Onkyo TX-SR875 worth replacing?

[FuzzyinLondon]

Hi All

I'm after a little bit of advice. I've spent the last couple of years rebuilding my system in an attempt to streamline things based on my usage. On the home cinema side of things, I have and Onkyo TX-SR875 hooked up to 4 Monitor Audio BR1s, MA BR Centre and a B&W ASW608 Sub.

I'm happy with the sound quality. I live on the upper floor of a maisonette and I like to keep the neighbours sweet so my speakers never get driven hard (even though I know the BR range is quite power hungry). The Onkyo has over time become a bit overkill for my system but in a good way. I paid £600 for it when I bought it new over 5 years ago and it's still going strong.

There are a couple of things that have started to annoy me though. Although I like the sound quality, the 875 is a beast and is a very tight squeeze in my current AV stand. Also, it doesn't play completely nicely with my Panasonic BDT310. Due to some kind of HDMI handshake issue which neither Onkyo or Panny seemed to be prepared to sort out, I have to manually switch the HDMI Monitor out function on and off when switching to a HDMI input where I want to pass through picture.

I've noticed that a lot of last year's best £450-600 midrange receivers have started dropping to £250-300 to make way for the new upcoming models so the crux of what I'm asking is whether any of these - specifically the Denon AVR 2113, Pioneer VSX 922, Sony STR DN1030, is going to give me comparable performance while giving me the bonus of all the other extra features that you now get that I'd find really useful - HDMI v1.4+3D Passthrough, DLNA, Internet Radio, Apple Airplay, iOS remote apps etc?

Getting the best sound quality out of what I have is still the most important thing but if I can get comparable sound plus all the extra features for not much outlay (I can still get a decent second hand price on the Onkyo as it's in great condition), it's something I might seriously consider.

Sorry for the long post. Hope it makes sense.

 

[Paul.]

I would be curious what your findings are, I have a very similar system

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

I would be curious what your findings are, I have a very similar system

Thanks Paul. I think a few people would be. Hopefully one of the experts can weigh in.

 

[chrisup]

I have an Onkyo 905 driving B&W 685 Theatre but with 610 Sub. I have used with a PS3, Sony 760 Bluray and now use it with a Pansonic DMR BW 720 Bluray / Harddrive / Bluray recorder. The picture and sound quality have improved and I will keep the Onkyo until it dies. I have Nytech CTA252 XD receiver which I bought in 1979 there was a waiting list then and I saved up for a year and I use it with my Rega Planar 3.

When I had a problem I tried my Sony in another HDMI input eg Game but the problem was sorted when tried a different HDMI cable (QED). Maybe trying different cables or inputs might solve the problem,

Best Wishes

Chris

 

[freaknout]

I too have a similar system but no answer!

My 875's display has just given up the ghost and with the advances over the last few years think I will replace. Prob with either the Pioneer 2022 or the LX56. Haven't really decided yet but I did chat to the local expert for advice and he intimated that the LX56 is a better like for like replacement....and also more £££ of course!

 

[Ketan Bharadia]

That group of £450-£600 receivers is good but when it comes to performance I'd be surprised if any of them come close to your Onkyo. If you're looking for a broadly similar performance I think you'll need to look at products in the next price class up. I suspect model from Onkyo/Pioneer/Yamaha etc that used to be around a grand have come down in price too.

 

[Paul.]

I too have a similar system but no answer!

My 875's display has just given up the ghost and with the advances over the last few years think I will replace. Prob with either the Pioneer 2022 or the LX56. Haven't really decided yet but I did chat to the local expert for advice and he intimated that the LX56 is a better like for like replacement....and also more £££ of course!

it is only one resistor that needs replacing to fix the screen, quite an easy job if you are ok with a soldering iron. If you give the mods your adress I will happily post you the part, it was cheaper for me to buy 500 of the things off eBay than it was to buy one from Farnel or RS!

 

[FuzzyinLondon]

That group of £450-£600 receivers is good but when it comes to performance I'd be surprised if any of them come close to your Onkyo. If you're looking for a broadly similar performance I think you'll need to look at products in the next price class up. I suspect model from Onkyo/Pioneer/Yamaha etc that used to be around a grand have come down in price too.

Thanks Ketan and everyone else who's offered advice. I'm glad I decided to hold fire. It's not an essential upgrade and I'll probably think about it again a year from now if finances allow.

 

[Big Chris]

I know it's not gonna help with the rack issue, but would getting a processor be better than a whole new receiver? That way, the dodgy display and handshake issues won't be of any concern, and you may get the extra functionality and features of more recent kit, leaving your 875 to do nothing but amplification?

Probably not gonna be cheap though...... :shifty: