Onkyo recently announced the release of the first models from its 2012 range. These comprise four receivers all engineered to deliver superior sound quality, better features, and value for money, compared to their outgoing equivalents.

Onkyo's TX-NR616 AV Reciever.

The receivers are:

TX-SR313 5.1-channel home cinema receiver
TX-NR414 networked 5.1-channel home cinema receiver
TX-NR515 networked 7.2-channel home cinema receiver
TX-NR616 THX Select2 Plus-certified home cinema receiver

Beginning with the affordable TX-SR313 (100w per channel) this boasts WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology), a low negative-feedback design philosophy that Onkyo says “reduces signal noise and guarantees superb performance with minimal distortion”. Discrete output-stage components – not cheap ‘all-in-one’ chips –  are said to significantly improve audio quality.

Featuring wireless-capable home networking and even more power (5 x 130w), the TX-NR414 5.1-channel receiver allows users to integrate audio sourced from a PC, enjoy a vast selection of totally free internet radio stations, stream audio from subscription services such as (Spotify and SIMFY) and even enjoy ‘Cloud Locker’ music services such as MP3tunes.

Making its first ever appearance in a consumer home cinema receiver is “InstaPrevue technology”. Onkyo say this system provides live on-screen video thumbnails of the content playing on your HDMI-connected devices, making input source selection easier than ever. The ‘Q’ remote button overlays a ‘Quick Set-Up’ menu on the program being watched via HDMI.

Building on the TX-NR414’s feature set are the networked 7.2-Channel TX-NR515 and TX-NR616 receivers. Both feature a new front-panel input badged MHL/HDMI. But what’s MHL I hear you ask? Simple… MHL is a facility that allows the playback of 1080p video and stills with 7.1 channels of surround sound from smartphones and other portable devices.

The most powerful model in this release – the TX-NR616 (7 x 165w) – is backed by a THX Select2 Plus guarantee of cinema-quality sound.

Achieving this demanding standard for audio quality is made possible partly by the use of Onkyo’s three-stage inverted Darlington circuitry in the amplifier stage.