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Pioneer SC-07 or Onkyo TX-NR807

2244 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by s44, Aug 12, 2009

davisfox

Discussion Starter · Jul 17, 2009

Should I pull the trigger on a good deal for a SC-07 now or wait for the TX-NR807 (or something similar that's new in the fall)? I've never had either brand before and don't have convenient access to test drive, so I'm asking for some help. I'm driving Paradigm Studio 40's now, but am planning an upgrade to 60's. I want the ability to stream A/V and have a home network in place. 70/30 movies to music, but am looking for high quality sound. I'll need at least a second zone as well.

I've got some serious holes to fix in my HT, but want to make sure that my receiver choice is the right one. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.....

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ccotenj

· #2 · Jul 17, 2009

there are several user reviews of the 05/07 in the official thread... if you go to the first post in it (click on link in my sig), you'll find them... you'll also find many other helpful things listed there....

good luck!

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davisfox

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 17, 2009

Quote:
Originally Posted by ccotenj /forum/post/16840672

there are several user reviews of the 05/07 in the official thread... if you go to the first post in it (click on link in my sig), you'll find them... you'll also find many other helpful things listed there....

good luck!

Thanks ccotenj - believe me, I've been all over this thread (and your link...very helpful

, and that's why I'm asking for some advice. At first I was looking at the Yamaha 3900, then I liked the Denon 4310, but now the SC-07 features/price is almost too much to resist. And just when I'm about to place an order, the TX-NR807 came up and I started to look at that one. My thinking being that it's newer and would handle the most current codecs etc. Plus, it seems the prices are falling somewhat on the new fall items.

Unfortunately, I don't have a local store to audition anything, so I was asking of the the two, in anyone's opinion, which would they choose. Does the Pioneer stuff sound better? Am I giving up features if I went with the SC-07, or should I wait and see what the next couple of months might bring? I can wait, because I've got alot of other items to pick up, but due to the fact that the Pio might not be around much longer, I'm being sort of pushed. Any advice?

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ccotenj

· #4 · Jul 17, 2009

well, i'll admit to being a pio ho', so i'd choose the 07...

- the 07 will handle all the existing codecs...

- i don't think pio is going anywhere, at least not for a bit, as they just introduced the replacement for the 07...

anecdotal evidence would suggest that, as a general rule, onkyo gives you more features for the buck than any other ce, but their implementation of those features can sometimes be a bit sketchy...

ymmv...

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graphicguy

· #5 · Jul 17, 2009

I'm with ccotenj on this Fox. I had a brief encounter with an Onkyo 805 in my setup. I returned it as it didn't seem to play well with my 4 Ohm-6 Ohm speakers. On that basis, the Pioneer SC series has a significant power advantage with low Ohm loads. I also had some operational glitches with the 805 that simply do not exist in any Pioneer AVR I've owned (my SC 05 is the 3rd). I also prefer MCACC over Audyssey.

All that said, there are a lot of people who enjoy Onkyo gear. I'm just not one of them. I don't know what specific differences there are between the earlier generation of Onkyo AVRs (like the 8xx) and the current ones on the market. Usually the amps are the things that remain the same from one generation to another. If those haven't changed, I'd take a pass on the 807 for that reason alone.

I do believe that Pioneer's SC series is going to be known as one of the best AVR series they've ever produced. But, I'm biased. That bias is based on a relatively long, and happy relationship with Pioneer gear, though.

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tcfish19

· #6 · Jul 17, 2009

Read this, http://www.stereophile.com/floorloud.../1204paradigm/ it applies to V.3 but there shouldn't be a huge difference with the current version.

Note that the reviewer, who is also on this forum, stated mid level receivers would have no problem driving these speakers. Yamaha, Onkyo, Pioneer or Denon all have receivers to do what you want. I personally would take Denon or Yamaha then Onkyo with last choice being the Pioneer. Denon and Yamaha make good networking receivers with stable power and have a reputation of good neutral sound. My only grip with Onkyo is the heat, I own one so it can't be that bad. My issue with Pioneer is there financial situation, I don't want my eggs in that basket.

Since you're not auditioning local you probably aren't buying local. Lots of deals for each brand you just have to look for them. You might even want to try the AVS Store.

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graphicguy

· #7 · Jul 17, 2009

I think many companies in the CE and AV biz are in challenging financial waters. I know D&M (who owns both Marantz and Denon) has been looking to unload some of their brands (which also include Macintosh, Snell and Boston) to raise money.

Pioneer has shed their KURO display business, which is a real shame since many arguably considered them the best displays on the market. They just weren't prepared, or could compete in the display business since they were priced well above competing displays.

Onkyo has had their fair share of foibles....particularly in marketing what was then the first upgradeable AVR in the NR1000. Unfortunately, it was never upgraded.

Yamaha is bigger, but a good margin since they're into many different markets in addition to HT gear (i.e. musical instruments, pro-audio, etc).

Nothing wrong with any of these companies. Not all of them are exactly stable financially.

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tboo

· #8 · Jul 18, 2009

Quote:
Originally Posted by graphicguy /forum/post/16841579

I'm with ccotenj on this Fox. I had a brief encounter with an Onkyo 805 in my setup. I returned it as it didn't seem to play well with my 4 Ohm-6 Ohm speakers. On that basis, the Pioneer SC series has a significant power advantage with low Ohm loads. I also had some operational glitches with the 805 that simply do not exist in any Pioneer AVR I've owned (my SC 05 is the 3rd). I also prefer MCACC over Audyssey.

All that said, there are a lot of people who enjoy Onkyo gear. I'm just not one of them. I don't know what specific differences there are between the earlier generation of Onkyo AVRs (like the 8xx) and the current ones on the market. Usually the amps are the things that remain the same from one generation to another. If those haven't changed, I'd take a pass on the 807 for that reason alone.

I do believe that Pioneer's SC series is going to be known as one of the best AVR series they've ever produced. But, I'm biased. That bias is based on a relatively long, and happy relationship with Pioneer gear, though.

Dont you mean a signficant power disadvantage with low ohm loads for the SC-07?

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turnne1

· #9 · Aug 12, 2009

Seems the Onkyo876 would be more the competition for the Pioneer SC 07...

I can't imagine that you would be displeased with either one frankly

The Pioneer looks a little "cooler"...but the Onkyo had Audessey( if you prefer its set up) and I believe has some video upscaling features the Pioneer lacks

Warren

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graphicguy

· #10 · Aug 12, 2009

Quote:
Originally Posted by tboo /forum/post/16844892

Dont you mean a signficant power disadvantage with low ohm loads for the SC-07?

No.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear.

There is no disadvantage with low Ohm speakers with the SC. Matter of fact, I run 4 Ohm-6 Ohm speakers in my HT set up (Rockets). My SC 05 drives them with plenty of power to spare. Plenty of others use all 4 Ohm loads, all the way around, and have reported the same. David Vaughn at UltimateAV was testing with hard to drive MK 4 Ohm speakers during his testing and mentioned how the SC 05 (and by proxy, the SC 07) drove them to crazy levels, with plenty of room to spare.

While not the Onkyo 87x series, I had an 805 in my system briefly. I was able to shut it down driving my speakers. Even before it shut down, I could tell it hit clipping by sounding harsh well before shut down.

Some have even reported driving very difficult to drive 4 Ohm Magnepans all the way around with the SC with good results.

Even the SC's detractor, Gene over at AH reported that the SC 07 drove his 4 Ohm speakers great in real world testing.

EDIT....haven't been over here in awhile and saw my reply was from a post almost a month ago. My experiences still stand, though.

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s44

· #11 · Aug 12, 2009

You realize you're not actually supposed to run the Onkyo on 4 ohm mode, right?

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phantom52

· #12 · Aug 12, 2009

Don't know about the 4 ohm load for the Onkyo, but their manual and reviews state to leave it in 8 ohm mode to also run 4 ohm speakers. The 6 ohm setting is to supposedly to help keep the receiver cooler. But it also causes a reduction in power. The SC05/07 have both been tested and reviewed with 4 ohm speakers and according to them and many users here they operate just fine driving 4 ohm speakers. I would not let 1 reviewer sway my decision on a SC05 or 07 for driving 4 ohm speakers. On the other hand if video processing is your bag then the Onkyo 876 or 906 along with the new Denon's 3310 and 4310 or upcoming 4810 might be something to look into. Their prices are no where near what you can get SC05/07 for though.

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s44

· #13 · Aug 12, 2009

Quote:
Originally Posted by phantom52 /forum/post/16987340

Don't know about the 4 ohm load for the Onkyo, but their manual and reviews state to leave it in 8 ohm mode to also run 4 ohm speakers. The 6 ohm setting is to supposedly to help keep the receiver cooler.

It's a 6 ohm and 4 ohm setting, but yeah. The 4 ohm setting is basically there just to game artificial constant-load tests like the one that tripped up the SC-07.

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