The "Official" Onkyo TX-SR876 Owners Thread - Page 153

You are not the only one who has problem with Motorola DVRs. I have one, and dropped the idea to connect it to receiver. So now I have DVR linked via HDMI to TV, and optical cable from TV to the receiver. All my other sources are routed via receiver.

I think the hdmi board finally died...now im not getting any signal detection to any hdmi input. I emailed onkyo and they gave me the nearest repair place which is something like 80-100 miles away or the option to trade up. Has anyone done the trade program? did they make you pay a difference or something?


WTF, they want $1300 for the hdmi board alone......I paid $1200 for this thing
told me if I wanted to do a trade in I could buy the 1008 for $680 or the 3008 for $950

Hmm. I'm wondering if I should go the trade up route for my 876 HDMI problems instead of getting a warranty repair especially if Onkyo is putting in the same HDMI board model that came with the unit. Does anyone know?

I wouldnt, reading too many issues with onkyo on here to make me agree that its worth it to put more money into a shoddy company...but I'm not reading good about others either...roll the dice

Ok, originally, I set up my system using a HDFury2 to allow for use of HDMI throughout my home theater system (I have an old RPTV with only component in). Yesterday, the HDFury died. I decided to rewire for component only use....

After connecting component from Directv box to receiver to TV, I got very poor video quality -wavy lines, signal drops, etc. I tried changing settings on the 876 (Monitor out is set to analog, I tried "through" "1080i" etc. on the Reon). I tried changing the settings on my Directv box to Native, 480i, 480p or 1080i. With no success. Although, strangely, the 480i looked the best.

So, I then tried to troubleshoot where the problem was coming from:

1. Receiver -> TV The setup screen with the onkyo did not show any problems, so it does not appear to be a problem from the receiver into the TV. Also, when the HDFury was working I had no problem

2. Directv box -> TV - I ran a component cable directly from the Box to the TV with no problems. Picture looked great.

SO, it appears that the problem is from the Directv box to the Receiver. I tried changing the component cable. That didn't work.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Maybe I am not fluent with the search function, or maybe I just don't know what I am talking about, but is there a way to see how the Audyssey calibrated the system after running it? I've been trying to see how it adjusted them because of how drastic a difference there is in sound between no calibration and calibration. DRASTIC.

Thanks for any help!

Drastic good?

My 876 has ANOTHER problem.

Now the receiver will automatically change inputs when I am watching tv. It will change to phono or tuner or whatever. But the problem is you cannot change it back. The receiver freezes and you have to unplug the power cord. Sometimes the receiver will freeze without changing inputs and you will still get sound but no picture.

And sometimes when the receiver automatically changes in put it won't completely freeze because I can push on the master volume knob on the receiver and it will cycle through the inputs. This makes no sense to me at all.

Currently everything is connected via component video cable and audio is spdif. The reason for this is because my Hdmi board went bad awhile back and I didn't feel like sending the receiver Ingrid warranty work.


Would it be likely that onkyo would do an upgrade instead of trying to fix the steaming pile of sh*t they call the 876? Ive read numerous post where people send their 876's out for repair and when they got them back the problem wasn't fixed, they had a new problem, or else it was damaged in transit. Plus even if onkyo would fix the receiver it will more then likely break down again pretty soon. Like the Hdmi board or something else.

I'm really frustrated with onkyo and their 876. At least for me this was a very expensive receiver and it should of lasted me more then 7-8 months.

It is still under the 1 year warranty for refurbished onkyo products and I also purchased a 5 year warranty shortly after I bought this unit, because that's when I started reading all of the post about how undeniable this receiver is.

I am very disappointed that onkyo didnt take more care when they manufactured this receiver. I absolutely love this receiver when it works right, but that barely ever happens.

An upgrade to any of their current AVR's is no better than what you already have. Send it in to get fixed or even better take your losses and go to another brand. Mine is starting to give me HDMI board problems also. At least mine has been in use for 1 1/2 years before it started its crap. Onkyo's are not what they use to be. And IMO are only getting worse. My last one for sure.

Same for me After this one dies or I get tired of sending it in for repair

Out of the thousands of 876s sold, there are only a handful of people posting problems. I don't think the problems noted here are meaningful in a statistical sense. The people with no problems don't post, or necessarily even come to read this site.

Exactly

There is - and never was - a perfect product (mass manufactured) on the market. If there were, you probably wouldn't be able to afford those due to extraordinary prices to be paid then.
A small percentage inevitably will have its problems and may fail, one way or the other.
All major brands do and will have defective units to a very small percentage on the market. That the way it - unfortunately - is.
Just read through all the corresponding threads here and you will realize this.

I have (and had) several of the higher end models: 905, 876 and 5007 and had no problems up to now (knocking on wood ) taking some small precautions while putting them into use.

Cars, cameras, phones, MP3 players etc. All are in the same situation.

So ... be realistic about this.

It looks like more and more half baked or poorly designed products hit the market. And it is not only in CE industry. Just recently my second in a row Bosch dishwasher died just after two years of service. My car is running on a second engine, after first one was replaced under warranty, and I know that close to a half of that model cars had engine failures (manufactuer even opened special engine rebuild facility in the US). Read plasma TV forum filled with cries about buzzing Samsung sets. Getting a product without major defect that will work five years becomes a luck of draw these days.

There is a clinch here:
- manufacturers want to make money
- consumers want the latest gadgets

Both can only come together, if new gadgets are been sold at affordable prices. This will have to lead to some compromises at least. Although manufacturing processes nowadays are highly automated, complex products will face the risk of a higher failure rate. Surprisingly this will stay pretty low, because manufacturers have to keep (expensive) warranty costs at a minimum to make as much money, as desired.

So it be...

And this is were quality control should kick in. No quality control, no customer service to speak of also means no sales and so long, adios, you are out of business. The recent failure rates of many of Onkyo's AVR in all ranges is not good for business. As for the few here that are complaining I hope some you are referring to this model alone. It is one of Onkyos best in a few years. Not so with many models coming out after this model year and particularly this 876 and 906. The failure rates with the X06 models below these two are well documented in many other threads here and other forums. Also think of the people who purchased these AVR's that don't even know of this site.

Your argument fails at the point where you claim of "many" failures with the 876 and other onkyo avrs. There aren't "many" failures there a handful of people repeatedly complaining about problems with their relatively few avrs on multiple forums. Outside of this you're hardpressed to find any evidence of widespreads failures of these units being documented anywhere.

I've had my 876 for over a year and a half without a single issue, and so have many others

I understand cost limitations. But if designers put capacitors rated for 85 degrees into unit where fans kick in at 78, this is not a saving, but invitation for trouble. Price difference between 85C and 105C rated caps is a couple of cents in large batches. Onkyo saved probably less than $5 on each unit, but it became a major brand problem - many of those who experienced failure of >$1000 device after two years or less, will not buy another Onkyo product next time.

Just wait few more months. It seems that average life is a little over 2 years.

Well keep reassuring yourself that everything is A-OK. The fact is that the XX6 line has disproportionate number of failures of the HDMI board that can be traced back to poor cooling due to the board being placed above the Reon chip that runs very hot. The cheap capacitors used on the board then dry out and fail because of the heat.

Icing on the cake is the fact that the HDMI board was redesigned by Onkyo mid production as they became aware of the increased failures, but they deny any knowledge and do nothing for the owners who got stuck with the early production units. My 906 failed couple of weeks after my warranty expired. I called the repair center and they knew immediately what was the problem. Onkyo then would not lift a finger to remedy the failure most likely because the repair comes close to $1000.

Lastly here on these boards are people who are into CE and so they know when to complain. I believe that majority of people who bought the receivers are just casual users who had the system setup by installers and know nothing about HDMI board failures. When their receiver suddenly dies they may go through the Onkyo gauntlet and since Onkyo would not do anything they just get disgusted and buy another brand. Certainly they don't come here and complain.

So enjoy your self induced ignorance in order to feel secure, but don't put down legitimate facts as hysteria.

Continuing to scream something from the mountaintop doesn't make
It true. The failures are few in number.

I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. But if you displayed the same attitude towards Onkyo that you display here, I have a very good indication as to why they didn't lift a finger to help you. Your unit was out of warranty. They have no obligation to do squat for you, be it out of warranty for a day or a year. You come hat in hand, you best learn how to behave to get what you want from people who don't need to do anything for you.

And yes, on these forums people complain. Incessently. Endlessly. About problems and perceived slights, both real and imagined. Some are people with real issues, others are trolls just looking to stir up trouble for their own amusement. Sad it is.

I love this one. The "failures are few in numbers". If there were so few as you say "failures" then explain as to why until very recently accessories4less always had an abundance of refurbed 876's on hand. As far as I know they may still be there as I haven't checked lately. Keep trying to convince yourself that these are reliable, well built, and will last as long as you need it to. I've recommended many Onkyo AVR's in the past and will begin to do so in the future whenever their current crop of crap is made correctly and they do provide the service that is required for a product that cost as much as some theirs do. They are way down the list for being bug free, get what you pay for products from many other CE's in the business. JMHO, like it or not.

Spoken like a true lawyer. Only thing I am going to add to my original post is that the units start to fail at approximately one year mark. I suggest you peruse not only this thread but also some of the other threads, you may be surprised what you are going to find.

I wish you good luck, you will need it

I know I'm not going to buy another onkyo receiver

I have a 906 receiver with a HDMI board problem... I knew from the beginning that the unit was running way too hot... There is about 6" of space around the unit and I have placed a 120mm PC fan above the hot spot since day one and it still failed...

What a load of rubbish...

the HDMI problems are sheer carelessness....

There should not be this number of problems due to overheating.

And if you do have a video/processor chip of this kind, which is under continuous load, and runs hot - it is common design/engineering practice to put a heatsink on it.

Negligible cost and time involved - and would most likely resolve 90% of the problems with this series of AVR's.

But not only don't they do it.... but they do not allow us to do it, nor do they allow the service agent to fit a heatsink as it places it outside of its warranty - being non standard and all....

So the standard setup has built in (designed in !) obsolescence - the only problem in their planned obsolescence design, is that they miscalculated the mean time to failure, and large numbers have ended up coming back for replacement HDMI boards.

Had they provided even a small undersized heatsink, then the failures would have happened months/years later, saving them a bundle of $$$, and allowing them to make same dough on the spare parts after the warranties ran out.

In my case, as soon as the warranty expires, I am fitting a bunch of heatsinks on there!

They remain however, incredible value for money - the main competitors at this performance point would have cost me at least twice the amount.... So even if I have to buy a second one, I'm still ok.

You got it wrong. Those are not chips are dieing due to overheating, but capacitors in power regulators. Thus heat sink won't help, but constantly running exhaust fan will. But it is not that easy to put it inside enclosure. External cooling fans help some, but this is not 100% solution.

Out of thousands of 876 owners, how many are AVS members actively posting here? Obviously, a small fraction. I think most of us would agree that the 876 has a design flaw that induces a repeatable failure. My guess is that there are many Onkyo xx6 owners we will never hear from in this forum who have suffered the same issue. So, it's not unreasonable to infer from the number of incidents posted here that Onkyo has a higher rate of failure compared to manufacturers producing AVRs with similar performance.

I had a TX-DS787 that performed flawlessly for nearly ten years, so I naturally gravitated to Onkyo when I sought a HDMI-equipped replacement, especially considering that I would spend at least twice as much on other brands for roughly equivalent performance.

I purchased the 876 knowing that it ran hot. I installed it in a closed cabinet, with three 120mm fans across the back of the top, and even built a shroud around it bisecting the cabinet interior to ensure the warm exhaust wouldn't mix with the cooler air being drawn into the forward vents.

My 876 has been humming along now for two years and four months without incident. However, if it does fail prematurely, I will report it here without histrionics, chalk it up to experience, and prepare to spend a much larger wad of cash to purchase a new AVR from a manufacturer whose products are known to be more reliable. (For what it's worth, "prematurely" in this instance means less than five years of service. For what I paid, that's about half a buck a day -- a true bargain. As of now, it has cost me a little over a buck a day, and that still seems like a solid value when I look at what our two newspapers cost, what our wireless plan costs, or (gulp) our daily expenditure for broadband internet and TV!)

While some here may feel others complain too much, it may be useful to remember that we all have our travails, and we each respond to them in our own way. It's not so useful to post purely argumentative comments. Live and let live, I say. Everyone take a breather, please!

Has nothing to do with quality control, because those failures appear after some usage time in the field. That is exactly the character of "early failures" already mentioned.
The problems mentioned are more the result of a design quirk, having horizontally mounted boards with high heat dissipation and no forced cooling. Thus neighboring parts. i.e. capacitors, are heating up near their max. temperature limits of their specifications. Combine this with the tight fit within a closed or semi-closed cabinet, some are using, not following the mounting instructions provided by the manufacturer anf you get hot spots, which might (and sometimes will) cause some problems.

Some common sense would have let to the installation of a fan (or fans) in the first place and thus would have circumvented the heat built up, which is probably the cause of most of this.

PS.: And its not the chips, i.e. Reon HQV, which fail, because they were designed specifically for usage without a heat sink in this cost and space sensitive consumer electronics environment.