HIGH-DEF DISC NEWS TAGGED "ONKYO"Receive High-Def Disc News via RSS

Gibson Guitar Buys a Majority Share in Onkyo

Thu Jan 05, 2012 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Onkyo, Industry Trends (all tags)

While the company's sell different products, they both come from an audiophile mindset which makes the pairing compelling.

You may recognize Gibson as the company behind some of the finest guitars ever made including the legendary Les Paul and the Explorer made famous by James Hetfield of Metallica. The company isn't satisfied with just guitars though - they're diversifying into consumer electronics.

Their latest investment is in Onkyo USA, in which they've just picked up a majority share. They've also picked up a share of Onkyo Japan which makes them the second largest shareholder of the corporation as a whole.

It doesn't sound like there will be too many changes to either company aside from the sharing of technology on both sides. Gibson helps out Onkyo with marketing and other resources while Onkyo will share the knowledge Gibson needs to take its Pro Audio line to the next level.

Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz shares a bit of his vision in a statement that sounds right in line with Onkyo's . "While people may be listening to more music, they are listening to it primarily in a severely compressed format," he says. "The aural disparity between a real system and compressed sound is vast, and as a result, they are simply not hearing tremendously rich sounds. With Onkyo, our goal is to bring the same exceptional experience artists demand in the studio to a larger consumer base."

Source: Gibson


Onkyo Brings Picture-in-Picture Source Previews to 2012 Receivers

Thu Dec 22, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Onkyo, MHL (all tags)

They're also adding MHL compatibility for cell phones and tablets.

Picture-in-picture isn't a new feature in and of itself. It's something that's been offered for a while and it makes TV viewing a much improved experience for some folks. Onkyo's new receivers will be offering something similar but much more interesting.

With their 2012 line of receivers you'll be able to use a feature called InstaPrevue to bring up a picture-in-picture view of any of your HDMI or MHL inputs. It's a nice addition that will certainly have a few really worthwhile uses.

The other new addition to Onkyo's receivers is MHL compatibility. MHL is the high def output used most often with phones and tablets and usually requires a converter to get to your TV.

Source: Onkyo

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Onkyo Launches a New Hi-Fi Mini System with iPod/iPhone Dock

Wed Nov 23, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: Onkyo (all tags)

The CS-345 includes a pair of two-way bass-reflex loudspeakers designed for impressive performance.

The latest from Onkyo is a home music system that plays nice with your iPhone or iPod, CDs, FM radio and anything you hook into the stereo input jack.

The CS-345 comes with a pair of speakers that utilize a dome tweeter and 4 inch woofers inside of bass-reflex enclosures. Onkyo says that this design helps to deliver bass that's unexpected for the size of the speaker. The power amplifier of the CS-345 also boasts ActiveBass Control, which adjusts the bass output as you adjust the volume of the system.

Onkyo's home music system sports an iPod/iPhone dock that does more than just play music. You can play video through the device thanks to an output jack on the back. You can also set the CS-345 to wake up along with the iPhone's alarm.

Onkyo's CS-345 is available now at a price of $299.

Source: Onkyo

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Onkyo's iOS App Upgrade Adds Multi-Room Music Control

Mon Nov 07, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: Onkyo (all tags)

The Onkyo Remote 2 is available now on iTunes.

Smartphones and tablets are wonderful things. They allow you to talk to people sure, but the handy touchscreen devices are capable of so much more, like controlling your home theater gear.

Onkyo's newest iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad app is simply called Onkyo Remote 2 and it adds a few goodies that weren't in the original. You'll get a completely redesigned interface as well as access to commonly used controls like audio adjustments and source switching.

Where the Onkyo Remote 2 really sets itself apart is in the ability to control zones in a multi-room setup. If you've got music coming from multiple sources and going to multiple destinations, you can arrange it over Wi-Fi with your iOS device.

The new app is available for free on iTunes.

Source: Onkyo

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Onkyo Launches Two 9.2 Channel THX Certified Network Receivers

Tue Aug 23, 2011 at 02:00 PM ET
Tags: Onkyo, Receivers (all tags)

The NR5009 and NR3009 complete Onkyo's 2011 lineup.

Onkyo's 2011 line of receivers is nearly complete. The final products in that line were announced early this week and Onkyo has pulled out all the stops. The TX-NR5009 and TX-NR3009 are the top of the line, complete with 9.2 audio channels, network connectivity and plenty more.

Both receivers offer a total of eight HDMI inputs and two outputs and you'll find a few new things in there too, like an Ethernet port, USB ports, and a port for Onkyo peripherals. You can stream music from internet radio stations, from your computer or play back a variety of files from a thumb drive, including FLAC, WAV, and of course MP3.

The 5009 packs DTS Neo:X technology to upscale audio up to 9.1 or 11.1 - even if the input is a stereo source. It also offers upgraded amplifier that sends power from the toroidal transformer to a pair of 22,000 uF capacitors. You'll find 192 kHz/32-bit Burr-Brown DACs, a 32-bit DSP chip and plenty else that all adds up to a THX Ultra2 Plus certified receiver.

The TX-NR3009 comes in at $2,199 while the TX-NR5009 will run you $2,899. Both will be available at the beginning of September.

Source: Onkyo

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Onkyo Adds and Expands Online Music Support for 2011 Receivers

Wed Aug 10, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Onkyo, Spotify (all tags)

You'll find a service called AUPEO!, Spotify, and expanded support for Last.fm.

It's easy to think of your home theater as something that's used for watching movies and not much else, but depending on your setup it can be an impressive music player too. The folks over at Onkyo have added quite a bit of new functionality to their 2011 receiver lineup that makes it even easier to enjoy the music you love and find more artists to enjoy.

AUPEO! is a new addition to all 2011 receivers. It may not be as familiar a name as Last.fm and Spotify, but the service offers 120 specialized music channels, custom made channels, artist specific channels and a Mood Selector that matches music to suit your mood.

Spotify is new to the lineup as well, debuting on Onkyo receivers just as the service came online for US residents. The service can be used on a free or subscription basis, with different tiers depending on what you want from Spotify.

Finally, Onkyo has expanded Last.fm support to all of its 2011 receivers - it was previously only available on certain models.

Source: Onkyo

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Onkyo Launches a New THX Certified 3D Blu-ray Player

Mon Jul 11, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: Onkyo, 3D Blu-ray Players, Blu-ray Players (all tags)

The company's new BD-SP809 offers 3D playback, networking capabilities and more.

The BD-SP809 from Onkyo is a player that sets out to do a little bit of everything, starting with Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D playback. It handles DVDs of course, and CDs. There's no DVD-Audio or SACD playback, but it does play DivX, MP3 and WMA files burned to disk.

You can hook up the SP809 to your network for video and audio file playback or attach a USB storage device for the same purpose. Similarly, you can attach a USB drive to achieve the same. If you've connected the 809 to the internet, you'll be able to enjoy Blockbuster on Demand, Netflix streaming, Film Fresh and Vudu.

As you'd expect, upscaling is part of the package. The SP809 packs a Marvell Qdeo processor that takes care of noise reduction, deinterlacing as well as bringing SD video on up to 1080p.

The BD-SP809 from Onkyo will be available in August at a price of $599.

Source: eCoustics

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Onkyo's New Receiver is the First With DTS Neo:X Technology

Fri Jun 03, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
Tags: Onkyo, Receivers (all tags)

The new tech from DTS gives you a huge amount of flexibility when adding speakers

Onkyo's latest receiver is fairly impressive on its own, but the addition of DTS Neo:X technology makes it that much more interesting. The new tech is designed to allow you to have freedom when setting up extra speakers.

Neo:X tech upscales 2.0, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 channel audio sources to 9.1 or 11.1, but that's just the beginning. When adding to your 5.1 setup, you get to choose what you'd like to do with the extra speakers. You can add speakers for more ambient sounds, a fuller soundstage or even put all four in the front for a nice wide space that doesn't need added back speakers.

The receiver also boasts HQV Vida upscaling of standard definition video sources. It'll take them to 1080p as well as enhance and clean up compressed video. If 1080p isn't far enough, the Qdeo processing tech included in the receiver will take you all the way to 4k.

Source: eCoustics

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Onkyo Announces the 4K Upscaling, Network Capable TX-NR809 Receiver

Fri May 13, 2011 at 02:00 PM ET
Tags: Onkyo, Receivers, 4K (all tags)

The receiver boasts two different video processing techs and a few streaming features as well.

Onkyo has stepped things up for this year's TX-NR809, the replacement to the NR808. They've added a second USB port to allow front and rear access, iPhone and iPod compatibility, and Zone 2/3 preouts for those looking to supply sound to more than just one room.

The NR809's best feature might be the dual video processing technologies used to make your picture as crisp and clean as possible. The HQV Vida processor takes care of upscaling to 1080p and cleaning up compressed video while Qdeo tech scales video from 1080p to 4K.

Of course, video is only half of what a receiver needs to do well. It won't come as a surprise that Onkyo's NR809 is built for quality audio as well, boasting a range of Audyssey features like MultEQ XT room-correction tech and the option of Audyssey DSX high and wide channels.

You'll be able to pick up a TX-NR809 for yourself later this month at a price of $1,009.

Source: Onkyo

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Onkyo Announces its First 3D Blu-ray Player

Thu Apr 14, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Tags: Onkyo, Blu-ray Players, 3D, High-Def Retailing, Industry Trends (all tags)

The new BD-SP309 will be available in mid May for $249.

The latest Blu-ray player to be announced by Onkyo is also the first 3D player for the company. It doesn't introduce any unique features, but appears to be a generally solid player.

The BD-SP309 is packed with streaming options, and allows you to get audio from Pandora as well as video from Netflix and Vudu. No luck in the wireless department though - you'll need to plug in an ethernet cord.

Standard definition DVDs can be upscaled to 1080p and output through HDMI, which is a fairly standard feature at this point. It also includes USB ports that allow you to play both audio and video in a variety of formats.

The player will be on store shelves in May at an MSRP of $249.

Source:

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