It’s been a while since I brought an A/V receiver in for review here on Access, and to be frank with you, I didn’t actually request Onkyo’s new TX-RZ30 ($1199, all prices USD) for such purposes. I asked for a sample as a matter of due diligence, so I could include it in the latest round of testing for my updated Wirecutter guide to the category. But a few things made me realize quite quickly that it was worthy of individual attention and deeper scrutiny. And a clue to those things can be found amongst the alphabet soup of logos on the outer packaging.
But my main reaction to the box is empathy and compassion for the uninitiated normie who encounters it on a shelf in a big-box store. (Those still exist, right?) Seriously, how many people in your life would be able to parse more than perhaps 10 percent of this jargon?
The details on the side of the box, if anything, make things worse. But I’m not here to pick on Onkyo or its marketing folks or package-design department. All of this is, to me, indicative of the fact that A/V receivers no longer have any mainstream appeal and are wholly the domain of hardcore home-theater enthusiasts. And in so many ways, the TX-RZ30 leans hard into that reality.
Here we have yet another clue about what made the TX-RZ30 irresistible to me as a product to review in and of itself, although it’s not clear from the photo unless you already know the answer. So I suppose I should spit it out. The receiver comes with a license for full-bandwidth, 20Hz–20kHz Dirac Live room correction, which normally requires a $99 upgrade from the band-limited version that usually ships with AVRs.
What’s more, the insanely affordable TX-RZ30 also supports an upgrade to Dirac Live Bass Control capabilities for $299. I’ll dig more into what that means in my full review, but in short, it’s a powerful upgrade to Dirac that allows the system not only to handle bass-management capabilities (instead of letting the receiver do that), but it also performs “phase co-optimization” and essentially allows room correction to work on speaker systems instead of merely individual speakers.
More pertinent to the photo at hand, though: notice that both AM and FM antennas are included in the packaging. We see that less and less these days.
Like I said, we’ll focus on all the Dirac stuff more in my full review. Because, in many other respects, unboxing the TX-RZ30 is like unboxing any other $1000-ish AVR. It’s packed in awful, crumbly EPS foam, and if those four endcaps survive the inevitable re-boxing process when this thing is ready to go back to the manufacturer, I’ll be shocked. It’s nice that they’re in four pieces, though, so I could at least take the top two off and lift out the receiver with a little less awkwardness.
Out of the packing, the RZ30 shares an undeniable family resemblance with its RZ-series siblings, the RZ50 and RZ70, although both of those more upscale models are taller and heavier.
I have to say, I really dig the source- and zone-select buttons at the upper right of the front panel. It’s rare that I need to actually physically interact with an AVR in my system on a day-to-day basis, but when the need arises, it’s nice that the buttons are all accessible and plainly legible and distinct from the other controls that you’ll need to touch far less frequently.
Here’s a view you don’t (and won’t) see often. When I was flipping the AVR around to take a look at the backside, I couldn’t help noticing that the feet had these little cork rings affixed to the bottom. Yeah, the ones in the front aren’t perfectly centered, but I like this touch. In the room where I test AVRs, my electronics sit atop a credenza, and it’s hard as heck to keep it from getting scuffed and scratched.
Mind you, most RZ30s will likely be installed in equipment racks, I’m guessing, but for those who do install it out in the open on furniture, it’s nice to know that there’s an extra layer of scratch protection.
A few things also stand out immediately about the I/O section. Firstly, component-video inputs? In 2025? Seriously? Not sure how many people will need them, but it’s nice that they’re there for corner cases.
Other than that, the receiver has the inputs and outputs you’d expect for a product of its vintage and price class, including two HDMI outs, one of which supports eARC. It also features six line-level stereo RCA inputs, as well as a phono stage (MM).
The only thing I’m really not loving about the back panel is that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas aren’t removable or (as far as I can tell) replaceable, and if you’ve ever moved an AVR from one location to another, you know those damnable things are prone to snapping.
Oh well. I’m not going to let that blunt my enthusiasm for the RZ30. If its real-world performance comes close to living up to the promise, this could be a return to glory for Onkyo in the AVR marketplace, such as it is. I’m eager to test it out, including its Dirac Bass Control capabilities, and will report my findings soon.
. . . Dennis Burger
dennisb@soundstagenetwork.com
