The "Official" Onkyo TX-SR876 Owners Thread - Page 112

Not likely... DVI video is electrically the same as HDMI video (at least in the formats/resolutions we are talking about here)... just the connectors are different (a passive mechanical adaptor is all that is required). Besides the differing connectors, HDMI also adds audio and control support.

Are you sure that the PC is remaining at 1280x720 when you connect it to the Acer monitor? Unless you prevent it by forcing settings, it should be automatically sending the Acer 1920x1200 just by the normal handshake process (display adaptor reading the displays EDID and sending the display's "optimal" resolution automatically). If you pop up the info display on the Acer, does it actually say 1280x720 is the currently displayed resolution?

I will add that anyone interested in the 876 should get it ASAP if what happened to the 906 is any indication. Both are discontinued and the 906 price shot up about $700 to 2K (higher then what you can get a 5007 for!) once inventories got low. I'm still kicking myself for missing out.

Well I have had my 876 for about 6 months when it went out the other day. I had no power coming out of the surround left terminal. Took it in for service and they called me and stated it needed "transistors and resistors." I am not electrically inclined so I don't know exactly what happened.

The unit never gave me a shutdown due to heat and I was running it in the 6ohm setting. It is also out in the open and not a closed cabinet. The only thing I can think of is that I was running it too hard. I have it pushing 6 polk audio in wall speakers plus a center channel. What do you guys think?

I ordered this AVR in silver and rec'd it about 2.5 weeks ago. To say I have been satisfied with the product would be an under-statement.

This unit is very powerful and the sound qaulity is fantastic. I know this model is not the latest or greatest, but if you are not interested in the latest height or width channels this AVR is a fantastic value.

My 876 does run warm. This is a product of my installation in a cabinet and the low impedance of my speakers. The 876 is installed in a cabinet with 14 in. clearance on top but only 1.5 in. on the sides. There is also a glass door and a back to the cabinet.

I never attempted to run the receiver with the back in the cab and the door closed. With no back on the cab and the door cracked, the AVR normally ran in the 53 to 56C range. Recently, when watching the Star Trek Blu Ray at -5 on volume the temp increased to 66C. I should point out that even though the temp was 66C there were no signs of stress and the AVR was working and sounding great.

I ordered the large Comcool fan system from Coolerguys. As of this evening, with the fans installed, my temps were 39C. When I set the speaker setup to 4 ohms, the temp dropped to 30C. I will have to re-run Audyssey and watch the new Harry Potter this weekend to determine if I will continue to use the 4 ohm setting. I will update you guys on the close to reference level temps after the viewing this weekend.

So far, the Comcool from Coolerguys has worked very well. I also cannot hear the fans unless I am about 1.5 feet away.

When you run that AVR in 4 ohm mode you are cutting its power in half. Leave it at 6 ohm setting. 39C is not a bad temp for that unit.

I understood that the power would be cut. I was just trying it out to see how much I would miss the extra power. So far, not much. However, I have not watched a movie at close to reference levels yet. I will do that this weekend.

I agree that 39C isn't really too hot. However, if the power level is fine to watch a movie at near reference levels even on the 4 ohm setting I will leave it there.

I like to watch movies at reference or near reference levels. The family thinks it is much too loud.

Are people still having the same problems with a PS3 hooked into this receiver? Since I have a PS3, should I consider the 707 instead?

For those of you with the 876 and a turntable hooked up, I have a question;

I just picked up a Pro-ject Debut III with the included Ortofon OM5e cartridge (MM). I have tried hooking it up via the Phono In on the 876 and also to the Aux 1 in via a Parasound phono (pre)amp. While it sounds "not bad" my problem is that I can not get a whole of of volume out of it. Even when I turnt the 876 volume to max, the volume doesn't even approach the level I get from CD or DVD sources. I assume this is just not as much gain however it is kind of disapointing as I don't want to run the 876 at "max" volume level. Any others with experiance hooking up a TT to the 876?

I should add that I'm using external amps with the 876 - an Adcom 555 powering a pair of Paradigm Referance 100's/Servo 15 sub. I have checked the volume control and its on absolute and no limiter. I am listening in Direct mode.

Hello, i have some difficulties with the video signal: I maybe don' t use the right settings for my 876 onkyo.
Here there are:
Monitor out: hdmi main
resolution: auto
osd set up: immediate display off
But i never have the video signal in 12 bits. I only have 10 bits. I use a 350 jvc projector. The cables are ok, i already did the test without the 876 onkyo .
Anyone knows how to solve this one ? Thanks very much

I have a PS3 slim hooked up to the 876 via HDMI and have no issues. I output bitstream to the 876 and let the reciever do the digital decoding - sounds great and no issues.

Hope that helps.

Is there a way to run this reciever at 4ohms even though 6ohm and 8ohm is the only selection available on the reciever?

I run the onkyo at 4 ohms: i select 6 ohms and it works just fine. But don't use 8 ohms it will amplify too much and you risk to damage your speakers.

Well I had it at 6ohms and my left surround terminal blew up. Took it in for service and they have to replace the transistor and resistor. I have a 7.1 setup and it seems the 876 just couldn't handle it at 6ohms. All of my speakers are Polk inwall at 4ohms. Seems I have to get an amp.

You guys should do some google homework regarding ohm settings and the affects of choosing different settings, hopefully before blowing anything else up! You may be "interested". I own a Onkyo 906, so not that different.

Because if you have a front speaker at 6 ohms you will get 250watts, at 4 ohms you will get 270 watts (with 3 ohms, 320 watts). My speakers works normaly at 4 ohms with 150 watts . So if i select 6 ohms, the power of the speaker is a little bit down and it works just fine.

I agree with you. If you have 6-8 ohm speakers, by all means, keep the setting at 6+ ohms, but excercise some restraint with the volume if your speakers won't handle the power. If your speakers are truly 4 ohm or lower (mine dip to about 3 ohms in the treble region), you may need to use the 4 ohm setting if the receiver gets too hot (or you can use a fan set-up like I did).

I believe that the AVR has a phono input if you do not want to use the external phono pre-amp. You should also note that in the Menu under Source Setup you can adjust the Intellivolume up to +12 dB. Experiment with this setting to get the volume increase you are looking for.

The reciever only has options to run in 6 or 8ohm so how am I supposed to run it in 4ohm?

Go to the Menu, Speaker Setup and then Speaker Settings. My 876 then has an option for 4 ohms or 6 ohms. The owners manual states that If your speakers are 4 ohms or less choose that setting. If your speakers are 6 ohms or greater choose the six ohm setting.

Also, I live in North America, if you live somewhere other tha North America your choices may be different.

Yes indeed the "manual" can at times be your friend.

LINK: http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Impedance.htm

CLIP:
One source of confusion we frequently run across is the concept of speaker impedance. This confusion is also a likely cause of many blown power amplifiers. This article is intended to explain the meaning of speaker impedance and guide the reader in connecting multiple speakers to an amplifier.

The Intellivolume did the trick, thanks Greg!

So many options with this reciever, still learning the best way to config it... and I still have a firmware upgrade to do.

Agreed! Without a knowledge-base like this forum it would be very difficult to ever get a product this sophisticated set-up properly.

Luckily my 876 was delivered with the latest firmware.

So I came up with an idea the other day:

So the 876 like basically all AVR's don't support digital inputs (HDMI, optical, coax) for Zone2 & 3. Furthermore if you multi-connect your source via both digital & L/R analog, you'll notice the sound isn't synced between Zone 1 (digital) & Zone2/3 (analog). From what I gather that is because the DA conversion in the 876 takes longer/shorter then the 2 chan analog output of most devices (DVD players, Tivo S3, etc).

So... Instead of running both digital & analog from the source, just run digital, then cross connect the L/R pre-outs to an analog input like Tape and use that for Zone2/3. Since there would only be one DA conversion it should put the zones in sync right?

Of course at this point, the 876 is decoding the signal for 5.1 or perhaps 7.1 and you're only using 2.0, but for non-critical listening purposes (whole house audio for example) I wonder if I'd notice much... maybe just weak LFE in Zones 2 & 3 if the Zone1 speakers are set to small?

Now someone tell me why this is a bad idea, because I can't believe I'm the first to come up with it.

JUST came up with it the other day? The FIRST to come up with it? LOL

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post16908521
The issues remain the same as when I suggested this to you in July... the Zone 2 volume will not be independent of the main zone, as the preamp outs are post-volume control (and you may have trouble reaching full volume in Zone 2, as the preamp output levels at typical listening levels are significantly lower than standard analog line levels). Also, depending on the listening mode, the L/R preamp outs may be missing important content... like the dialogue in the center channel.

It will not hurt anything, however.

Clearly my memory is bad... thank you for the clarification!

No problem... just having some fun.

Guys,


With my 876, I'm running 3 powered subs via RCA splitters from the sub pre-out. I know that gain control and subwoofer placement varies tremendously with both opinion and the individual's setup/room. But, I'd like as much input as possible.

I DO have them at equal distance from the main listening position, and generally starting out at half way on the sub gain setting. Should I have them all on when running Audyssey? Any other advice would be appreciated!


Thanks,
Ronman

You might want to check out the Audyssey thread and the Audyssey setup guide at the beginning of that thread. There is a huge wealth of knowledge and expertise on Audyssey setup available there, including frequent contributions by Chris (aka Audyssey), the CTO of Audyssey.

There are several paragraphs in the middle of the guide dealing with multiple subs (along with much discussion throughout the thread). The general advice when running multiple subs from a single LFE/SUB output is to make sure they are as equidistant as possible from the listening position.

You will want all three subs running when you do your actual Audyssey setup, but you may want to run a partial/trial setup with one sub at a time just to verify that the distances measure the same for all the subs. This would be especially true if the subs were not all the same model as the "distance" for the subs is the sum of the physical acoustic distance (easily measured) plus the electronic delay added in the subs circuitry (not so easily measured), which could be very different for non-identical models. You can use the trial Audyssey runs to calculate the effective distance of the subs and move them as appropriate until Audyssey measures them as the same distance. Once that is done, then you can connect all three and do a full 8 position final run.

The Audyssey setup guide will also give you some good advice on Audyssey mic placement, which can be critical for calculating sub distances.

I posted above about how I was using the large Comcool fan setup from Coolerguys because my 876 is in a cabinet and I have low impedance speakers. Tonight I watched Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at -3 dB and the temp was 38C @ the end of the movie. The 876 had been on since 11 a.m. and the movie concluded at 8 p.m. The speaker setting was at 6 ohms in the setup menu. Adding the fans was a great success in my less than optimal setup.

I will note again that the only reason I am using fans is that my 876 is in a cabinet and I have low impedance speakers run in the 6 ohm setting. I bet if I were able to store the 876 more according to Onkyo's recommendations I would not need the fan setup. I may not need the fans in my current setup but I am always very cautious.

Me. Similar but not exactly the same.

The original post by Xante was October of last year. No one answered his inquiry. He disappeared after one other post last December.

I just got my 876 today, and I noticed a different anomaly, in that it is with with DD, which I don't believe I experienced with my 805. I'm hearing lots of what should be center channel speech in the rear surrounds, at least with cable from my Comcast Motorola box. Wonder if it is Audyssey Dynamic EQ related. I need to study it some more.

LATER UPDATE: I played with the EQ settngs, and much of it is the Dynamic EQ making the surrouds louder at lower volumes, which is one of its stated effects. The rest of it appears to be just part of the material.