Onkyo 876 or 905?

[admin_exported]

Having had to return 2 faulty brand new 875's this month, I would welcome your thoughts please as to whether to ask Onkyo to replace the 875 with the 876 or I may be able to get a 905, as per MKG.

I understand the 905 has cooling fans fitted & given my experience with the 875, I would prefer a model with such a feature. Does the 876 also come fitted with cooling fans please?

I also wonder if there is a significant difference in sound quality between the 876 & the 905?I realise this may be difficult to answer as the 876 has yet to be reviewed/tested.

Thanks in advance

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Cronos, I'm really not sure about the 876 - as you say it hasn't really been tested by the masses. I'm only 2 weeks in with my 905, so again - I'm not sure that it's not going to suffer the same issues I had with the 875. As for audio quality, there's no significant difference - other than the Audyssey setup seems to implement some sort of *limiter* on the surround modes. (i.e. you don't get any volume gain if you turn it up beyond -20db, and some films sound *really* quiet).

If you do the EQ yourself, it's as powerful as the 875 - but I wonder if Onkyo have put that limitation in 905 to protect the amp? Time will tell!

It is definitely much cooler than the 875 though, so that's got to be a good thing! I do like the addition of Internet Radio and network access for local mp3's though - that's a very handy feature!

 

[Anonymous]

Also worth mentioning that my local dealer Richer Sounds provided the FOC upgrade to a 905 (as I had so many issues with the 875's), not Onkyo.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for your reply MKG

. In lieu of a magazine review at present, there are a few owners now, who have upgraded from the 875 to the 876 & seem delighted. One owner reported that there is no longer a heat issue, which I am very relieved about. Also sound & video quality very impressive. The onscreen menu on the 876 has also been upgraded with far more colourful graphics!!

I've finally made up my mind

& ordered the 876.

 

[professorhat]

mkg:As for audio quality, there's no significant difference - other than the Audyssey setup seems to implement some sort of *limiter* on the surround modes. (i.e. you don't get any volume gain if you turn it up beyond -20db, and some films sound *really* quiet).
No such limit on my 905...

 

[Anonymous]

No problem Cronos, please let me (and us all!) know how you get on with the 876 - I'm really quite excited about the new 906 now!!!

Professorhat - have you done Audyssey setup or manual EQ? I can only get round the issue by turning off Audyssey and going manual, which makes a *huge* difference!

I'm starting to have some *serious* doubts about my setup now..... or maybe it's just the Onkyo playing with my mind!

 

[professorhat]

Nope, set up mine using Audyssey, then tweaked it afterwards.

 

[Anonymous]

Do you mean you tweaked the speaker levels or the manual graphic?