Surround Processor Reviews

Onkyo PR-RZ5100 Surround Processor Review Test Bench

Test Bench

Analog frequency response in Pure Audio mode:
–0.03 dB at 10 Hz
–0.00 dB at 20 Hz
–0.01 dB at 20 kHz
–0.03 dB at 50 kHz

Analog frequency response with signal processing:
–0.10 dB at 10 Hz
–0.02 dB at 20 Hz
–0.20 dB at 20 kHz
–63.32 dB at 50 kHz

917onkrec.meas.jpg

The above chart shows the frequency response of the left (aqua), center (green), LFE (purple), and left surround (red) channels at the preamp outputs of the Dolby Digital decoder. The left channel measures +0.00 decibels at 20 hertz and –0.13 dB at 20 kilohertz. The center channel measures –0.00 dB at 20 Hz and –0.01 dB at 20 kHz, and the left surround channel measures +0.00 dB at 20 Hz and –0.01 dB at 20 kHz. The LFE channel, normalized to the level at 40 Hz, is +0.12 dB at 20 Hz, reaches the upper –3dB point at 96 Hz, and reaches the upper –6dB point at 107 Hz.

There was no multichannel input to measure. The analog THD+N was less than 0.008% at 1 kHz with a 100-millivolt input and the volume control set to 78. Crosstalk with a 100-mV input was –98.47 dB left to right and –99.57 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with “A” weighting was –131.08 dBrA.—MJP

COMPANY INFO
Onkyo
onkyousa.com
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COMMENTS
drny's picture
Submitted by drny on September 29, 2017 - 3:58pm

S&V, you well know the dirty little secret that HDMI 2.1 will make all AVRs as well as most Integrated Amps and Sound Processors obsolete.
I have not updated (and will not update) my 2016 Yamaha AVR based solely on the fact that all brands and models will be made obsolete by 2019 (or earlier) adoption of HDMI 2.1 connection (new cables as well will be required.
As such I don't sent any video signal through my AVR. Only Audio goes to my Receiver.
I will wait till 2019 to update / upgrade. That's when HDMI 2.1 with necessary firmware updates will have proliferated the AVR market.
By the way the same goes for Smart TVs.
I own a Samsung JS9500 (2015 model year). No matter how much I feel tempted to jump into the OLED pool, I will stand by until 2019 model year models(with late season firmware update).
Just as with AVR the change to HDMI 2.1 will eventually make $3000-7000 TV displays obsolete.

mountainman3520's picture
Submitted by mountainman3520 on November 26, 2017 - 7:11pm

Hello. Anyone have test results of whether this generation of Onkyo prepro uses mechanical relays to change between modes?
I spent over a year trying to resolve this on a top end Onkyo prepro from a few years ago (PRS-5507 was the number if I recall). I also tested the following year's model in a store and it had the same design defect.
The issue was that changes between digital audio stream formats caused a mechanical relay to make a loud CLICK noise. This wouldn't have been such a problem if it only occurred during infrequent user selected mode changes, but ANY brief interruption of the digital audio stream caused an automatic CLICK into "no audio" mode followed by another CLICK back into active audio. So every time a source device with digital audio was interrupted, such as a streamed program, TV show on a DVR, Netflix video, etc being paused or skipped forward/back, or any change, it would result in a sequence of audible clicks. Skipping 3 minutes of commercials in six 30 second remote button pushes? CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK. Ugh!
Many people reported the issue on various forums. A few said they were able to resolve it by adjusting programmable default sound source settings and Onkyo told me this as well. But I followed their instructions and they did not resolve the issue. Eventually Onkyo issued a firmware change that they claimed would fix it, but it also did not work.
Pretty much ruined my enjoyment of that Onkyo prepro despite its other merits. If my AV gear was in a different room it wouldn't be an issue. Or a sealed rack, but then it would have cooked.
I'm curious if this lameness has been resolved after a few years and models.

katherinerose6's picture
Submitted by katherinerose6 on November 7, 2023 - 7:46am

I noticed that my meter's center level was a few decibels above normal, but it's not common for an office demolition auto-cal system to precisely match up with another measurement technique.

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