[bodhisafa]

Help me choose, looking for pre/pro with outstanding sound quality that will play nice with an oppo bdp 83 and Dir. tv HD box, system is completely hdmi. No need for fancy video upconversion or wide..height..channels. I just want the sound. The video to go staright through without being touched. Iam strictly a movie guy. Idea is to use the receiver for surround duty and amplifier for the front stage or any combination recommended. Room 13W 21L8H, looking for dynamics.


They are 4ohm speakers that are very efficient 101db, please help

Speakers are JTR 12

Back of the Room

 

[bodhisafa]

Whats the difference in sound quality between the onkyo 707, 807, 876?


Also Iam looking for a receiver that will pass the video untouched?

 

[rtart]

For Pre/Pro, check out the Onkyo PR-SC885 and/or 886. Tyr shoponkyo.com for a good deal.


Emotiva has, in my opinion and that of many others, the best value/price ratio around. An XPA-5 will play nicely with the 885/886 and can be connected with balanced (xlr) connections. They also offer a brand-new UMC-1, but it has some reported bugs, and will take you a while to get. They are still working through the pre-order list.


Other pre/pro options are an AVR, using the pre-outs to drive a separate amp. There are lots of good values out there. Check out the "future-proof receiver thread" here. Pretty much any AVR that is less than 2 years old will do HDMI for you. Decoding of hirez codecs can be done by any BD player less than a year old, including the PS3, so the AVR does not need to be HDMI v1.3 to get the new sound formats.


You may want to try an AVR first, then add a separate amp later, if you need it. Maybe you won't.


Have fun!

 

[phantom52]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bodhisafa /forum/post/18220781


Whats the difference in sound quality between the onkyo 707, 807, 876?


Also Iam looking for a receiver that will pass the video untouched?

Can't tell you the sound difference between these three. What speakers are those? I can tell you that the 707 and 807 are not in the same class as the 876 as for power,connectivity, and video processing. The 876 will do passthrough only though. The 876 also has THX Ultra2 certification and Audyssey Multi-Eq XT. It also still sells for more than the other two. New ones at tigerdirect. Refurbs at accessories4less on all of them. You may also want to consider either a Yamaha 665 or 765 and an Emotiva XPA3 amp. There's also the Yamaha 863 to consider for use as a pre-pro. Marantz's 5003 or 6003 deserve a look also for this type of use with an amp.

 

[bodhisafa]

Sub amp has arrived (cc4000), just waiting on the new subs to arrive.


Still debating what to do for the main speakers (JTR triple 12's).

I like the onkyo 876, it has pass through, and preouts in case I need more power.


Does anyone have experience with the behringer ep4000 or crown k2?

 

[Audiodork]

Hello,

I would go with the 876 to get Audyssey MultEQ XT, THX Ultra 2 Plus, Reon which offers Passthrough and the choice of upsampling sources to 1080p, and a much more powerful amplifier section.


As for Amplifiers, if I had to choose from the two you listed, I would go with the Crown. I would also recommend looking at used Parasound HCA Series and Aragon 4004 and 8008's. The Aragon's offer huge Toroidal Power Transformers and huge amounts of Capacitance.

Cheers,

AD

 

[bodhisafa]

Been trying to find info on the Aragon units but its been hard to come by. Apparently the name has been sold to a different manufacturer (Indy Labs). This new company has yet to relase info on the "new" Aragon units.


There are a few units floading around the net, but do not know the difference between the X, BB, ST models. I like the idea of the large amount of capacitance and power. Anyone help out?

 

[bodhisafa]

I ended up going with the onkyo876 refurbished....only problem....it will not turn on!


When plugged in the wall the standby light is on, no problems but when you push the on button it just makes a clicking noise but nothing turns on. Then it makes another clicking noise at it goes back to standby mode.


Do I have a defected unit or Am I doing something wrong? Please help

 

[phantom52]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bodhisafa /forum/post/18350042


I ended up going with the onkyo876 refurbished....only problem....it will not turn on!


When plugged in the wall the standby light is on, no problems but when you push the on button it just makes a clicking noise but nothing turns on. Then it makes another clicking noise at it goes back to standby mode.


Do I have a defected unit or Am I doing something wrong? Please help

Bad unit. Is anything connected yet? If so make sure all connections are good, especially speaker wires. Anything touching where its not supposed to will send the 876 into protect mode.

 

[bodhisafa]

phantom52,


I checked the connections, nothings touching....I disconnected everything and tried turning the unit on, same problem it will not turn on. The only thing I get is clicks! and then the standby!

 

[bodhisafa]

I updated the photos, also did confirm the refurbished onkyo unit I received is defective and its on its way back to the manufacturer which means Iam now back on the market again looking for a pre/pro amp combo.

 

[ap1]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bodhisafa /forum/post/18275566


Does anyone have experience with the behringer ep4000 or crown k2?

You would need 30Amp dedicated circuit for ep4000.

 

[MKtheater]

What is the budget?

 

[bodhisafa]

In a few short weeks I will be installing another two circuits giving me a total of 3 (20amp) in the room.


MKtheater,

budget, it depends? Im willing to spend some money to get the proper amount of processing and amplification to power this system to get clean dynamics. Im not trying to get the best of the best just what I need to get the most of the system. Its a small room above a garage.


I was thinking an onkyo 886 pre/pro with an emotiva amp or pro amps??????????????Would this be enough?????????????????


I would like to try ADA gear but had no luck finding reasonable pricing

 

[MKtheater]

Ada pricing is cheap used but you will not find any newer processors used yet. If you are playing at reference levels then the XPA-5 should work fine. If the Emotiva UMC-1 works out the bugs(the LFE portion) then that duo seems like a great bang for the buck. I would make sure it works but it does have a return policy. That onkyo seems interesting, how many watts per channel is it? I mean for real, not specs. You have 4 ohm speakers so you will need a very good AVR like a THX ultra 2 which the Onkyo is. I always wanted to try one of the big boy AVR's myself.

 

[bodhisafa]

The 886 is a pre pro, no amplifier section. I have been thinking about the UMC-1, but like you said to many bugs at the moment. Have read a few posts from ex-umc-1 owners that the sound from their 886 was comparable to that of the emotiva unit.

 

[MKtheater]

I have also read that the UMC-1 sounds great even without it's EQ. When I was talking amp specs I meant the 876.


I know the 886 is a pre/pro.


I used a DMC-1 before and did not like it. If it was me I would get a high end AVR of you are getting an 886.

 

[bodhisafa]

Well I did order a onkyo 876 a few days ago and it arrived as a dead unit. I returned it, so I never got to test the capabilities of the system with that receiver. Because of the bad customer service I decided to go with a different company, but not a different brand of receiver. The 876 is not on the market anymore, few places sell it but they are refurbed., had a bad experience, do not want to go down that road again.


Mk,


What componenets would you trust right now in your system. I know you tried a denon that shut down on you.

 

[MKtheater]

That Denon was rated at 105 watts per channel into 8 ohms and not THX. Right now I am finishing up my speakers. Once I do I will finally get a chance to test out my new gear. I will be using the Ada suite 7.1HD(8 HDMI ins, and 2 outs, nothing else for video), a PTM-1260 bridged for my LF sections and surround speakers, and a PTM 6150 for my HF/MF sections. People might say that the 150 watts per channel into 8 ohms is not much more than the AVR but that is measured watts, compared to how many actual watts from the AVR? I bet it has 6 db's of more headroom. That makes a difference.

 

[bodhisafa]

I believe if I remember corectly the onkyo 876 tested to be around 102 Watts per channel at 4ohms, that is a multichannel test. Hometheater mag or avmag did the testing. Its gotten great reviews. Im still open to the idea of buying one, just need to find a credible seller.