TX-RZ30 9.2-Channel AV Receiver - 100 Watts Per Channel, Dirac Live Out of Box, Works with Sonos Certified, THX Certified and More

The RZ30 was purchased as a replacement for an Onkyo NR7100 primarily for independently controlled subwoofer and full line outs for future upgrades to external amplification, but it ended up being a lot more than that considering the performance of this AV receiver. My setup is a fairly simple 4.2.4, but the layout of the room doesn't allow for a full Dirac microphone measurement, so a manual setup works better, and within an hour I was ready to put the RZ30 through its paces. Up first was music, which is where the differences between the NR7100 and the RZ30 is abundantly clear. Whether it was streaming, CD or the turntable, the RZ30 brought a clarity and soundstage that the 7100 couldn't. Listening in stereo mode with the subwoofers or in Pure Audio mode through the Monitor Audio Bronze 200s was pure listening enjoyment. The RZ30's sonic signature is very reminiscent of the older Onkyo Integra line. Moving on to movies, the RZ30 brings everything the 7100 did, although with a bit more clarity and authority. Using a phantom center, the sweet spot has widened somewhat and the placement of sounds is a bit more precise. No matter whether it was Atmos, Dolby Digital, DTS or DTS-X, there was a perceptible improvement. I guess the biggest question for anyone thinking about upgrading from the 7100 to the RZ30 is whether it is worth the money to do so. A lot will depend on what your primary use is and how picky you are about audio. I suspect that most people really wouldn't care which receiver was playing, especially if it's used primarily for movies. In my case, I generally use my audio gear for music more often than I do for movies, and the RZ30 has a very audible advantage here. I also need to address one final thing here, despite the RZ30 and the 7100 having identical power ratings, the RZ30 runs quite a bit hotter. While this is not going to be a problem in most places, if you have a more confined cabinet where air movement is a problem, an AV cooling fan would be a prudent addition.

I am absolutely satisfied with this surround sound receiver. The only advice I would give is to do the update before doing anything else. At first, I could not get anything to work. Once I did the update it worked great. The sound is great. I use the eARC which turns the amp and TV on all at the same time with the TV remote. This is a very nice feature.

I bought this twice. First time the HDMI ports on the back did not work, so went through the hassle of returning it. Second time the ARC function did not work. Initially, it did connect to ARC, but soon after dropped ARC. When running the initial setup again and again and again, all it would say is "checking ARC connection" but never connect. I tried switching out HDMI cables, tried two other TVs with ARC function. Finally, I spoke to customer service, a Gaberial, after long time on hold, and he was so rude. Interrupting me and not even letting me explain the issue. When I finally was able to explain, he tried blaming it on the fact that I bought it from Amazon, and told me to return it, and hung up on me. Definitely going with another brand and NEVER BUYING ONKYO AGAIN!

Why did you pick this product vs others?: Haven't bought a new AVR in at least 10 years. I was wondering how much better new ones are. Well this one is great! Simple setup. Amazing programmability to whatever setup and inputs you have. I have a 5.1 but comes with 9.2 option. Easy to change to my 2 zone 5.1 with zone 2. Can add more speakers like bluetooth say for the backyard and program a 3rd zone easily. The Dirac Live with microphone is all provided. Programs itself to your environment and speakers. My old TV works great with Firestick into the AVR the TV still runs independently - my wife loves that. I picked this product based on independent reviews I found and for what I needed. Runs super cool to touch as well.

The Onkyo RZ30 has exceeded all expectations—not just as an AV receiver, but as a serious contender in the realm of high-fidelity audio. As the only multimedia-capable system among my three setups, I can say without hesitation that the musicality of the RZ30, especially when paired with proper room correction, rivals even my McIntosh reference system. This unit delivers phenomenal sound with exceptional clarity, presence, and flexibility. With the latest HDMI technology, extensive pre-outs, and advanced subwoofer management, it’s not only future-proof but also deeply practical. Whether you're streaming music, watching movies, or gaming, the RZ30 delivers across the board. If you’re building just one audio/media system, the RZ30 is a fantastic foundation. It offers the sonic performance of dedicated hi-fi gear while giving you the full flexibility of a modern AV receiver. A must-have all-rounder for serious listeners who also love immersive multimedia.

I replaced the Marantz SR6015 with the Onkyo TX RZ30. The Marantz was still working just fine but I watch movies and binge shows 12-15 hrs almost every day and I got it in early 2022 so it's starting to have a lot of mileage on it. I've been trying to find ways to make my system better or get the most out of it (get the best sound) out of it. Been thinking about changing my speakers or maybe getting a DAC so that I can get that hi-res sound. I've been wanting to try out other AVR's but couldn't afford to fork out 3-4 grand on it when the one that I have is doing ok but when Onkyo released the RZ30 and the price they were asking I felt like getting another AVR even with mine still working fine could be achievable. Now, the selling point for me was that it had to have two independent subwoofer outputs which it does. The Marantz has 9 channels and 11 channels of processing but I don't have space in my theater room for 11 speakers so 9 channels will work for me. The wattage is a little lower than the Marantz but I have a 3 channel amplifier for my front stage so I'm good with the wattage. But the icing on the cake is that it comes with full Dirac live. I've been wanting to try that out for a while, I've heard from several reviewers that Dirac live is the best Room calibration software in the world. So when I put it all together I was sold. At this point the RZ30 has been out over a year and I've been hearing good reviews about it and I've had mine for about 2 weeks and I still have some tweaking I need to do but I think I'm gonna like it. I've ran Dirac and I can hear the difference between it and the Marantz but I don't have a laptop or PC at the moment to do the best calibration but using the Dirac phone app does ok but I'm sure it will be a noticeable difference when I get a laptop. I'll come back and update this post when I do.

For the right person, this is an amazing receiver. Unfortunately, it wasn't right for me. I set it up exclusively using the webui and "ciuser" as username and password. I ran Dirac Live using a UMik-1 and my computer. I strongly recommend setting up this way. The Dirac was pretty easy to set up and run. I liked how once measurements had been made, I could make adjustments at a later sitting within the Dirac software and then send the new settings to the receiver. Having come from Denon and Audyssey, I like dynamic EQ. I made some custom target curves that mimic Audyssey dynamic EQ for 3 different listening volumes according to instructions in Simple Home Cinema. It was easy enough to switch between them and figure out what my typical listening volume was and which one worked best for my listening volume. Dirac Live was very good, better than Audyssey. But then things became difficult. I heavily rely on Dynamic volume for listening at night while my kids are asleep. On the Onkyo, there is a function called "Late night" that applies dynamic range compression, but it does not work if Dirac is enabled! So you basically cannot have dynamic range compression if you want to use Dirac. There is a setting for Loudness Management if a Dolby track is playing, but I found it didn't help. If you have a dedicated theater room where it doesn't matter how loud things get, this is a non-issue for you. But if you are someone who cannot play things loud at night, it's a problem. The Apple TV has a "Reduce loud sounds" setting that does some DRC, but it is not strong enough compared to dynamic volume. Roku and Nividia Shield TV have DRC settins but they only work if you play back in stereo mode so you lose surround or Atmos with those. The other issue I had was with HDMI CEC not consistently working. I could not get the receiver to reliably turn on with HDMI-CEC after turning on a source device like Apple TV or Shield TV, or when turning on the TV. My Sony TV even has a setting to turn on the external speakers, and every time I would press it, it would not work. I posted on the RZ30 avsforum owners thread for help, and toggling HDMI CEC in the web control interface was proposed. I did that, and the Onkyo would work afterward for about a day or 2, but then it would lose HDMI-CEC "power on" functionality again. It was frustrating because all the other HDMI-CEC controls worked - transport controls (play, pause, volume up and down) and power off - but power on doesn't work. The lack of DRC with Dirac turned on became a major problem for me, and as a result, I had to return it. The HDMI CEC issue I could have lived with. I ended up getting my old Denon repaired and I went with that. Also a note of caution. When this receiver first came out, the manual Onkyo put out showed it having 6 40 Gbps HDMI 2.1 inputs. So reviews out there will say all six inputs are full bandwidth HDMI 2.1. This is incorrect. The current manual on onkyo's website is correct. 3 inputs have up to 24 Gbps bandwidth and 3 inputs have 40 Gbps bandwidth. So do not expect that all 6 inputs are 40 Gbps. I think this is probably 4 stars, but since I had to return it for something that would be easily solvable with a firmware update, it gets 3 stars.

Great sound with stable power for the speakers. Solid build quality. All 6 HDMI inputs are HDMI 2.1 40Gbps high speed connections. DIRAC sound adjustment works great though it takes 20-30 minutes though.