Tinkered around more with both the SC-05 and 876 last night. I have nothing new to add to that discussion. Same observations as before. But for grins and giggles, I also hooked my old VSX-43TX back up, *without* the LPA amp.

Recalibrated it and did a little bit of listening. Now in the past, I have had a few problems with this receiver driving my M80's. Sure enough, at loud volume (90-ish db peaks @ 0db on the volume scale) the SQ starts to go downhill. It's almost *exactly* like the way the 876 sounds @ 95-ish db peaks. So if I've described the 43tx's problems as clipping in the past, or at least straining then that's what's going on with the 876 too. The 43TX is rated for 100w/channel (8ohm), vs 140w/channel (8ohm) on the 876, FWIW. But at normal listening levels, I was actually pleasantly surprised at just how good the old girl still sounds. Very much a case of, 'you don't know what you have until it's gone'.

So then I hooked the LPA-1 back up to the 43TX, bi-amping my M80's (shuuush, I like it that way), as I had it before. As critical as I want to be about SQ, I can't honestly hear any tonal differences up until that 90-ish db ceiling. It sounds lovely. Past there, the LPA holds it together beautifully until about 100-ish db, at which point it (and my ears) may be starting to strain. Yes, these are *extreme* volume levels that I would only peak at when doing a wide-open demo for friends and family. So the practical relevance is low. But then again, it also pleases me to know that my car is capable of 155mph (on the Autobahn), even though 99.999% of the time I'd only need half of that. Boys and their toys.

I was particularly surprised with the soundstage from the 'sweet spot'. My TV is aligned with the center seat of my couch. I have a few Diana Krall albums where she's mixed to be more-or-less smack dab in the middle of the soundstage. Right in front of you. Straight direct stereo sound modes, with the 876 (Audyssey on/off), the SC-05 (MCACC on/off), she was right in front of me, but I could detect that the sound was coming from the speakers. I could dial in a little + trim on the L or R channel and the sound would shift to that side, as expected, but the overall presence didn't change much. With the 43TX+LPA, she sounds like she's coming *from* the TV. There's no sense that it's being produced from the speakers. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say it, but my first thought when hearing that was, "ahhh, now that's the way it should sound". Oh dear.... If I similarly purposefully mis-adjust the trim, then it quickly falls apart and her voice snaps to the L or R and the effect of coming from the TV vanishes. With the MCACC, that's even doing the setup at one primary spot, where it should not be doing any sort of 'averaging' for other spots. On the 876, it was on that averaging mode where I took 3 measurements, each seat on my couch. I didn't know how to tell it *not* to do that. I'm sure there's a way, but I didn't explore it. And yes, to be fair, I bet that one could tweak MCACC/Audyssey to get that same feeling.

So where do I go from here? The 876 is boxed up and on it's way back. Now that I've re-listened to my old 43TX+LPA combo, trying to be as objective as I can, it's harder than I thought to justify spending the $1k on the SC-05. Is it worth $1k to have one HDMI cable going to the TV? Worth $1k for DDHD/DTSHD (via PCM, since my PS3 cant pass that bitstream). I struggle to say yes. Yes, the SC-05 is an amazing AVR for SQ. And yes, it can do that amazing sound on it's own *without* the LPA. So that's very cool. It is a *stunning* upgrade for anyone with a low-to-mid range AVR that wants a sonic kick in the rear. But the lack of a few features (discussed, ad nauseum), grates on me a bit.

So it's likely that the SC-05 is *also* going back this weekend. When the SC-05 goes back, it's possible that I'll come home with a 3808. Although my good friend that owns one says that as soon as March Madness is over, he'd be happy to let me borrow his 3808 for a weekend to see if I like it without having to buy one. As of right now, that sounds appealing to me, as it'll give Emotiva a few more weeks to maybe bring the UMC to market. Even if I fall in love with the 3808, I know that I'm going to have to buy a UMC when it comes out just to bring some sense of closure to this year+ of waiting.

I could spend $500 on the upcoming Oppo BR player and get DDHD & DTSHD via analog 7.1, plus an amazing upscaler for the only source that I have that ought to be upscaled (DVD), probably get a good improvement on SACD SQ, and I'd be ready with a player that supports bitstreaming those new formats too. That seems like a more prudent use of funds.

And if it's just great SQ at absurd volume levels that I'm after, $1,000 would go a long way towards upgrading the LPA-1 to something even more powerful.

So I think I'm just going to wait a little bit longer for what this spring/summer brings in the way of new AVR's/processors. The fabled UMC/XMC. A Denon 3809 perhaps? Outlaw's 997 looks quite interesting too. Unless, of course, the 3808 proves to be as good as everyone says it is. ;\) We shall see.

I hope I haven't ticked anyone off with any of this. This is just me 'blogging' about the experience. I don't mean to ruffle any feathers about amps vs DACS vs Onkyo's vs {whatever}. Just trying to post my thoughts & feelings as honestly as I can. And I'm just a guy with his own ideas, so keep in mind that all of this is just my opinion. I'm not an expert on any of this, just a guy that knows what he likes to hear. Nothing more, nothing less. I also like incredibly stinky cheeses and have been known to enjoy balsamic vinegar sandwiches, so my tastes are skewed towards the weird.

The best thing to do is go out and buy what you want and listen to it in your house with your ears. Seriously. \:\)

Peace & cookies.

Last edited by PeterChenoweth; 03/20/09 02:42 PM.

M80v2 | VP150v2 | QS8v2
SVS Pci+ 20-39
Emotiva UMC-1 & LPA-1
M22ti + T-Amp, in the Office