The "Official" Onkyo TX-SR876 Owners Thread - Page 104

The only thing I've noticed with immediate display is it seems to clip 12 bit color resulting in 10bit. I personally leave this function OFF, because I dont like the idea of Onkyo poking bits into the HDMI chain.

Thanks JimLely. I've been wondering about a good estimation of the power output for this unit. 100+ watts is still pretty good for 7 ch.

Bob P.

Hi All:

Just spent the day hooking up my new refurb TX-SR876 and can not get any sound from the coax connections. HDMI and opticals are working fine but nothing from the two coax's I had used with my old TX-900. I did assign them and everything else works fine. Did these models have problems with this?
Any thoughts would be helpful as I really don't want to do it all over again.

I have something similar. When I set the speakers to 8 ohms, it disables my back rear surrounds. At that point, I have a 5.1 system. I cannot enable the back/rear surrounds, unless I go back into setup and change to 4 or 6 ohms.

Am I missing something here? I would like to let to 8 ohm, but still want to send power to the back/rear surrounds. I am running Mythos Ones all around and a Mythos Eight for the Center.

Thanks in advance for any help. Bill

That's because when you set it 8 ohm mode you are actually using the back surround amp to run in BTL mode. That would be similar to bi-amping your L/R fronts and using the back surround amps to do so. Leave it set to 6 ohm setting, and everything will work as it should.

I don't even have the option to select 8ohm, just 6ohm and 4ohm. I was thinking maybe the Onkyo automatically sensed a 6ohm speaker and eliminated the 8ohm setting but that seems odd (i.e., why have the 4ohm setting?).

Also, haven't seen a response on the 12 volt trigger on this unit. Can it not be used with an external power amp to turn it on/off automatically? Would seem odd for a reciever at this price point!

You do have the option to select 8 ohm. Under Speaker set-up menu, select speaker settings,scroll down to bottom of screen and toggle(right) to BTL and then you will see 8 ohm setting. Now here's the problem with this setting you are now going to a 5.1 system and after switching speaker wires around from the surround backs to the L/R fronts adding a LOT of power to the L/R fronts. Don't use the 4 ohm setting. It has been stated by others in this thread that know a lot more about this receiver than I do that you will cut the amps outputs to 60 watts/channel all channels driven. If you want 7.1 leave your setting at 6 ohm setting.

There is no 8Ω setting... just 4Ω/6Ω, which ALMOST everyone, even with 4Ω speakers, should just leave on the 6Ω setting. The 6Ω setting is the normal operating mode. The 4Ω mode does not introduce output transformers or anything like that. It merely throttles the amplifiers so that they are capable of generating only a small fraction of their rated power. If you connect 4Ω speakers, you will still have the overcurrent protection circuits to protect things even if run in unthrottled 6Ω mode.

There is NO 8Ω mode. There is a REQUIREMENT to use 8Ω speakers if you use BTL mode, which bridges the front and surround rear channels for increased power to the bridged channel pair... but there is no 8Ω setting, per sé.

The 12V trigger is for Zone 2 and is meant to control an external amp dedicated to Zone 2. It is hard wired for Zone 2and is not re-assignable in the 876.

Is there an advantage to using the bridged mode if you are using a 5.1 system? Will you be able to tell a difference in the sound or is it a waste of time to switch the wires around?

If it saves you from buying an external amp because your speakers need the extra power, then yes... it can be an advantage.

I currently have my fronts set up BTL... but it was more out of curiosity than anything else. I am 5.1 only anyway, and haven't used my Zone2 stuff much in recent years, so I wasn't losing anything. No sense letting those two amp channels sit idle all the time.

It's not much trouble to try... all you need to do is swing the "-" leads of your front speakers from the Front "-" terminals on the receiver to the SB "+" terminals, then change the setting in the menu. If you have banana plugs, it shouldn't take more than 20 seconds to re-configure for BTL. Just make sure that your speakers ARE 8Ω before you try BTL mode.

Running Paradigm Ref 40 for the fronts so I don't think they would require the extra power. May try it to see if I hear a difference though. Thank you for the quick response.

Well, that kind of sucks. Odd that they would omit something as simple as that!

But at least my Sunfire has an Auto mode that senses if it should turn on/off, problem is it takes 15 to 20 minutes to turn off.

It would be fairly simple to connect a 12V power supply to the 876's switched AC outlet and make your own 12V trigger.

Thanks for the replies jcalabria and phantom. I understand what is going on now.

But what would the advantage be, for Onkyo, to omit an 8 ohm setting?

I really have no answer for this question. My feelings it may be due to the heat problems many experienced with the 875 model. While mine is in the 6 ohm mode it runs very cool and could not understand why it seems everyone was experincing very hot temps. In the 6 ohm mode it will do everything you need whether you have 8 ohm or even 4 ohm speakers. Do not throttle this beast by going into the 4 ohm setting as you are cutting total amp power down to 60 watts per channel. As for the other problem listed above as to the connections for turning on an external amp a simple wall wort plugged into the back of the 876 and then connected to the amp will cure that minor problem. You can get one off the net or maybe even Radio shack. A breeze to set up and they work quite well. I used one for a trigger on an Onkyo 676 for my Parasound 2205AT for years without a problem for several years.

Yeah, but I'm already using that for 2 external fans to cool the unit.

There is no advantage and they have not omitted an 8Ω setting. The 6Ω setting just means "6Ω or higher", which includes 8Ω. The choice is really "Throttled" versus "Unthrottled". The 6Ω setting is not somehow magically optimized for only 6Ω operation. Rest assured that any and all 8Ω ratings were earned with the unit operating in "6Ω" mode.

Then you already have your 12V power supply!

Is there any advantage is using the 6Ω setting and biamping the left and right 8Ω compatible speakers?

Try what was stated in post #3100 instead. That way there is no extra speaker wires to run. In BTL mode it will set the receiver to 8 ohm AND use the surround back amps for the the L/R fronts.

Curious, is it constantly "clipping", or only when one engages the OSD by hitting a function on the remote. Hate not being able to see the volume (my AVR is behind a frosted glass door).

Unfortunately its constant clipping. The first post has a blurb about the OSD setting:

6. Miscellaneous Setup->2.OSD Setup->Immediate Display
This setting determines whether operation details are displayed onscreen immediately after an AV receiver function is used.
On: Displayed (default).
Off: Not displayed.
For optimal video performance, THX recommends that “Immediate Display” be turned off.
Also, the OSD overlay graphic seem to be 10-bit so any 12-bit HDMI signal feed to the receiver gets downconverted to 10-bit which can cause strange image errors which looks like bit depth mismatching.

As a side not I've discovered my 876 does some weird things with HDMI handshaking when Resolution is set to "auto" instead of "through".

For instance my Pioneer 51FD is connected to my 876--> 9G Kuro. If I change the resolution from Through to Auto in that source, the 51FD detects a brand new HDMI device. I guess the 876 has a unique HDMI ID for the Reon processor. The problem is this new HDMI device won't properly handshake a 4.4.4 colorspace with 12 bit color with the 51FD. I can force the 4.4.4 in the Pioneer menus but I can't get it back to 12 bit. The kicker is if I set the 876's resolution back to through, it still won't get back to 12 bit unless I do a factory reset of the Onkyo.

I verified this problem with 2 other devices, the PS3 and Oppo BDP-83. I'm running HDMI FW 1.0 and as far as I know, there's no HDMI updates for this model in the wild.

Thanks, read that but still wasn't sure if the "10 bit overlay" only popped up when you actually engaged the OSD by using the remote.

On another note, I thought I recalled reading about a 1.6 and a 1.7 firmware being loaded onto new 876's in Asia. I guess no one has managed to find the files or what the upgrades do?

Hi all,

I've been using the RX-V1800 for a couple years now, and I don't know, it just never has blown me away with sound quality. I mean, it is clean, but I am not sure it is as dynamic as I would like, and I am not sure if the decoding of movies is as good as it should be, in terms of directionality of effects and separation of channels. It does not have the Burr Brown decoders of the Onkyos.

My associated equipment includes a Mits 55613 RPTV, oppo BDP-83 BD player, HDDVD player, phono turntable, HD cable box running the video directly to the TV and coaxial digital to the receiver. The Mits only has a DVI input, so I had to run a hdmi to DVI cable from the receiver to the TV. I am only running a 5.1 system, and don't really have room for any more speakers. Speakers: front l/r are Legacy Signature II, which are 4 ohm, but very efficient. Center is a Paradigm cc570v.3. Surrounds are PSB Image 5T. Sub is an Outlaw LFM-1 Compact.

I am not really concerned about video upconversion, as I let the Oppo upconvert DVDs. I just need good quality HDMI passthrough without degradation of the picture.

Regarding audio, I don't need big SPLs. I am more interested in quality audio for movies and music. I do play some DVD-Audios and SACDs. For movies, I want to improve the dynamics, dialog clarity, and surround effects presentation.

So, has anybody had experience with comparing these receivers? Any info or suggestions much appreciated.

Wondering if anybody has the Polk RTi A9's powered directly by the Onk 876 absent any external power? I am getting closer every day to making the upgrade from A7's to A9's and keep wondering if external power will be a requirement?? If so, I have my eye on an Emotiva XPA-3. But I would rather keep the cash in my pocket for the amp if the A9's run well on the Onk.

I have just joined the forum, so hello to every one.

I am in the process of updating my 876, as it still has v1.1 installed. I have downloaded the v1.05 from the link earlier in the thread. I am a bit confused. I have read some posts about the main update and that seems straight forward. Its the DSP update bit I dont get. Does the main firmware update also update the DSP at the same time? Or do I still have to copy and burn the wav file to a cd and update via optical. If so, what program is best to use to copy the file to a CD please? I am sure this has been covered before and I have looked through some old posts but when there are over 100pages to go though. My brain is on information overload! Any help would be appreciated please.

Matt

I have a friend that is using the A9's with a Denon 2809 with no problems and it sounds very good. If the 2809 can do it then there's no doubt the 876 will do it easy enough. At this time for the price of admission for the 876 I would go for it and not look back. There are others here that using the 876 to drive harder speakers than those and it seems they are having no problems. Just don't set it to the 4 ohm setting and let it go.

I just got the 876 as well, but thankfully it already has the 1.05 and new DSP firmware installed.

Assuming the update process is similar to my old Integra 9.8 from last year (and I'm 99.9% sure it would be), updating the DSP is a seperate process from the firmware. I.e., you need to download both update files and install them seperately.

Could someone explain this solution to me? I.e., where/how is the digital signal level dropped by 9db "before MultiEQ is applied"? Not sure I'm following this here. I have read about the volume clipping issues on Audyssey just don't understand what is meant by this sentence since I'm not sure what "drop the digital signal level before Audyssey MultiEQ is applied" means.

[quote=wrinklefree;17337208]Also, the OSD overlay graphic seem to be 10-bit so any 12-bit HDMI signal feed to the receiver gets downconverted to 10-bit which can cause strange image errors which looks like bit depth mismatching.[/i]



Are there any 12-bit video sources that currently exist?