Features & Technology

Amplifier

Knowing high-quality audio, Onkyo wanted to design an integrated component with enough power to drive more speakers that normally would require a separate amplifier to drive. While many of today’s A/V receivers utilize class D amplifier sections, Onkyo wanted their most powerful receiver to incorporate class A/B amplifier topology to ensure the best sound possible while keeping power high and heat in check.

The Onkyo TX-RZ70 features an oversized transformer in its own sub-enclosure to keep any noise at bay while providing all the power that each amplifier module and circuit would need. A solid power supply is a must for any audio component but is most important in an amplifier, and it’s one area most overlooked by home theater receiver manufacturers. Many home theater receivers in the market today fall short of their power specification when driven into multiple channels and can’t handle the dynamic peaks in today’s movie soundtracks. Onkyo designed the power supply for the TX-RZ70 to ensure that there is enough power on tap for these soundtracks while also powering a full suite of home theater speakers. With 140 watts into 8 ohms at 0.08% THD into two channels, there is enough power there that when multiple channels are needed, the RZ70 has enough to power many of the speaker systems likely to be used with this model more easily than others in its class. Having 11 amplifier channels gives you the ability to power a complete Atmos 7.1.4 system with height speakers, or if you have a five or 7-channel speaker system in your main room, you can appoint a zone 2 and 3 to power other rooms with the remaining amplifier channels fully independent from the main room. The TX-RZ70 also has preamp outputs for all channels, including the zone channels, should you ever need more power and ability. There are also trigger outputs so that these additional power amplifiers can be turned on and off by the TX-RZ70. The two subwoofer outputs on the back panel allow two subwoofers to be independently controlled and processed for the best performance.

Processing

Most of the sources used today in a home theater system are digital, and having high-quality processors on board is imperative to having the best sound quality possible. The TX-RZ70 utilizes a pair of top-quality ESS Sabre DACS (ES9206) for its digital-to-analog processing, which is the same type of processor used in some of the better stereo DACS on the market today. Onkyo chose this path to ensure the highest quality of digital-to-analog processing, Another benefit of using the ESS Sabre DACs is that they handle just about any audio codec. From MP3, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, WAV, and Apple Lossless, among many more. This ensures that the TX-RZ70 will play any of your music files, giving you the ultimate flexibility.

ESS Sabre DACs are also known for their measured performance, giving you the maximum signal-to-noise and distortion specifications available today.

Dirac Live & Onkyo AccuEQ

Onkyo includes the ability to utilize Dirac Live (Full Bandwidth License included) and the option to upgrade Dirac Live Bass Control from one sub to multiple subs for $499. While the Dirac Live that comes with the RZ70 can manage one subwoofer, the multi-sub upgraded version handles more than one sub and includes much more adjustability in your subwoofer tuning. Having Dirac Live included is a huge deal because many receivers make you pay for this feature separately and also don’t give you the option to add on Dirac Live Bass Control. We believe Dirac is one of the best room calibration softwares on the market today, so we were extremely happy to see it included in this receiver.

Also included is Onkyo’s own AccuEQ room measurement system if you don’t want to use Dirac Live. Having this ability to choose the calibration program for your room gives you the opportunity to find the best one that gives you the performance you are after over having one single calibration program. The AccuEQ is baked right into the TX-RZ70, while Dirac Live is provided with the Onkyo Controller App through your mobile device. Using the Onkyo Controller App, you can manually manipulate the EQ curves if you want to add a particular flavor to the sound.

While this receiver is relatively easy to set up, you should make sure you do it correctly so you get the best performance. We have an in-depth guide on how to set up your AV Receiver and a tips & tricks guide on how to best set up Dirac for your room. Also, when you purchase from Audio Advice, our team of experts will provide you with lifetime support for any questions that may arise.

Input/Outputs

Onkyo wanted its flagship receiver to have connections that allowed the best performance from any connected device. The TX-RZ70 has six 8K/60Hz HDMI inputs and a front-mounted 4K/60Hz input for convenience. These inputs are full HDMI 2.1 with Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HDCP2.3 support for all of the back panel HDMI ports. This allows you to connect multiple gaming systems and 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray players, along with a home theater PC or any other super high-quality video components like a Kaleidescape movie server. It’s a great addition, as most televisions today only have one or two HDMI ports capable of these specs, thus limiting your connection ability. The main HDMI output has eARC, which allows an audio return channel from this connection with full Dolby Atmos/DTS:X support for multi-channel sound from your television, should you use its inboard streaming or content apps.

In addition, you also have composite and component inputs that upscale and transfer the video into an HDMI signal for those of you who want to connect up a legacy gaming system, two independent subwoofer inputs, and even a phono input to hook up your turntable to the receiver.

If you have ever noticed screen abnormalities when switching between HDMI inputs on an A/V receiver, they can be pretty distracting, and Onkyo knows this. Onkyo’s QMS (Quick Media Switching) reduces this screen blanking effect, giving a much smoother transition between sources.

Another cool feature is the TX-RZ70’s ability to have discrete HDMI switching for zone 2. This means that while the main room could be playing an 8K movie in the main theater, zone 2 can also play from a different source in 4K. We think this option is a well-thought-out design for parents wanting to watch a movie while the kids watch their own content in another room. Having this ability allows so many possibilities and shows Onkyo’s commitment to flexibility in its designs.

Gamers Rejoice

Many of today’s home theater receiver users use their systems for gaming. A system with no lag, stuttering, or frame-tearing is essential to the experience, and Onkyo has you covered. Having options like VRR(Variable Refresh Rate), ALLM(Auto Low Latency Mode), and QFT(Quick Frame Transport) give gamers an edge by eliminating all of the video issues associated with high refresh rate gaming.

Dolby Atmos Height Virtualizer

Many people don’t have the ability to place in-ceiling speakers in their theater or media room but still want to experience Dolby Atmos. The RZ70 includes Dolby Atmos Height Virtualizer, which is a mode that allows you to get most of the benefits of Atmos height channels without the need to run more cables and mount speakers in the room. While we still think dedicated height channel speakers are needed for the utmost performance in Dolby Atmos, having this feature is excellent for people who either can’t install these speakers or choose not to install these extra speakers.

IMAX Enhanced Mode

The Onkyo TX-RZ70 meets the strict standards established by IMAX to reduce noise and grain to produce a brighter, clearer picture with immersive sound for the ultimate theater experience.

Music from Any Source

One of the benefits of today’s digital music landscape is the ability to get your music from multiple sources. The TX-RZ70 has SMART AV receiver technology, which allows music to be streamed directly from Amazon Music HD, Pandora®, Spotify®, TIDAL, Deezer, and TuneIn while enabling you to have multi-room audio via Chromecast, Airplay 2, and DTS Play-Fi. The TX-RZ70 is Roon Ready, and Alexa voice control is also supported.

Best Hi-Res Music Streaming Sources

Sonos is baked into the TX-RZ70, allowing you to fully connect to Sonos devices and control inputs and volume through the Sonos app. You can connect up to 3 Sonos devices to the TX-RZ70.

Along with an ethernet connection, a 5 GHz/2.4 GHz Wi-Fi® supporting 802.11ac standard is included with the TX-RZ70, giving you multiple high-speed connection options. These connections are important for high-quality music streaming and network audio streaming from stored files, as well as a high-speed connection for firmware updates.

Bi-directional Bluetooth Technology allows the TX-RZ70 to receive audio from your favorite devices in SBC or AAC codec. Also, if you have a favorite pair of Bluetooth headphones you use around the house, the RZ70 will transmit audio in SBC, aptX, and aptX HD. This allows the use of the newest bluetooth headphones and codecs to preserve the quality of the signal while also allowing the use of older bluetooth headphones.

Klipsch Optimized Mode

Klipsch speakers have been used for home theater for years for a good reason. Klipsch speakers have many of the attributes that make home theater great. Klipsch designs their speakers to be very efficient, allowing very loud levels with fewer watts than other designs, giving them an edge when used with home theater receivers. This means, Klipsch speakers excel at dynamics and impact, making them at home in a home theater environment. Onkyo knows this and worked with Klipsch to implement a Klipsch-optimized mode for their receivers so that owners of Reference and Reference Premiere models can simply select which model they own for each channel, and the TX-RZ70 will optimize the crossover for that speaker.

Performance

We unboxed the Onkyo TX-RZ70 and found it was well-boxed and protected for shipping. The setup was straightforward, and after connecting the speakers, our source components, and network connections, we were up and running. We liked the clean front panel design that wasn’t cluttered with controls like some AVRs can get while also having usable front panel controls.

We especially liked the simple mode-selectable bass, vocal, and treble controls on the front panel to make quick tone control adjustments. The front panel has a button layout with each input as a separate button, which was much faster and easier than many receivers with only an input cycle button on the front panel.

We found that while both Dirac Live and Onkyo’s own AccuEQ worked well, it will depend on your setup and needs. For the best performance, we always choose Dirac Live as they are well known to be one of the best room correction systems out there. If you want a simpler approach that works within the TX-RZ70 AccuEQ is a good choice.

In two-channel mode listening to music, we found that the TX-RZ70 had a neutral frequency balance and allowed us to hear well into the music, showing the quality of the amplifiers and circuits inside.

Willie Nelsons' 2023 album Bluegrass showed us that the RZ70 is a musically talented component. The stand-up bass presented itself naturally and had good body while staying tight and detailed. Acoustic guitars sounded full of detail, allowing us to hear the wood tones of these instruments. Willie’s voice was natural and focused. While we knew that a home theater receiver was never going to produce the lifelike soundstage and image layering of dedicated high-end two-channel components, the RZ70 did an admiral job of letting us forget this is a do-it-all component. The one impressive area was the treble. Many home theater receivers have amplifiers that do well with the fast, dynamic passages of a movie soundtrack but will fall short when playing music. These receivers sometimes overemphasize the treble or make it sound brittle and etched. This was not the case with the RZ70, as it kept the treble sounding natural and smooth. The combination of using class A/B amplifiers, as well as Onkyo’s dedication to circuit design, allowed this music to sing.

Fink’s 2017 album Resurgam is one of those albums you put on and just play, enjoying all of the sonics and great songwriting. The RZ70 allowed us to hear into this album and showed us that a heavy bass line isn’t a problem for this receiver. On the title song “Resurgam,” the bass drum is tuned low and can sound muddy on speakers driven by lesser amplifiers, but the RZ70, with its 140 watts at 8 ohms, allowed good driver control, keeping the bass tight and detailed. Fink’s vocals had clarity and were placed in the correct center image. The High hats that come into the song around the 2-minute mark are very detailed and can be strident on some components, but the RZ70 kept its composure, allowing us to enjoy this track without any glare or harshness in the treble. Again, we sometimes forgot we were listening to a home theater receiver and not a dedicated two-channel integrated amplifier.

Moving on to multi-channel audio, we played several movie soundtracks that we feel test the receiver's ability in theater mode. Playing tracks from the movies Top Gun Maverick and The Greatest Showman, we were impressed with both the processing ability and the amplifier section of the RZ70. Both Soundtracks sounded dynamic and immersive without any glare or compression, giving credence to Onkyo’s decision to use better DACs in this flagship receiver. With a healthy power output, the RZ70 should satisfy all home theater lovers using decently efficient speakers in normal-sized rooms. If you have very high volume needs or your theater room is very large, there are preamp outputs for all channels should you choose to up the power with an external amplifier.

Overall Recommendation

We enjoyed our time with the Onkyo TX-RZ70 and think it is a worthy flagship from a company that has long been a leading contender in the home theater world. Given the use of upper-level ESS Sabre DACs, class A/B amplifiers, and enough power to produce excellent results with most average sensitivity home theater speaker systems, the RZ70 is built to give you years of flagship-level performance while offering an upgrade path should you choose to upgrade to a separate multi-channel amplifier to power larger, less sensitive speakers in larger rooms. With network streaming and the ability to connect to almost any device via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or wired network connection, the TX-RZ70 is a true do-it-all device. Its clean front panel can fit into nearly every theater system and provide top-level performance.

IIf you’re planning your home theater or media room, you have to check out our Home Theater Design page where we have everything Home Theater related, including our FREE Home Theater Design Tool.

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