onkyo 875, elite 92txh, or Yama 1800

[20Glove]

Hello all.

I saw the last thread comparing almost similar models. I can get the Onkyo for 1125, The 92txh 1121, and the 1800 for 1167.

So these are all GREAT prices... but wondering if anyone has heard any of these.

I am looking for a receiver that will perform BEST for Movies. I have a Denon 3808 and that is what I call my hybrid receiver (Excellent sounding stereo music, great sounding SACD and DVD audio, and ok sound for movies). I run a high end satellite system with the 3808 and have my gaming systems and HD Direct TV hooked up with a SXRD TV.

One of the 3 above I have heard from the salesman and few friends that know a lot about electronics that the 3 above are killer movie sound. I am going to have my Blu ray player, HD DVD player, and a HD Direct TV receiver hooked up to this monster along with my SXRD 1080p Projector. I am looking for PURELY movie and maybe some ok sounding stereo (85% movies/TV and 15% music).

Last thing is I will have enough ventilation due to the fact that it will sit atop my AV stand, it will not be inside but right on top. So running hot is ok.

Let me know.

Thank you!

 

[Nomo]

I'm currently having a tough time between the Pioneer and the Yamaha myself.
The cost on the Pioneer and the Onkyo sound reasonable, But you may want to check this out on the Yamaha:

http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39927

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

...I can get the Onkyo for 1125, The 92txh 1121, and the 1800 for 1167...I am looking for a receiver that will perform BEST for Movies. I have a Denon 3808 (ok sound for movies)...I am looking for PURELY movie and maybe some ok sounding stereo (85% movies/TV and 15% music)...

IMO, they all sound the same for every situation. If you must have more power, then get the Onkyo 875. Otherwise, they will all have very good sound quality for movies, music, and games.

 

[fmw]

You can read my short review of the Pioneer 92. The other contender for me was the Yamaha 1800. The Onkyo wasn't a contender because I was replacing an Onkyo 605 that was an unhappy purchase. I felt the Pioneer and the Yamaha were very comparable for me. The Yamaha has some network connectivity which isn't important to me. The Pioneer has better amplifiers. I had both of them here for a day. I chose the Pioneer for its amplifiers. Good luck.

 

[Seth=L]

The Yamaha RX-V1800 does not have network capability.

The TX-SR875 is the most powerful receiver in that list. Might I ask what speakers you are using? Also, if you aren't using the scaling features of the receiver you don't need to get the Onkyo TX-SR875 as it's only main feature that sets it appart from the TX-SR805 is the scaler. The scaler is near pointless in my opinion. The TX-SR805 has been benchtested and results show it has more output capability than the TX-SR875 (even though the specified ratings for the TX-SR875 are higher). They offer the same connectivity and features other than the scaler, IMO, the TX-SR875 is a waste of money.

As already stated, the TX-SR875 has the most power of those listed, and the TX-SR805 is much less expensive as well as tested to be more powerful than the TX-SR875. To me, it's a no brainer.

All at the same time, I don't think there will be much if any difference in sound unless you have some very hard to drive speakers (low impedance or lack of efficiency). I need the speaker make and model to determine if they could be the cause of the "lack" you are experiencing.

 

[brulaha]

I am looking for a receiver that will perform BEST for Movies. I have a Denon 3808 and that is what I call my hybrid receiver (Excellent sounding stereo music, great sounding SACD and DVD audio, and ok sound for movies).

I don't understand why you would think the Denon would have lesser movie performance than the Yamaha, Onkyo, or Pioneer Elite. Why is it you think this? Outside of amp quality, the major issue that will effect surround performance is digital signal processing and DAC's.

Onkyo and Denon both use (3) 32bit SHARC processors and Burr Brown DAC's - I believe only one of the three SHARC processors is dedicated to DD and DTS processing. I believe another is used for the Audyssey system. I'm not sure what the third is used for.
Pioneer uses a 1 SHARC processor + 48-Bit Freescale DSP (not denoted what type of DAC's, only that they are 192 kHz / 24-Bit).
Yamaha doesn't indicate what type of processor or DAC's they are using.

Based on the information on the Web sites, I'd have to say that the surround processing for the Denon and Onkyo will be very very similar. Onkyo obviously has a leg up on Video processing due to the use of the HQV chip.

I'm not sure which how the Yamaha and Pioneer stack up, but I think they are a step down from the Onkyo and Denon because they don't use Burr Brown DAC's, which is normally denoted if they are. I think they are widely considered to be among the best DAC's out there for receiver grade products.

I think another issue in play is how well the chips are integrated and how good the bass management is. In my experience, Denon's bass management has been above reproach.

As such, that is why I picked the 3808 out of the bunch and do have a biased opinion. I could be wrong and would be very interested to learn more, even if it ends up I didn't make the best choice. However I have not been able to find anyone who has really pinned this issue down for me yet.

 

[weremichael]

...
Yamaha doesn't indicate what type of processor or DAC's they are using.

Based on the information on the Web sites, I'd have to say that the surround processing for the Denon and Onkyo will be very very similar. Onkyo obviously has a leg up on Video processing due to the use of the HQV chip.

I'm not sure which how the Yamaha and Pioneer stack up, but I think they are a step down from the Onkyo and Denon because they don't use Burr Brown DAC's, which is normally denoted if they are. I think they are widely considered to be among the best DAC's out there for receiver grade products.
...

According to Yamaha yamaha-uk.com/pdf/product_bulletins/RX-V1800.pdf they use:

1 Burr-Brown 192kHz/24-bit DACs for front channels
2 Custom made block capacitors (12,000μF)
3 Large, arch-shaped heat sink
4 Two direct signal path speaker relays

 

[brulaha]

According to Yamaha yamaha-uk.com/pdf/product_bulletins/RX-V1800.pdf they use:

1 Burr-Brown 192kHz/24-bit DACs for front channels
2 Custom made block capacitors (12,000μF)
3 Large, arch-shaped heat sink
4 Two direct signal path speaker relays

Cool. I did not know that.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I am looking for a receiver that will perform BEST for Movies.

Emotiva XPA-5 ($700 200 wpc x 5 Ch amp) + Emotiva LMC-2 ($700 pre-pros w/ 4 HDMI-1.3, TrueHD, & DTS-MA) = $1,400.

 

[Gimpy Ric]

Fiddle farting around with $1200-$1500 for a receiver just does not make sense to me. Sure, they are chock full of goodies, but most of those features are trivial IMHO in real world movie watching.

AcuDefTekGuy has it right. So many people seem to buy expensive receivers, and then an external amp. Why? Just get a Preamp/Processor and the Amp, and be done with it.

Just my .02 worth. Sorry, but I've not had much sleep....

 

[bandphan]

in the end it will come down to what you like. I run an elite82 pushing my center and surrounds, as a pre to my mac, and it handles the job very well. i was presently suprised at how well it drives the surrrounds compared to an rxv2400(which the ex has now) The 92 has some upgraded features from the 82, but the amps are still same. Ive been a fan of yama for some time and still love the 995 in the br, going on 9 years know without a complaint, but imo id jump to the next model yama to level the playing field with the other two choices.

 

[B3Nut]

I'm not sure which how the Yamaha and Pioneer stack up, but I think they are a step down from the Onkyo and Denon because they don't use Burr Brown DAC's, which is normally denoted if they are. I think they are widely considered to be among the best DAC's out there for receiver grade products.

Burr-Brown indeed makes good DAC chips, but so do Crystal Semiconductor and whoever else is churning out the things nowadays. I wouldn't worry about it, because modern DAC chips sound the same in proper level-matched double-blind tests. Any differences in sound one believes one hears are the result of mismatched levels and subconscious perceptual biases. Electronic signal paths with flat frequency response, low noise, and distortion levels below the limits of audibility do not and cannot have a "sound" but are for all practical purposes transparent. Nonlinearities in D-A conversion were solved 20 years ago, and any 24-bit 192KHz DAC is going to be perfectly fine unless the chip has a manufacturing defect (in which case it should be caught before it even leaves the fab plant.)

 

[20Glove]

Seth L I took your advice

Seth I took your advice and looked at the TXSR805 from Onkyo and was IMPRESSED!

My audio/electronics store that I deal with is pretty high end the lowest model they have is the Onkyo 805, Denon 2808, Yama 1800, 4300es, and vsx90 elite model. So you get my drift.

They had a pioneer elite 95hd (I think) bluray player hooked up to these receivers with the dolby TrueHD going from Pirates of the Carribean at Worlds End with Sonance THX certified speakers.

It sounded excellent on all receivers that I listened too but sounded OUTSTANDING on the 875 and 805. The Yama was pretty weak in my opinion not pushing the bass even half as much as the Elite or Onkyo's. My salesperson even adjusted some of the settings on the Yama... so it was down to the Onkyo's and the Elite...

The Elite performed awesome and the look of this receiver is fantastic. But overall I believe the Onkyo was more well balanced than the Elite. Plus it came down to price... the 805 sounded outstanding just as good as the 875... but was like $450 less than the 875.

The place had a open box elite vsx92txh which was as low as $790 but the onkyo was $690... and for $100 I figured I needed to pick the one that sounded best. Almost all the specs were the same... but to my ear.. the 805 was truly OUTSTANDING!!

So Seth... thank you so much for letting me know about the 805... and the salesman said the same thing... paying $450 more for the video scaler is not worth it... he told me that standard def programming does not look $450 better... so the 805 is my pick... To my ear anyway!

 

[20Glove]

Sonance Speakers?

Ok, so does anyone know about Sonance Speakers? I loved them at the store and they were THX Ultra 2 Certified.

Pretty good price as well.... So are they something I should be looking at as far as THX certified goes? Let me know.

20Glove

 

[Mark in GA]

I managed to pick up an Onkyo 875 just before Christmas for $1000 delivered. That was a lot of $$$ for me, but was the best price I have ever seen posted on one. I was actuaoly trying to buy a 805. They store managed to sell the last 805 they had before I made up my mind and submitted my order. I was too slow on the draw I guess. Anyway, I managed to talk them down on the next to last 875 they had. I spent more thatn I had planned, but I think I got a great deal and a great A/V receiver for my trouble.

In short I agree with the guys above. The 805 is tough to beat. Unless you can get a screaming deal on an 875 like I did, then the 805 is the way to go.

Later,
Mark in GA

 

[TinyAV]

I just purchased a Pioneer Elite 92thx and got it all set up, including sizing my in wall opening to fit the box. I have not seen this posted anywhere, so I was surprosed to find out that it will not allow video from one source while playing audio from a different source. Having a projector in our entertainment room/bar, this is a must have feature. We often have a game on the screen while music is playing. I phoned pioneer and they eliminated this feature after the 82 per the cust. rep. I went back and looked at other receiver and found that both Denon and Yamaha have this feature. I was already a Yamaha fan and replacing the RX-V795, so I went with Yamaha. It was great switch and I thoroughly enjoy both music and movies.