Does anyone here own the Onkyo PR-SC5530?

[cjtuason]

Hello Audioholics!!! Does anyone here own the Onkyo PR-SC5530? Could you please share your experience with it ? I am looking at getting it but would like to know please how current owners experience is with this pre/pro

 

[Cos]

I am not an Onkyo PR SC5530 owner, but have owned the Integra DHC 80.3 Pre/Pro. Integra is supposed to be an upscale Onkyo, but they are in fact very similar.

I was going to consider this unit before I purchased my Marantz, but a few things turned me off
1. AccuEQ Room Correction vs. Audyssey 32 MultiEQ32 Suite. Audyssey has way more flexibility and control
2. Onkyo reliablity, has a history of HDMI board issues, though I never had a problem with mine
3. HDCP 2.2 is not full bandwidth and will not be able to fully color display 4:4:4 with HDR 4k TV/Projectors
(known as HDMI 2.0A) - but if you are not going to go 4k this is not a big deal.

I am sure it would sound great and the price point is good, but there are better options to consider or wait for in the near future. This is coming from a person who owned and still owns a Integra 30.5 Receiver

 

[cjtuason]

Thanks Cos

 

[cjtuason]

Update.... So I bought the Onkyo PR-SC5530. Came the day it was going to be delivered, I organized a party of three including myself. I was together with two friends who equally love music and films. Bought some drinks and served some food and behold, we went for the unboxing. The package was simple and neat. I actually like it. Once opened, the preamp is really nice, vintage touch, the bulkyness actually added beauty to its sexy form, love it.

So I connected the preamp first to the matching amplifier Onkyo PA MC5501. While my buddies held their drinks, they watched me as I connected the preamp to the amplifier. Then I connected the speakers and the devices to the preamp. All set..... I turned everything on and voila !!!!! ....... The preamp had problems handshaking with my devices. The preamp hunted for HDMI and it couldnt find it !!!! I took out a TV and connected it to my system and everything worked. The darn PA-SC5530 has problems handshaking with my projector. I have a BenQ MH680. It is not much and it is not a pricey projector but it worked on 2 previous Onkyo receivers and a Harman Kardon receiver I had and had no issues whatsoever.

I got a lemon !! The Onkyo technician came to my house 2 days later and took the unit together with my projector to study and fix the preamp.

The thing sounded so good. I have not had the privilege of owning really high end amps or receivers but the matching preamp and amp of Onkyo really sounded good. Totally pleasing to my ears. I just wished they should have done a good job with the HDMI. Shame for top of the line to hickup like that on a projector.

I will update once I have progress or have received the preamp back from Onkyo.

 

[markw]

An Onkyo lemon? I'm shocked I tell you, totally shocked! [sarcasm mode off]

Onkyo is well known for problems, particularly with HDMI boards. I'm surprised they don't put sugar in the box so you can make lemonade.

Seriously, I'm sorry you had to join that club.

 

[cjtuason]

Hi markw. Thanks for your comment. Hope all turns well. Sighs

 

[Cos]

I felt my original reply was completely ignored QQ .

It's too early to tell if is in fact the pre-pro. Based on history though, it is a possibility. If you want to look at an alternative at a simmilar price point I would strongly suggest the Marantz av7702mkII (newest model). At a simmilar pricepoint as the Onkyo, I think the addition of better room correction and reliability would make it a worthy alternative.
1. Make sure the Onkyo is bad first.
2. If you do decide to try the Marantz ensure the model has the mkII after the av7200 to ensure you are not getting the older model.

 

[lsiberian]

I'd suggest getting an AVR with pre-outs instead you can get the same feature set for far cheaper typically. That's what I do.

 

[cjtuason]

Hi Cos and Isiberian. Thanks for your message, appreciate it.

Update on the supposed "lemon" Onkyo PR SC 5530.....

Onkyo came and tested the pre-pro. They also tested the projector. Nothing conclusive so Onkyo brought the pre-pro and the projector with them to their service office. They called me in the following day and their test shows the pre-pro works when they hooked it up to their TV and projector. So I took em all back with me.

Next step, I brought the projector to BenQ. They hooked the projector to other devices and it worked. However when hooked to the Onkyo PR SC 5530, it does not work.

So to isolate which is broken and which works, they hooked another BenQ to the Onkyo Pre-pro and the darn thing worked. It was the BenQ projector that was not working after all.

Will update once I receive my BenQ projector from repair.

 

[cjtuason]

Update....... Just got my projector back and hooked it right away to the Onkyo PR SC 5530..... Voila !!!! Everything worked. No hiccups whatsoever.

It turned out that the projector needed a firmware upgrade. The pre-pro was working fine all along.

I am getting ready to watch Max Max Fury over Atmos. I know the film sucks but it is the Atmos experience I want anyway.

Sorry Onkyo for sharing a bad experience online but it turned out your pre-pro worked just fine, it was my projector that needed the fixing.

Here is one happy Onkyo customer.

 

[KEW]

How did you get Onkyo Tech to make a house call?
Where do you live?

Glad everything turned out alright for you!

 

[cjtuason]

Hi Kurt, I am an Audioholic fan stationed in Dubai. Their service is ok but if you lose receipts and all that, they give a hard time to customers.