Onkyo TX-NR656 Receiver Review – [Pros & Cons 2023]

Onkyo TX-NR656 Review – For A Brilliant Sound Experience

If you are looking for a great AV receiver to go with your home theatre system, then look no further. The Onkyo TX-NR656 is chock full of features and comes with an affordable price tag giving cheap AV receiver a run for their money.

Whether you are an audiophile or someone who wants to enjoy movie-like sounds from the comfort of your home, the TX-NR656 will impress you. From Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound support to noise-free clear sound to high-resolution 1080p videos to HDR support for 4k videos, the TX-NR656 has so much going for it that you will wonder how they were able to fit it into such a small price tag.

Continue reading our review below on the Onkyo TX-NR656 to find out if it really lives up to the hype. It will also help you decide if it is the right AV receiver for your requirements.

Onkyo TX-NR656 Specs

Excellent sound quality with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support
Wireless audio streaming with Airplay and Chrome-cast
Multiple input ports including 8 HDMI inputs

Calibration microphone for accurate sound output
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi ready
Multi-room and multi-zone audio ready

Are The Onkyo TX-NR656 Really Worth Your Money?

The Onkyo TX-NR656 is a new and improved version of its predecessor, the TX-NR646.It produces an impressive sound that will blow your mind and elevate your movie watching experience.

Your home theatre system might have the most sophisticated speakers. But it won’t really matter if you don’t have an equally impressive AV receiver to amplify the sound properly. The TX-NR656 is a 7.2 channel AV receiver that will surround you with incredible sound that you will feel like you are inside the movie you are watching.

What we have described so far about the TX-NR656 is just the tip of the iceberg. Below we look into each of its features in great detail to give you a fair idea of what the AV receiver is capable of. We are sure that you will be equally impressed.

Sound

Connect your home entertainment system to the TX-NR656 and enjoy an incredible sound experience. The sound is the most important aspect of an AV receiver and the TX-NR656 fare extremely well in this area.

Onkyos dynamic audio amplification gives you a rich and pure amplified sound that is free of noise. The sound coming out of the TX-NR656 is crystal clear and it gives a good amount of bass that has an ample amount of thump. Whether it is movies. TV shows or sports the TX-NR656 will blow your mind with its impressive sound quality.

Movie dialogues are heard clearly and the background music is full and rich sounding. On the whole, the TX-NR656 takes your TV and movie watching experience to a great new level.

Design

It is only natural that you expect your AV receiver to match your existing TV and speaker system. The TX-NR656 has a streamlined design that will blend in with any home theater system and add to its overall looks. Its full black body with a matte finish adds a touch of sophistication to any audio or home theatre set-up.

It has a very practical and functional design with important controls and frequently used ports on the front. No more do you have to struggle to find the right port at the back of your receiver. The remote too is very easy to use as it does not have the number pad cramming up all the other buttons.

Dolby Atmos

Whether you are an audiophile or not great sound is something that immediately catches anyone’s attention. The TX-NR656 supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X which are two of the best in sound technologies. The AV receiver gives you the freedom to configure the output in a number of ways for a truly customized sound.

Connectivity

When it comes to connectivity the TX-NR656 is rather generous as it comes with a number of ports. There are a whopping 8 HDMI ports on the rear giving you enough ports to connect multiple devices without having to swap cables every time.

Wireless Connectivity

Source: apphocus.com

Enjoy the wireless convenience of Bluetooth with the Onkyo TX-NR656 which makes streaming your favorite music a breeze. It comes with in-built Bluetooth to stream music from your smartphones and smart devices like tablets. In addition to this, the TX-NR656 also supports Airplay and this lets you use services like Chrome-cast, Pandora, and Spotify.

4K Videos

It’s a world where high-definition videos are becoming the norm, so it won’t be too late before 4k videos become the norm. You will always stay in tune with the advancement in technology with the Onkyo TX-NR656 as it supports both high-resolution 1080p videos and 4K videos with HDR.

This is made possible by the HDMI ports and HDCP 2.2 compatibility. The AV receiver also has the capacity to turn your high-definition 1080p videos to brilliant 4k videos. So not only does the TX-NR656 give you an incredible sound experience but it also ensures that you have an equally impressive video to go with it.

Calibration

A very useful addition to the Onkyo TX-NR656 is the calibration features. It comes with a microphone in the box which is used to set the right sound output as per ambient conditions. This lets you get the best sound out of your AV receiver. In addition to the calibration microphone, there is also a reflex optimizer that is used specifically for calibrating DTS0:X and Dolby Atmos speaker sounds.

Multi-Zone Audio

If you want to enjoy quality sound in more than one area in your home, it is possible with the multi-zone audio feature of the TX-NR656. All you need to do is connect your speakers in another room to the AV receiver using either a Coaxial or an optical cable.

AccuEQ

Source: onkyo.com

The AV receiver comes with technologies that ensure that you are surrounded by only the best sound and to use the abilities of the TX-NR656 to its fullest. The AccuEQ with AccuReflexis one such technology that is employed in the TX-NR656.

With the AccuEQ feature you can select settings such as distance, level, and crossover for all your speakers and even save your custom settings to save manual effort every time. The AccuReflex technology ensures that the sounds from all the speakers reach you in a uniform speed without any delays.

FireConnect Technology

This is Onkyo’s own technology that helps you use your receiver to enjoy music in multiple rooms. So you can connect your receiver to your home theatre as well as have speakers in another room wherein you can send music wirelessly.

All you need to do is connect your audio source to the AV receiver and send the signal wirelessly to a speaker placed virtually anywhere in your home. What’s even better is that you can control this set-up with just your mobile phone.

Smartphone App

With smartphones being omnipresent it only makes sense to be able to use them to control your AV receiver too. Now you can download the free Onkyo control app that is available for both iOS and Android devices.

Easy Set-Up

You don’t have to know a great deal about AV receivers to set up the TX-NR656. The set-up is quite intuitive and does not take up all your time. It also comes with an intuitive remote that makes adjusting the various settings a breeze.

Energy-Conscious

The TX-NR656 uses up 580 watts of power for its operation. AV receivers connected to a home theater system could be continuously on especially during weekends and together. But don’t worry about your power bills going up as the TX-NR656 comes with a standby mode that uses only 0.1W which is almost next to none. Therefore, it is a very energy-conscious device too.

Pros

High-resolution 1080p and 4K videos support
Dynamic audio amplification with noise reduction for clear sound

Incredible sound with DTS:X and Dolby Atmos support
Great value for your money

Cons

The Dolby Atmos feature is limited to only the left and right channels

Absence of an optical output port

Conclusion

The Onkyo TX-NR656 packs in a ton of features for its price point making it an irresistible buy for most users. It has an amazing sound output for starters, not to forget that it supports DTS:X and Dolby Atmos. Your AV receiver is also future ready as it comes with the HDR support for 4K media.

It is also a good-looking AV receiver that will blend into any home theatre system and is very simple to set-up. The intuitive remote makes using the AV receiver easy and the smartphone app makes it even better. Stream all your favorite internet content with the Chrome-cast with wireless convenience.

As you can see, the Onkyo TX-NR656 has got so much going for it despite its small price tag. It has some rave customer reviews who compare its sound to some top models. It is also very beginner-friendly which makes it a great choice for novice users. But its incredible sound performance is what makes it a good choice even for audiophiles who do not want to splurge on high-end models. Go get one yourself and you will know what you have been missing all these days.

You might also like our articles on Panasonic HC-V770 reviews, Denon AVR-S510BT review and Sony HDR-CX405.

Resources

https://www.cnet.com/topics/av-receivers/buying-guide/

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