New Onkyo A-9010 stereo integrated amp with build-in Wolfson DAC

MSRP $349.00



http://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=A-9010&class=Amplifier&source=prodClass

And, yes, it's available in silver....just not in the U.S.

 

Very happy with my A9050 which I got for $349 (~18mos ago) iirc.

 

I've been eyeing this myself. Curious what this gives you over the TX-8020? I really don't need the tuner section of the receiver, which is why this integrated appeals to me. However the price difference could be a factor if the difference in sound is minimal.

http://www.onkyousa.com/Products/model.php?m=TX-8020&class=Receiver&source=prodClass

 

It's got a LOUDNESS button !

 

I love: "and chunky knobs will further help bring all your digital and analog sources to life"

 

Loudness buttons are a godsend for low level listening. It's criminal that most amps don't have them.

 

And a phono stage, presumably for use with Onkyo's new mid-price dd turntable:

http://www.it.onkyo.com/en/products/cp-1050-122093.html

 

I have an Onkyo 8020 receiver. Will the 9010 sound significantly better. My 8020 sounds pretty good to me right now.

 

I ordered a 9010 from Amazon. Got it this morning. I have been using an Onkyo 8020 receiver. I hooked up the 9010 and played a good sounding cd I was familiar with and nearly fell off the couch. I can't even describe the difference in sound. It was shocking.

 

Andrew Everard gave this amp a very good review for Gramophone recently. Onkyo continue to turn out some great gear!

 

Would you guys consider this amp on the warmer side or brighter side for sound ?

List your speakers also.

 

Thanks for the response guys.

Posted this on the 9050 thread.

Interesting tidbit. Found 9050 only does 96/24 over coaxial and optical.

9010 does 192/24 over coaxial and 96/24 over optical.

 

Picked the 9010 up from amazon and on the way for my small setup I am putting together at beach place.

I will post what I think in case it helps others interested.

 

Please do !

I'm curious. My Onkyo 7030 cd player has a built in Wolfson DAC....so with this amp also having one...is it redundant or will it enhance the sound further I wonder ? And...if a cd player with a possible lesser quality DAC plugged in to the new amp...will it raise the quality of the sound because of "it's" Wolfson ?

I'd think it more important to have the DAC in the source player...than in the amp....I dunno.

 

Since you already have the same DAC, it won't help you further.

It helps me cause I have an old Onkyo HT amp with a phono input, so it made more sense to upgrade my AMP than a player. I will just use coaxial/optical from my existing player.

I may later on buy the 7030 cause of the build quality and being a stand alone single disc player. I am going to use my Technics DVD-A10 as digital source, it has a great build quality.

 

Just saw the 9010 for $185 here.

https://www.newaudiounited.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1488

Disclaimer: I know NOTHING about this seller, never used them. But at least one online review suggests they are legit. YMMV.

 

Sweet integrated amp. Bummer no remote, but at $185 quite a steal!!

 

I found the Denon DL-110 way cheaper on this site too but not heard about them.
After looking online, they appear to be based in the Ukraine with many complaints so maybe stay away, unless others have experience with them

 

Dig a little deeper online. There are quite a few people who have been burned by them. I already seen that low price and checked them out, after reading a whole thread elsewhere on them, I decided not worth the risk.

 

It's nice to see some quality gear that's affordable for most. I have the c-7030 which I am quite happy with paired with a Yamaha A700 amp. If the Yamaha goes south this would be a ideal replacement amplifier within my budget.

 

I'm seeing different reviews on this. Look like the UK version doesn't have the DAC as they wanted to concentrate on the analog sections.
"Conceived in Japan and tuned in the UK.......However, with no digital inputs on board, the A-9010 is a strictly analogue affair. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, since it means Onkyo can plough the money it saves on DACs into squeezing the best performance out of the analogue circuitry."

 

I saw the positive ratings on resellerratings.com, but they are mixed.

It looks like they accept paypal, so wouldn't that provide some measure of protection?

I do see frequent references to them not being an authorized dealer for products they sell, so that is certainly a red flag.

 

I believe I saw the A-9010 on Amazon for $299 including free shipping. I'd rather go with that than risk the savings of $100+ with someone I don't know.

 

Ok.....so I have a 10 year old Panasonic DVD player that was really, really inexpensive.

However at the time, it got a great rating from Consumer Reports...and I just needed a very basic unit...so I bought it. Only $49 at Fry's in Texas. It's still works great, never has any video or audio problems at all !

Not sure about the DAC, surely it's just some standard cheapy...but with THAT audio signal coming out to the new A-9010 with it's Wolfson, how will it improve the source's sound ? How can the amp take the originating signal and make it truly better ? Average IN, Better Out ? Hmmmm....

And by the way...my Panasonic DVD player DOES have a digital audio out as a coaxial output. Would that be the best to use going into the amp ? Or the regular RCA audio out's ?

This is from my DVD manual,

PCM Digital Output
Check the digital input limitations of the
equipment you connect using COAXIAL
terminal and select the maximum sampling
frequency of PCM digital output.
≥Up to 48 kHz: When connected to equipment compatible with 44.1 or 48 kHz
≥Up to 96 kHz: When connected to equipment compatible with 88.2 or 96 kHz
– Signals that exceed the set maximum frequency and signals from copy-protected discs are converted
to 48 or 44.1 kHz.
– Some equipment cannot handle sampling frequencies of 88.2 kHz, even if they can handle 96 kHz.
Read your equipment’s operating instructions for details.
Dolby Digital ≥ Bitstream ≥ PCM Select “Bitstream” when the equipment can decode the bitstream (digital
form of multi-channel data). Otherwise, select “PCM”.
≥ If the bitstream is output to the equipment without a decoder, high levels
of noise can be output and may damage your speakers and hearing.
DTS Digital Surround ≥ PCM ≥ Bitstream
MPEG§7 ≥ PCM ≥ Bitstream
Dynamic Range Compression ≥ Off
≥ On: Adjusts for clarity even when the volume is low through compressing the range of the lowest sound
level and the highest sound level. Convenient for late night viewing. (Only works with Dolby Digital)

 

Wouldn't a DAC in the amp really only work with a digital signal coming in ? The signal coming out of analog RCA's from a cd or dvd player wouldn't benefit would they ?

Boy...when it comes down to it. I'm one dumb sunny beach !