Onkyo TX-NR616

Onkyo TX-NR616 review

Browsing the prices for Onkyo's receivers can give you the familiar feeling of "too good to be true." Take the Onkyo TX-NR616. At its $410 street price it costs around $100 less than comparable models from other manufacturers, and it offers a staggering eight HDMI inputs, tons of streaming audio options, and an affordable Wi-Fi dongle. It doesn't have built-in AirPlay, but with the money you save you can snag a $100 Apple TV, which offers much more functionality beyond AirPlay. So what's the catch? Reliability, it seems. Fair or not, Onkyo receivers have a reputation for being a little flaky, both in enthusiast forums and user comments. But those reviews shouldn't totally scare you away from the TX-NR616, as the reported problems don't seem to affect all units. Our review sample (with the most recent firmware update) didn't suffer from many of the issues mentioned in negative reviews and many other buyers seem satisfied. If you're put off by Onkyo's reliability issues, the next best value for most buyers is the Sony STR-DN1030, which includes built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and AirPlay for $500.