Home > Consumer Reviews > Onkyo TX-8555 Stereo Receiver

Like many reviewers, I was replacing an old tube receiver, a 30+ year old Realistic. I feared I would never be able to replace that warm, rich tube sound, but this reciever surprised me.

I consider myself a bit of an audiophile, I'm the tyoe who uses 10-12 gauge speaker wire, so I'm picky about my sound. I first set up just speaker A's and then added speaker B's and did not notice a drop in sound quality. I have found that having the voluume set around 35-40 is more than enough for my one bedroom condo. I did try it at 60 and did not notice any distortion in sound. I listen mostly to classical music, and there was no hum during soft passages.

I would have rated it at a five, but there are a few disappointments that have nothing to do with the sound quality. This model seems to cater to the user who is replacing their ancient receivers, so I would have expected some provision for compatibility with older connector tyoes.

One reason I selected this model was that it supported phonographs, but it doesn't support turntables that get their power from the receiver, via 15 volt AC/DC using a pin connector. RadioShack doesn't carry a 15 volt converter and I haven't been able to find one online, so I'm going to have to buy a new turntable.

I have a perfectably good equalizer, but there is no way to connect it to the ONKYO. If ONKYO isn't going to provide an equalizer, then they should provide a means to connect external ones. In order to reproduce the equalizer sound that I was used to, I had to turn the bass and treble knobs almost all the way up. As others have noted. there is no midrange adjustment.

If a tuner wasn't included, I would have had a problem connecting my old tuner. It has a ribbon connector, and there are no provisions for that.

Although I measured carefully and the stated width was the same as my old receiver, this one was 1/8th of an inch too wide to fit into my stereo cabinet. I had to put it on a small table next to the cabinet. At least I won't have to worry about heat buildup!

Overall, I am happy with this receiver. I have only had it a week, so can't attest to it's reliability. Set up was easy except for the above mentioneed limitations. If you have straight forward connections, you will not be disappointed with this model.

I use this receiver for my whole house audio, which means it's on all the time. Hook up was easy, controls are clear and easy to use. Sound is great. Setting up the Sirus radio requires the use of the remote, which isn't obvious unless you read the manual. For the price, this is perfect for me.

Have had the receiver for a few weeks now and just love it. It is a solid piece of machinery, very heavy and will get hot, so you probably don't want to park anything on top of it, or park in on top of anything. Lovely to look at in the front and the back is all business -- more plugs than most of us might ever use. (right now am just using CD and tuner, may add DVD and TV later.) The remote is a nice add-on, and could help keep the fingerprints off the receiver, an added plus. Of course, the reason I really this receiver is the way it sounds; it really makes the music glow. My old speakers have never sounded so good.

35 years ago when I bought my first receiver I boiled the choices down to a Technics and an Onkyo. I bought the Technics because it was a little cheaper and in stock at the local stereo store. Well, the Technics just bit the dust (that was about the best $180 I ever spent!), and I replaced it with this. Pretty new at this point, but I'm VERY happy with it. Sound is fantastic, enough plug-ins for everything on the back, the remote is great (what a concept! ;-D), and it looks just plain cool. Onkyo has been around for a long time and has always been held in high regard. I'm happy to report that that is still the case!

I bought this for my office. It is a very nice receiver. Powers 6 in-ceiling speakers without a problem. Easy to use. I tried using a home theater receiver for my office audio system, but home theater receivers are made for 5.1 or 7.1 systems. This Onkyo worked much better, as it is made for sound, not video, and it does it quite well. I believe it will do video, but it is not made for home theater application. I have a sony dg-820 at home for that purpose and it works great.