Onkyo TX-NR1009 Pro Reviews

Firmware updates are a double-edged sword for consumers. On the one hand, we can easily fix a faulty feature in our electronics by either downloading an update directly to the device or from the company’s website. On the other, it allows manufacturers to release products that aren’t quite ready for market but can meet a preset release date and allow them to be fixed on the fly, which makes paying consumers unwilling beta testers. In this particular case, Onkyo’s update fixed a major issue and removed any reservations I had about making this a Top Pick. The TX-NR1009 offers virtually all of the most desirable features you’ll find in a flagship product at a savings of over 50 percent, and delivers sound quality that rivals more expensive components.

Powerful-sounding yet refined, the NR1009 really is an amp to get excited about

Our love affair with Onkyo’s AV receivers continues with this wonderful home entertainment hub. The amount of features on board is actually quite overwhelming – DLNA and Spotify music streaming are highlights and the world’s first appearance of DTS Neo:X is pleasing despite its similarities to Dolby and Audyssey’s equivalents. When it comes to its core duty of playing Blu-ray soundtracks though, the TX-NR1009 excels – the sound is powerful and assertive but not at the expense of finesse, all of which makes this an AV receiver you should be sticking on your shortlist, provided you can stretch to that hefty asking price.

We've been mighty impressed with the recent offerings from Onkyo but we have to say that the TX-NR1009 has left is a little underwhelmed. When you compare it to the Onkyo TX-NR809, you have to look pretty hard to see where your extra $200 is going. While it looks to be a great receiver in its own right, we would much prefer to see some sort of stereo subwoofer system (or the newer Audyssey MultEQ XT32) rather than just DTS' answer to Audyssey DSX and Dolby PLIIz. We do like the ISF calibration and the HQV video scaling but you can get these in cheaper Onkyo offerings.