Customer Ratings & Reviews

The ease of use is a welcome feature. I have had every major brand AVR in the last 20 years. This Onkyo is THX Select which is just amazing. The setup is virtually the easiest I’ve ever used. I tried a Denon and Marantz before my Onkyo. I had a Pioneer Elite prior but twice had HDMI failures. I love the fact that you can really tweak the sound signature via eq settings and individual speaker levels. I’ve had my share of try this to get this to work receivers! I’m really not fond of the term “plug and play” as I like to control everything. But times have changed. The ease of use and automated features with ARC are the best. I can change and alter everything, or let Onkyo provide the best sound under each condition. I choose the latter now. I’m 53 years old and love my New a Onkyo TX-NR696. The natural sound and ease of use rivals receivers costing 3 or 4 times the price. I’m ready to sit back, relax and just listen. No extra tweaks needed based on my viewing material. This receiver is coupled with a New LG C9 55in. OLED HDTV. This combination allows me to enjoy all my input devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xiaomi Mi Box S 4K, LG 4K DVD player and all my LG onboard content. Finally the cable box works flawlessly with the entire rig. Thank you Onkyo for doing it all, and doing it all right!

I bought this AVR back in October 2022 at our local BB store. I had just gotten a steal on a full set of Klipsh surround sound speakers & subs and wanted to start playing around with them immediately. The BB associate recommended this unit. No other Onkyo units were available to purchase same-day. So without any research, I bought the Onkyo TX-NR696. I have not had any issues over the past 14 months with this unit and have been pleased with its performance so far. However, if I’d done some actual research, then I wouldn’t be writing this review. In the past, we had always used soundbar surround sound systems. After purchasing this unit & pairing it with the aforementioned Klipsh speakers, I’ll never go back to another soundbar system again. The sound is incredible and takes your home movie watching experience to a new level. It took a while to get all of my components dialed in, but the results have been worth it. This unit has been rock-solid and has not let me down. Oh, Dolby Atmos is really cool too…lol. Know that there is a large learning curve with dedicated A/V receivers - that is if you’re like me & you’ve never owned or configured one previously. Instructions for configuration of this unit are available on Onyko’s website. I’ve always liked learning how things work and adhering to best practices. If this is you too, there will be a lot of time exploring & learning ahead for you. If you intend to use this AVR as the media hub for your external devices to your TV, you may want to do a little more research. You’ll need to decide on how future proof you’d like your purchase to be. This AVR supports HDMI 2.0 connections and is backwards compatible. This means the TX-NR696 with correct is capable of displaying video up to 4k/60fps, but can also run devices that are older - like HDMI 1.4, etc. (One of the other reviewers stated they were having issues connecting to their Visio TV using HDMI 2.1 that it would work until they downgraded to HDMI 1.4 connectivity. Well, this receiver does not support HDMI 2.1, only version 2.0 and older) Also note that out of the box, video output maxes out to 4k/30fps. Onyko has documentation available on their website that explains how to enable full 4k/60fps by following a few steps. I thought making the enduser research & turn this feature on manually, instead of it just being enabled by default, was a little odd and annoying. Anyway, AppleTVs work fine with this unit as their max video output is 4k/60fps. I have an old Xbox One X for playing 4k discs & it works as expected as well, still limited to 4k/60fps. PC/laptops have worked fine for me as well. I have switched between having my external video devices (AppleTVs, etc.) connected directly to the AVR through to my TV and have also tried connecting external devices directly to my TV and using the eARC feature to pass sound from those devices through the TV and on to the AVR. I have stuck with using the AVR as sound only via eARC and connecting video devices straight to my TV. My TV supports HDMI 2.1, and I want to be able to use full 4k/120fps, if/when I need to do so. Realistically, this is AVR is at least one generation too far behind for my taste since it doesn’t support HDMI 2.1. The sound is still amazing for the price range, but having this unit as the main video hub is not for me. If I could do this all over again, I would probably look at the TX-NR6100 or spend a little more and get the TX-NR7100. (From my post-purchase research, the TX-NR6100 seems to have the exact same audo features/specs as TX-NR696.) Both of the TX-NR-x100 units support HDMI 2.1, aka 4k/120fps. To wrap up, the TX-NR696 has been very reliable for us, plus the sound has been better than I expected. However, if my receiver were to disappear from our entertainment center and needed replacement, I’d most likely consider the TX-NR6100 or, if my budget allowed, the TX-NR7100.

I replaced an older Yamaha rxv-650 with this Onkyo. The main reason for purchasing this av receiver was the HDMI and blue tooth connectivity. The power output is moderate but not explosive. I have the unit connected to Klipsch r602 main speakers, r34 center channel, Klipsch 10" sub, two ceiling atmos speakers and Bose satellites in the rear. For movies I give the system 5 stars, the effects are excellent and the set up is very easy. For strait music the Yamaha sounded a little better, not to say the Onkyo doesn't sound good, it does, but the Yamaha just seemed a little more pleasing. I've had Onkyo's before in the 80S and they seem to last which is why I finally settled on this to replace the Yamaha. Over all I am very happy with this unit to date.

I originally had a Onkyo TX-SR373 that I wasn't happy with due to mediocre sound quality. After replacing it with this receiver, I was blown away by the sound quality difference. The 5.1 surround speaker system came alive and the quality of the sounds seemed much fuller compared to the older Onkyo. Although the Bluetooth feature is a nice convenience, we haven't used it as much as we had originally planned. Overall - this is an excellent receiver for the price and well worth the upgrade over the 373 that was half the price but also half the sound quality as this receiver. Only two issues - we push more volume to the center channel speaker to improve the dialog when watching dramas. Unfortunately, once you increase the center channel volume - it doesn't save the setting and resets back to the original after restarting the receiver. Also, the instructions available are horrible and lack the detail necessary for in-depth customizations.

I paired this with high end Klipsch speakers for a 7.1 setup. Dolby Atmos setting is amazing for both music and films. The calibration tool is a must for balanced sound. Easy setup and tweaking. When using my Xbox sounds actually follows the characters from whatever position they may be in. Amazing!

Its an onkyo, sounds great and easy for the family to use, but the app needs work and the network parts are behind

Have had this Onkyo for one month now. I have seven 8 ohm speakers plugged into it running a 7.1 surround system. My system sounds great! I do not have my speakers set up for ATMOS but to me I am very satisfied with the sound. The bass is very deep and the highs are great. The receiver has no problem pushing the sound thru my speaker system. After the initial set up with the speakers, every speaker front, center, sides, and rears have just the perfect amount of volume and sound coming from the as they should. Every sound is crisp and filled with bass if needed. I actually had to turn down the volume on my subwoofer at the subwoofer when I installed the Onkyo, cause it worked so much better than my last one. This is my 3rd Onkyo and I have to say this is the best one I have ever owned and I am completely satisfied. It was easy to set up and worked great afterwards. I thought I did have a small problem though. When switching channels or fast forwarding on my TV or DVR I noticed a 2 to 3 second delay of the audio coming back up after doing this. Couldn't figure out why so I called Onkyo support and they told me that was normal as the switching takes place inside of the receiver. It is not a big problem at all and I have got used to it now. But I have to admit on my previous Onkyo that that I have owned they never did this. But as I stated; not really a big deal. For the price range and quality I would highly recommend this receiver. You can spend many more hundred of dollars for a receiver, but for me this is perfect.

Excellent system! Me like! A full complement of functionalities to include bluetooth, wireless, and a nice set of per-defined sounds built in. You get what you pay for with this system. I'm using it with a 7.1 surround system and I can pump-it-up to listen to some loud music if I'm in the mood and the time is right or just listen to deep, rich sound at very low volumes. Although, no direct use for Calm Radio, but Amazon and others are built in and can be connected via the wireless connection to get a slightly richer sound. However, the sound is still excellent with the bluetooth connection so only the most discriminating audiophile will feel Grrrrr! about it. Understanding the setup process takes work but that's the same with most systems but when you do understand, you have it for the life of the system so do the work. YouTube videos help.

Easy to setup, easy to operate, especially w the onkyo app and it sounds great The price was also great. Very happy

This is my first AVS, and I bought it to deliver the Atmos experience. I couldn't expect more from it, was easy to setup, great sound quality, cabling was easy too and well indicated in the back. The only thing that was a bit tricky is how height speakers vs back speakers work. It took me a while to see that initial setup had different modes because you can only have either height speakers OR back speakers. Not both. so 7.2 means back speakers not Atmos height which is 5.1.2. I just wish this would support 7.2 which is both and it could too because it has 2 additional channels that I don't use as the second line for patio speakers in case you just want to play bluetooth while in another room or outside.

All is great, very easy to set up and sounds amazing. Currently running yamaha speakers with my onkyo receiver and velodyne subwoofer. It's amazing CON- I cannot get zone 2 speakers to work. No instruction nor explanations to do so. They are my outside porch speakers which I had connected to my speakers b on my older onkyo receiver. If anyone figured this out please advise

I purchased this model to replace my older Onkyo I had for 15 years. The audio portion went out, and it seemed to run hot. I wanted a model that had a specific phono input, this has one. Plenty of HDMI. My older Samsung TV, 2006 model, does not have the newer ARC HDMI, but this still hooked up quite easily. No owners manual, my other Onkyo did. I was able to download one online tho. It was delivered on time, in great shape. I hooked up my Onkyo speakers quite easily. This has a small microphone that you set about ear level while it conducts a sound check. It took me a bit to figure it out , but once I got to the right section to view screen, it was rather simple....and I'm not the greatest on new stuff. The sound is great, the different sound "modes" do make a difference. I do not have the Atmos speaker hook up, but this still sounds great for my taste. Watching" A Fistful of Dollars" off my Bluray, the sound of the horses galloping from left to right was perfect, like in a movie theater. This unit runs cooler than my old unit so I am happy with that. Haven't tried the WI-Fi feature yet, or hooked up to a FM antennae.....maybe later on. All in all, this is a very fine unit, the sound is great and it IS LOUD. I'm pretty happy with this receiver.

This receiver is the perfect receiver if you have Klipsch speakers, being as you set your speakers to what you have, the receiver then knows the specs to not over power each speaker and sub you pre set. This is my first ATMOS Receiver and I gotta say I'm pleasantly surprised. Definitely great value for the money.

Fairly easy to set up. Easy to use, Excellent sound quality.

It was easy to set up and use. I love the remote control for it. I can control the sound of the bass, treble, or voice just by making changes using the remote. It automatically set up the best sound for my 7-speaker surround sound system. I really love my new receiver!!!!

Excellent receiver. Easy set up and user freindly. I was surprised by how much power it sent to my speakers. Crystal clear and shaking the house. Love it!!!

I finally updated my old Sony receiver that was 11 years old to take advantage of improvements in technology and to handle my future needs. Setup went well, though we are past the days of plug and play. The on screen set up menu was easy to use and I was pleased with the results after using the included microphone and mapping. The sound options vary depending on the source material but the receiver drives my Polk's and they sound wonderful no matter what I am listening to, tv, movies, or music. As with any piece of sound equipment, it pays to take your time and "learn" how the different sound options come across to your ear and go with what works best for your setup and source material. I like that the receiver feels solid and robust, for the money I spent, I am pleased so far with my purchase.

Got this to replace an older model Onkyo Receiver that no suddenly stopped working. Thought it would be an easier switch than buying another brand. It wasn’t. Look me forever to get Zone 2 to work at all and it still doesn’t work like the older model did. I have watched a bunch of YouTubes trying to figure it out because the manual is lacking. On the older model when I turned off the receiver, it would turn off Zone 2. This one, when I turn off the receiver, Zone 2 still is on. Work around is to just turn the volume switch for the Zone 2 speakers all the way down.

This is a really solid receiver. I bought this to replace a rather old Onkyo that nearly caught on fire (but it had a great run and was awesome!). This unit has nearly everything you'd want, supports ARC, Wi-fi, and Bluetooth. The remote is great, IMO, as it doesn't try to do too much. My only complaint is the setup. Onkyo expects most folks will plug their tv into the HDMI ARC, but it ignores the folks like me who just use digital optical audio. So to get past this setup (which will ask you to use the tv every time you power the unit on until you complete or skip it) I had to temporarily connect my tv to the box. Slightly annoying, but I see why they did that. Anyways, great sounding unit, don't hesitate to pull the trigger on this.

This receiver is fantastic!!! it has great power. all the connections you need for all your HDMI connected equipment, video pass-through, simply everything you need... Wi-Fi connectivity, I’m talking about everything and it’s loud with great surroundsound offerings. I love it!