Pioneer Elite SC-05 vs. Onkyo TX-SR876

Rocco1

oh dont worry you wont!

NewHTguy

jeahsj wrote: »

This thread has turned into an Onkyo owner feel good thread!

I just received my SC-05 today and hooked it up. I'm not going to brag about how good it is. Don't want to make anyone feel bad. ;-)

That's not crazy talk, that's stupid talk. Hope you figured out how to determine if Hifi Heaven is an authorized dealer.

RutgersFTW

I would've chosen the 05/07 as well. All my experience with D amps finds them, in my subjective listening, to be smooth to a fault but still capable of revealing inner detail. Best of both worlds.

NewHTguy

If I were to buy an AVR today, I would certainly make an effort to try one of the new Pio's. If so many people like their sound, they must be nice. And the mere fact that they stay "cool" is a big plus for me. One of the things that I don't understand is that these are AVR's not preamps. Yet few of the posters ever seem to comment on the video. The close to top of the line (at the time) video processing was one of the features that sold me on the Onk 875. My tastes have changed and now are more two-channel oriented. However, if I were buying a piece of gear for music only, I would be looking at a pre-amp, not an AVR. Similarly, many of the folks on this forum have separate power amps. So I don't see why the classs D would matter. At that point the issue is processing, not power. From an environmental standpoint, however, I hope the Class D amps become standard. They seem to be much more efficient.

Rocco1

NewHTguy wrote: »

If I were to buy an AVR today, I would certainly make an effort to try one of the new Pio's. If so many people like their sound, they must be nice. And the mere fact that they stay "cool" is a big plus for me. One of the things that I don't understand is that these are AVR's not preamps. Yet few of the posters ever seem to comment on the video. The close to top of the line (at the time) video processing was one of the features that sold me on the Onk 875. My tastes have changed and now are more two-channel oriented. However, if I were buying a piece of gear for music only, I would be looking at a pre-amp, not an AVR. Similarly, many of the folks on this forum have separate power amps. So I don't see why the classs D would matter. At that point the issue is processing, not power. From an environmental standpoint, however, I hope the Class D amps become standard. They seem to be much more efficient.

I agree with you we all usaully discuss sound. This is forum is for polk speakers so audio is the main talk. With a lot of doing HT we should speak more on the video processing of our AVRs.

I do find it funny that it seems most of us buy AVRs and almost always end up with seperate amplification, therefore not needing the power from the avr at all. I guess its nice to be able to work up to the amps.

In my case it was cheaper to buy the onk avr 906 that the onk pre 876, which are virtually the same besides the amp in the 906. Which i find quite odd, that something with all the same stuff is more expensive with less options.

NewHTguy

I understand your point about many of the people here being more music oriented because I am one of them. At least these days I am. However, it seems inappropriate to compare products that are designed to process both video and audio based on the audio alone. Don't get me wrong, I don't care how people spend their money. But if we are having a borderline academic discussion about the pluses and minuses of various AVRs, I believe we are compelled to discuss all of the pluses and all of the minuses.

cnh

Rocco1 wrote: »

I agree with you we all usaully discuss sound. This is forum is for polk speakers so audio is the main talk. With a lot of doing HT we should speak more on the video processing of our AVRs.

I do find it funny that it seems most of us buy AVRs and almost always end up with seperate amplification, therefore not needing the power from the avr at all. I guess its nice to be able to work up to the amps.

In my case it was cheaper to buy the onk avr 906 that the onk pre 876, which are virtually the same besides the amp in the 906. Which i find quite odd, that something with all the same stuff is more expensive with less options.

The 906 does have a few features that the 876 doesn't, the most relevant is that it has a toroidal transformer! And some more flexible entry into the Video chip and access to it, etc.

No this is not an Onkyo thread guys. Besides what's wrong with mentioning a few features an Onkyo might have that the Pioneer doesn't. You guys have an entire ICE-Club...so I think we're cool? How's that for a bad pun?

cnh

renowilliams

I was looking into getting an sc-05 or sc-07, but here in Canada, I can't get a 05 for less than 1,700 cnd. I opted to get a pioneer elite of an older vintage ( VSX49TXi) Rocco, you should see the fit and finish on this particular pioneer, it is stunning. I know it doesn't have the ICE amp but I am told it is powerful. I will recieve it tomorrow and will definatley check it out thoroughly.

Rocco1

renowilliams wrote: »

I was looking into getting an sc-05 or sc-07, but here in Canada, I can't get a 05 for less than 1,700 cnd. I opted to get a pioneer elite of an older vintage ( VSX49TXi) Rocco, you should see the fit and finish on this particular pioneer, it is stunning. I know it doesn't have the ICE amp but I am told it is powerful. I will recieve it tomorrow and will definatley check it out thoroughly.

reno,

you should have had one of us send you an sc 05 or 07 from down here we can find them for half the price.

vijayl

Yep Thats tru Rocco. Not sure what r the implecations of import duty tho!!

jeahsj

I've been using my SC-05 for two months now and am amazed at the improvement in sound over my Yamaha and compared to my friend's Onkyo. Anyone, or should I say everyone, that watches a movie at my house raves about the sound. The clarity at high levels is what impresses people most. It's made my subwoofer come alive and drives my speakers to their potential. One thing that matters to me is a receiver's ability to balance highs and lows without adjusting the volume. The SC-05 handles this perfectly as quiet scenes are clear and audible and loud action scenes don't break up or need to be adjusted. It's a perfect balance and the shift from quiet to loud scene, etc, is like being at the movies. Another thing I look for is it's balance of treble and bass. Again, the SC-05 is just right. Unlike other receivers, I don't hear the SC-05 as having more bass than treble or vice versa. To my ear, the SC-05 matches very well with my Polk speakers. I use a DVD and PS3 for blue ray and both sound great. One surprise for me is I never thought I'd use the internet connection, but I've come to appreciate it. Accessing internet radio stations directly from the receiver is a feature I'm beginning to enjoy. I also have a NAS device that supports TwonkyMedia. I didn't plan it this way as I purchased the NAS device 2 years ago, but having the SC-05 access my mp3 files on the drive is an added bonus. Music sounds impressive on the SC-05, but since much of what we listen to are mp3 files, I'm sure we are not using it to its potential.

obieone

jeahsj wrote: »

I've been using my SC-05 for two months now and am amazed at the improvement in sound over my Yamaha and compared to my friend's Onkyo. Anyone, or should I say everyone, that watches a movie at my house raves about the sound. The clarity at high levels is what impresses people most. It's made my subwoofer come alive and drives my speakers to their potential. One thing that matters to me is a receiver's ability to balance highs and lows without adjusting the volume. The SC-05 handles this perfectly as quiet scenes are clear and audible and loud action scenes don't break up or need to be adjusted. It's a perfect balance and the shift from quiet to loud scene, etc, is like being at the movies. Another thing I look for is it's balance of treble and bass. Again, the SC-05 is just right. Unlike other receivers, I don't hear the SC-05 as having more bass than treble or vice versa. To my ear, the SC-05 matches very well with my Polk speakers. I use a DVD and PS3 for blue ray and both sound great. One surprise for me is I never thought I'd use the internet connection, but I've come to appreciate it. Accessing internet radio stations directly from the receiver is a feature I'm beginning to enjoy. I also have a NAS device that supports TwonkyMedia. I didn't plan it this way as I purchased the NAS device 2 years ago, but having the SC-05 access my mp3 files on the drive is an added bonus. Music sounds impressive on the SC-05, but since much of what we listen to are mp3 files, I'm sure we are not using it to its potential.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly! My Denon was more of a laid back sound.
And I know that this term get thrown around alot in this hobby, but, my SC-05, sounds more 'dynamic'. And it does give a better bass presence to my system.

As for the mp3 question, I've discovered that those songs, for whatever reasons, don't send a signal to the preouts, which is how I have by sub hooked up. So, I'm in the process of replacing a majority of them with cd's.