New! Improved! Whiter whites! Brighter brights! We've heard it all before -- no fewer than 10,000 times. But Onkyo's new TX-SR875 is an A/V receiver that really is new and improved. What's more, the PR guys could even make the whiter-and-brighter claim without being instantly struck by lightning and transported straight to hell. That's because this is one of the first of a new generation of receivers -- others will be arriving on a flood tide later this year -- to incorporate full 1080p processing and graphics/character-generation.
In simple terms, this means you can hook up your shiny new 1080p HDTV set with a single HDMI cable and still get great pictures from all sources, in all resolutions, with onscreen menus and graphics intact. At least, that's the idea.
Of course, the Onkyo TX-SR875 A/V receiver has lots more onboard, including seven-channel power, three-zone multiroom capabilities (with a dedicated set of speaker outputs for one powered remote room), and XM/Sirius satellite-radio and iPod expansion options.
SETUP
The Onkyo boasts not just two, not just three, but four HDMI 1.3a inputs, which will be aces for the HDMI-rich among us. It also retains a full set of S-video jacks (though S-video seems to be going the way of the Elcaset) and, of course, component- and composite-video, so there's no shortage of hookups. The seven amplifier channels can be assigned in numerous ways, including to biamp the front speakers and to power a remote-zone room in stereo. You can even bridge two channel-pairs to supply still more watts to the main-front outputs. (I don't imagine that more than about 11 U.S. buyers will ever actually implement this, but props to Onkyo for incorporating it; I can't remember the last receiver that suported channel-bridging.)
I was content merely to hook up my 6.1-channel speakers in the usual way, and to connect my sources via HDMI or component video, before proceeding to calibration. The Onkyo includes Audyssey Labs' MultEQ XT, a microphone-driven auto-cal/EQ system that's among the most sophisticated available in mass-market gear.
And indeed, it worked quite well. The level results were stellar: within a half-decibel on all channels of what I'd have derived manually (using my handheld meter). The distance results were perfect, and the crossover results reasonable, though the Audyssey system set my main speakers to full-range despite their sub-50-Hz rolloff. (Manually adjusting settings is easy, and the SR875 offers a very flexible range of fully independent crossover frequencies.)
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The Short Form |
| Price $1,699 / us.onkyo.com / 201-785-2650 |
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Snapshot
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| Late-generation HDMI, superb video processing, and outstanding audio complement truly useful features in this top-flight design. |
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Plus
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| • 1080p scaling to HDMI of all video inputs • Excellent 7-channel audio performance • Onscreen displays over HD • 4 full-function HDMI 1.3a inputs • Effective microphone-driven auto-setup |
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Minus
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| • Runs very hot |
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Key Features
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| • THX Ultra2 certified • 7 x 140 watts • 4 HDMI 1.3a (1080p-capable) • Transcodes composite-, component-, and S-video to HDMI; scales/deinterlaces 480i up to 1080p (via HDMI) or 1080i (via component video) • Decodes Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD, DSD from HDMI/bitstream input • FM/AM tuner with 40 presets • XM/Sirius-ready with integrated presets • iPod-expansion via optional dock • IR in/out, 12-volt trigger, RS-232 serial port • 17.1 x 7.6 x 18 in; 51 lb |
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Test Bench
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I got stellar bench results from the TX-SR875. Noise and distortion were state-of-the-art, and frequency response was excellent -- though with an inconsequential rolloff of about 0.5 dB per octave above 10 kHz in all modes. Power results handily exceeded the receiver's ratings in all except 7-channel-simultaneous testing, which came very close (128 wpc). Bridged output measured in excess of 300 watts x 2 into 8 ohms. The receiver got quite hot during prolonged power testing, and the fan (which came on only under severe stress) was a bit noisy -- though with a program playing, users should never hear it. |
The Onkyo doesn't let you review the EQ settings that the Audyssey system dials in, but you can A/B them with EQ-defeat sound. The net change in my listening setup -- which is fairly flat and enjoys decent room acoustics to begin with -- was mostly subtle. For fun, I temporarily replaced my $1,000-plus Snell XA-55cr three-way center-channel speaker with a cheesy, $79 model I have kicking around and recalibrated. The Audyssey 'bot dutifully EQ'd this to a reasonable facsimile of the previous balance (though the qualitative differences remained!). If you wish, you can manually tweak seven-band EQ individually for each channel.
Auto-EQ systems in general are still a bit of a shot in the dark. You can get audibly different results every time you run them (because of small shifts in mike placement or other mysterious factors), and the results aren't always sonic improvements. But as I've encountered it in a half-dozen products (and now the SR875), MultEQ XT -- which averages measurements from multiple mike placements to minimize any such discrepancies and is arguably the most mathematically sophisticated system available in a receiver -- appears to be a superior example of auto EQ.
MUSIC & MOVIES
Since I've a great deal to relate on the video side, space precludes much commentary on the Onkyo's sonic abilities. Suffice it to say, they were without audible flaw: The SR875 produced clean, loud, dynamic, and reliably excellent sound for everything I sent its way. Music tracks, such as Lang Lang playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 on a Telarc SACD recorded live at "The Proms," demonstrated the Onkyo's amplification with a big, big sound that boasted arresting dynamic range -- a sound that remained superbly defined and sweet even at real concert levels. Meanwhile, the opening music of the Denzel Washington action flick Inside Man (I'll watch anything that Spike Lee directs, and enjoy it) includes a super-low drum sound and rich scoring, and the film's more frantic scenes are plenty demanding. Everything was rich, lifelike, and compelling via the Onkyo.
On to video. The big news here is upconversion to 1080p, from HDMI, component-, or S-video inputs. Onkyo employs a new Silicon Optix HQV processor in the SR875, and this worked very well. It will make no silk purses from sows' ears, despite the misconceptions of too many consumers who believe you can magically make HDTV from standard-def. But you do get very watchable images, from all sources, via a single HDMI link to your monitor.
Moving up the food chain, 1080i cable-HD coming in on component video looked outstanding via the SR875's HDMI output, with scaling set to 1080p; so did 720p, when I set my Comcast/Motorola box to deliver this. In general, broadcast/cable HD material looked about as good as I've seen it on my system. Blu-ray Disc 1080p passes through the Onkyo untouched, as it should, and looked spectacular as usual.
The SR875 is one of the first receivers I've encountered that decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD if and when either is detected on incoming HDMI from a compatible Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD player. Unfortunately, my Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray player isn't one, so I can't comment on these workings. Nor can I comment on the SR875's onboard DSD decoding for SACD, since my SACD player is an old model that doesn't bitstream out the DSD format. Too bad -- although I recognize that I'm among the apparently rapidly dwindling number of Americans who care about SACD.
ERGONOMICS
Onkyo's RC-690M remote, supplied with the SR875, is an old-fashioned, displayless, seven-component (plus two extra zones) design. And you know what? It worked just fine. Decent labeling, good illumination, a stubby joystick thingy for cursor control, and logical layout made its learning curve pleasantly gentle.
I found a bunch of other features I really appreciated. The Onkyo's full-HD graphics capability means that "pop-up" displays for things such as volume and listening mode come right up over HD content without disturbing the image. Also among these displays is a nice translucent overlay of XM data; I only wish XM's metadata were more complete. The Onkyo also accepts a Sirius outboard add-on, so you could have both satcasters available. (There's also an optional iPod dock.) As is usual with Onkyos, you can temporarily trim individual channel levels easily through dedicated remote keys, with any changes automatically reverting to the calibrated defaults after a trip through Standby.
Source-switching could be a tad slow, taking up to 6 seconds or so to relock on a new resolution, but this is pretty standard among video-scaling switchers of all types. Another thing: The SR875 runs hot. Real hot. A few hours of idling makes the top cover uncomfortably warm to the touch, and an hour of high-volume multichannel playback raises the mercury still more. So this isn't a receiver well suited to in-cabinet placement unless there's sufficient ventilation, which might best involve a fan of some sort.
BOTTOM LINE
Otherwise, I have very little mud to sling. This is a top-flight A/V receiver capable of kicking out top-flight home theater. And if the Onkyo TX-SR875 proves a harbinger, as I suspect it may, shoppers who waited for the 2008 generation of A/V receiver models with HDMI 1.3a can smile quietly.
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