Onkyo defies fashion with a stereo receiver with built-in network music capability

Unusual: that’s the first word that springs to mind when considering Onkyo’s TX-8050. You see, not only is this a stereo receiver – hardly the most fashionable audio product here in the UK – but it’s also one with built-in network connectivity for the streaming of music from both local storage and internet sources.

As if that wasn’t unusual enough, it took almost a year from the arrival of the press release announcing the product to delivery of the review sample I requested on the day of the announcement: apparently Onkyo’s supplies were hit by first the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, then floods in Malaysia, meaning that you’re eventually reading about this receiver some 15 months after it was first announced.

Clearly Onkyo wanted to hold back on reviews in order to avoid creating demand it couldn’t satisfy, as the TX-8050 has been available in the shops in the meantime and – as is the way of the world these days – has tumbled in price since it was launched. Announced at £400, it’s now available at around the £250 mark, which on facilities alone makes it something of a bargain.

After all, as well as its network capability, onboard FM/Am tuner and a power output claimed as 130W per channel, it has six analogue stereo inputs, a moving magnet phono in for a turntable, several tape output, two optical and two electrical digital inputs, a connector for Onkyo’s range of Universal Port add-ons, which include an iPod dock and a DAB tuner, and even a front-panel USB socket for playback from storage devices and iPods and the like.

Still not enough? There are two sets of speaker outputs, Zone 2 outputs to connect to another amplifier in a second room, with the ability to play different sources in each room, preamplifier level stereo and subwoofer outputs and even composite video switching should you wish to hook-up video components.

Network connectivity is via wired Ethernet, with a UWF-1 Wi-Fi adapter available, and the receiver can be controlled either using the handset supplied, or via a free control app available for both iOS and Android devices.

As I said, that’s quite a lot for just £250, and the TX-8050 also has plenty of Onkyo’s in-house design thinking under the lid: it uses the company’s Wide Range Amplifier Technology, has a hefty toroidal transformer feeding its power supplies, and a choice of a Music Optimiser for compressed content, normal playback, Direct playback (bypassing the tone controls) or Pure Audio, which is as Direct but with the video switching and display also off.

The receiver is also solidly built by the standards of its class and price: the casework rings a little when rapped with the knuckles, but beyond that it looks designed and constructed to last, and has a range of convenience features such as the ability to set individual trims on each input to equalise levels across a range of partnering components.

PERFORMANCE
There’s been a bit of internet buzz about the Onkyo since it was launched, with some suggesting it’s a giant-killer, able to see off more minimal stereo amplifiers at £500 or more. Having spent a good amount of time using it, I think I’d say it’s good – very good, in fact – but not quite as sensational as that.

While it connects to the home network without any fuss, and works well with internet radio and the like, there’s a couple of drawbacks for those wanting to stream music from a home storage device, such as a NAS: the Onkyo won’t stream the kind of ultra-high-resolution 192kHz/24-bit files now becoming popular with some labels, and it doesn’t play gapless.

Now the first is arguably not a major problem, but a minor irritant: the TX-8050 will be fine with CDs ripped at full CD quality, and of course can handle the 96kHz/24-bit files offered by many labels – how much that higher-resoltion limit is a problem is really a matter of personal taste.

But the lack of gapless playback is more of a hitch, especially if you listen to opera, for example – sections split into multiple tracks won’t flow, but will rather pause for a second or so and then start again.

Operating the receiver using the control app was a little frustrating at first: app and hardware seemed to lose touch occasionally, more likely than not due to the alarming amount of wireless 'stuff' usually humming away in the testing location.

Onkyo points out that to ensure the most stable connection between the two, the auto-lock on the app should be engaged: this keeps the app active all the time it's being used to control the receiver, rather than 'sleeping' and then having to re-connect with the receiver when you make a control input. With this in use, 'drops' became less common.

However, scrolling through extensive music libraries remained rather tiresome – artists or discs are presented in short pages, not as a single scrolling list.

That’s a shame, because the TX-8050 is fundamentally a well-sorted product, with a sound that’s on the exciting side of neutral, but is well-balanced, backing up its informative midband and treble with decent bass weight – at least, as long as you crank the level up a bit.

Things are a bit dull and uninteresting at very low levels, but get more vibrant and involving when you wind the amp section up, the midband in particular gaining more openness, and the bass filling out nicely.

What’s not in doubt is that the Onkyo has enough power to drive and control even demanding speakers, even though some caution should be exercised when it comes to matching: I’d avoid anything bright-sounding, and stick with warm, smooth speakers.

Get that, and within its limits this is a sensible receiver choice, and good value for money. Rather less unusual than at first it seemed, then…

Onkyo TX-8050
Type Stereo network receiver
Price typically £250
Power output 100Wpc into 8ohms
Tuner FM RDS/AM, 40 presets
Audio inputs Moving magnet phono, 6 line, two optical and two electrical digital, USB for memory devices and iPod/iPhone/iPad, Onkyo Universal Port
Audio outputs Two pairs of speakers, headphones, Zone 2, preouts (stereo plus subwoofer), two tape
Other connections FM/AM antennae, Ethernet, 4 in/2 out composite video switching, IR remote in/out
Accessories supplied Remote handset, radio antennae
Finishes Silver or black
Dimensions (WxHxD) 43.5x15x32.8cm
www.onkyo.co.uk