Denon AVR-3808CI or Onkyo TX-SR875 or ?

[ParkerAudio]

Reon chip in the Onkyo 875 really comes in handy if all of your components aren't high end or don't broadcast to 1080p. Like I said before, my cable HD box really sucked until I ran it through the receiver.
The 805 is really good if you don't have any video sources that need cleaned up.

 

[cbraver]

Any amp recommendations to pair with the M&Ks and Onkyo Pro PR-SC885P pre/pro? (other than Emotiva or ID brands)

 

[Davemcc]

(other than Emotiva or ID brands)

I picked up my Rotel RMB-1075 for about $900. It is 120x5 and is one of the high current amps. Some of the Rotels are not suited for low impedance speakers, but the 1075 and 1095 (200x5) are. The 1095 can be had for $1,800 or less, depending on the dealer.
http://www.rotel.com/NA/products/index.htm?cat=18

Anthem is another choice, but I think the Rotel is a better value than Anthems lower level amps. If you could get him to spring for an Anthem Statement P5, he would never need another amp.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Have you ever tried them with bigger amps? ...

...You guys are always so helpful, I really appreciate it.

I tried a Parasound amp briefly, It sounded very nice, but due to my layout I wasn't able to take advantage of the extra power (plus amp was damaged in shipping, had to send it back). So I decided not to purchase another - for now. Again I'm in a tiny low ceilinged place which keeps me relatively close to the speakers. Hence, I'm really not able to comfortably turn them up very loud. It also means when everything is "loud" in my place it doesn't bother my neighbors much.

Jack

 

[cbraver]

I picked up my Rotel RMB-1075 for about $900. It is 120x5 and is one of the high current amps. Some of the Rotels are not suited for low impedance speakers, but the 1075 and 1095 (200x5) are. The 1095 can be had for $1,800 or less, depending on the dealer.
http://www.rotel.com/NA/products/index.htm?cat=18

Anthem is another choice, but I think the Rotel is a better value than Anthems lower level amps. If you could get him to spring for an Anthem Statement P5, he would never need another amp.

That Rotel looks like a great option, the Anthem is a little more than he wants to spend.

Thanks!!

 

[cbraver]

http://www.hqv.com/technology.cfm

This is a great little series of videos produced by HQV that explains how the processor works. It's also a good source of general background knowledge for all things video.

How this is different from Faroudja, I couldn't give you specifics. But my understanding is that Faroudja is an older chip and doesn't do some of the things shown in the video quite as well as the Reon.

Researching it seems the 5308CI uses a Realta chip, not a Faroudja. Is the Onkyo still a better way to go from a video standpoint?

 

[Bluesmoke]

Reon chip in the Onkyo 875 really comes in handy if all of your components aren't high end or don't broadcast to 1080p. Like I said before, my cable HD box really sucked until I ran it through the receiver.
The 805 is really good if you don't have any video sources that need cleaned up.

I agree. For example, if you have a 1080p projector, do you really want your projector scaling 1080i and 720p HD signals from cable boxes?

 

[Davemcc]

Researching it seems the 5308CI uses a Realta chip, not a Faroudja. Is the Onkyo still a better way to go from a video standpoint?

The 5308Ci is $5200. The Onkyo is $1600 (or less) and the Rotel 1095 can be had for $1800 (or less) for a difference of at least $1800.

Is it worth $1800 to marginally improve upscaling on broadcast sources, which are of questionable quality to begin with? I don't think so. Besides, the difference will cover the cost and more of the Denon Blu-Ray player (with Realta) which can process video internally and pass the signal straight through the Onkyo. DVD and Blu-Ray quality should be stunning.

The big issue with broadcast sources is compression artifacts, like mosquito noise and block artifacts, neither of which are handled by either the Denon or Onkyo from what I can see. If your father has complaints about the image of his broadcast sources, there is always the option of adding an external compression artifact reducer like the Algolith Flea. Get the main system hooked up first then see if there are any complaints about broadcast video. If there are, then check out the Flea.

 

[adk highlander]

The big issue with broadcast sources is compression artifacts, like mosquito noise and block artifacts, neither of which are handled by either the Denon or Onkyo from what I can see.

With a firmware update that is included now on all models the REON chip does give control for mosquito noice reduction and macroblocking. The first round of 9.8/885's did not have this ability but a fix does not allow control of the REON chip through the front panel of the processor.

These are the controls:

Picture Mode: Auto/Video/Film
Edge Enhancement: Off/Low/Mid/High
Mosquito NR: Off/Low/Mid/High
Random NR: Off/Low/Mid/High
Block NR: Off/On
Brightness: -20 to +20
Contrast: -20 to +20
Hue: -20 to +20
Saturation: -20 to +20

 

[Davemcc]

With a firmware update that is included now on all models the REON chip does give control for mosquito noice reduction and macroblocking. The first round of 9.8/885's did not have this ability but a fix does not allow control of the REON chip through the front panel of the processor.

These are the controls:

Picture Mode: Auto/Video/Film
Edge Enhancement: Off/Low/Mid/High
Mosquito NR: Off/Low/Mid/High
Random NR: Off/Low/Mid/High
Block NR: Off/On
Brightness: -20 to +20
Contrast: -20 to +20
Hue: -20 to +20
Saturation: -20 to +20

That's good to know. It eliminates any possible need for the Flea which is a $1K piece of equipment by itself. Awesome to see it's features are included in a $1600 pre/pro and is a substantial (IMO) feature that I don't see that the Denon has.