Yamaha RXV1900 vs Onkyo 876

[radridd]

Down to these two finalist to replace my old Sony DA555ES receiver. Will be used 70/30 Surround/Music, but 2 channel audio is most important to me as far as sound quality.

 

[nibhaz]

Obviously I Am Biased...

Obviously I am biased...but I would say go with the 876. I am pretty darn happy with mine and it can be gotten for under a grand strait to your door.

With that being said, it should really come down to which one has the features that you need and or like.

If you have specific questions, I’ll be more than willing to share.

 

[radridd]

I am leaning that way. J&R has them for $989 with free shipping. Concerned with the heat issue even though I have an open rack, there will only be 3" clearance to the shelf above. I currently bi-amp my 2.5s and would hope the 876 would drive them without the adcom running my subs.

 

[nibhaz]

I'm going step away for awhile to eat dinner, but when I get back I'll check out the specs on your 2.5's to see what kind of load they present to the receiver, and post a more educated reply.

As far as heat goes, I wouldn’t worry. The amp section stays pretty cool, slightly warm at best after heavy use. The reon processor, on the other hand, does get pretty warm after several hours of use, but not enough that I would worry about it.

 

[radridd]

I see the Audioholic store has $400 off the V1900 this week. Now price is not an issue between the two.

Nibhaz,

Specs on the 2.5's are:
3 way -8" subs, 6.5' mid ranges, 1" tweeters
29Hz-25khz
Sensitivity-86db (power hungry!)
Impedance-6ohm nominal, 3.6 minimum
Recommended Power - 35w/ch. minimum, 200w max

 

[nibhaz]

Well my 604’s sensitivity is rated at 90dB, and has nominal impedance of 8ohm, but they do dip down to 3 ohm!

So we’re not exactly looking at an apple to apples comparison in load difficulty. But with that said, the 876 defiantly does not have a problem with driving my speakers to a high SPL for extended periods of time.(Tactile base just from my towers.)

The 876 is rated down to 4 ohms, so I feel pretty comfortable saying that it can handle your 2.5s.

Are your 2.5s crossed over with a powered sub, or are you running them full range?

How important is the video side of things to you? The 876 is extremely flexible in how you use the reon processor to process video, and it’s completely independent for each source that you have.

One thing that I do feel strongly about is the fact that Audyssey MultEQ-XT is superior to the Yamaha YPAO, and Audyssey is a worth while feature.

The free extended warranty and free technical support from the Audioholics does make things interesting

 

[nibhaz]

This quote if from gene:

Most of the lower end Yamaha receivers (below the RX-V2700) are limited to about 1.2Vrms via the analog outputs from what I've found. I've tested many similarly priced Denon's and didn't find this limitation. I put in numerous requests to Yamaha for at least 2Vrms (10kohm) on all their receivers with preamp outs. We shall see if it eventually sticks. It took them about 3 years to listen to me to stop using a fixed 90Hz xover on their receivers and now they offer very flexible bass management options. So anything is possible...

It can be found here.

It's something to consider if you want to get the maximum output from an external amp.

 

[Lordoftherings]

I see the Audioholic store has $400 off the V1900 this week. Now price is not an issue between the two.

Nibhaz,

Specs on the 2.5's are:
3 way -8" subs, 6.5' mid ranges, 1" tweeters
29Hz-25khz
Sensitivity-86db (power hungry!)
Impedance-6ohm nominal, 3.6 minimum
Recommended Power - 35w/ch. minimum, 200w max

Hi,

Very nice price for the 1900, but your speakers have the final word.
They ask you to get the 876 for them, that's what it all come down to.

LOTR

 

[radridd]

Well my 604’s sensitivity is rated at 90dB, and has nominal impedance of 8ohm, but they do dip down to 3 ohm!

So we’re not exactly looking at an apple to apples comparison in load difficulty. But with that said, the 876 defiantly does not have a problem with driving my speakers to a high SPL for extended periods of time.(Tactile base just from my towers.)

The 876 is rated down to 4 ohms, so I feel pretty comfortable saying that it can handle your 2.5s.

Are your 2.5s crossed over with a powered sub, or are you running them full range?

How important is the video side of things to you? The 876 is extremely flexible in how you use the reon processor to process video, and it’s completely independent for each source that you have.

One thing that I do feel strongly about is the fact that Audyssey MultEQ-XT is superior to the Yamaha YPAO, and Audyssey is a worth while feature.

The free extended warranty and free technical support from the Audioholics does make things interesting

My 2.5s are biamped with an Adcom running the subs and the AVR running the mids and highs. Using the passive crossovers built into the speakers.
Video side is not that much of an issue only running two sources HD-DVR and BD player. So upconversion or HDMI switching is not that important to me. But who knows may find these features more important after trying them.
The Audyssey and ease of setup is what sways me toward the onkyo.

 

[nibhaz]

I’m not a proponent of bi-amplification without the use of an active crossover, but when using a 5.1 setup, the 876 does allow you to reassign the two rear surround channels to be used on your front mains in a bi-amplification configuration.

I believe that you’ll find that the amp-section of the 876 is stout enough to handle your 2.5s using just the L/R channels.

If you’re truly interested in Audyssey, then I would say that’s a no brainer, and you should go with the 876.

 

[GlocksRock]

I would go with the 1900, I have the 1800, and my friend has the 1900, which has a few differences. The 1900 has HDMI passthrough, so you can still pass the signal while the receiver is off, and it also allows for you to have video while using pure direct, which is something I wish I had. I've never used an Onkyo receiver, but from the issues I've read about them in the past couple years, I would steer clear of them, and the Yamaha's are pretty bulletproof.

 

[radridd]

I’m not a proponent of bi-amplification without the use of an active crossover, but when using a 5.1 setup, the 876 does allow you to reassign the two rear surround channels to be used on your front mains in a bi-amplification configuration.

I believe that you’ll find that the amp-section of the 876 is stout enough to handle your 2.5s using just the L/R channels.

If you’re truly interested in Audyssey, then I would say that’s a no brainer, and you should go with the 876.

Thats my goal to eliminate my extra amp. Thanks again for your input, its been very helpful.

 

[radridd]

I would go with the 1900, I have the 1800, and my friend has the 1900, which has a few differences. The 1900 has HDMI passthrough, so you can still pass the signal while the receiver is off, and it also allows for you to have video while using pure direct, which is something I wish I had. I've never used an Onkyo receiver, but from the issues I've read about them in the past couple years, I would steer clear of them, and the Yamaha's are pretty bulletproof.

HDMI signal passthrough when the receiver is off is a feature I have been looking for. Everyone has told me this is not possible when the AVR is powered off. Actually been looking for a splitter to solve this issue. I do not care to run the AVR 100% of the time while watching TV. Thanks for the info.

 

[jostenmeat]

Actually been looking for a splitter to solve this issue. I do not care to run the AVR 100% of the time while watching TV. Thanks for the info.

FWIW, you can always do a redundant/extra set of connections from STB to display. Namely, component connections. All this will require in use is one button to press on the remote.

FWIW, if it was me, I'd also get the 876. For full disclosure, I'm an Audyssey fanboy, and am on my second Onkyo. Their current receivers at this model level and up are known to have powerful amp sections as well, especially for the price point in a receiver. I use a refurbed 805 as dedicated pre/pro, and even if its best attribute in terms of value is indeed the amp section, I got it specifically for the Audyssey MultEQ XT, since, obviously, I don't need the amp section.

Good luck. Ain't easy with all the choices!

 

[nibhaz]

I would go with the 1900, I have the 1800, and my friend has the 1900, which has a few differences. The 1900 has HDMI passthrough, so you can still pass the signal while the receiver is off, and it also allows for you to have video while using pure direct, which is something I wish I had. I've never used an Onkyo receiver, but from the issues I've read about them in the past couple years, I would steer clear of them, and the Yamaha's are pretty bulletproof.

The 876 is fully capable of doing HDMI pass-through, and it’s selectable by source. What this means is that you can choose to have the signal from your blue-ray pass through, while at the same time you can have the processor apply noise reduction to material coming from your cable box, if you so choose to set things up this way.

Personally I feel the “problems” that have been reported have been a little over blown. I’m on my second Onkyo and so is my friend. Between the two us we cover a span of 4 different model years, neither of us have any problems. He even has the notorious 805 that you can supposedly cook on, but hasn’t experienced a single issue. I will admit that the VP implementation in the 05 models was not optimal.

 

[nibhaz]

Oh, yhea, the 876 also pass through video when you have the reciver in pure mode.


And I miss read GlocksRock, I don't think the 876 pass through when off!

Sorry

 

[radridd]

I have scanned through both owners manuals and cannot find this feature on either one. Audioholics customer service assures me the Yamaha has this capabilty.

 

[nibhaz]

Tested my 876 and it defiantly does not pass the signal without the unit being on.

If this a really important feature to you and the Audioholics store says the Yammy does it, then I guess you know which one to get

 

[radridd]

Thanks for testing for me. It is an important feature to me but still leaning toward the Onkyo.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Not to throw a stick in your spokes but the Yamaha offerings over the past 2 years just suck and I am a long term Yammy fanboy........

Get something with AS and decent OSD..............