I want to highlight positive:
+++ High-quality workmanship: front panel and housing, controls and speaker terminals make a very solid and sophisticated look, just as you would from an ordinary hi-fi component expected (only the CD-drawer little filigree advised).
+++ Diverse connection options for external audio devices: 2x Line-In (RCA stereo), 1x line-out (RCA stereo), 1x AUX IN (mini-jack), 1x Digital Optical, 1x Digital Coaxial In, 2x USB (a them with charging function). In addition to the normal speaker connections there is a preamp output (mono) for connecting a powered subwoofer.
++ Diverse playback options: Supports all popular audio formats, plays music from CD, MP3 CD, USB, DLNA (also problem with my non-DLNA certified Fritz! Box), home network, Free Internet Radio via vTuner and fee-based music streaming services (MP3tunes, Spotify , simfy and Last.fm and AUPEO!).
++ Good Amplifier Power: 2 x 22 Watt sounds on paper by not much, is it with this device but already. Fears concerning. Schwachbrüstigkeit are unfounded, the device has sufficient for normal home use power reserves.
++ Associate Sound: The system has the small shelf speakers that come with the CS-N755 bundled up in higher volumes a neat and clean sound that need not fear comparison with some larger plants to spare. In the treble, I lack a little fine detail and transparency in the deep bass range, the small boxes can not afford overly much naturally. The latter can, however, be compensated by an additional subwoofer, with which the system then sounds really grown up and also blends well with the small shelf speaker when properly adjusted.
+ Easy choice of different music sources (apart from the music sources from the network): The sources CD, TUNER (FM, MW), LINE (1, 2, AUX), DIGITAL (OPTICAL, digital), NET and USB (1, 2) can be quickly selected using the remote control.
+ Simple design in the style of classic hi-fi components.
+ Very easy network installation with DHCP.
What I noticed is negative:
--- In the display is very limited: While the display takes a fairly large space on the front, but the display is not really big and the display a total of a little antiquarian. The (one-line) writing is composed of thin segments and not very big, with a few meters distance reading becomes difficult. The additional symbols are tiny and can be seen only from the immediate vicinity. Longer texts go after a few seconds in scrolling text on, depending on the mode (unfortunately not everywhere) you can scroll through the text by pressing a key, and scroll depending on the mode by different display options. But that has clear boundaries, here a negative example: I read my music collection (USB, DLNA, or streaming service) through my albums, among whom there are some samplers. Then I see only times only a list of "Various Arti" (for more is not a space on the screen) and I have to wait a few seconds on the marquee or cumbersome open the albums and re-connect, to see to what a Album is. A higher-resolution matrix display with configurable display would enhance the usability of the otherwise versatile device tremendously.
- Lack of simfy Features (here I can not say whether these restrictions are only on the Onkyo firmware, or even on simfy service itself): About the Onkyo device can be simfy playlists or other folders do not play in random mode, which is a fairly strong restriction is. Also here are missing the artist and genre radio, also a non-dispensable for many feature. In addition, the existing folder structures and options with respect to the desktop and app versions of simfy are sometimes significantly restricted. There is an artist for example, just a flat list that begins with the "Top Ten Charts" and continues in a wild ordered list of albums - subfolders for songs, charts (more than 10) and Related Artists missing. If you play a playlist / folder from which playback is then just continued on the next playlist / folder, which is not necessarily desirable. Between individual titles (song) there is always pause when playing, which is not only the classic enjoyment considerably reduces (but that probably goes to the account of simfy). There are also other limitations of simfy (which have nothing to do with the Onkyo device), for example, not have their own folders in the favorites or playlists, limited genre classification, false information years.
Overall simfy feels about Onkyo not for a modern integration of "Premium Plus" music streaming service in "High-quality audio technology" to.
- Minimalist USB playback: Playback of USB within a folder (or at a higher level in the folder structure) is possible sequentially (by filename) or in shuffle mode. You can browse through the folder structure and the title within a folder and display various information about a title. But that was about it. An index with search function on the usual tags (artist, title, genre), as it now has almost every car radio, one searches in vain. Nevertheless, the device needs for reading in a well-stocked USB memory ("Now Initializing ...") almost an eternity.
- No on-the-fly playlist: There is no option to create playlists to the device or to change. In particular, a dynamic playlist of tracks to be played currently missing. I can not scroll during playback of a title through the music collection and mark other titles for playback so. I can only play pre playlists or switch during playback directly to another title. Only in CDs can (rather cumbersome) influence the order of the tracks to be played.
- Depth of the device: The device has more depth than any of my previous hifi components. The casing alone has already about 30 cm, for the connections you have to the back again at least. 5 cm expected (depending on the USB flash drive even more), and the controls are front again produced almost 1.5 cm, ie something in sum more than 36 cm! No problem with a corr. Deep shelf, to me is the device but a few centimeters forward on. I would have a slightly larger front (which is approximately 21.5 x 12 cm quite small) preferably at a lesser depth.
- No DAB / DAB + reception: A real disappointment in a modern receiver. One must not miss as well. The FM with RDS is fine.
- Alphanumeric input (eg for music search) is cumbersome: This can only be awkward scrolling through a list of available characters. Maybe that's the Onkyo app for smartphones that I have not in use, the better.
- Access to Internet radio stations is cumbersome. His favorite stations are added best on the (slightly archaic) vTuner website with Onkyo Registierung the favorites, which you then still have to navigate a bit cumbersome.
- WLAN and Bluetooth is not installed: The there is only as an accessory, ie the cost extra and each occupy one of the two USB ports (one of which is at the front). Does not bother if you do not need, but that ko can be when you need both and still want to connect a USB device.
- Limited selection of music services: Currently only Aupeo !, Last.fm, MP3tunes, simfy and Spotify are not supported but WiMP eg, Napster, Rhapsody. One need that determines not all, but there are different preferences that can then quickly be back to ko.
- Network menu can not be configured: The Network menu is at the top level a list of 9 entries in fairly random order (the favorites are for example in 7th place), then including various sub-options. It can neither configure the order of menu entries, yet can not be required entries (eg music services for which you want to pay no subscription) Hide. The cumbersome and inconsistent handling of favorites also helps not really about time.
- Starting networking function and navigation in the network options takes some disturbing long (which is limited in the area of influence of the Onkyo device).
- No DLNA Server: It would be an icing on the cake, if the device is not only a DLNA client would be, but also for other devices on the network as a streaming server could serve.
- USB supports only FAT16 and FAT32 (no exFAT and NTFS).
- No Phono input: For most probably null and void, for some a ko
- The sleep timer has quite a prominent upper-right button on the remote control. If you have (accidentally) activated about him, you have to click through all 9 levels Time until it is switched off again.
- Labeling of the controls on the device's hard to read (very small and low contrast) - that's looks beautiful.
- A time display in standby mode, as is customary in many other devices, would be a pretty and useful Plus.
CONCLUSION: For a real recommendation, the list of missing features and weaknesses unfortunately has failed for too long. Who does not disturb these limitations, ie who looks just an ordinary, MP3-compatible CD receiver (no DAB) with DLNA / home network option and minimalist USB playback, I can recommend the device thoroughly. But who wants to explore the world of internet radio with this unit (and not just from time to access any of the tedious selected and stored stations), or who want to frequently, easily and flexibly access to a larger USB or simfy music collection (and not only from and a few folders, favorites or playlists Play), which I would advise against this device - there was years ago devices on the market that could make significantly more.
My hope that Onkyo will eliminate in the near future at least some of the weaknesses about firmware update, I have now buried after a few contacts for Onkyo Support. So far there is not a single device for the firmware update, and here I was not much promised.
+++ +++ Supplement
My rating of 3 stars Originally I have now revised to 2 stars (neutral 2.5 there is not), after I am desperate and on the USB playback and the real nice device use unfortunately much rarer than the (at appropriate use of the technical possibilities) deserved.
+++ Addendum June 2015 +++
Even after one and a half years, I'm still waiting in vain for the first firmware update from Onkyo, which boosts the software features something adds essential features and eliminated existing errors. After the decline of simfy I now use the Spotify app of device that has failed as rudimentary. A simple search function, otherwise playback of playlists (without Shuffle and Repeat) that have been created over the Spotify account. After playing now holds at the end of a playlist, that's already a step forward. With the very helpful option of Spotify to organize playlists in (nested) folders, the Onkyo device is unfortunately not cope well. New or modified folders / playlists often do not appear until days later or not at all, are often not in the right structure or with old name. When you try to synchronize the folders / playlists, the Onkyo app has already often "hung". The Onkyo Support Says only succinctly, the device can not deal well with changes in playlists, and it could therefore offered no solution.
This radical neglect of software maintenance and software-using clients Duch Onkyo's amazing for me!
