Onkyo TX-8555 Stereo Receiver Review

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.


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