Help me choose - Onkyo 875 & Yam 863

[Qwalme]

So I've been asking questions the last few months on different setups and I'm all but there now. However, I am stuck on the final hurdle.

As I'm doing a system for me and my brother, I got 2nd hand Yam 863 and Onkyo 875 for the same price and I have both to try in house - the ideal situation you might say.

The speakers are 'small' in that they are Tannoy Arenas with TS500 sub. The room is relatively small too.

Now I've had the Yam in over the weekend and really enjoyed the sound. Having put the Onk in on Monday, I can't help thinking the sound is a little focused on the front and centre.

Has anyone else had the opportunity to trial both side by side on the same system?

 

[Anonymous]

Not set up too well by the sounds of it, try adjusting the speaker settings in the menu.

The 875 has the greater potential if it is fed with a clean mains supply.

The audition of my system will be posted next week after Jase and his wife has given it a serious listen to.

 

[Anonymous]

Are you using Audyssey MultiEQ?

 

[Anonymous]

No contest - Onkyo 875 (this is an amp that cost £1000.00 not too long ago)

 

[Qwalme]

I did a factory reset then I used the MultiEQ set up for the seating positions yes. The distances came back correct but I changed the crossovers to 80Hz as advised by someone that has had these speakers for over a year. I havent changed any other settings like individual speaker volumes.

On the mains supply issue - the house is a new build development of maybe 50 homes so I do not know how that will effect the quality of the mains. There are industrial units about 500-600 metres away. I have a new Tacima but only have the plasma and sky+ plugged into it as I was concerned it may supress the Amp. I guess I would look to get a Clearer Audio mains lead at some point for the AMP.

I've been listening via 'Direct' and 'Surround' to try and get the untouch soundtrack.

Trev, what are your suggestions to look at changing?

Cheers

 

[clearer_audio]

Qwalme:On the mains supply issue - the house is a new build development of maybe 50 homes so I do not know how that will effect the quality of the mains. There are industrial units about 500-600 metres away. I have a new Tacima but only have the plasma and sky+ plugged into it as I was concerned it may supress the Amp. I guess I would look to get a Clearer Audio mains lead at some point for the AMP.

Hello Qwalme,

Some basic conditioners and filters can impede an amplifiers performance but it would be worth trying the amplifier on the tacima to assess the performance. Our power cables should provide further improvements to performance and if using on your tacima it would advisable since an unshielded factory power cable could pick up airborne noise after the power has been filtered (thus undoing the good work done).

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Darren

 

[Big Chris]

Qwalme:
So I've been asking questions the last few months on different setups and I'm all but there now. However, I am stuck on the final hurdle.

As I'm doing a system for me and my brother, I got 2nd hand Yam 863 and Onkyo 875 for the same price and I have both to try in house - the ideal situation you might say.

The speakers are 'small' in that they are Tannoy Arenas with TS500 sub. The room is relatively small too.

Now I've had the Yam in over the weekend and really enjoyed the sound. Having put the Onk in on Monday, I can't help thinking the sound is a little focused on the front and centre.

Has anyone else had the opportunity to trial both side by side on the same system?

If you prefer the Yamaha then stick with that. Also, the 875 is an older design, the 876 replaced it and there could well be an 877 on the cards soon (models further down the range are already onto the '7' designation).

Not that I'm looking to steer you away from the 875. I have one and won't be replacing it any time soon...... If at all.

 

[Anonymous]

Qwalme:
I did a factory reset then I used the MultiEQ set up for the seating positions yes. The distances came back correct but I changed the crossovers to 80Hz as advised by someone that has had these speakers for over a year. I havent changed any other settings like individual speaker volumes.

On the mains supply issue - the house is a new build development of maybe 50 homes so I do not know how that will effect the quality of the mains. There are industrial units about 500-600 metres away. I have a new Tacima but only have the plasma and sky+ plugged into it as I was concerned it may supress the Amp. I guess I would look to get a Clearer Audio mains lead at some point for the AMP.

I've been listening via 'Direct' and 'Surround' to try and get the untouch soundtrack.

Trev, what are your suggestions to look at changing?

Cheers

Set it by ear!
The 875 is in a different league and don't be troubled by the marketing on the next models. Not much room for improvement.
Start off by getting the sound levels balanced through all the speakers to the room. I have my fronts set to full range as I do spend a lot of time listening to music. But I adjust the roll off and let the sub handle the really deep bass which takes less power out of the amp.

By the info you post I do not know what your needs are that needs addressing, I would try plugging the Amp into the Tacima and seeing for yourself if the sound improves or not. Much is dependent on the size of the noise floor on the mains.
I hard wire the plugs so that I have a 20A current running through them and use circuit breakers to deal with the remote possibility of shorts to the 40A wire that I use in the spur.
You can buy Audio grade fuses that are much better than the ones fitted to plugs which allow a much higher current flow. The sound doesn't harden up as much.
New house, I would buy a mains conditioning unit 1st before anything else. A poster today found a brand new one (1500va) for less than £150, a bargain.

http://www.airlinktransformers.com/transformer/bp1500-bp1500-balanced-power-supply.asp

One of those should transform your music.

 

[Anonymous]

80Hz sounds way too low for those satellites to me. Try them crossed at closer to 100Hz instead.

 

[Qwalme]

I re-ran the Audessey set up late last week and will give the settings its put them to a real run over this weekend to check the sound before making a decision. I'll post what the new settings are when I check them tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks for the comments, I was away at the weekend so couldnt respond till today. I may try the amp in the Tacima when I make a choice between the two just to see how it goes. The link you gave Trev is something for the Future I think as I've already dropped a fair amount in one go so I'll sneak that in later.

Cheers guys and gals.