If you want to experience cinema-style surround sound in the comfort of your own home, then you're going to need some sort of surround sound system. You can pick up all-in-one systems from as little as AU$500, if you look around. At the top end, you could spend many thousands of dollars.
The Onkyo TX-SR875 sits proudly at around AU$3200, which puts it somewhere in the middle of the market. It's also the big daddy to some of Onkyo's more wallet-friendly machines.
Design and Features
In terms of styling, we really think it's a nice looking kit. But it's enormous, and incredibly heavy. Moving it around is very nearly a two man job. But such heftiness is a sign of good quality, and let's be honest -- you're never likely to want to take it on holiday with you so the weight is unlikely to be bothersome.
The clear advantage of this receiver over most others on the market is its amazing support for the latest audio formats. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio -- used on HD DVD and Blu-ray -- are both supported. This means that as long has you have a high definition disc player that supports HDMI 1.3a, you can get the very best digital sound direct to the Onkyo, with no distortion or loss. Obviously, the more standard DVD sound formats are fully supported too, so you'll be able to get the best out of Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks.
The Onkyo makes the setup procedure a pain-free experience. In the box, you get a microphone that you put at the location where you generally watch TV. A couple of button presses later and the Onkyo generates test tones that are used to set the speakers to the appropriate level. This takes a while, but unless you move your furniture around, you'll probably only have to do it once. You can also tweak the levels by hand with minimal hassle.
The large remote offers many features, including a useful backlight.
The Onkyo provides an on-screen menu system that enables you to set the receiver up and access the other features. This is mirrored on the front panel display, but it's far easier to find your way around by using the on-TV menus than from the front panel.
The remote control is a beast, but it offers every feature you'll ever need. It also has a backlight, which means you can use it easily in total darkness. Video projector owners should find this feature especially handy, as they spend a lot of their time sitting in complete darkness.
Performance
We tested a whole bunch of material, from DVDs like the remastered James Bond movies, to our favourites like Serenity and King Kong. We're pleased to say that we loved the sound the SR875 produced. We were blown away by the powerful bass and fantastic quality and clarity of dialogue. Clear sound is one of the best reasons to buy a surround sound system -- on the SR875, dialogue leaps out at you and you have full control over sound levels so you can tailor the sound to suit your needs.
It's hard to really find anything wrong with the SR875. The price is probably a little too high for casual surround sound enthusiasts, but if that's the case, Onkyo has a whole range of cheaper AV receivers that might be more appropriate, such as the TX-SR605.
We tested the Onkyo with some fairly high-end speakers, and to get the best out of this amazingly powerful system, you'll probably have to spend a few quid on a good speaker system. This will increase the cost of the setup considerably, but the good news is that if you have speakers already, the Onkyo will make the most of them. In addition to the Jamo speakers we tested the SR875 with, we also tried it with some cheaper speakers we happened to have knocking about, and the results were still excellent.
If you are planning to integrate the SR875 into your home theatre, be warned -- it kicks out more heat than some ovens. You should never, ever put anything directly on top of it, unless you like the smell of burning and the risk of your house burning to the ground. The Onkyo needs to be well ventilated, and we'd advise against locking it in cabinet unless you can be sure it'll get enough air.
ConclusionWhatever you want to listen to -- be it movies, TV or even music -- the Onkyo TX-SR875 does a fabulous job at reproducing it. Setup is simple, the machine is attractive to look at -- in a deeply geeky way -- and although it costs three grand, it performs as well as systems costing quite a substantial amount more.
Like this article? Click below to send it to your mobile for free!
love_estimator
30/06/2008, 10:24 PM
rating
10/10
"you are to good to be true..." ... well, y'all know the rest
Pros: everything
Cons: i wont be able to afford it
Report offensive comment
kudoze
03/12/2007, 03:34 PM
rating
10/10
Have been trying to find these for about 4 months now. Just heard them in JB Hi-fi in Melbourne. This is a truly awesome receiver. It uses the REON upscaling chip, which is far better than the faroudja and is in all the high-end blu-ray players currently on the market. It's available in black and silver, however I have been trying to source one from all around Australia, and the black is impossible to get! Stock is very limited. When i asked, there was a waiting list of 35 people for the black in JB Hifi and 15 for Silver. When i get mine i'll be pairing it with my KEF iQ9's and iQ6c speakers, so shud be good!
Pros: Uses the REON chip for upscaling
Amazing sound
Great looks
Can really bring out the sound in all different speakers
good calibration and tweaking
Cons: Can get really hot - i touched one in the shop and almost burnt my hand.
Report offensive comment
boatsmart519
08/11/2007, 10:14 AM
rating
9/10
I was looking @ the latest Yamaha RX-V2700 with Bose Acoustimass15 series 111 but this has given some more to think about
Pros: HDdvd @ blue ray I in tend to have both
Cons: don't realy have any trying to make a choice
Report offensive comment