Onkyo TX-8020 Receiver

About three weeks ago my Carver 752 receiver decided to go somewhat south on me. It was time to replace it anyway after 27 years. So I decided to do a little research for a new receiver and the ONKYO TX-8020 came up as for what I needed. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money as I own several other receivers as well. Originally the Carver powered my Cerwin Vega E-712’s in my studio room and a pair of Infinity Studio Monitor 120’s in the living room. Both speakers are connected to a speaker selector switchbox if I want to cut one set off. I run a turntable of course for the vinyl, a c.d. unit, and believe it or not a stereo video recorder for music only because I love the sound. Not only that but you can play pre-recorded music for 6 hours and not worry about anything. My computer sound is hooked in and then there’s my Tascam recorders I use from time to time too. So I just got the ONKYO 8020 and I hooked everything up in accordance. Mind you I listen to everything from jazz, blues, rock, reggae, country and heavy metal so I fed this unit everything I had and pushed its buttons. First I listened to a vinyl album by a metal outfit called Malice from their ‘License to Kill’ album. I set the volume at 30 which was where grandma likes it and from there I adjusted all the perimeter EQ’s to the room. The sound was as they described in the notes I read so now I decided to crank it. Good Lord for a unit of only 50 watts per this receiver had some nuts and bolts to throw. Clean no distortion pure rock solid metal in your face. Next I decided to hear some jazz by pianist Kenny Barron off his c.d. album ‘Other Places’. I turned the volume back to grandma and once again the sound was crisp and clean. Such perfect sound perhaps better than my Carver so I upped the volume. Kenny now was performing in my living room and it was great!! I now went for the pre-recorded music on video tape doing the same thing the results came back the same. Lastly I checked the sound of my computer and was equally surprised. What I didn’t care for was the speaker wire terminals and the ground screw for the phono. Both could be brought back to the drawing board. But hey it’s minor things and still capable of doing its job. So what they say about TX-8020 is not a sell point it’s the truth. If you want that early sound and feel of a 70’s receiver look no further. And before I forget one of the main reasons I chose this receiver was of its phono input. That alone seems to be coming scarce in receivers today. You’ll love its simplicity too. Nothing is complicated here it’s all simple hook-ups and knob adjustments and a few buttons. The best part it’s under a $150.00, just keep it away from grandma.

The Onkyo TX-8020 is an unusually inexpensive stereo amplifier, with only a small number of frills. I was able to get the machine up and running with only a few minutes of set-up time, where I plugged in my speakers, compact disc player, Bang and Olufsen Biogram TX2 phonograph, the AM antenna and FM antenna that come with the Onkyo receiver, and of course the power. Then, the first thing I did was pop in a disc featuring Schumann's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, as recorded by Murray Perahia. The volume knob goes up to "80" and I found that a setting of about "70" did a great job at filling a living room of dimensions of 15 feet by 30 feet with abundant quantities of glorious sound! The rear of the unit has sockets for the AM antenna and FM antenna (which come with the unit), fasteners for accepting bare wires from two sets of speakers (I am only using one set of speakers), socket for CD player, and other sockets. The other sockets are for tape recorder, television, and subwoofer. The unit is only 17 inches wide, and thus can fit into stereo cabinets that are relatively narrow. The main reason I bought the Onkyo unit, is that my Yamaha RX-V363 has a slight glitch, in that if the volume knob is turned up higher than about 10% maximum, the Yamaha RX-V363 unit automatically shuts down. Another problem is that the Yamaha unit has a slight audio hum. The automatic shut-down feature of the Yamaha RX-V363 amplifier has been making me miserable for the past several years. Yet another problem is that I refrained from replacing the Yamaha unit until now, because stereophonic equipment stores are far less prevalent than they were during the1970s (when I was buying equipment from Nakamichi, Tandberg, Pioneer, Dual, and ADS). Also, it was not until a week ago that I discovered the Onkyo TX-8020 on Amazon.com. Of course, I'd seen other units available on Amazon.com, but the reviews of these other products were not particularly glowing. The next thing I did was place my vinyl recording of FINAL ALICE by David Del Tredici, featuring Barbara Hendricks with The Chicago Symphony, on my turntable. Again, the Onkyo TX-8020 performed admirably! In contrast, the Yamaha RX-V363 is NOT capable of accepting output from a phonograph, unless you purchase a pre-amplifier. And so, what I did was purchase an ARTcessories DJ PREII PHONO PREAMPLIFIER for use with the Yamaha unit. But the Onkyo TX-8020 is capable of playing vinyl on its own, and does not have any need for a preamplifier. Although I have experienced moments of happiness in the past ten years, in the past ten years I have never been so "sonically happy" as I am right now with my new Onkyo TX-8020. What a relief it is finally to listen to music at a reasonably loud level without the unit shutting down, without any hum, and without need for any preamplifier. SUPPLEMENT TO REVIEW ONE YEAR LATER. A year after buying the Onkyo receiver, I noticed that the ONKYO amplifier was spontaneously shutting down at high volume. Using common sense, I cut off an inch from the wire leads that were inserted into the knurled screw fasteners of my 35 year old ADS speakers. This totally fixed the problem. I was so happy, I spent the morning playing Mahler's DAS KLAGENDE LIED at full blast. But then, I realized that the problem with my YAMAHA receiver might have been oxidized or chemically deteriorated lead wires. I simply do not recall, whether it was or was not the case, 14 months ago that I had attempted to fix the YAMAHA shut downs by cleaning or trimming the ends of the lead wires.

First - the bad news: I ordered this Friday - $159; Saturday it dropped to $149; mine arrives Sunday (Prime). My C7030 was ordered at $168.65 - it went down to $139 within days! Maybe it's me and Onkyo - well, it's a great product. My repurposed A/V receiver, a Yamaha HTR-5640, was sounding slightly fuzzy on the highs - via Koss Pro-4AA headphones or Infinity P163's. Plug the headphones into the CD player (C7030) directly and the crystal clarity returned - it was the amp. I had tried a new pair of P163's with the same result - age had caught up with my Yamaha (Oddly, it's predecessor - a twenty year-old Yamaha RX-480 - still works well, save the remote functions, in my hobby room - driving some equally old Polk Monitors.). I needed a stereo receiver - 50 Watts is fine - as long as it is clean! Well, the Onkyo is clean (.03% THD + Noise @ 25 Watts from 20 Hz - 20 kHz!). It sounds 'uncolored'. At similar levels and with the same selection, it sounds identical on headphones as it does through the new receiver - whether with the tone controls flat or bypassed ('DIRECT'). To my 66 year young ears, it's fine. My Polk 12" powered sub-woofer cuts off like the A channel speakers when headphones are plugged in and I checked the AUTO SHUT-OFF under set-up to insure it is off. 'On' it would shut-off the receiver after 30 minutes of inactivity. According to the manual, low levels can be mistaken for inactivity. Some of the problems reported with this receiver may have been solved by reading the manual. The AM and FM tuners are serviceable - as good as the Yamaha's - a signal strength indicator would help. Missing were the switched and unswitched AC receptacles. I had to get a power strip for the Sony BD player, Onkyo CD player, and the usually off Polk powered sub, anyway. All in all, after 2.5 hr of steady use, it's a hit here - a definite 'keeper'! 8/25 edit: The FM tuner is better than that of the Yamaha! The same wire antenna, still run where it had been, from the Yamaha receiver was plugged into the new TX-8020. Two stations that were noisey and wouldn't toggle the stereo light now give nearly full quieting and excellent stereo reception. The AM still picks up quite a bit of interference from my 25" LCD PC/HD monitor. I am even happier! 2/17/15 edit: The Onkyo TX-8020 continues to impress me. I have, since December, added two dissimilar sets of speakers A: NHT SuperOne 2.1's; B: Klipsch KB-15. All four speakers were fed with ten foot lengths of pure copper #14 zipcord terminated on the amplifier end with gold plated banana plugs. Despite the extreme difference between the two speakers and their sensitivities (Klipsch: 94db SPL; NHT: 86db SPL), A - B - ing the two sets is easy - just bump the gain up or down 6-8 units as you switch. Another odd use - disconnect the A speakers - set the Speaker to A and connect the Subwoofer output, actually a mono (L+R) signal controlled by the gain control, to an amplified monitor speaker, like my JBL Pro LSR-305, also reviewed. The result is excellent quality mono - like I listened to in HS in the sixties! This Onkyo was a great purchase - and it's 50 Wpc is plenty for the power hungry NHTs, too.

I bought this receiver to power my refurbished EPI 100 speaker from both a Teac TN-300 Turntable and digital audio through a Schiit Modi 2U DAC. First of all, the unit looks great. The photos make it look bluish, but in person, its a solid black with a subtle but classy brushed finish. The front panel is extended slightly over the chassis of the unit to give it a sturdy and high quality look. The knobs are fluid and mainly unmarked so that EQ adjustment can be made with the remote as well. On to the performance. My speakers are old, so its hard to find a RMS value for them, but the highest RMS value I came across was 90W. This receiver delivers 50W per channel, and I find that about 30W per channel is plenty to dominate the large but low ceiling basement that they are primarily used in. I would not so much worry about the WPC of this speaker, as I think you will get great volume without cranking the knob. I was heavily debating this receiver over the similarly priced Yamaha S202, but ended up with this one because it seemed more reliable, more recommended in audiophile communities, and had a phono preamp built in. What I will say is that while the sound is quite phenomenal for the price point, I was underwhelmed by the phono preamp. I compared it to the one built in to my Teac turntable, which I thought would be of vastly inferior quality, but found that I prefered the Teac amp much more than the one built into the Onkyo. That's not to say the Onkyo was bad, just different. The Teac provided me with a sharper, rawer sound that had much more impact to the mellow and subdued Onkyo preamp. I found the Onkyo to be muffled, but I think that the sound may just not be for me and may appeal to another listener. Just always be careful you don't double amp! One final thing I noticed about the receiver was the relatively high noise floor. I actually am not sure if this is a fault of the receiver, but I do notice significant noise through the speakers in between tracks on a record. I actually believe this is more an issue with the low quality phono preamp in my turntable, but after I tested using the Onkyo preamp, I noticed similar levels of noise. I rarely noticed this noise during playback, but overall would discourage anyone from buying this receiver if their only reason is for the built in preamp. If that's you, just go ahead and buy a nice standalone preamp. (I recommend Schiit Mani) I would however, recommend this receiver to anyone who wants an attractive, well built unit with clear sound and lots of impact. Despite my nitpicking, I am very happy with it's performance. I give it 4 stars because issues like the preamp and noise floor did not suit me, but if you believe that those would not be issues for you, consider my review a 5 star review. I'd love to give this unit 4.5.

The Panasonic boombox I used as my bedroom stereo finally died so instead of buying another boombox, or a small bookshelf sized all-in-one (and risking inferior sound quality) I decided to rebuild my home stereo, most of the components having been in storage for several years. First up was replacing my retired Denon stereo receiver (RIP!) with the Onkyo TX-8020. And what a wise investment, particularly for the price! I hooked up my Mirage M-190 speakers and a Panasonic DVD/CD player I had in storage – an incredibly basic set up - and could hardly believe the crystal clear sound. Though I have a Yamaha subwoofer and 10 band equalizer in storage, there was absolutely no need for them. Not only does the TX-8020 sound awesome, but it is a sturdy, durable and handsome receiver. My wife quipped that it was “sexy”. I’m not sure what that means, but like other reviewers have said, this unit really does harken back to the old receivers/stereo units of seemingly bygone days. Simple to set up, simple to navigate, no frills and, as mentioned, it has a good heft to it, weight-wise, in a sturdy metal casing. I could go on and on, but if you’re looking for a simple stereo receiver with great looks and sound with ample inputs (including phono), nothing fancy – and not breaking the bank for it, this is definitely for you. One thing I would suggest, though, is to get some decent mid-price speakers to optimize its sound. At 50 watts per channel the TX-8020 can drive some nice speakers. ADDENDUM: After several months use I should add that the TX-8020’s FM radio has proved to be very satisfying. I play a weaker-frequency college radio station (rock, jazz, blues, classical, avant garde, you name it) and the signal, using the provided antennae, comes thru crystal clear with the excellent sound quality that I have come to expect from the TX-8020. I should also add that I have since switched out my CD player with the Onkyo C-7030. This, after reading the steller reviews. It pairs beautifully, not only aesthetically, and has the solid no-frills functionality that makes the TX-8020 such a success. The only drawback I can tell with the TX-8020 is that there is no optical input. The C-7030 CD player has an optical output and it would be preferable to connect it to the receiver that way. I don’t think of myself as having too discerning an ear (well, maybe a little more than the average Joe), so not sure if connecting via optical versus RCA would make THAT much of a difference, but it would be nice to have the option.

I'll confess, I'm an Onkyo fan. I had the TX-8255 Onkyo receiver, and happily listened to it for years. I then got the A-9010, and love that int/amp, and still have it. I've got a Schiit Vidar/Saga amp/preamp in my main listening room now, and it's more powerfull than the 9010, but the 9010 does sound more livelier and sweeter really, and I'm always thinking of putting the 9010 back in the main spot, and putting the Schiit system back with my computer, where the 9010 is at now. I recently sold my Onkyo TX-8255 to a friend that wanted something to hook to his big screen TV for better sound. Well I seen this TX-8020, which is an updated version of the 8255, and thought what the heck I can always use a receiver with a AM/FM tuner around the place, so I bought it, and at $119 it's a real steal. I've got it setup in my smaller computer room with a pair of NHT SuperZero 2.1 speakers, and it sounds fantastic. I'm going to get a pair of NHT SuperOne 2.1 speakers to go with it for a little more bass. In a smaller room the Onkyo 8020, and the NHT Zeros or Ones are a hard combo to beat. I tend to listen to music more in my computer room now with the Onkyo/NHT system. I plan on putting the 8020 in service with my computer, and using the 9010 with the NHT Ones as my extra computer room system, and it maight become the main system really, because I can get better sound in my computer room. Update 8-3-2019: I've got a pair of Elac UB5's hooked to the TX-8020. The Elacs are known for for needing a good amount of power to drive, but the 8020 is handling good so far. The Elacs are 4 ohm, and the 8020 is not rated for 4 ohm as far as I know, but I've got the volume is set at about 63, and the Elacs are playing pretty loud in my computer room which is 16x16. The top of the 8020 is getting pretty hot with the Elacs playing at high volume. Update 8-9-2019: Got the Onkyo TX-8020 hooked to a pair of Elac UB5's and a DOT 2nd gen that is hooked to the Onkyo with a 3.5mm to RCA splitter streaming amazon prime music, SiriusXM, and Spotify, and have Bluetooth from my PC going to the Dot to play audio from the computer. Man, what a Jukebox. Modern times suck in a lot of ways, but we got great music options. Love it! Update 8-10-2019: Just moved my TX-8020 to my computer with a AudioQuest Dragonfly Red DAC and Cambridge Audio SX-50 speakers, and it sounds fantastic. I have a Onkyo A-9010 integrated Amp that I had hooked to my computer, but it's sound quality is better, It's one hell of an int/amp. I moved the 9010 to the other side of the computer room with the Elac UB5's, and it handles the 4ohm Elacs better, and runs cooler. Don't get me wrong, the TX-8020 is a steal, and it sounds amazing. I could be totally happy with just the 8020, it's great, plus it has FM radio, and I get pretty good reception with it. If somebody asked me what stereo to get with the best sound for the best price, I'd say the Onkyo TX-8020 and the NHT SuperOne 2.1 bookshelf speakers. That'll give you a real Hi-Fi sound for not much money.

Very clean sounding stereo receiver that pairs well with Klipsch Reference Series speakers. Lots of detail and spacious sound is present when using this receiver and it works great for digital music. It is very comparable to Harman Kardon and is actually better in sound and performance. I previously owned a Harman Kardon and loved it but the price to get a new one turned me onto Onkyo as I am a little tight on funds these days. The functionality is very easy and straight forward along with just the right amount of power to fill my medium sized living room with balanced bass, mids, and highs in total clarity even at higher volumes. I love the fact that the speaker terminals are designed for banana plugs! I can't say anything about the radio tuner as I do everything digital and stream on Amazon Prime. As for the complaints on here about the receiver getting hot I have not experienced this.with mine. I have been an audio enthusiast, borderline audiophile since I was 5 years old thanks to my Dad. I am currently 34 and have learned a lot about audio since then. One thing I have learned is receivers need lots of breathing room, especially ones that do not have fan systems in them. I give mine a 4 inch clearance on the top to allow maximum heat dissipation. It runs fairly cool with this clearance even with extensive use at moderate volumes. I highly recommend other owners do this if theirs are running hot. Also make sure to use the correct gauge wire for the footage you are utilizing. Using the wrong gauge wire will also cause the receiver to run hot. I recommend using no less than a 16 gauge wire for any tower speaker (floor standing speaker) setup. Rule of thumb, the farther the speakers are apart, the thicker the wire used. If the speaker is designed to be bi-amped (four terminals on back of speaker) then I strongly suggest at least 14 gauge if you do not bi-amp them.

The Onkyo TX-8020 50 watt was purchased to replace a '70's Pioneer SX-636 25 watt (least expensive Pioneer at the time ) stereo with failing capacitors that is used in my garage. Speakers used are Cambride Soundworks Model Six's, not fancy but decent enough. Today, fresh out of the box, plugged it in and the Onkyo is simply horrible. FM or CD playing. Very poor bass, midrange, depth or any soundstage to speak of, flat un-dynamic thin sounding. Weird but radio commercials are now mostly all vocals, missing 70 to 80% of the background music, shocking, it's just "gone". That really caught me by surprise. The"tone" button AKA "loudness" function introduces a very modest bump and adds that dull blanket sound. Bass needs to be max'ed and treble reduced to get any o'umph or modest sound quality with the volume at 40% and then the bass/midrange sounds like mud under blankets and not very loud for being at 40% of full volume and twice the ( claimed ) wattage of my ancient Pioneer. The upper mid's and mid highs are the most dominant overbearing frequency... This amp's sound quality barely improves much until around 60% and then it's too loud for "normal" listening and still sucks quality wise. My Pioneer at 60% would be twice as loud as the Onkyo, a sign of a grossly under-preforming transformer, etc. My dying Pioneer smokes this thing, even with the failing cap's audibly and loudly popping occasionally thru the left channel speaker. ( spooky/scary ). The Pioneer was normally set at 9:30 0'clock on the volume knob and the volume knob starts at 7 0'clock as in 7 o'clock is zero volume, a 15 to 20% of full volume setting by comparison to the Onkyo 40% of full volume and at least 4 times better sound quality even though it's sound quality is down quite a bit due to the aging cap's... I just want to throw the Onkyo in the garbage and it might just end up there very soon. I didn't want to replace caps in the Pioneer but now it's a no-brainier. I wouldn't pay $10 for the Onkyo at a garage sale now that I've listened to it. So much for 40+ years of yada-yada technological advancement in electronics and marketing hype. I really, seriously, wasn't expecting much for a $200 garage stereo but this is ridiculous, a total waste of money. And I can't return it cause it's not defective as in "broken" but it is defective by it's cheesy deficient design! I've been using a cheap tiny 12" x 6" x 3" 80's dual 4" speaker portable stereo till this arrived and I'm not impressed Onkyo, not even over the portable radio cause I know what the ultra cheap 80's radio is supposed to sound like. My modernish nothing that great relatively inexpensive10 year old Harmon-Kardon HK3475 is WAY better than the Onkyo as well. My computer system sounds better than the Onkyo... yet another ka-ching on a long list of let-downs in modern technology, quality and manufacturing....

This is a good straightforward amplifier with all the features I need. Clear sound, good punch, doesnt distort.

Para substituir mi viejo Gradiente opté por éste amplificador que además es también sintonizador y creo que fue una buena compra, pues mas que todo quería un estéreo que se adaptara a mis otros componentes, sobretodo a mi tornamesa Technics y el resultado ha sido bastante aceptable: buen sonido, con tonos medios y bajos limpios y agradables. Y el precio pagado muy razonable. A todo esto habrá que agregar el tiempo de entrega y forma ajustado a lo estipulado.

Works perfectly. So nice to be able to play 6 discs without having to think about it. Great for parties or a night of great music for yourself. Recorded discs can last up to 6 hours, those purchased prerecorded about 3 hours

Super. 100 % happy. Easy to install and control ! No problem nowhere ! 5 stars and more ! Marc

It's fine but the FM antenna is puny so weak signals have trouble