One of my CES highlights for 2025 has to be Onkyo revealing its brand new Icon series of hi-fi electronics. It’s a welcome return for a brand which hasn’t been without its struggles of late.
For context, back in December last year, Onkyo sent out a press release outlining its ‘bold new vision for the future’ and committing to ‘raising the bar for technology and home entertainment’. It also confirmed new products would be launched at CES 2025. No details were revealed at the time, but we now know Onkyo’s new hi-fi separates line is called the Icon Series and consists of the P-80 network preamplifier, the M-80 power amplifier and the A-50 streaming amplifier.
But there was another new range of cheaper audio products also launched at CES 2025 and I’m not quite sure it sends out the right message. More on that in a second…
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a big new audio launch from Onkyo following a tumultuous few years which have seen the company file for bankruptcy and also move under the control of Sharp and Premium Audio Company (a subsidiary of Voxx International).
Go on the hi-fi section of the Onkyo Europe website and (at the time of writing) there are a couple of CD players (including an old-school 6-CD changer) and a couple of stereo receivers – one with Bluetooth and the other with network streaming and HDMI inputs. Head over to the home cinema area and you’ve got three premium AVRs to choose from: TX-RZ30, TX-RZ50 and TX-RZ70.
It’s a shame to see Onkyo’s portfolio so sparse because it is one of the oldest audio companies in existence and has a rich heritage of two-channel products which dates back decades and well before my time on What Hi-Fi?. Of course, many of you will remember the company’s dominance of the AVR market in the late 90’s and early noughties where its products regularly outmuscled the competition not just in terms of features and specification, but also sonic performance.
We did see a small two-channel resurgence in 2015 with the launch of the Onkyo A-9010 (above), an amazing budget stereo amplifier of which there was a UK-tuned version which didn’t have the built-in DAC of the European and US model. At just £200, it blew us away and – given the dearth of affordable two-channel electronics – proceeded to dominate the market for the next few years, picking up three consecutive What Hi-Fi? Awards in the process.
And this is why the Icon Series reveal has to be seen as encouraging news. From what we’ve seen, the products look premium, sophisticated and their four-figure price tags shows the brand means business, which is great to see.
However, it is Onkyo’s second CES announcement, the Creator Series, which is giving me slightly mixed signals. We have gone from a range of separates that starts at $1499 to a two-strong powered desktop speaker range: the $199 GX10DB and the $299 GX30ARC (below). For me, it slightly takes the edge off Onkyo’s big return.
I hope it doesn’t try to spread itself too thin too soon, trying to cater for too many different kinds of customers before it has a chance to properly re-establish itself as a force in the hi-fi market (or the home cinema market for that matter).
Contrast Onkyo’s approach with that of Technics, whose relaunch happened way back in 2014. It burst back onto the scene with two hi-fi ranges which included a £12,000 amplifier and £18,599 pair of speakers. You could see consistent messaging and a clear focus from day one. It’s only in the past couple of years that the brand has branched out into other areas such as wireless headphones and earbuds.
Now, that obviously doesn’t mean the Creator Series couldn’t perform well and force its way into our best computer speakers buying guide. Their presence next to the shiny new hi-fi separates, however, feels a little jarring, as if Onkyo isn’t quite sure what it wants to be as a brand; who could blame it given the huge changes within the company over the past few years?
I sincerely hope this isn't the case and that the brand knocks it out of the park with both of these new ranges. Time will tell and we will be sure to give you our verdict once they have passed through our test rooms.
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