Peter, I am very sorry to hear that the 876 was not to your liking - or that it may have had some problems. My experience, as you know from my previous posts to you, align with the high praise that can be found everywhere for this receiver. There are many different listening and processing modes I still fool around with to fine tune my appreciation for this unit - not to mention the challenges and ongoing learning experience with Audyssey.

On Audyssey, I know there has been lots of comments pro and con with Audyssey. In my case I only used it for the first month with my 875 and hung it up for about a year before I decided to try it again and really work on A/B comparisons with a bunch of music sources (with my better half often disagreeing with me). I ended up vastly appreciating its contribution and staying with it ever since. But the Dynamic EQ addition to the 876 really brings the surrounds out at low volumes.

Anyway, sorry for veering off topic there. I am disappointed that you didn't like the 876 and wish you the best of luch with your future unit.