Onkyo 876/906 Review & WHF Awards 2008

[admin_exported]

Hi WHF Team,

I've been eagerly awaiting the test results of the Onkyo 876/906. When can we expect this to be out?

Also, when will the WHF Awards 2008 winners be announced? Will the Onkyo 876 be tested in time for the awards or will the Onkyo 875 still be judged in Awards 2008?

Any AV Receiver Group/Super test in the upcoming issues? I thought I remember reading somewhere that there was supposed to be a group test...

Thanks.

 

[Clare Newsome]

Both the Onkyo 876 and 906 will be reviewed in time for our Awards issue - out 16th October. You'll see reviews online before or slightly after that date - sorry can't be more specific, but we've a ton of stuff to go through, as you can tell from the exclusive reviews we're posting online everyday at the moment.

We were going to do an AV receiver Group Test for the November issue, but the Sony receiver uncertainties put paid to that. Expect many more comparitives in near future, at all price points. Awards issue will also make it clear just what competitors the winners were judged against.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the prompt reply. OK, just over 3 weeks to go for the verdict on the 876/906! Can't wait for the Awards issue.

So, no group test for the November issue then? Can't WHF just exclude the Sony's from the test and proceed with a comparison with sets from Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer, Arcam...? There have been many TV and Speaker group test in the past months but no AV receiver group test beside the 3 way test between the Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha set.

 

[Clare Newsome]

There are four AV receivers tested in the November issue: Pioneer VSX-1018 (£500); Panasonic SA-BX500 (£400); Yamaha DSP-AX763 (£500) and Yamaha DSP-AX863 (£600).

The main issue has been waiting for new models to appear for there to be enough price-comparable models to do a comprehensive Group Test - if, for example, we'd put the £400-£500 models above alongside the Denon AVR-1909 and Onkyo TX-SR606 without including the Sony receivers, it wouldn't have been a thorough Supertest.

However, we will be doing precisely that before naming our Award winners (and the same at other price points with new models).

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, I see your point that it wouldn't be a thorough Supertest but maybe what you can do is just feature the 'incomplete' Supertest first, and then when the new Sony's come out later, compare them versus the Supertest Winner in the review. I believe WHF already does this to a certain extent and that we as readers realise that it would be almost impossible for WHF to wait for every single model to come on the market before a Supertest is done.

For the Nov issue, will the 4 receivers mentioned above be compared against the Denon 1909 so that we can get a sense on who's the current leading contender in that category (before the Sony's are out)?

BTW, are the new higher end Denon's like the 2809 going to be tested soon? I'm guessing that based on your previous post, the Onkyo 876/906 are going to be tested in the Awards issue, right? What other AV Receivers will be tested in the Awards issue?

Thanks.

 

[Andrew Everard]

seakingadvice:For the Nov issue, will the 4 receivers mentioned above be compared against the Denon 1909 so that we can get a sense on who's the current leading contender in that category (before the Sony's are out)?.

The November issue went on sale last Thursday.

 

[Anonymous]

Good morning Andrew. Oh, I thought that Clare was refering to a future issue. Any idea on which AV receivers will be reviewed in the December issue and Awards 2008 issue?

BTW, why is the current issue called the November issue when it actually hits the stands in September?

 

[Andrew Everard]

I think Clare has already mentioned which products will be in the Awards issue first tests, but as for the December issue you'll have to wait until I am in the office and can check contents lists, if indeed December's list is that sorted yet.

Why November in September? It's all to do with our 13th issue, the Awards special, which means we produce a magazine every 4 weeks, not every calendar month. It means issues get earlier and earlier at this time of year, then get back on a sensible schedule after the Awards issue, so the December issue will be out mid-November and so on...

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry but I missed Clare's post on which products will be in the Awards issue first tests. Can you please post the link here? Thanks. Yes, it would be great if you can check the December list once you're in the office.

Thanks for the clarification on the issues! Finally a mystery is solved as I kept on wondering why issues were so far ahead.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Clare mentioned above that the two Onkyos in question will be tested in time for the Awards issue. I will ask Simon Lucas to supply a full list of AV receivers to be tested in the Awards issue first test pages when he has time - as you can imagine we are a bit flat-out with the Awards issue at the moment.

 

[Anonymous]

OK. Thanks! Look forward to seeing the list. Particularly interested on whether the Denon 2809 will be tested in time for the awards as well. BTW, is there an Ultimate Guide to Home Cinema coming up anytime soon?

 

[Andrew Everard]

You really just want us to tell you what's going to win, don't you?

Not going to happen.

And yes, there is a new Ultimate Guide on the way - I believe it's out in about a month or so.

 

[Anonymous]

Nah...that would take away all the suspense and excitement. Reason why I'm eager to find out is that I've been holding out on getting a new AV Amp and would like to go down to the shops to check out the amps that will be tested soon.

Currently, I'm looking at the Onkyo 876 and Denon 2809 (as there is no update to the 3808) and no new Yamaha's in that range. Clare mentioned problems with Sony's launch so not holding my breath for them.

BTW, why were the outdated products like the Onkyo 875 listed to be judged by the readers Product of the Year Awards?

 

[Andrew Everard]

Because, as previously explained, we had a forum thread asking readers for niominations for the Readers' Choice voting, and the products on which you were able to vote were the ones that came out top in that nomination process.

 

[Simon Lucas]

seakingadvice:It would be great if you can check the December list once you're in the office.
The Awards issue features First Tests of the Onkyo TX-SR876 and Pioneer SC-LX81.
The December list is still a work in progress - making predictions about it now would be like trying to second-guess the financial markets.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Lucas. So no review of the Onkyo 906 in the Awards issue like Clare mentioned earlier?

And also no review of the Denon 2809 then in time for the Awards issue I'm guessing.

 

[Simon Lucas]

It's Simon, but I'll let it pass.
To clarify: the Onkyo 906 review will be online before the Awards issue goes on sale. We're hoping the Denon 2809 review will be up there by then too. The print First Tests in the Awards issue are as I listed, but I'm not responsible for what else goes into the magazine...

 

[Andrew Everard]

"His name is Lucas, he works on the first floor"

Nah, doesn't really work, does it?

 

[Andrew Everard]

seakingadvice:Thanks Lucas. So no review of the Onkyo 906 in the Awards issue like Clare mentioned earlier?

Clare actually said "Both the Onkyo 876 and 906 will be reviewed in time for our Awards issue - out 16th October."

 

[Anonymous]

LOL!!! You guys are really funny...

OK thanks for the info! Looks like I'll be getting my amp soon...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Clare,

I have a question regarding the Onkyo 876/906 and 905. I have roughly a £1000 to spend on a new av receiver and as the the 876 and 906 are coming out very soon, the 905 have been reduced to £799 on a few websites. With this in mind do you thing purchasing the 905 would be a better buy for my money or go with the new 876 at a £1000. Also on a slightly different note, if I purschased one of these av receivers would i need to add a decent dvd player such as the Denon 2500bt or the excellent value for money Toshiba xd-e500 to up-scale my dvd collection to 1080p or rely on the receivers to upscale?

Regards,

Paul

 

[Andy Clough]

Hi all

Review of the Onkyo TX-SR876 will be posted online in the next 30 mins. And here it is.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the review. But, now I'm in a dilemma. I was initially set on getting an Onkyo 876 given the excellent reviews of the 875 but now after reading the review, it seems like the Pioneer SC-LX81 would be a better higher end choice or do I save the money and go for a Yamaha 863?

Would the video processing capabilities of the Onkyo 876 be far superior to the Yamaha 863? And from the review, sonically, is the Yamaha 863 better than the Onkyo 876? Wow, if that's the case, then the Onkyo has really failed to live up to expectations.

Comparing the video processing capabilities of the Onkyo 876 vs the Pioneer LX81, the Onkyo uses the HQV Reon chip whereas the Pioneer uses the Faroudja chip. Hence, would this mean that the Onkyo 876 has superior video processing capabilities compared to the Pioneer LX81?

Would appreciate any advice from the WHF Gurus-Clare, Andrew, Andy, Simon, please HELP! Thanks!

 

[professorhat]

seakingadvice:Thanks for the review. But, now I'm in a dilemma. I was initially set on getting an Onkyo 876 given the excellent reviews of the 875 but now after reading the review, it seems like the Pioneer SC-LX81 would be a better higher end choice or do I save the money and go for a Yamaha 863?

Would the video processing capabilities of the Onkyo 876 be far superior to the Yamaha 863? And from the review, sonically, is the Yamaha 863 better than the Onkyo 876? Wow, if that's the case, then the Onkyo has really failed to live up to expectations.

Comparing the video processing capabilities of the Onkyo 876 vs the Pioneer LX81, the Onkyo uses the HQV Reon chip whereas the Pioneer uses the Faroudja chip. Hence, would this mean that the Onkyo 876 has superior video processing capabilities compared to the Pioneer LX81?

Would appreciate any advice from the WHF Gurus-Clare, Andrew, Andy, Simon, please HELP! Thanks!
What's more important to you - video upscaling or sound? I think when you look at the reviews and answer that question, the answer presents itself.

 

[Anonymous]

I was hoping to have it all - video upscaling and sound! The other pieces of equipment would be a Pioneer 428, Sony DVD Recorder 950 and B&W MT-30. Based on these pieces of equipment, which would be the most "optimal" AV receiver in your opinion?

I was just a bit surprised that the Pioneer which costs a lot more than the Onkyo doesn't come with the HQV Reon chip which is supposedly a superior chip to the Faroudja chip.