home cinema sources.
Onkyo
It’s all go in the audio visual world right now as major electronics brands gear themselves up for the Berlin IFA trade show. Rafts of new products are being announced and the next brand on the audio catwalk is Onkyo with its new and compelling alternative to a multichannel home cinema set up. This new product has been designed especially for audiophiles who want authentic hi-fi sound and a state-of-the-art A/V receiver for their home cinema set-up.
The Onkyo TX-8390 Stereo Network Receiver can pump out a massive 200W per channel into a 6Ω speaker, and it exploits a high current capability to shift plenty of air and enable large woofers to better convey the full audio dynamic range of music.
The TX-8390’s high-current, low-noise power transformer, plus its high-current smoothing capacitors, were specifically chosen to ensure the amplifier sounds good to human ears, rather than just looking impressive on paper. The dual transistors used in the power-amplifier deliver a deep bass., while an extruded aluminum heat-sink suppresses any resonances and is coated with a heat-dissipating anodized alumite to make it run cooler.
Onkyo’s new receiver is available in both black and silver finishes.
Onkyo
The TX-8390 includes six HDMI inputs and all of them are HDCP 2.3 and support 4K/60p, HDR (HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision), BT.2020, and 4:4:4/24-bit color. The HDMI board has a short signal-path and uses extra-large ground paths to limit any interference. A quad-core system on a chip enables 5 GHz/2.4 GHz Wi-Fi connectivity, and it’s completely isolated from the audio circuits. The onboard AK4458 stereo DAC is fitted with a filter that can erase ultra-high-frequency pulse-modulation noise that might otherwise mess around with the sound.
All these technologies are useful when playing music from Hi-Res audio files and sources. PCM files up to 384 kHz/32-bit are fully supported, as are DSD256/128/64 files. The receiver can handle MQA technology, enabling the playback of MQA audio files and streams which delivers the sound of the original master recordings. Albums in MQA format can be streamed from supported online services or else downloaded to a USB memory drive or streamed from local storage devices on the network.
The Onkyo TX-8390 can stream a wide range of music services including Amazon Music, TIDAL, Spotify, Deezer, and TuneIn, and all of them are accessible using the Onkyo Controller app. The app can also be used to manage multi-room audio, and music stored on local devices (or PC/NAS) can also be cast directly to the TX-8390.
At the back of the Onkyo TX-8390 are a plethora of inputs plus two sets of speaker connections, and two subwoofer outputs.
Onkyo
There’s support for all the leading voice-control technologies, while Google Chromecast has been built-in so that music can be streamed from smartphones, laptops, or PCs. Playback can be made from any app that supports Chromecast on an Android phone or tablet, Chromebook, Windows PC, or iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Apple AirPlay2 has also been included so that music can be played to AirPlay speakers in any room around the home – or by simply asking Siri via an iPhone, iPad, HomePod, or Apple TV. It’s even possible to play the same song in the living room and kitchen or adjust the volume in any room, and it’s all synced perfectly.
The TX-8390 can work with Sonos Home Sound Systems simply by pairing it with a Sonos Connect device. The receiver wakes, changes inputs, and plays at the desired volume on command from the Sonos Controller app. Onkyo’s own Music Control App synchronizes audio from streaming services to speakers that support DTS Play-Fi technology. FlareConnect also uses the Onkyo Controller app to select sources to share to compatible speakers. Fast and simple wireless streaming is also possible using the TX-8390’s built-in Bluetooth function.
Onkyo says it’s made a lot of effort ensuring that the TX-8390 is intuitive to use. ‘My Input’ is a front-panel selector that enables users to assign a start-up volume level, listening mode, and tone level to any of four inputs via presets. The knob just needs to be pushed once to activate all the settings stored for the chosen input.
With 200W per channel into 6Ω, the Onkyo TX-8390 has lots of power to drive almost any loudspeakers.
Onkyo
This is Onkyo’s first stereo receiver to feature AccuEQ room-acoustic calibration, an exciting feature was originally developed for setting up multi-channel A/V receivers. Onkyo has adapted the technology for stereo listening that can optimize the receiver’s sound so it works best in almost any space. After detecting the speaker size and distance from a measurement position and setting sound-pressure levels, the system selects a suitable subwoofer crossover and applies the necessary EQ.
The new receiver features two pairs of gold-plated speaker posts for A/B and A+B speakers. A switching function enables two pairs of speakers to be connected and driven independently or simultaneously. It’s even possible to switch between speakers for hi-fi music or general entertainment or to add a pair to another room with app-based control. The speaker terminals are bi-wire-compatible with compatible loudspeakers. There’s also a Pre-Amp Mode and Front Pre-Out terminals for hooking up thee receive to an external power amplifier.
Finally, the TX-8390 has two optical digital audio inputs, a rear powered USB port, a gold-plated coaxial digital input, four analog RCA inputs, plus an MM phono input for attaching a turntable. Other terminals include an antenna for FM/DAB+ reception and a front USB port for audio. Dual subwoofer pre-outs are also provided for users who want extra bass.
Price and availability: Onkyo’s TX-8390 Network Stereo Receiver will be available in back and silver finishes from November and will retail in the UK for £799.
More info: www.uk.onkyo.com
A full remote is supplied with the Onkyo TX-8390 and it can also be controlled using the Controller app, voice commands, or Sonos Controller.
Onkyo
