Onkyo TX-8220 2 Home Audio Channel Stereo Receiver with Bluetooth,black

I decided to go back to stereo from a 7.1 system. Mostly, I was sick and tired of futzing with a receiver that always wanted to set itself it’s way instead of my way. This little Onkyo sounds great. It Bluetooths to my TV perfectly and easily. It is driving a pair of CV Heresy speakers with ease. It connects my cd player, turntable, dvd, etc. I have been a pretty snobby audiophile for decades . My other systems sport Macintosh and Marantz receivers (I have five vintage systems in my home). I must say this Onkyo compares favorably!

This review is on brand new item. So far pretty happy with this. I had a big roll of vintage pure copper 12-gauge speaker wire and some banana plugs and made the most solid speaker connections I've ever done. I have played some records and a few CD's on an Onkyo DX-C390 and it sounds very smooth. My Klipsch R-41M speakers are not made for much power and sound good with this rather underpowered receiver, which is just what I wanted. I also have an old subwoofer hooked up and it sounds good on the line inputs. That said, this receiver has nice bass and a subwoofer is not really needed in my opinion. Bluetooth connected to my phone, but that's all the Bluetooth I tried. Hoping I'll be reporting back that this receiver proves durable and works well for a long time.Editing to add that I have questions about the turntable preamp in this unit. When I am using my turntable, I have to crank up the volume on the receiver to over level 35 to get any decent sound. On the other hand, my CD deck only needs receiver on about volume 10 to put out good sound.Edit: I hadn't noticed at first, but I now have questions about the turntable section of this receiver. I notice when I'm playing an album, I have to crank the receiver volume up into the 30's to really hear the music. It is extreme volume, and I have to be careful to turn it back down before switching to CD. Maybe there's nothing wrong with the receiver, or maybe I need a turntable preamp, but I thought receivers that have dedicated phono inputs don't need preamplification.

I have had this receiver for a couple of months now, in my backyard shed, and here are my experiences so far:-Package arrived in good shape, very well packed, no issues- I connected two sets of speakers, not the easiest since the terminals are close together and I have very large hands. But once you get them hooked up and tightened, the wires are very secure.-Device hookup: I have a turntable, CD player, and "line" (which I used to play an old ipod) hooked to the receiver, with RCA plugs. Everything plugged in easily and quickly, with no issues. All devices play normally.-Set up: The set up menu worked OK, but is not easily intuitive, at least not to me. I needed to set the SP Impedance to 4 since I was running two sets of speakers (see instruction manual page 22) It took me 4-5 tries to get it set the way I needed it.- Set up of Bluetooth. Very easy to pair with my iphone and it works fine, pairs up quickly, and plays normally-Remote: In my situation I don't use the remote all that much but it seems fine.- Receiver controls: these are all OK, except I wish the tuner buttons on the front of the unit were bigger. Otherwise no issues.-FM tuner: I have hooked up the unit to an outside FM antenna, and get good reception, no issues at all. I recommend an outdoor antenna if you listen to a lot of FM, which I do. On good days I can even get a station 125 miles away.- AM tuner: not good at all. I hooked up the included AM antenna, but some days I can't get anything. I am going to try a different antenna set up, but don't get this unit to listen to AM.- Set up of FM station pre-sets: Easy, no issues, just follow the manual.- Sound of the unit : I replaced an old JCPenney MCS unit (circa 1980) that had the right channel go bad. When I first turned the Onkyo on, it sounded tinny and the sound was thin. I thought oh no, but I just turned it on and let it play for about 36 hours and it broke in well. Now it sounds good, certainly acceptable for a shed.-So that's my review. If I haven't covered something about this unit, that means I am not using it.

I tiried Sony 190 first and then Onkyo. They price almost the same and have similar features and both best for simple stereo setup.I returned Sony because although Sony was perfect it has a slightly lower output on PHONO. Also Onkyo feels more "luxury" than Sony and has AM and tone controls on the body as well. Sound vise tehy are similar on CD out put - very crisp and clear. Onkyo powers well my large Polk XT 70 speakers at 8 Om. At 70 volume is insanely loud and low distortion. I will keep Onkyo

Same Onkyo quality despite new ownership. However, the receiver is lacking a knob to change the source. This has been replaced by two buttons that are difficult to operate in low light. This is a fine stereo receiver at an unbeatable price.