While soundbars and wireless speakers have come a long way lately, nothing beats a good Audio/Video receiver (AVR) with a discrete set of surround sound speakers for a truly immersive home theater or surround sound system. But sometimes the price tag can be a little high. With Prime Day looming, we’re beginning to see some great deals on home theater gear and this is one of the best receiver deals we’ve seen so far.
Onkyo’s TX-NR7100 9.2 channel receiver is now discounted to $729 on both Crutchfield and Amazon. This is $570 off its original list price and about $170 lower than the previous best price we have seen.
Check out the deal:
With a recent price drop from $1299 to $899, the Onkyo TX-NR7100 became the most affordable nine channel AV receiver from an established name brand and now at $729, this deal is hard to pass up. This receiver is a great option if you have a larger home theater space or living room and you want to deploy a 5.1.4 or 7.1.2 channel Dolby Atmos/DTS:X speaker system.
With nine channels of on-board amplification (100 Watts/Channel), the TX-NR7100 can fill a large room with immersive surround. You can choose between a 5.1.4 or 7.1.2-channel immersive surround system, depending on your room size, layout and preferences. Or you can go with a 5.1.2 or traditional 7.1 channel system and use the extra two amplifier channels to power a pair of speakers in another room (powered Zone 2).
What makes the TX-NR7100 receiver stand out from the crowd is that it’s one of the first A/V receivers to include DIRAC’s best of breed room correction software Dirac Live on-board at no extra cost. It even comes with a calibration microphone certified for use with Dirac in the box. The room correction routine itself is handled via a dedicated app for Android or Apple devices. Dirac calibration pros can also use Dirac software for Windows. Beyond what you can do with standard speaker calibration routines, Dirac Live makes adjustments in both the amplitude and time domain, compensating and correcting for anomalies in your listening room that may impact sound quality.
On the audio codec side, in addition to Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS:X, the Onkyo TX-NR7100 includes IMAX Enhanced certification so you can make the most of those IMAX soundtracks on streaming services like Disney+ and Sony Pictures Studios. With bi-directional Bluetooth, you can either stream music to the receiver using your phone or you can connect a pair of Bluetooth wireless headphones or earbuds for late night listening.
The TX-NR7100 is “Works with Sonos” certified, which means your living room or home theater system can become its own Sonos room (zone) by adding a Sonos Port. The receiver also supports multiple streaming music services including Spotify, TIDAL, Amazon Music HD, Deezer, TuneIn, and Pandora. It is also compatible with the three most popular smart home ecosystems: Apple HomeKit, Google Home and Amazon Alexa. The receiver can be voice-controlled on any of these platforms using a compatible device. The Onkyo receiver supports DTS PlayFi for playback of your local digital music files, compatible apps and synchronization across multiple rooms. Finally, the TX-NR7100 has Google Chromecast on-board and Apple AirPlay 2 support built in.
Pros: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and IMAX Enhanced Support, Dirac Live room correction, plenty of channels (up to 5.1.4 or 7.1.2 channel immersive sound), plays nicely with 3rd party products, most affordable 9-channel AVR from a name brand
Cons: Dirac Live version lacks independent subwoofer support, lacks preamp outputs for channel expansion
The Bottom Line
The Onkyo TX-NR7100 is an excellent choice for those looking for a 5.1.4 or 7.1.2 channel immersive surround sound set-up at an affordable price. With support for IMAX Enhanced, Works with Sonos, and DIRAC Live room correction, this receiver offers high end sound, optimization and flexibility without a high price tag.
Where to Buy the Onkyo TX-NR7100:
$1,299$729 at Amazon$1,299$729 at Crutchfield
Related Reading:
- Dirac is Bringing Its Groundbreaking Room Correction to Denon and Marantz Receivers
- Denon AVR-S760H A/V Receiver Review
- Sony STR-AZ1000ES A/V Receiver Review
