One of the most exciting developments in hi‑fi in recent years—at least for me—has been the evolution of Onkyo as a newly ascendant brand. Given that most of the other big household names in audio (the ones your dad has heard of, I mean) are slowly being gobbled up by Samsung/Harman, I’m just happy to see another major player challenging that hegemony. If there’s anything I hate more than unsweet tea, it’s monopolies. We need diversity.
I honestly didn’t expect to see so much diversity coming from one formerly struggling brand. And yet, here we are: hot on the heels of Onkyo’s popular Icon series come two new streaming integrated amplifiers in the Muse series. Today, we’ll be unboxing the more affordable of the two: the Y‑40 (US$999.99, CA$1499, £849, €899).
As I think I said in the past, one of the weird things about being a product reviewer is that you never know if you’re going to get a freshly factory-sealed box or something that’s been around the block a few times. This uncertainty was further exacerbated in the case of the Y‑40 by the fact that the amp isn’t even available for purchase as I write these words in early April. The product release is still over a month away. So I’m assuming the box I received was shipped from a tradeshow. Still, it’s nice to see that Onkyo is following a trend I like here, of putting a line drawing of the amp on the side of the box so you can see at a glance what the connectivity is like. Visuals of this sort are much easier to parse than a laundry list of bullet points. (Is that a mixed metaphor?)
As we dig into the carton, it’s also nice to see that the company gives a handy diagram of the contents of the box—perhaps not as critical with a product as straightforward as this one, but we must keep in mind that this may well be someone’s first integrated amp, so any help along the way is a bonus.
Another nice plus is the reliance on molded pulp-fiber packaging instead of any sort of foam. In every sense of the word, this is preferable, in my opinion, as it’s more sustainable, it’s more storage-efficient, it’s biodegradable, and molded pulp is really good at its job. Kudos to whoever at Onkyo fought for this option.
Open the accessories box cradled within the recess on the top of the pressed-pulp packing, and you can see the Y‑40’s full-featured remote control, as well as . . .
Uh oh.
A whole lot of power cords, none of which will fit my North American mains outlets. I’m going to get out over my skis here and guess that means this was a demo unit used at the Bristol Hi‑Fi Show. I could probably confirm that with Onkyo’s PR people, but given that I’m just speculating here, I don’t see it as necessary. Thankfully, I have a gazillion-and-three NEMA 1‑15 to C17 cords lying around the house, so I’m hoping it won’t be a problem to give this thing juice. And given that the amp relies on a switching power supply, I’m guessing there won’t be voltage issues.
But we’ll see! I’m starting to get nervous about whether or not I’ll need to scramble to find another product to review this month.
A closer look at the remote control reveals a nice, tidy layout and, best I can tell, no unused buttons.
Hey, would you look at that! Onkyo sent me a silver Y‑40 for review. Not that it affects performance, of course, but given that I’m ancient and getting older every day, I come from an era in which silver electronics were a thing, and I still have a fondness for them. The amp is also available in standard black, which is equally lovely, although the black doesn’t show off the patterns of the top vents, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into.
Come on, though. Who wouldn’t fall in love with that crosshatch pattern? Maybe you think I’m making a big deal about nothing, but I really do think little touches like this are a welcome contrast to the boring-black-box designs that have dominated our industry for years now. If we want hi‑fi to thrive, the devices need some personality. Looks matter.
I also love the symmetry of the Y‑40’s faceplate: the source-select and volume knobs flanking the 5.5″ display; the Display button mirroring the size and location of the power button. Even the full-size headphone jack mirrors the location of the front-panel USB connection. It’s all just so freaking sleek, and I’m absolutely here for it.
I leaned in for a closer look at the vents and couldn’t resist the urge to take another photo. Real talk here: the fact that I also caught the lovely screen-printed script of the model designation was a happy accident.
Around back, things are a bit more straightforward and unadorned. You can see here a set of nice but basic five-way binding posts beneath the Wi‑Fi/Bluetooth antenna connection, along with all the other inputs.
A closer look reveals those to be a phono input (MM) with ground, three stereo analog line-level inputs (RCA), coaxial and optical digital inputs (the former of which is assigned to the CD input), an ethernet port, an HDMI ARC port, and a stereo preamp output. That’s honestly a bit more analog connectivity than I’d expect at this price point, but I’m happy to see it.
Lastly, given that I was having to supply my own power cord here and all the uncertainty implied by such, I couldn’t resist plugging the Y‑40 in and powering it up just to make sure this review was, indeed, going to proceed as planned.
It fired right up, thankfully, although I have to apologize for the quality of this image. My two-channel listening room is an absolute abyss by design—it eats illumination for breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, lunch, and supper—so I had to drag lamps in from all over the house just to get anything other than the screen to show up on camera.
As such, the amp’s display screen looks way more washed-out here than it does in real life. But you can still see the design of the default display screen, which is actually one of four—the others being two varieties of virtual VU meters, as well as a cover-art-and-metadata view reminiscent of most of today’s media streamers. All of them are lovely, but I particularly adore how easy this one is to parse from all the way across the room.
Stay tuned for more thoughts on the other screens, as well as the performance of the Y‑40 itself, in my full evaluation, coming to this space in just over two weeks.
. . . Dennis Burger
dennisb@soundstagenetwork.com
