CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

[betel]

I’m in the market to upgrade my HT surround receiver. My current receiver is a NADA T752. Nice in its day but not up to current standards. I’ll probably get the Onkyo TX-SR876 simply because it comes so highly recommened for its high quality/cost ratio. What I don’t like about receivers like this is their complexity. My major complaint is the excessive amount of inputs. Is there anyone who really needs/wants all of them (especially the analog)? I also don’t need video upconversion. My PS3 does that already.

My ideal HT surround receiver would feature the following:
3 HDMI inputs. I only need two. One for the PS3 and one for a TV tuner.
1 HDMI output.
2 digital audio inputs (Toslink & Coax). I may want to feed my pc into it.
2 analog audio inputs. I don’t need these but may want to tempoaraily connect something.
Supports Lossless surround sound.
High quality AM/FM tuner
HD Radio tuner
One set of 5 channel speaker outputs.
6 channels of pre-outs. Only a LF pre-out is a must have though.
USB port for software upgrades.
Remote control.
Lots of clean power to all channels.
Priced within reason.

I’m sure there are a few more features I’d like but that's what comes to mind at the moment. There are probably some high end products that would satisfy most of my ideals except the last one.

I guess from a manufactures perspective, they want to make their products as flexible as possible to satisfy the maximum amout of customers. The problem IMO is this flexibilty creates complexity. Most people I know don’t have a clue how to use their receivers besides its basic functions but are in awe of them none-the-less.

[kal]

[kal]

[Nashou66]

the new HDMI OUTLAW Audio recievers sound really nice. i am going to go with thier PRE/PRO when it comes out.

Athanasios

[Clarence]

[ecrabb]

Yeah, I wish they'd just start dumping a bunch of the analog connections. Put one component and one composite/s-video port on a model or two for backwards compatibility and phase analog out from the rest. We should now have at LEAST 5-6 HDMI inputs on any modern AVR. They could always sell some outboard add-on module for analog connectivity that uses one of the HDMI inputs.

[bbfarmht]

Last November I found a deal on an Onkyo TX-SR806. Now it was factory refurbished, but I purchased it for $699. thats $300 cheaper than I could find it anywhere else. The downside was I could only get it in the silver face(OH well). It has been a steller performer. Now just if I can speakers to do the receiver justice.

[betel]

For me "Priced within reason" is around the price of the TX-SR876. ~$1500.

From what I understand, users of the 876 rate the sound/build quality good with ample power. I just wish the money waisted on unnecessary inputs & features could either be used on better internals & improve build quality or used to reduce cost.

I suppose if a large volume producer like Onkyo built a receiver from a minimalist perspective, they wouldn't sell enough to make it worth their while. I think most people buy consumer electronics because of the "wow" factor and rejects simpler units even though it would better meet their needs.

I'm not likely to purchase high end electronics in the future because frankly, being working class, I think the difference in sound quality is just not worth the incremental extra cost. Been there, done that.

[emdawgz1]

I'm partial to Denon

AVR 3808CI
http://www.usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/3510.asp

130 watts x 7 channels
Fully assignable channels for bi-amping
Rear Panel RS-232C and Ethernet ports
Ethernet network port
XM ready tuning
Dolby® TrueHD and dts-HD™ Master Audio
Second zone tone, mono mix and level control
DNLA certified
Expanded HDMI v1.3a ports with Deep Color, xvYCC and SACD support
DENON LINK III, enabling high-speed, high-grade digital signal transmission
Audyssey MultEQ XT Auto-Setup/Room EQ
MultEQ Pro calibration installer ready
Audyssey Dynamic EQ calibration installer ready
Digital to Analog conversion for multi-zone connection flexibility
New GUI menu support
Comes with dual remotes - EL backlit learning and standard pre-programmed types
2-way remote capability with optional RC-7000CI and RC-7001RCI system

Around 1500.00

[Nashou66]

Sc your right, I guess they have some contractual deal with Sherwood. Supposedly the new Sherwood is going to be the same design and have the rights to release it first so Outlaw has to wait. I think they should have a contract with a pre determined date otherwise if Sherwood could not make the deadline Outlaw could release there modle first....It sucks either way as I really like,the sound from my 1070 AVR now in my everyday room. I have the Adcom 830 in my theater with Adcom amps(5503 and 5200's) I thing the Outlaw pre/pro would marry nice with them.

Athanasios

[AnalogRocks]

Nash' does outlaw make a strictly pre-amp?

[AnalogRocks]

Nash' does outlaw make a strictly pre-amp?

[Nashou66]

Yes jeramy, in a AV type not strictly Stereo if that what you mean:

the Current 990 Pre/Pro



http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/990.html

But it is still DVI conections, for some it be ok especially if they use
A DVI VP like the Lumagen Vision Series.


But if it does not come out by this winter i am going to go with this:

From the Onkyo pro series:



http://www.onkyopro.com/model.cfm?m=PR-SC886P&class=Preamplifier&p=i

That unit has ISF video calibration adjustments I have not read in detaail what those are but if it did have gamma and timing
adjustments it be my new all in one VP/Preamp.

Athanasios

[AnalogRocks]

That's cool. I'll have to do something like that one of these years.
I have the 7 seperate amps and al I need is some new front speakers to go 7.1.

Jeremy

[AnalogRocks]

That's cool. I'll have to do something like that one of these years.
I have the 7 seperate amps and al I need is some new front speakers to go 7.1.

Jeremy

[Nashou66]

[ecrabb]

Athanasios,

I have the nearly identical Integra version of the Onkyo 886 - the DHC-9.9...
http://www.integrahometheater.com/model.cfm?m=DHC-9.9&class=Separates&p=i

They can both be found around $1500 street. I went with the Integra because I liked the look better (some don't) and because the Integra's warranty is 3 years vs the Onkyo's 2 years - for about the same price. Otherwise, they're identical. I really like Audyssey - the MultiEQ room correction. It really smoothed out the response in my main listening position. I also like Dynamic Volume and Dynamic EQ - very slick.

The Onkyo piece is a littler easier to find cheap online compared to Integra, because Integra dealers can't technically sell over the internet. Of course, you can just find an Integra dealer, call them up on the phone and most will ship. Anybody looking for a bargain, you can find last year's 885/9.8 used or as dealer demos for in the $800-900 ballpark.

Anyway, there's lots to know and read about the new pieces, regardless of brand. There are several giant threads on AVS on the 885/9.8 (last year's prepro) and the 886/9.9 (this year's). There are some limitations on the signals that Audyssey room correction can be applied to, DSP or HDMI handshake bugs, and other little bugaboos, depending on make and model. Make sure you do your research before you jump into any of these newer models.

As for the video processing and ISF controls... No AVR's or prepros that I'm aware of allow you control signal timing like a dedicated scaler does. On the Onkyo/Integra for instance, you can choose "through" or scaling up or down (720p or 1080i to 1080p, for instance), and you can apply the ISF controls, and you can make those choices separately for each input. But, that's about it.

The ISF controls are really to give you the ability to tweak individual sources slightly to correct for variations. This is one guy's description from the AVS thread:

[ecrabb]

Back on topic... Betel, for the money you're talking about, I think you have several viable options... If you want to go with a new AVR, I'd look at the Denon 3808CI that John brought up or the Onkyo TX-SR806 - they're both around a grand, and pretty comparable surround receivers.

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AVR-3808CI-7-1-Channel-Multizone-Networking/dp/B000TW78AO/curtpalmecrtp-20
http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR806-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B001AMUF7K/curtpalmecrtp-20

For a tad more money than your budget, you could step up to the Onkyo 876, and get better Burr-Brown D/A conversion, better HQV Reon VX scaling, a tad more power, HD Radio, and a few other nice things.

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR876-Channel-Theater-Receiver/dp/B001AMSPDG/curtpalmecrtp-20

There's another option... Get a lower-end AVR and use it as a prepro with some prosound amps. You could buy something like an Onkyo 607, still get your HDMI switching and advanced audio - all for under $500.

http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-TX-SR607-7-2-Channel-Surround-Receiver/dp/B001VEI2KO/curtpalmecrtp-20

Then, pick up 3 of these Behringer A500's for around $600 (you can probably find them even cheaper):
http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHA500

With three separate prosound amps, you'll SMOKE even the highest-end AVR... for what, $1100-1200?!??! If you wanted to go a little better, but stay under $1500, you might even be able to get a little higher-end AVR or even a prepro like last year's Onkyo 885 or Integra 9.8.

Probably the most important questions are, what kind of speakers are you driving, how many, and is your room treated?

You have options.

SC

[JustGreg]

[greg_mitch]

[greg_mitch]

[kal]

[kal]

[ecrabb]