Why I will never purchase another Onkyo again

[alanwest09872]

My receiver is acting up again. This is shortly after Onkyo "fixed it".

1. The audio is intermittently cutting out.
2. The Fan inside the receiver has never once turned on. (the unit gets hot enough to cook an egg or burn down my house)

What I don't understand is after years of having the same issue, Onkyo as a company isn't fixing there equipment. If you take a look at Amazon or Newegg right now about 33% to 50% of the reviews on there receivers are negative. Stating the same issues over and over again as being a problem. The sad part is this is becoming a decade long issue with this company.

I used to hold Onkyo in high regards. It was one of the best consumer receiver company out there(in my opinion yes I was a fan boy). Well after being a loyal customer of theirs for years, I can say without a shadow of doubt I will not be purchasing any more equipment from them.

My purchase history

I have purchased 7 Onkyo Receivers
2 in the last 4 years have died on me.

Recommended Onkyo to 2 different friends (both of which got the txnr-616) both now have had there receiver fixed at least once.

Recommended and helped purchase the Onkyo txnr 616 for St Al's. (local church)
they have had theirs repaired 3 times.


Each time someones had an issue with there receiver I have contacted Onkyo on there behalf. Every time I have called there service number I have gotten the same message. "We are currently experiencing high volume of calls" and forced to wait for over 30 mins. for any kind of customer service. There could only be 2 reasons for this.

A. So many people are having issues with there receivers that the Volume of calls is actually very high. (Which indicates very poor product quality)
B. There customer support staff is so short handed, and has been short handed for years. (Which indicates Onkyo as a company doesnt care about its customers after the Point Of Sale.)


Ok i'm done venting. Sorry for the overly aggressive comments.

 

[JackBurton]

Should have gone with a Pioneer Elite, Denon, Yamaha or Marantz. I've never recommended an Onkyo.

 

[alanwest09872]

Ya I think my next one will be a yamaha. After this one gets fixed im going to try and ride it out for 6 more months hopefully there will be more atmos recievers out by then

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Onkyo has always been a consideration, but not a serious one. Also, that consideration vaporized when I bought a Denon out of NYC for a steal compared to local retailers. It has performed as expected, just like the pioneer Elite before it.

 

[Number1]

My receiver is acting up again. This is shortly after Onkyo "fixed it".

1. The audio is intermittently cutting out.
2. The Fan inside the receiver has never once turned on. (the unit gets hot enough to cook an egg or burn down my house)

What I don't understand is after years of having the same issue, Onkyo as a company isn't fixing there equipment. If you take a look at Amazon or Newegg right now about 33% to 50% of the reviews on there receivers are negative. Stating the same issues over and over again as being a problem. The sad part is this is becoming a decade long issue with this company.

I used to hold Onkyo in high regards. It was one of the best consumer receiver company out there(in my opinion yes I was a fan boy). Well after being a loyal customer of theirs for years, I can say without a shadow of doubt I will not be purchasing any more equipment from them.

My purchase history

I have purchased 7 Onkyo Receivers
2 in the last 4 years have died on me.

Recommended Onkyo to 2 different friends (both of which got the txnr-616) both now have had there receiver fixed at least once.

Recommended and helped purchase the Onkyo txnr 616 for St Al's. (local church)
they have had theirs repaired 3 times.


Each time someones had an issue with there receiver I have contacted Onkyo on there behalf. Every time I have called there service number I have gotten the same message. "We are currently experiencing high volume of calls" and forced to wait for over 30 mins. for any kind of customer service. There could only be 2 reasons for this.

A. So many people are having issues with there receivers that the Volume of calls is actually very high. (Which indicates very poor product quality)
B. There customer support staff is so short handed, and has been short handed for years. (Which indicates Onkyo as a company doesnt care about its customers after the Point Of Sale.)


Ok i'm done venting. Sorry for the overly aggressive comments.

How to Use There, Their and They're

 

[JoeMcJoe]

How to Use There, Their and They're

 

[nickbits]

I've had zero issues with my Onkyo after 2 years and no issues with my Integra (Onkyo prosumer) after 10. I still have confidence in the brand.

 

[poofyhairguy]

I am in the don't trust Onkyo boat. A HDMI port went out on mine, and the cooling is atrocious so I had to rig an external fan. I feel like for the money Denon is providing WAY more value.

 

[purbeast0]

when i was looking at receivers, onkyo was on my list ... until i did some research. they kind of have a recent track history of not lasting very long and going bad early. since i was going to be spending over $1k on a receiver, i went with a higher end denon instead and haven't had any issues with it in almost 2 years.

 

[fralexandr]

My onkyo 607's been working fine. It gets HOT, but haven't had any problems with it yet. Also it doesn't have a fan. I've been considering rigging up a fan. My next receiver will probably be one that uses class D amps :|, but the cheap (non-elite) pioneers seem to be unreliable or something.

My cousin's 606 had some problems I think, but he got it working again somehow. Denon and Yamaha do seem like a safer bet then Onkyo.

 

[alanwest09872]

I've had zero issues with my Onkyo after 2 years and no issues with my Integra (Onkyo prosumer) after 10. I still have confidence in the brand.

I was in the same boat. I never had an issue with them till the last 5 years. Its been hell ever since. Before you say you have confidence in the brand call there customer support number. Just sit on the line and wait till someone answers. Pick any time of day. (during there operating hours) Guarantee it will be at least 40 mins to 1 hour before someone answers. Thats if you dont get disconnected.

They dont care about there customers past the Point of Sale.

 

[skriefal]

I mostly agree. But need to respond to one item in your post:

B. There customer support staff is so short handed, and has been short handed for years. (Which indicates Onkyo as a company doesnt care about its customers after the Point Of Sale.)

Most manufacturers/brands don't care about the customer after the sale. And most retailers also don't care about the customer more than 30 days after the sale. Onkyo is hardly alone here. Don't expect service to be much better from Denon, Marantz, Harman Kardon, or other consumer A/V brands.

 

[MongGrel]

Been so long since I've bought a new receiver I haven't even thought about it much.

But from everything I've read over the time, and seen a few friends have over decades, they are nice. I've just never bought an Onkyo myself.

They are probably as good as the Sony STR-DG520 I'm still using to be honest for most things.

It's been pretty solid, but will upgrade that someday I imagine.

 

[A5]

My Onkyo 606 had some HDMI handshake issues that I tried to fix myself (bulging caps, etc), that I then killed.

The Denon 1713 (open box on Amazon Warehouse for a song) I got to replace it has worked without a hitch since then.

 

[poofyhairguy]

My Onkyo 606 had some HDMI handshake issues that I tried to fix myself (bulging caps, etc), that I then killed.

The Denon 1713 (open box on Amazon Warehouse for a song) I got to replace it has worked without a hitch since then.

Wow, that is my story except I demoted my 606 instead of killing it. The 1713 is amazing.

 

[JimKiler]

Should have gone with a Pioneer Elite, Denon, Yamaha or Marantz. I've never recommended an Onkyo.

Scratch Denon and Marantz off that list. I just replaced my Marantz SR 7003 after having it for 7 years since the center channel stopped working.

I have a friend who said Denon is bad too for quality.

Too many cheaply manufactured products these days!

At least if my replacement Yamaha dies in 5-7 years i will have gotten my money out of it unless the expensive Marantz i had prior.

 

[Ketchup]

That's too bad. I still use my Onkyo 6.1 system that I bought 11 years ago and have had zero issues, through various moves and reconfigurations.

They sound like Asus - if you get a good one you're gold. If you get a bad one, don't hold your breath!

 

[MongGrel]

That's too bad. I still use my Onkyo 6.1 system that I bought 11 years ago and have had zero issues, through various moves and reconfigurations.

They sound like Asus - if you get a good one you're gold. If you get a bad one, don't hold your breath!

+1

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Had a 605 that died after about 4 years. Replaced it with a HT-360 that died in a little over 2 years. I've gone to Yamaha now. The Yamaha runs very cool compared to the Onkyos. Won't buy another Onkyo again.

 

[LikeLinus]

Scratch Denon and Marantz off that list. I just replaced my Marantz SR 7003 after having it for 7 years since the center channel stopped working.

I have a friend who said Denon is bad too for quality.

Too many cheaply manufactured products these days!

At least if my replacement Yamaha dies in 5-7 years i will have gotten my money out of it unless the expensive Marantz i had prior.

Denon and Marantz make excellent receivers. If you aren't able to go the Pre/Pro route, I'd recommend either one of those brands any day.

Onkyo on the other hand is junk in my experience.

Owned 6 Denon receivers and never had a single issue. Purchased an Onkyo receiver for my Mom and it started turning itself off and on for no reason after about 3 months of use.

 

[LikeLinus]

DP.

 

[tential]

My understanding is that if you're getting Onkyo be prepared to possibly have issues. I would NOT place an Onkyo unit in an area that pretty much isn't an "open" area. If you have little to no ventilation then you'll probably be screwed, especially if you actually USE the amp section of your Onkyo unit.

That said, I've owned 2 Onkyo Receivers. I've had a little HDMI Handshake issue (just switch inputs back and forth and you're OK to go again), and that's really rare. Otherwise, worked just fine. My TX-NR709 I've only used external amps with and I'll only use external amps if I use Onkyo as I'm afraid of how hot they get.

If you can afford to splurge, splurge, but IMO, ONKYO provides some good value. I could buy 2-3 TX-NR709's(refurbed on sale) for the price of what many people pay for their Denon or Marantz so for me it was the right decision.

Make the decision that fits your needs. Generally, I would say that if you aren't on a massive budget, spend more for the peace of mind. Also do not buy any NEW Onkyo receiver... just let the early adopters pick it up and see if it has massive issues.

Edit: My largest issue with them is that their turn around on support is horrendous. My friend waited 3 months at one point and I just don't see them giving you "fast" support for new units. Cant' comment on other brands in this respect though.

 

[LikeLinus]

Why does everyone make Denon out to be expensive? Marantz is more expensive, but it's a higher end line. Denon is competitively price with many models at a variety of price points. No one is saying you have to buy the most expensive model, same with Onkyo. Onkyo makes expensive models as well. The difference is they seemed to be plagued with QA issues. Makes it hard to recommend.

 

[mmntech]

No experience with Onkyo, but I can't recommend Pioneer and Yamaha gear enough. They're rock solid, will last you for years, and sounds great.

 

[Kadarin]

Love my Yamaha