Spring Berth for Onkyo Flagships

The last of Onkyo’s 2010 receivers, flagship models TX-NR3008 and 5008, will be released on September 1.

The rest of the range, including the first network-capable receiver for under $2000 in NZ, the TX-NR708, is selling well enough to make Onkyo the country’s #1 receiver brand.

According to distributor Avalon Audio, Onkyo has about 35% of the local receiver market, with the top-seller being the $1500 TX-NR608, which was the first HMDI 1.4-compliant receiver to be released here. (The August issue of British magazine What HiFI awards it a five-star rave, citing its six HDMI inputs, “smooth, flowing and refined” audio, user-friendliness and “simply staggering specification for the money”).

The pending, 9.2 THX Ultra2 Plus-certified models will support network audio streaming, multi-room set-ups, iPhone/iPod playback over USB, and 3D-compatible home theatre, with eight HDMI 1.4 inputs, dual HDMI outputs to connect two HD displays simultaneously, and HQV Reon-VX 1080p upscaling of all video inputs.