Onkyo TX-RZ50 · problems & reliability report

Onkyo TX-RZ50 problems: what real owners report

29% of 103 verified Onkyo TX-RZ50owners don't recommend it, and 2 describe specific problems — based on real owner comments from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube.

For balance: 61% recommend it. This page collects the complaints so you know what you're signing up for — read the full owner report for both sides. How we score

Trend
Recent owners are more negative than older ones — the last six months run 0% recommend vs 61% all-time. Whatever the issues are, they aren't going away.

Most common complaints

In owners' own words

Not having two independent subwoofer outputs is definitely a non-small thing this unit gets wrong
@grantmoon624 on YouTube
I just wish it had balanced outputs to maximize the Emotiva amp I’m getting.
@weduhpeople8504 on YouTube
Onkyo’s removal of InteliVolume and dynamic volume left me so disappointed with this receiver
@speedracer9132 on YouTube
por el precio la calidad de construccion deja mucho que desear
@natoliR3n on YouTube
I hate my rz50 for all the handshaking issues I have. I need to have weird work around behaviors in order to not brick the image
MrRipley15 on Reddit
Sorry but I have ptsd from my old onkyo rz50 , everyday there was something new wrong with it an I had to replace it a few times before just switching to Denon!
bossn9ne916 on Reddit
Had bad experience with onkyo tx-rz50. I received it with one height speaker producing static sound and few months later it stopped working. Their support is bad
Huge_Craft_6591 on Reddit
if you turn on Dirac, with or without Base Control, or Base Management, there is a horribly audible hiss which becomes straining over an extended period of time if you are watching a movie. For me, that is a deal breaker.
Major-Ad-8585 on Reddit
I bought the Onkyo RZ50 a few weeks ago and returned it. I had a Marantz 7011 and now a yamaha a8a. The onkyo sounded terrible compared to my yamaha.
sittingmongoose on Reddit
my RZ50 HDMI board failed with less than 50 hours of use on it. Amazon is refunding the purchase. The receiver was really nice till this.
tecky1kanobe on Reddit
The RZ50 is going back. Kept having issues with the audio dropping while watching movies/TV. And IMO it sounded quite a bit worse after Dirac than without it.
DenseBathroom3202 on Reddit
I have exactly the same issue with the hiss when Dirac is turned on on my RZ50. I had it with my previous B&W speakers and now also with my new Canton speakers.
rppjr on Reddit

Setup quirks & things to watch for

Not complaints — practical notes from owners that didn't affect the score.

The RZ50 only supports a **single** sub output, meaning DIRAC can't optimize multiple subs even if you paid for the subwoofer license (DLBC).
sotired3333 on Reddit
I just got my Onkyo TX-RZ50 as well. Dirac didn't work wired for me.
Soft_Ad8100 on Reddit
i just use the rz 50 for processing for now until the new onkyo processor comes out or I get an anthem avm 70
Ripcord_mark_7 on Reddit
I've seen this a couple times since adding the RZ50 to my HDMI pipeline... Some picture drops
MadMyers on AVS Forum
RZ50 owner here that would love to see sound format prominently displayed instead of source
StopPlayingRoney on Reddit
The DRX 3.4 could not hack it - but the sound cleaned up once I removed the L & R front channels from it (including C)... the amps are fine, but the power supply runs out of current. Running with external power amps, the sound quality was on a par with the older beasts...
dlaloum on AVS Forum
I also had an RZ50 before the X6800H, but I didn't have any noise issues
AvailableShine8929 on Reddit
Only turn on AVR when needed, and CEC works just fine
Happy_Bad-_- on Reddit
Weighing it up? The full report has the other side — what 61% of owners like about it, who it's for, and every sourced quote. Full Onkyo TX-RZ50 owner report →