Onkyo's new AV receiver is an enthusiast's dream come true

In the world of audiovisual tech, the receiver sits at the head of the proverbial table. Yes, we need TVs, speakers, streaming devices and game consoles, but without a powerful AV receiver to hook everything together, our audiovisual experience would be half of what we’d expect.

Knowing this, Onkyo has loaded up its 2018 flagship receiver, the TX-NR787, with some truly mind-blowing tech, including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, Dolby Surround and DTS Neural:X up-mixing, HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma), HDR10, and Dolby Vision support and three zones of audio.

According to its specs, its base configuration is a 9.2-channel receiver but supports a 5.1.4 Atmos configuration with a massive 220-watts per channel. It sports seven HDMI ports at 4K/60, plus passthrough for HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, BT.2020 and HDCP 2.2. It comes with Chromecast built-in, but out of the box supports DTS Play-Fi, AirPlay, Amazon Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Deezer, Pandora and TuneIn, plus 32-bit DSP.

New for this year is AccuEQ Advance, a new premium multi-point room-acoustic calibration system that eliminates standing waves that uses three locations in the room to balance sound.

Considering everything Onkyo packed inside of it, its price is surprising: it’s just $799 (around £589, AU$1,059).

AVR and speakers vs soundbars

One of the biggest strikes against AVRs in the last decade has been the popularization of the soundbar, which offers a quick and easy way to enhance audio quality without dealing with speaker wires or separate audio cabinets.

And, for a certain audience, that’s absolutely fine.

But if you’re in the market for bigger sound, multiple HDMI support and upscaling, you’re going to need an AV Receiver. (Though, admittedly, maybe not one as fully loaded as the TX-NR787 when you're just starting out.)