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Onkyo has periodical update its range of home cinema amplifiers and now the first model of 2018 is the TX-NR686. This is a 7.2 channel AV receiver with 165W per channel (6 Ω, 1 kHz, 1% THD, 1 Channel Driven, IEC).
The Onkyo TX-NR686 features Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X is also supported, the object-based audio lets sound play independently through any speaker. DTS Neural:X and Dolby Surround upmixing solutions find spatial cues in legacy multichannel soundtracks and upmix them for 3D audio playback through your object-audio-ready speaker system.
The multimedia equipment is quite rich: the DAC (digital-analog converter) is an AKM AK4458, capable of supporting PCM files with a sampling frequency up to 384kHz / 32-bit and DSD up to 5.6MHz. The FLAC, AIFF, ALAC and WAV files are also compatible.
For connectivity, the TX-NR686 includes HDMI, Bluetooth, USB or streamed from the local network via DLNA. Network connectivity is managed via Ethernet and Wi-Fi and services like Spotify, Deezer and Tidal can also be used. There is also support for FlareConnect wireless multi-room audio and compatibility with AirPlay and DTS Play-Fi functions. It also integrates Chromecast features for audio streaming.
To complete the AV receiver is the AccuEQ Room Acoustic Calibration automatic calibration with AccuReflex Phase Alignment for Dolby Atmos configurations. The available connections include seven inputs (one on the front) and two HDMI outputs supporting the Ultra HD resolution at 60Hz, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, BT.2020 color space and HDCP 2.2 (except the front input), two component inputs, two composite video inputs, two optical digital inputs and one coaxial, six analog inputs on RCA, one phono input MM, one USB port and the output to drive a secondary zone.
The Onkyo TX-NR686 will arrive in April with an expected price of EUR 650-700.
