Onkyo TX-NR646 Owners Thread

You'd need at least a 5.1.2 speaker configuration in order for the Atmos metadata to be acknowledged. A conventional 5.1 or 7.1 configuration will simply result in 7.1 TrueHD being indicated as the incoming source.

Thanks very much for the speedy response!
 
Hello everyone, I have just purchased a 646 which I absolutely love. I have an annoying buzz coming from inside the amp when it has been running for an hour or more. Is this normal or is there something sinister going on inside?
 
May I suggest you double check your speaker connections especially where using bare wired connections.
 
Thank you, I will check them, although I think the buzz is coming from the power supply, it is not from the speakers.
 
strange that you hear the buzz after an hour use ... sounds like the amp is over-heating possibly ... have you tried a different power socket?
 
It's definitely not normal! I had the exact same issues and found that over time the buzzing got louder and louder. It got to the point that after extended use I could hear the buzzing over what we were watching on TV!

I got mine repaired under warranty in the end and haven't heard the noise since. The problem was down to a faulty mains transformer which needed to be replaced.
 
My instinct pointed me to that. I am glad someone else had the same issue. Need to try and obtain the receipt now otherwise could be an expensive repair.
 
Greetings fellow 646 Owners!

Does anybody know whether you need to have Atmos speakers plugged into the receiver before the Atmos light will come on? I only ask as i'm feeding an Atmos source via the shield which supports trueHD/Atmos but only the trueHD light is on? I want to invest in speakers but not sure if I have an issue with the passthrough that I need to sort out first?!

Thanks
Yes you need the atmos speaker otherwise is down scaled to trueHD
 
hi all, just wondering if anyone is experiencing issues with sound? I just received a 646 from Onkyo as part of the trade-in programme for the tx-nr609. all seems ok, except I get an occasional, loud crackle sound on changing between HD channels on Sky Q box. Alternatively, there could be a short, low pop sound. Not as bad as on the 609, but enough to annoy me. This issue doesn't seem to be happening on any other input devices - xbox one, blu-ray, apple tv, pc

There is also a sound gap on changing all channels of about 2-3 seconds. I suspect thats because the sound input for each channel varies and the receiver needs to adjust

I have deep colour turned off and hdmi control turned off in the sky q box.

Is this common, is there a fix or do i need to get onto Onkyo??

thanks in advance....
 
hi all, just wondering if anyone is experiencing issues with sound? I just received a 646 from Onkyo as part of the trade-in programme for the tx-nr609. all seems ok, except I get an occasional, loud crackle sound on changing between HD channels on Sky Q box. Alternatively, there could be a short, low pop sound. Not as bad as on the 609, but enough to annoy me. This issue doesn't seem to be happening on any other input devices - xbox one, blu-ray, apple tv, pc

There is also a sound gap on changing all channels of about 2-3 seconds. I suspect thats because the sound input for each channel varies and the receiver needs to adjust

I have deep colour turned off and hdmi control turned off in the sky q box.

Is this common, is there a fix or do i need to get onto Onkyo??

thanks in advance....

so still getting the crackling sound - sometimes it's loud, sometimes it's barely audible. and it's random across all HD channels.

the sound gap on changing channel is "normal" according to the advanced manual.

However, last night there was a 10 second sound bap after fast forwarding a HD recording.

No response from SKY and awaiting a response from Onkyo. At this point, I think I'll be returning this unit.
 
I could do with some support on an audio issue with my 646....

I'm getting a strange sound through my 646 too - there's a low frequency popping coming through continuously - originally I thought it was my sub cable, possibly due to proximity to power cables, so I just replaced it with a double shielded one to no effect. I then tried changing the power connections around in case of a dodgy power supply....no change.

So then, last night I was watching midnight special, which has a lot of LFE in it, and my new sub managed to crawl forwards and unplug itself. I paused the movie to reconnect it....at which point I realised that - very faintly - the rhythmical popping is now present on all channels. It's possible it was before, but I wasn't hearing it due to it being louder on the sub.

Its a strange sound, which occurs non-stop whenever I'm watching movies, irrespective of the source. It's sort of pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop at a fast rhythm....

Any ideas? It may have always even happening but maybe my lovely new Monitor Audio Bronze speakers are finally making it obvious!
 
Hi, does anyone know whether we will have any issues with HLG with this amp when its available?
 
Still getting hdmi video/sound dropouts. Was occasonal but doing it constantly on first 3 connections and probably the others but dont use the kit on them every day. Guess i'm gonna have to give them a call this week. Bit peeved this model has issues as well after the 609 I had previously died a death.
 
Does anyone AirPlay audio from an iOS device to this amp ?

I have been comparing AirPlay to bog standard Bluetooth streaming.

The Bluetooth stands up so well I even wonder if I prefer it to AirPlay , as the Bluetooth sounds a bit more musical.

Also I have to say I also sometimes have connection problems with AirPlay when doing A to B comparisons to Bluetooth.
 
I've done both, and I can't tell the difference. Possibly due to the source material - at best 320KBps MP3 or FLAC* - possibly due to the playback options on the amp itself (pure, direct, stereo, mono, etc etc). Not done an A/B test, as I only have the one iPad

Which I've just found out should be irrelevant, as airplay streams are transcoded as apple lossless codec at 44.1KHz 2 channels...

What I would like to know is what format does the amp expect playlists in - as it doesnt recognise m3u or xspf playlists created in VLC.
 
Anyone having issues with network connectivity?

I originally reported an issue with this last year, but still having trouble.

Basically, we could be listening to Spotify and without warning we are unable to skip or select a different track. Spotify and TuneIn will both fail to connect, the Onkyo app is unable to find or connect to the amp, and Spotify app on PC and mobile is unable to see the amp.

The device is still listed in the router with an IP address, and the amp passes network tests.

The only way to restore proper operation is to pull the power plug on the amp.

Have experienced this for a year now, on WiFi and ethernet, and on a mix of routers and hubs. The amp is up to date on firmware as far as I can tell.
 
There was a new firmware update for this ,first available a month or so ago.

Since installing my Atmos height speakers half a year ago , I swear they never seemed to make a sound , despite them firing on speaker level calibration. They were dead silent in real world use, no question.

Anyhow , with the latest fw , they actually work now ! Dunno if it's the fw or something else that I was not doing. I'm sure I had always selected the Dolby Atmos soundtrack which is basically Dolby TrueHD.

The updated fw is 1080-3040-1105.
 
Thanks. Just checked and found the update. Not sure why the amp didn't notify me or install itself?
Time will tell if it fixes my issue or not.
 
Hi, I've just updated the firmware in my TXNR646 which now supports DTS:X. Looking on the DTS website, (Home Theater Sound Gets Real | DTS) it suggests that my current DTS-HD MA Blu-ray discs are now supported and I should be able to use DTS:X with them. I can't see how to do this on the device when I've got a film playing. I cycle through the different listening modes but none of them are DTS:X.
 
Hi, I've just updated the firmware in my TXNR646 which now supports DTS:X. Looking on the DTS website, (Home Theater Sound Gets Real | DTS) it suggests that my current DTS-HD MA Blu-ray discs are now supported and I should be able to use DTS:X with them. I can't see how to do this on the device when I've got a film playing. I cycle through the different listening modes but none of them are DTS:X.


I think you've misinterpreted what DTS are trying to convey. DTS:X is an audio format and you'd only get it if the content includes the associated DTS:X metadata. Blu-rays would need to be authored with a DTS:X spundtrack in order for you to get DTS:X. There is however an upmixing mode called Neural:X included on all receivers able to decode DTS:X that can be used with non DTS:X audio to create the pseudo effect of DTS:X.

DTS:X isn't a mode you apply and it is an actual audio format.
 
I think you've misinterpreted what DTS are trying to convey. DTS:X is an audio format and you'd only get it if the content includes the associated DTS:X metadata. Blu-rays would need to be authored with a DTS:X spundtrack in order for you to get DTS:X. There is however an upmixing mode called Neural:X included on all receivers able to decode DTS:X that can be used with non DTS:X audio to create the pseudo effect of DTS:X.

DTS:X isn't a mode you apply and it is an actual audio format.

Thanks for replying.

Ahh, okay. Well I'll see what Neural:X does to a DTS-HD MA source then.
Here's what I read on the DTS site that led me to think what I've put above...

COMPATIBLE
Your movie collection gets a new lease on life! Rest assured that our celebrated catalog of DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks are best heard with DTS:X. Take your favorite Blu-ray, DVD or digital movie to new heights.
 
Thanks , I will update by USB tomorrow and check it out.

I think this is a great value av amp.

I don't mean to sound picky , but I wish av amps in general would take on some basic video processing duties. My wish list has only one video processing feature and that would be for an amp to perform frame rate conversion of 60hz streamed movies to 24 frames per second.
 
Thanks for replying.

Ahh, okay. Well I'll see what Neural:X does to a DTS-HD MA source then.
Here's what I read on the DTS site that led me to think what I've put above...

COMPATIBLE
Your movie collection gets a new lease on life! Rest assured that our celebrated catalog of DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks are best heard with DTS:X. Take your favorite Blu-ray, DVD or digital movie to new heights.

As I said, DTS:X is a format and not something you can apply to non DTS:X encoded soundtracks. You can use Neural:X to create the effect you'd get in association with DTS:X, but this is a pseudo immersive upmixing mode.

DTS:X: The immersive audio alternative to Dolby Atmos, explained

You'd only get DTS:X if the audio is encoded as such and if it includes the associated DTS:X metadata.
 
Thanks , I will update by USB tomorrow and check it out.

I think this is a great value av amp.

I don't mean to sound picky , but I wish av amps in general would take on some basic video processing duties. My wish list has only one video processing feature and that would be for an amp to perform frame rate conversion of 60hz streamed movies to 24 frames per second.

You should try not to convert frame rates and play content using theirs natural frame rate. Why would you want to alter the frame rate?
 

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