The "Official" Onkyo TX-SR876 Owners Thread - Page 11

Sorry if this has been answered:

When upscaling older non-anamorphic SD material (say DVD) does it output in 16:9? If not, does it add anamorphic flags when it passes the signal to the TV (so it can display at 16:9)? I currently have the Samsung BD 2550 with the Reon, and unless I'm doing something wrong it is upscaling older matte letterboxed material as if it is 4:3 (which it technically is), and I have to zoom it manually on the TV to get rid of the pillarboxes. I understand that some scalers (oppo) recognize matte letterboxing and scale the output automatically. I'm hoping the 876 can do this.

Thanks! I don't have many non-anamorphic DVDs, but what a nuisance! I think the reason it bothers me most is that it reminds me that the source is being blown up, reducing the quality even more.

Is there a one-touch zoom (or screen mode) button on the remote?

No one touch for zoom.

I guess this is a matter of taste. Some people want 4x3 images stetched to 16x9 and others do not. I've found that 4x3 material is, as you, noted reduced in quality when stretched, and I've taken to watching 4x3 as 4x3 so this is a non-issue for me. It is also a non-issue for Onkyo as they do not see it as a design fault or an unnecessary inconvience to the user (Onkyo CSR by phone told me that it was a user manual issue and not a usability issue. They have not answered my two emails.)

If I want to stretch 4x3 I either let my DVD player do it, or pass the 480 to my display and let it do it. The Panasonic DMP-BD35/55K are pretty good at scaling, and the Reon's color and noise filters remain in the chain.

Those black pillars bothered me at first, but the increase in PQ (and the absence of squat people, very long cars, and beings with strangly large heads) make keeping 4x3 worth it.

Thanks! And I certainly agree on maintaining the original aspect ratio. Black bars (top or side) never bothered me much -- but a non-anamorphic ("matte") film on DVD shown on a widescreen has bars on the top/bottom AND the sides! And zooming it magnifies the source, degrading the picture (even if you preserve the OAR). Oh well, time for me to replace my old non-anamorphic DVDs...

Put in an order last night for one of these receivers. I can't wait! I couldn't believe how cheap you can get them considering what the MSRP is. Should be here early next week. I have a 606 in my bedroom so I'm hoping I have a pretty good idea of what to expect and how to set it all up.

hello, does the 876 have reported problems? Like the 875?

may i ask how much u ordered yours for?

i can get one here locally for around $1500 CAD after tax
(~$1350 CAD before tax = $1062 USD)

i think its alright considering im in canada

is 876 really worth the price diff versus 875?

To me it was worth the price difference from the 875, I also considered the 805. But the dual hdmi output was a KEY factor in my needs so. I got the 876 for $200 less than you evil techie so it was a no brainer.

From the very second I lifted up the box I knew it was something special. After hooking it up yesterday and finally turning it on. I have yet to be disappointed in any aspect. This thing is a freaking tank. The sound is amazing step up from my old onkyo 898. The setup, sound fields, formats everything is great.

I bought mine via Onkyo direct as a refurb, and good god what a bargain this turned out to be. I really wanted the 906 but their stupid website when down one night I was going to order and when it came back the 906's were all gone. So I settled for the 876, being the only real two differences is the amp and network ability it wasn't such a big deal. After bridging the front for 210 watts each that's plenty for my studio 100's to play with..

There were no scratches , marks of any kind. Perfect brand new looking reciever. I was worried but after close inspection everything was perfect and it came with all accessories.

There is so many sound fields and options I'm still going through all this stuff but setup was easy, the mic setup was easy, worked really well. I'll report back more when I learn more about every feature.

hdtv00- it says in the manual that you shouldn't use the bridge setting for speakers that dip below 8 ohms. It will stress the amp and eventually damage it. I have studio 100 v3 and they dip down to around 2.8ohms.

Yeah under test conditions it can dip that low while testing things. But if you use the cutoff for front and send that bass to the sub that helps greatly. They still are 8ohm speakers.

The manual says don't use 4 ohm speakers, not don't use 8ohm speakers that drop to 3 under testing loads. Every speaker dips when you throw a test tone or load on it.

My understanding is that while these are "compatible with 8 Ohms" they are in fact more like 4 to 6 Ohm units.

The impedance minima however are below 100Hz, so used with a powered sub there might not bet any problem in normal use.

If they are used for HT without a sub I would be cautious. The design has low impedance in the range with the highest power demand and personally I would not bridge them in that configuration.

Every speaker paradigm makes no matter what ohm it goes down to ALL say "compatible with 8 Ohms". So that labeling by paradigm is not Studio 100 specific. Yes I know they drop to 3 ohm under duress. With them cuttoff crossed over well above very low bass I say it isn't an issue.

Which actually brings me to a odd thing. The volume for one seems low in general out of the 876, compared to my old 898 anyway. It also very much so doesn't have as much kick(bass) either. Which I find very odd. This is in two channel mode by the way. This was before I set the bass in the bass management section. Even with EQ off in pure mode it sounds VERY flat, no kick compared to my onkyo 898. I just don't get it.

Another annoying thing is via analog inputs the fronts are out of phase, yet if I switch to digital input they are in phase. That is an issue and as yet can't figure out how to correct it so both are in phase.

I'm still putting it through it paces. I am pleased in general but very puzzled where the bass went and the phase issue.

Is there a way to benefit from both of these at the same time? I am struggling to get the dynamic volume function to work, which is the main selling point of this receiver to me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I have found that having both options available that for some sources I like to toggle to one of the THX modes, mostly for music and sounds better to me than the DEQ. I seem to prefer DEQ and DVol+Light for movies. THX handles audio a little differently so it's nice to be able to go between the different modes to see what sounds best. As good as all this DEQ and Loudness plus is, sometimes I have to disable it and use only the Audyssey MultEQ XT alone, however I must say, the more I get use to the new DEQ the better I like it. I think most of us that use lower volumes may have to learn that the sound we hear is more like it should sound even if at first it sounds kind of over the top so to speak. The main problems I have found is with most TV audio, and best solution I have found is to turn off the Sub.

Why would you want to do that? Dynamic volume is compression (which negates at least some of the gain from having wide range source material, and THX Loudness is frequency shaping, which is also done with the Audyessy suite. What is the upside of trying to apply two different response shapping modes?

I don't know what the sites rules are for posting where you bought stuff and whatnot, but I was able to get it for just under $1000 USD with free shipping. Considering that on the UPS tracking site it says it is a 60 lb package I'm assuming this saved me some decent money as well. It should either be here today or tomorrow, and I can't wait.

Hi everyone. Just purchased a 876 last week. I am having a problem however. When playing the tuner, i experience cut outs every minute or two. It is like the music just stops for a brief second or two. It is quite anoying. Do I have a bad receiver?? What is your thoughts. Need to return this week if I am going to.

Thanks

I'm sure with the deal onkyo had on refurbs they'll be lots of new owners in the coming days. Which is great.

I've had mine setup for 3 days now getting used to it. The sound is very different from my old onkyo 898.

I'll check my tuner later rpatrici I never ever listen to the radio in 20 years but I'll check out what mine does.

Are you listening to HD radio? Regular FM? Did you have good reception before using a different receiver or antenna?

Quote:
Originally Posted by rpatrici
Hi everyone. Just purchased a 876 last week. I am having a problem however. When playing the tuner, i experience cut outs every minute or two. It is like the music just stops for a brief second or two. It is quite anoying. Do I have a bad receiver?? What is your thoughts. Need to return this week if I am going to.

Thanks

Hi!
I had a Pioneer before Onkyo and there was no problem. I'm listening regular FM (I'm in Brazil) and I have good reception with similar antenna.

I would return the unit although there is no guarantee that the replacement will be better. It could be that your old unit had a better tuner. These days tuners are almost an engineering after thought; a cheap IC even on expensive receivers.

What might be happening is that the tuner in auto mode is designed to do a couple of things to quiet or cut the noise that is heard with no or a low signal. For example you don't hear white noise (inter-station hiss) when tuned off channel or to a station that is below the tuner's sensitivity.

Things that you can check, but that will not solve the problem.

• Does the problem occur in both auto and manual tuning modes? (Tuners are more sensitive in manual (mono) mode.
• All stations or only weak stations? (Signal strength is the issue)
• If you watch the display when it goes silent does the word tuned go dark when the sound drops out? (Expected with a marginal signal; marginal that is for your tuner.)

I live in a very poor area for FM/TV reception unless a mast mounted motor driven antenna is used. Using just the supplied folded dipole I can tune two or three stations that go silent at intervals of less than a minute.

Help me understand this please:
The best equalizer setting is MultEQ XT, the others are downward
spiral of compromize? (Dynamic EQ --> Dynamic light--> Dynamic heavy)
I set my 876 to Dynamic light a while ago because I thought
it was all inclusive ie Dynamic light = Dynamic EQ + MultEQ XT ?
Also what is that loudness plus setting, should i set it on or off?

Please be kind and help the noob understand.

[quote=PrutikJr;15151845]Help me understand this please:
The best equalizer setting is MultEQ XT, the others are downward
spiral of compromize? (Dynamic EQ --> Dynamic light--> Dynamic heavy)
I set my 876 to Dynamic light a while ago because I thought
it was all inclusive ie Dynamic light = Dynamic EQ + MultEQ XT ?
Also what is that loudness plus setting, should i set it on or off?
QUOTE]

The Audyessy suite works together, MultEQ, Dynamic EQ are frequency shapping with Dynamic EQ changing the balance with changes in volume. Oversimplified (I hope) as volume goes down lows are boosted.

Dynamic Volume tries to maintain a prefered volume setting (which means compression) without causing noticeable shifts in tonal balance.

As the manual says --
If Audyssey Dynanic EQ is set to “Enable”,
Audyssey Dynamic Volume™ becomes available.

Personally I don't care for Dynamic volume as I feel it over pumps the base.

As an alternative to Audyessy, the 906 has THX, and THX has the optional Loudness Plus that works with THX modes to do some of the same thing that Dymanic Volume feature does. They are mutually exclusive. If you turn it on, it works in all THX modes. If you don't enable it then you can use the Audyessy suite when in a THX listening mode. Trying it is the only way to find out if you like it and want to use it.

Hey how do you check for firmware versions and what should they be. Anyone had theirs long enough to fill us in.

Here is what mine came with just couple days ago....are those all updated to latest?

Main: 87 1.00/08703A

DSP 1st:SR9061 08611A
DSP 2nd:SR9062 08605C
DSP 3rd:SR9063 08506A

HDMI: 1.00/08627A
Video: 08703E01293
XM: 1.00/08508A
Sirius: 1.00/08522A

[quote=trekguy;15152154]
Thank you, much appreciated trekguy