Onkyo TX-NR900

[Bjorg Olafson]

If you are planning to buy the Onkyo TX-NR900 and other models which feature
the "Net-Audio" capability, don't bother. I've had this receiver for some
time now and I am yet to get music over the Internet.

The Onkyo tech support is nothing more than an assembly of moronic nerds who
know nothing about quality service -- not to mention basic technical
knowledge of the product they "support." The techies really suck, something
I did not expect from Onkyo.

Though I have a network hooked up at home, it is practically impossible to
figure out from the poor Onkyo documentation how to connect the above
overhiped receiver to the network. If anyone who has this receiver and knows
how to hook it up to the network, please help me? Thanks.

[Stereophile]

1. You can only use this feature with a high-speed broadband Internet
connection. This feature does not work with dial-up Internet access, so
you have to have DSL (I'd recommend at least a DSL 512K connection) or a
cable connection. Since you say you have a home network it sounds like
you already have a broadband Internet connection in place.

2. You have to have to terminate your broadband connection into a "mini
router" in your home and then connect the NR900 to your "mini router"
via an ethernet connection. You cannot just terminate the broadband
connection that comes into your house directly into the NR900, no matter
what Onkyo's documentation says. And stay away from wireless "mini
routers" for now - They are too slow for what you want to do.

3. The MAC address of your NR900 must be added to your "mini router" so
it will recognize the NR900 as part of your network.

4. This is Onkyo's first effort at mixing Internet packet-switching
with audio analog and digital playback and you are what the industry
calls an "early adapter." Back in the 1800's "early adapters" were
called "pioneers" and they were the ones that got most of the arrows in
the back :-)

5. After you finally get the NR900's Internet connectivity resolved,
you'll only find a very few stations broadcasting anything better than
MP3 audio quality.

Hope this helps.

Stereophile, a music lover, not the magazine.

Bjorg Olafson wrote:
> If you are planning to buy the Onkyo TX-NR900 and other models which feature
> the "Net-Audio" capability, don't bother. I've had this receiver for some
> time now and I am yet to get music over the Internet.
>
> The Onkyo tech support is nothing more than an assembly of moronic nerds who
> know nothing about quality service -- not to mention basic technical
> knowledge of the product they "support." The techies really suck, something
> I did not expect from Onkyo.
>
> Though I have a network hooked up at home, it is practically impossible to
> figure out from the poor Onkyo documentation how to connect the above
> overhiped receiver to the network. If anyone who has this receiver and knows
> how to hook it up to the network, please help me? Thanks.
>
>

[Bjorg Olafson]

Thanks for the tips. The NR900 is connected to a 4 port Linksys router which
is connected to a high speed cable modem. The links router automatically
assigns IP numbers.
The NR900 is ONLY 10BASE-T -- from the dark ages. No wonder my the 100BASE-T
light does not come on the router.

I can ping the receiver however, I still can't connect to anything on the
Internet. This is why I warned those who are looking at this receiver not to
buy it solely because of its Internet capabilities, which it has NONE.

I don't know what you call a "mini router." My 4-port Linksys detects the
receiver so I assume I don't have to go out of my way to add the MAC address
to the router. Besides, what will all those folks do who do not have any
network experience whatsoever?

Have you been able to pick up any stations?



"Stereophile" > wrote in message
...
> 1. You can only use this feature with a high-speed broadband Internet
> connection. This feature does not work with dial-up Internet access, so
> you have to have DSL (I'd recommend at least a DSL 512K connection) or a
> cable connection. Since you say you have a home network it sounds like
> you already have a broadband Internet connection in place.
>
> 2. You have to have to terminate your broadband connection into a "mini
> router" in your home and then connect the NR900 to your "mini router"
> via an ethernet connection. You cannot just terminate the broadband
> connection that comes into your house directly into the NR900, no matter
> what Onkyo's documentation says. And stay away from wireless "mini
> routers" for now - They are too slow for what you want to do.
>
> 3. The MAC address of your NR900 must be added to your "mini router" so
> it will recognize the NR900 as part of your network.
>
> 4. This is Onkyo's first effort at mixing Internet packet-switching
> with audio analog and digital playback and you are what the industry
> calls an "early adapter." Back in the 1800's "early adapters" were
> called "pioneers" and they were the ones that got most of the arrows in
> the back :-)
>
> 5. After you finally get the NR900's Internet connectivity resolved,
> you'll only find a very few stations broadcasting anything better than
> MP3 audio quality.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Stereophile, a music lover, not the magazine.
>
> Bjorg Olafson wrote:
> > If you are planning to buy the Onkyo TX-NR900 and other models which
feature
> > the "Net-Audio" capability, don't bother. I've had this receiver for
some
> > time now and I am yet to get music over the Internet.
> >
> > The Onkyo tech support is nothing more than an assembly of moronic nerds
who
> > know nothing about quality service -- not to mention basic technical
> > knowledge of the product they "support." The techies really suck,
something
> > I did not expect from Onkyo.
> >
> > Though I have a network hooked up at home, it is practically impossible
to
> > figure out from the poor Onkyo documentation how to connect the above
> > overhiped receiver to the network. If anyone who has this receiver and
knows
> > how to hook it up to the network, please help me? Thanks.
> >
> >
>

[Venger]

"Stereophile" > wrote in message
...
> 1. You can only use this feature with a high-speed broadband Internet
> connection. This feature does not work with dial-up Internet access, so
> you have to have DSL (I'd recommend at least a DSL 512K connection) or a
> cable connection. Since you say you have a home network it sounds like
> you already have a broadband Internet connection in place.
>
> 2. You have to have to terminate your broadband connection into a "mini
> router" in your home and then connect the NR900 to your "mini router"
> via an ethernet connection. You cannot just terminate the broadband
> connection that comes into your house directly into the NR900, no matter
> what Onkyo's documentation says. And stay away from wireless "mini
> routers" for now - They are too slow for what you want to do.

!?!?!?!

You recommend 512k DSL, but a wireless mini-router running 11MBps is too
slow???

> 3. The MAC address of your NR900 must be added to your "mini router" so
> it will recognize the NR900 as part of your network.

Nope. MAC filtering is usually only done on wireless connections that are
not subject to the physical security rules of a network.

> 4. This is Onkyo's first effort at mixing Internet packet-switching
> with audio analog and digital playback and you are what the industry
> calls an "early adapter." Back in the 1800's "early adapters" were
> called "pioneers" and they were the ones that got most of the arrows in
> the back :-)
>
> 5. After you finally get the NR900's Internet connectivity resolved,
> you'll only find a very few stations broadcasting anything better than
> MP3 audio quality.

Frankly, this unit intrigued me not for Internet radio (which sucks at least
as bad as traditional radio) but for the ability to connect to my network to
get high quality MP3 files from my hard drive across the network. Has anyone
had any luck with this? How is the MP3 decoder in the unit? How is the rest
of the unit amp section wise? Remote decent? Good quality DD/DTS decoding?
Inquiring minds want to know!

Venger

[Bjorg Olafson]

"Venger" > wrote in message news:-> slow???

> Frankly, this unit intrigued me not for Internet radio (which sucks at
least
> as bad as traditional radio) but for the ability to connect to my network
to
> get high quality MP3 files from my hard drive across the network. Has
anyone
> had any luck with this? How is the MP3 decoder in the unit?

I can't really tell since I can't access anything over the network with this
unit. The tech support at Onkyo suck, they tried to get my unit working but
since they have no clue, I can't get it either. I am getting ready to write
to Japan on this issue.

[vince]

You might hit a newsstand and read Sound&Vision's review of this
unit. I remember some talk of configuring the unit in the review.
Not sure if this was in the latest or previous issue. You could
check their website for the review in case it's been posted.
--
vince
/* Visit the home of the Rancid Tofu Experience */
/* http://www.mp3.com/rancidtofuexperience */

[Sathyan Sundaram]

"Venger" > wrote in message >...
> "Stereophile" > wrote in message
> ...

<snip>
>
> Frankly, this unit intrigued me not for Internet radio (which sucks at least
> as bad as traditional radio) but for the ability to connect to my network to
> get high quality MP3 files from my hard drive across the network. Has anyone
> had any luck with this? How is the MP3 decoder in the unit? How is the rest
> of the unit amp section wise? Remote decent? Good quality DD/DTS decoding?
> Inquiring minds want to know!
>
> Venger

Another option for MP3 serving is the $250 Audiotron from Turtle
Beach.
http://tbeach.com/site/products/audiotron/
It grabs files (MP3, WAV, WMA), playlists (PLS, M3U) and internet
radio (ShoutCast, WM) from your network by Ethernet (10Mbps) and
outputs optical (use your receiver or outboard DAC). If you don't want
to dedicate a PC, a NAS can be used. I haven't tried it myself but it
may meet your needs. Hopefully someone here can comment.

Sathyan