100% HT - Is Onkyo TX-SR805 good enough?
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Bronze Member Username: Hank_hillPost Number: 24 Registered: May-06 | Hey guys, I currently have an Outlaw 1070 A/V receiver and am getting the itch to upgrade mainly for lossless HD audio and HDMI switching support, a decent room correction ability would be a bonus. I chose the Outlaw because at the time I used the system for about 50/50 music/HT use found the Outlaw to be a lot better at music reproduction than the other receivers I tried in the same price range. However now that I have a separate 2-channel system for music I don't need an A/V receiver that's great with music. I see the Onkyo 805 is roughly in the US$700 price range, the only negative issue I've read about is the audio delay of 50ms-70ms (due to the 3 DSP chips that audio passes through) which becomes a practical issue for some games where timing is critical. My speakers are older A/R HO models, sensivity is 95dB(fronts), 94db(center), 92db(rear) and a Paradigm PS1000 sub. So, would I be taking a step backwards in overall sound quality with the Onkyo or does the component quality matter that much in my situation? Oh yeah, the Onkyo 805 retails for $1500 here in Canada, so I figured I would pick one up for $700ish on a trip to the States and if I really didn't like it could unload it on the used market for $500 or more. Thanks, Hank |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 2298 Registered: Feb-04 | Hank, as long as you're sold on Onkyo, then I would step up one notch to the TX-SR 875, mainly for its Silicon Optix Reon chip. Because of that, this receiver has better video processing than most televisions. http://www.hometheatermag.com/receivers/608recfeat/index.html |
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Bronze Member Username: Hank_hillPost Number: 25 Registered: May-06 | John, Well, I'm not completely sold on the Onkyo but it does seem like pretty good value. The TX-SR 875 is $300-$400 more, any idea how good the video processing is on relatively poor SD satellite TV signals? If it really improved those I'd consider it. Thanks, Hank |
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Gold Member Username: John_sColumbus, Ohio US Post Number: 2299 Registered: Feb-04 | Impossible to answer that question, even with knowing what satbox and TV you are using. Almost everyone is disappointed with the quality of SD on their new HD ready display (assuming you are using one). There are several reasons for this and are discussed here: http://www.highdefinitionblog.com/?page_id=5 Obviously you are at the mercy of the satellite receiver's output signal quality and no processer can be expected to clean up an artifact-ridden picture caused by compression and other factors at the signal source. The only thing I can say confidently about the Onkyo is that it will not add any visual signature of its own to any video signal being processed by it. (You can read more in the Home Theater magazine test I linked above.) This may not sound like a big deal, but the fact is that all but the very best displays do exactly that. Two key factors in the Onkyo's video performance test was that it was one if the few to pass the analog 2:2 SD conversion test1 and it was the only one to scale analog from 480i to 1080p with zero artifacts.2 Again, whether this would result in any improvement in your SD picture depends greatly on the satellite system you have and how your TV has been handling the signal produced by it. 1Properly deinterlacing 480i material to 480p before upconversion is essential for a high-quality image from non-movie based SD sources. 2As the word implies, scaling refers to the process of taking a video source of one native resolution and converting it to another. |
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Bronze Member Username: Hank_hillPost Number: 26 Registered: May-06 | John, Thanks for the reply. There was a lot of interesting information at the link you mentioned. My satellite receiver converts SD signals to 720p (or optionally 1080i) over HDMI. There's no configuration option to disable this, the closest you could get is to use the S-Video connection but that would require switching sources on the TV depending on whether the signal is SD or HD (not a solution I'm entertaining). So, I don't think I'd gain greatly from video processing of my satellite signal at least with my current DBS receiver. I've spent a bit of time listening to my HT setup vs. my 2-channel setup (Outlaw RR2150 + Totem Arro speakers) with movies and have come to the conclusion that the next major upgrade will be my HT speakers. Even in a 2.0 setup the Arro's just sound better for dialog and pretty well any non-action scene. The Outlaw 1070 has a 2:1 DVI switch and allows for processing on the 7.1 inputs, so I can add a blu-ray player with internal processing of lossless audio which should tide me over for a while, hopefully  Thanks again for your very informative post. Hank |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 1173 Registered: Feb-07 | Not to get too off topic, but what are your thoughts on the RR2150 Hank? Does it manage to drive the Arros sufficiently? |
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Bronze Member Username: Hank_hillPost Number: 27 Registered: May-06 | David, Generally speaking, I like the RR2150/Arro combination and would purchase the RR2150 again given the same budget ($700ish). I purchased a B-stock model last fall for US$500 when the C$ was about $1.07 US, so including shipping, duties, taxes, etc. and a pair of the Outlaw interconnects in came in under C$700. It is *much* better driving the Arros than a NAD L53 that it replaced. At a little over half-way on the volume dial the SPL is 90-95db from 12 feet way on rock/pop music. I don't listen to music at this level (any more ;)) but it was very clean sounding. Jazz in particular sounds very very good with the RR2150/Arro combo. I also have a pair of patio speakers hooked up as the 'B' speakers, and the 80Hz boost setting works well to give a bit more bass to them. The build quality is good, although many of the buttons and knobs on the front have quite a bit of play in them. Functionally, I would have preferred to have a couple of digital inputs that handled 2 channel LPCM (like the new H/K 3490) as well as composite video switching (I have an old TV with only two inputs on the back...bit of a pain with three sources and the occasional use of a video camera). My only other complaint would be the size of the unit, I would have preferred something along the lines of the Arcam A70/A90 footprint. Hank |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 1176 Registered: Feb-07 | Cool, thanks for the review, Hank. I've been curious about the 2150 for awhile now. If and when I ever get around to setting up a 2 channel system this is on my shortlist. Seems like a pretty flexible unit. |
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Bronze Member Username: Hank_hillPost Number: 28 Registered: May-06 | No problem Dave. BTW, I noticed you have Totem Sttafs, there's a nice review here of the RR2150/Sttaf combo: http://hometheatermag.com/floorloudspeakers/1206totem/ Hank |
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Gold Member Username: DmitchellOttawa, Ontario Canada Post Number: 1177 Registered: Feb-07 | Good read. Thanks Hank! |
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