The "Official" Onkyo TX-SR876 Owners Thread - Page 161

I just added a blu-ray player to my SR876, but an immediate problem is that dialogue levels are too dim, and when I turn up the volume, the entire apartment shakes during any scenes of actions and explosions!

I know this has something to do with dynamic range, but how do I compress it? I already enabled the "night surround" mode on the Panasonic BDT-210 but it doesn't seem to help.

Should I:

1. up the volume level on the center channel only?

2. buy a larger center channel speaker?

3. run the Audessy setup? (my mic is currently missing )

PS. the "L.Night" function unfortunately doesn't seem to work on these DTS-HD sources of Blu-ray?

Running Audyssey setup is the correct answer. It would both properly match speaker levels and open up the possibility of using Dynamic Volume as a more sophisticated "Late Night" function.

Thanks for the link but they don't ship to Canada, does anyone know of a local source in Vancouver?

It's been ages since I've been to this thread since getting my 876 almost 2 years ago. Besides my component switching acting up on me, I now have no tuner. I'm not sure what to do about this. It's more of a casual background radio listening thing, but really bugs me that the most basic function doesn't work on this tank. Any ideas? Also, I don't recall there ever being a firmware update on the 876...is this still true? Thanks!!

I'm not sure about the tuner, but the current firmware is version 1.04. See the beginning of this thread for details.

I have the same problem that others have apparently had with wavy, jittery image distortion when using the Component inputs. It doesn't matter if I use the Component Output or the HDMI output, I get the same results. (All other inputs look fine when output through HDMI and Composite--but not Component.
I suspect bad caps in the analog video board, and one posting mentioned that they got their unit back form the repair shop where 4 caps were replaced. However, no mention was made of which ones.

If anyone has any info on which ones are likely the bad ones, it would be much appreciated. (I have a service manual and schematics.)
Thanks.

see here...

Thanks for the prompt reply, but the link refers to repair of the HDMI board. Based on the schematics, it looks like my problem signal path is on the video board where the component input and outputs are located.

I have searched extensively, but no luck. If you know of a similar fix for the Video board, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks again.

I'm pleased to report that Onkyo came through on this one. I was give an email address of jcooper@onkyousa.com by the csr to escalate my complaint. I explained the problem in the email and waited a week or so. I also indicated that I knew it was a wide spread problem, that some folks had gotten free out of warranty repair and also mentioned I was active in the forums. Lo and behold, an email came through stating that they would do a "one time repair" for the problem and gave me a couple of repair shops to choose from. I gave them my preference, then they notified me and the repair shop with the repair ticket number to use. I live in the sticks and the repair shop is 120 miles away. I dropped it off and then about a week and a half later, the Fedex guy dropped it off! I didn't even ask for them to deliver it. They replaced the HDMI card and a couple of fuses. Life is good. I'm impressed with the way Onkyo recovered from this problem.
Hope this helps others with this common problem.

Glad to hear they came through for you!

For some reason i can not seem to get my sub to kick on during radio AM or FM. I would also be interested in learning about a better AM/FM antenna. Does anyone have a suggestion?

Well after some testing it does not seem to kick on during a cd in my samsung blue ray, but a dvd or blue ray it does. a cd in my sony sacd player hooked up with 5.1 component it does. HD tv, it does, standard def it does not.

The speakers are set to 80htz thx, front center, surrounds, sub. What am I missing. I have made it through all the audio selections but it just does not seem to kick in for some things.

Is there a way to force it to do 5.1 for tv,cd,radio? The wife is complaining about the lack of thump..... Yeah i know what a problem to have.


~Aaron

Any chance you have Direct or Pure Audio modes turned on? Either of those will turn off bass management (and other DSP based processing such as Audyssey).

That is one of the first things i checked. even in stereo i can not seem to get it to kick in. The sub is an aperion bravus 10d. I have cycled it on,auto,mute back to on. that does not seem to do much. as soon as i change to hd tv, dvd/br, xbox game poof everything kicks in at 5.1. other wise it is front right front left in stereo/direct/pure. If i do the other modes it will play through the 3 other speakers in accordance with that mode except for the sub.

Did you manually go back and set all of your speakers to "small"? That is another way of saying "Use the subwoofer for all bass below the crossover frequency, not just for true .1 soundtracks". Let us know if this fixes the problem.

That is essentially what i did. Removed the front and rears from full, to 80tz thx all the way around. Then reduced the sub offset in the reciver and it it picked it up. A little tweaking and i had the dogs down teh street barking. (ntrly) I need to fine tune it, but at least it is working now. I have another project i am finishing up this week i am hoping i can turn back to the audio system next week.

~Aaron

Has anyone had an issue with the pre-outs going crackily? I watched the super bowl on sunday and everything was perfect. The wife turned on the system Monday afternoon and the left pre out and center pre out both crackle. I back checked everything (speakers to amp to rca's to receiver) and it is definitely the receiver.

I do have extended warranty on it and have contacted JR, but was just curious as to if anyone else has had this issue and if there is a cause. Thanks for any input!!

I have no crackling issues after 3 years with my 876. I'd say it's a pretty rare occurance as I can't remember reading about it on these threads. If it's not the speakers or the cables then you would think the RCA inputs are the culprit. I'm assuming you have an amp. I'm also assuming you've been gentle on the RCA connects as some cables are so tight you need to insert them with a twisting motion, not straight on.

I'd say you may need service.

Any of you 876 owners having an issue with the DTS bomb issue on the new Star Wars discs? This is a totally different DTS bomb issue than Onkyo had a few years ago. This just started with the new Star Wars discs on all of the XX5 and 906 receivers. I was just wondering if it is happening with the 876 as well. Thanks for your input.

An issue with my 876 has resurfaced that had occurred previously but had disappeared for a while. I don't recall anyone else reporting this.

What happens is that when a two channel source is being processed into 5.1 via Pro-Logic or one of the other decoders, intermittently it will act as if the left and right channel information is being mixed into the center channel out of phase, effectively cancelling each other out and ending up with a dead center channel. The center channel will return once the source goes back to a discrete multichannel mode.

This is seen most often when watching TV as programs or commercials flip back and forth between Dolby 5.1. and Dolby 2.0. My listening mode presets are such that the DD5.1 is processed as Dolby Digital + THX Cinema and my DD2.0 sources are processed as PLII + THX Cinema, which normally results in a seamless multichannel transition when the source format changes.

The problem will occur regardless of whether the source is inputted as HDMI, optical or coax digital. It happens with multiple sources, including my TV (via optical), the cable STB (via HDMI, optical or coax) and the Media PC (via HDMI or optical). When I lose the center channel, if I switch to Stereo mode, that will operate normally, but the center channel will remain "cancelled" if I return to any decoded surround mode.

Strangely, I can "fix" the issue for some period of time by briefly turning on the speaker level-setting tones, after which proper center channel derivation will work for a while.

The last time this occurred, I fixed it by doing a full reset. I was hoping to avoid a full Audyssey recalibration (I got one I am very happy with the last time time I ran it), so I guess I am asking if anyone else has seen this type of behavior and had any other fixes?

The only times I had anything like that happen it was on a 5.1 mix with an HD channel and the center had no dialogue! This was the occasional hockey broadcast and I couldn't believe they'd cheap out like that.

I initially thought that possibly the 2.0 source(s) was at fault (i.e, the left and right channels were out of phase at the source), but the fact that I can fix it, at least temporarily, by hitting the speaker level setting tone pretty much rules out everything BUT the 876. I have the discrete level setting buttons programmed on the Harmony so I can hit it within a few seconds and it fixes it instantly within the same commercial or program. Seems like I have to do it 2-3 times every night.

I've been living with it like this for about two weeks now... I'll probably bite the bullet this weekend and reset it and re-run the Audyssey setup. That fix lasted more than a year the last time - probably just some stuck or corrupted bits in there somewhere.

question for those of you that have had HDMI board issues with your 876

I posted this in the 875 forum as well

I recently came across a used 875 that the owner said it no longer was processing video
I assumed it was an HDMI board issue

anyway I gave him $40.00 plus shipping for the unit

Got it home...connected it and have run it for 2 hours...it works perfectly
CD, DVD and blu ray....including video all work perfectly

Are the HDMI board issues intermittent?..or did I just get the deal of the year?


Warren

My 905 was acting up... I removed the cover and checked the HDMI board... It was not seated properly. After reseating board, all was well... That could be the problem...

Perhaps a "bump" in shipping worked for this unit then
I have had the unit on for 4 solid hours now at some pretty loud levels

It is performing perfectly...audio and video

The only thing I have not tested is the 4th HDMI input

if that's the only thing that doesn't work..I feel very good about my $40.00 purchase


Warren

Warren,

I had HDMI issues with my 876, see my previous posts in this forum, which were both intermittent and constant depending on the input. I was worried about waiting for it to go completely dead before the warranty ran out so I got it fixed.

If you only payed $40 plus shipping and you have a few good inputs, I'd say you got a good deal.

Hi All -

Have had an SR876 since Dec 08. I have my Directv and WDTV box both connected to the SR876 via HDMI, and then HDMI to my TV. The SR876 sits on an open glass shelf, so heat should not been an issue.

A few weeks ago, the Onkyo reported no signal from the Directv and WDTV box. I disconnected the SR876 for a few weeks as I left town on business.

Upon returning, I plugged the SR876 back in and it worked for a bout a week until today when I moved the SR876 but due to a loose power cord, the SR876 turned off.

Now I either receive the "No Signal" or if the SR876 does detect a signal the output to the TV is mostly of a green color (please see picture attached).

The only Onkyo authorized repair center that I can find in Houston is 50 miles away and the reviews of them are bad.

What are some thoughts on what the problem could be and would anyone guess as to what I should expect to pay in repair?

Is there any troubleshooting I could do at the house before sending in for repair?

Thanks,

J

Maybe I do have a heat issue, I left the receiver off for an hour and it started working again...

I have noticed periodically that there have been some Onkyo HDMI boards on Ebay for various receivers

They are from the same seller and say "reconditioned"



Warren