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Re: TX-SR876, in the house (and back in the box)
CV #252326 03/18/09 09:12 AM
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Peter, I will guess you tried the Onkyo with Audyssey turned on and off? Notice any differences between the 2? Was it better with it turned off?


Jason
M80 v2
VP160 v3
QS8 v2
PB13 Ultra
Denon 3808
Samsung 85" Q70
Re: TX-SR876, in the house (and back in the box)
jakewash #252330 03/18/09 10:52 AM
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+1 for buying and testing a 3808 for my own completely selfish reasons.

I'm appreciative of the time and patience taken in your reports!


::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
Re: TX-SR876, in the house (and back in the box)
MarkSJohnson #252345 03/18/09 01:27 PM
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Thanks guys.

Let me caution everyone to keep in mind that these are just my opinions. I'm sharing with everyone because I have, in the past, wished someone would do what I'm doing and post about it. I finally just got up the nerve to do it myself. \:\) I would strongly encourage anyone looking at any of these receivers to do exactly what I'm doing and test them for yourself. All the reading in the world is no substitute for actually hearing/seeing it for yourself. I don't have an agenda over which setup 'ought' to sound best, and so I'm trying to be as impartial as I can. But I'm only human and don't pretend to have golden ears. I just know what I like. I'm sure there's more than one Onkyo owner around here that's cursing me for being negative about the 876. Sorry about that, but it just doesn't work for me.

I will freely admit that I did not spend hours tweaking the Audyssey setup, and so it is very likely that is is better than I say it is. I went so far as to calibrate it to 3 listening positions (I know more is better), and then to tweak the crossover points. Audyssey wanted the M80's and VP150 as full, with the QS8's crossed at 70hz. I had read online (AVS) that it's best to set all the speakers to an 80hz crossover, which is ironic, since a global xover is one of my complaints about the SC-05. I also played around with which EQ mode it used, 'MultiEQ XT' vs 'Dynamic EQ' vs 'Off'.

I was not impressed at all with the 'MultiEQ XT' mode. It sucked all of the midrange out of the setup and did something that completely killed the soundstage - speakers became very easy to pinpoint. The Dynamic EQ was what I used (per AVS recommendations) for most of the testing, unless I was using the 'Pure Audio' direct mode or the multi-channel in, neither of which use any calibration (AFAIK). But for PCM signals, yes I tried both Audyssey on and off. It certainly changed the sound, but I can't really say that one way was better than the other. I could tell that Audyssey was trying to enlarge the 'sweet spot' at the center of the couch, but it was not really all that impressive.

It genuinely pains me to say it, but neither MCACC nor Audyssey seem to really be doing much more than what I've been able to accomplish with an SPL meter, rugs/drapes, and some speaker positioning tweaks. Maybe my room is better than I think it is. ;\)

The most revealing test for me was the pure, analog-input, no processing, SACD sound. That's where the difference between these two was most apparent.

The 876 is heading back to Amazon. I'll probably have to pay the return shipping on it but that's ok. It's fair and worth the peace of mind to me. As soon as Amazon issues the credit (about a week, in my experience), then I'll re-evaluate the situation. I've got a month to decide on the SC-05.

As it stands right now, I'm leaning towards returning the SC-05 too and waiting until the UMC-1 is released. Or I may just wait until the 3808's replacement is released, considering that it's almost 2 years old at this point. Or I may just swap the SC-05 for a 3808 and give that a shot. I've read through the manual and it is an extremely impressive bit of kit. And it's clear to me that it has a huge following around here. My only problem with the 3808 is that the best price I've found is about $1,400. And for that, I could get a UMC-1 and an XPA-2. Or a UMC and Oppo's BR player. Too many options.

Though my wife's suggestion is that we start looking even further up the food chain. "What about Marantz or NAD," she asked last night. "Those are going to be closer to $2k, if not more " I replied. "So?" she asked. Oh bother.

Not exactly sure where this will end up. All I know for sure is that I need a few days to rest my back after hauling around 60+ pound AVR's and amps for 4 days. \:\)

Last edited by PeterChenoweth; 03/18/09 02:04 PM.

M80v2 | VP150v2 | QS8v2
SVS Pci+ 20-39
Emotiva UMC-1 & LPA-1
M22ti + T-Amp, in the Office
Re: TX-SR876, in the house (and back in the box)
PeterChenoweth #252352 03/18/09 02:25 PM
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Peter, just one quick note that as of fairly recently, it's been reported that 6th Ave Electronics is still selling the 3808 for $1100.

You have to call and ask for the "AVS" price, and they are an official Denon retailer.


::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
Re: TX-SR876, in the house (and back in the box)
MarkSJohnson #252359 03/18/09 02:49 PM
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That is a good price. But the problem is that I don't know about their return policy. And in doing what I'm doing I've got to know that the seller has a good one.

I've never dealt with 6th Ave before, other than hearing their name throw about over on DPReview.com. I've returned stuff to Amazon before, so I'm reasonably comfortable with them. But I don't know about 6th Ave.


M80v2 | VP150v2 | QS8v2
SVS Pci+ 20-39
Emotiva UMC-1 & LPA-1
M22ti + T-Amp, in the Office
Re: TX-SR876, in the house (and back in the box)
PeterChenoweth #252373 03/18/09 03:42 PM
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Thank you for sharing your journey, Peter. Fascinating read.


bibere usque ad hilaritatem
Re: More thoughts
michael_d #252396 03/18/09 04:52 PM
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 Originally Posted By: mdrew
Onkyo is no exception. Don’t expect too much from them. Even my projector, RS-20, which has the Reon is handcuffed. I am dismally disappointed with its performance. JVC has botched the implementation of that chip. I had hoped that it would do well enough that I could get rid of my DVDO VP50pro because it adds a level of complexity to my HT that has given me many headaches when I have to troubleshoot it via phone with my family is using the HT and I’m not at home. The RS-20 is pathetic in comparison to the Pro…..

I like NAD’s approach. I also like Denon’s approach where you can completely bypass the video processor but still use the GUI. The GUI is ‘overlaid’ onto the video stream, but if you bypass the processing, you get an unmolested video stream – with GUI.


I am starting to get on the that train. I also just noticed that the spanking new (and very attractive) Rotel AVR RSX-1560 and separate pre-pro RSP-1570 do not mention anything regarding video chips, although they pass HDMI 1.3. Looks like several well respected companies (if you like NAD) are looking to take the road less traveled and skip video processing. Interesting.


Panny 3000 PJ, 118" Carada, Denon 3300, PS3, Axiom QS8, PSB 5T, B&W sub, levitating speaker wire
Re: More thoughts
Zimm #252407 03/18/09 05:38 PM
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I'm all for leaving out scaling, but they should be passing the savings on to consumers.

Re: More thoughts
CV #252429 03/18/09 06:55 PM
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That's where the rubber meets the road on this. If the savings is going to better sound, then great, everyone can buy to fit their circumstances. Cutting a chip and not passing on the savings is another issue all together.


Panny 3000 PJ, 118" Carada, Denon 3300, PS3, Axiom QS8, PSB 5T, B&W sub, levitating speaker wire
Re: More thoughts
Zimm #252430 03/18/09 07:00 PM
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If you can leave out a chip and still have people buy it for the same price or more than the competitors, great way to increase profits, the perfect business model.


Jason
M80 v2
VP160 v3
QS8 v2
PB13 Ultra
Denon 3808
Samsung 85" Q70
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