Onkyo PR-SC885 PRO question for owners

[rkolinski]

Hi! I'm considering purchasing one of these and I was wondering if it was absolutely necessary to have it UPGRADED by that one website mentioned in another thread? Does anyone own it as a non upgraded version and how do you like it? As you can see, I already have a separate video processor so I'm more concerned about switching (if there are any problems) and how it sounds. I would have waited for the new preamp from Emotiva (since I own 2 of their amplifiers) but they seem to be taking forever to release their preamp and besides, it doesn't have HD Radio, something I would like to try.

Any thoughts on this and suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I could purchase this preamp for $999 w/free shipping and a 2 year warranty!

Thanks in advance!

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

Hi! I'm considering purchasing one of these and I was wondering if it was absolutely necessary to have it UPGRADED by that one website mentioned in another thread? Does anyone own it as a non upgraded version and how do you like it? As you can see, I already have a separate video processor so I'm more concerned about switching (if there are any problems) and how it sounds. I would have waited for the new preamp from Emotiva (since I own 2 of their amplifiers) but they seem to be taking forever to release their preamp and besides, it doesn't have HD Radio, something I would like to try.

Any thoughts on this and suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I could purchase this preamp for $999 w/free shipping and a 2 year warranty!

Thanks in advance!

I have mine upgraded, am exceedingly pleased with it in the upgraded form, and was the first on this site to do so.

No the unit does not need to be upgraded however in the upgraded form it will without question far exceed the performance of the stock unit.

Rich

[solarrdadd]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

I have mine upgraded, am exceedingly pleased with it in the upgraded form, and was the first on this site to do so.

No the unit does not need to be upgraded however in the upgraded form it will without question far exceed the performance of the stock unit.

Rich

hey rich, i know your all about the upgrades. i'm just curious, how much do the "upgrades" cost and are there different levels of upgrades and what would some of the "before & after's" be on these upgrades. feel free to slap in a link if you have already answered something like this. also fee free to slap in a link to the company that does these updates. perhaps their site has this info on it.

[rkolinski]

Originally Posted by naturephoto1

I have mine upgraded, am exceedingly pleased with it in the upgraded form, and was the first on this site to do so.

No the unit does not need to be upgraded however in the upgraded form it will without question far exceed the performance of the stock unit.

Rich

Thanks for the info Rich and YES, I am aware that someone on here had their unit upgraded by The Upgrade Company! I'm amazed that I didn't see any photos of this preamp in your system. Still, I'm a retired disabled veteran and the VA doesn't make us guys wealthy enough to afford both buying a preamp and upgrading @ the same time. I think when I wrote that company last, they told me it would cost about a grand to do an upgrade. Might consider doing it after the warranty ends though.

Thanks again for the response!

Rich (YES, I have the same 1st name too)

[rkolinski]

BTW Rich, I KNOW from looking @ your pics that you have an AWESOME audio system. That turntable is something to dream about!

Rich

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by solarrdadd

hey rich, i know your all about the upgrades. i'm just curious, how much do the "upgrades" cost and are there different levels of upgrades and what would some of the "before & after's" be on these upgrades. feel free to slap in a link if you have already answered something like this. also fee free to slap in a link to the company that does these updates. perhaps their site has this info on it.

The upgrade is close to $1,000 for the Signature upgrade (there is no other to the best of my knowledge). But, at this point I believe that may not include the latest work which is to replace the fuses with 7 Isoclean Hi End fuses. I think the cost of the fuses is around $39 each for a total of $273 but that is the dealer cost, so David is selling and installing the fuses at his cost. But, check with David Schulte of the Upgrade Company for the latest
pricing.

Here is Dave's website link:

http://www.upgradecompany.com/index.php

The fuses can be put in at another time in the future, but if it can be afforded, my suggestion is to install them at the time of the rest of the upgrade.

It should be understood that David's work on components frequently lies in many of the same areas regardless of the type of component. As a result similar results are found in most everything that he upgrades and when using a number of upgraded products the results are cumulative.

Immediately after the upgrade (and particularly with the Isoclean fuses) there is a most dramatic improvement. But, you will not know just how good the performance will be until many many hundreds of hours of part burn-in. Mine probably has perhaps 1000? hours of playtime and it may have reached the best performance between 800 to 1000 hours.

Though I discussed the comparison over time in my thread about comparison of stock versus upgraded units, a look at Nick's thread will provide you with a better idea of just how good the performance of these units can be after upgrade:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=110816

Rich

[solarrdadd]

As always, thanks Rich!

[naturephoto1]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

Thanks for the info Rich and YES, I am aware that someone on here had their unit upgraded by The Upgrade Company! I'm amazed that I didn't see any photos of this preamp in your system. Still, I'm a retired disabled veteran and the VA doesn't make us guys wealthy enough to afford both buying a preamp and upgrading @ the same time. I think when I wrote that company last, they told me it would cost about a grand to do an upgrade. Might consider doing it after the warranty ends though.

Thanks again for the response!

Rich (YES, I have the same 1st name too)

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the compliment on the Turntable and the analog system. I have been playing down the rest of the Home Theater because of the tight quarters in my listening room/home theater which has resulted in equipment being spread out and also wires running everywhere.

I am closing on a house that we are building and which will have work done on the den to turn it into a listening room/home theater on November 24. We hope to be moving in the 1st to 2nd week of December onward.

There is a separate gallery of 2 photos of the present system in the tight quarters, but I only show the main system in the photos without close-ups. All that will change as things progress in the new house.

Here is the link to those photos:

https://www.blu-ray.com/community/ga...&folderid=2490

Rich

[Shoowsshush]

I live in Sweden but have a US Skype number I use.
How will this work if I sign up for Skype Pro?
I assume it shouldnt affect me calling a swedish landline number then or?

[welwynnick]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

Hi! I'm considering purchasing one of these and I was wondering if it was absolutely necessary to have it UPGRADED by that one website mentioned in another thread? Does anyone own it as a non upgraded version and how do you like it? As you can see, I already have a separate video processor so I'm more concerned about switching (if there are any problems) and how it sounds. I would have waited for the new preamp from Emotiva (since I own 2 of their amplifiers) but they seem to be taking forever to release their preamp and besides, it doesn't have HD Radio, something I would like to try.
Any thoughts on this and suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I could purchase this preamp for $999 w/free shipping and a 2 year warranty!
Thanks in advance!

Can’t believe I missed this thread, as I’ve spent a lot of time with one of those upgraded Onkyos, and been able to compare it with a lot of other equipment to get some perspective on how it fits in to the market.

Is it absolutely necessary? Well, no …. And yes! The stock SC885/6 work well, is convenient to use and priced appropriately to its performance. So it will do its job, and you can use it without any sort of modification. It’s even had some good reviews from some undiscriminating AV reviewers.

The upgraded Onkyo is more expensive, but performs better in all respects, especially in those areas where the stock unit is weak. So how does anyone make a buying decision on that? Well, I think I have some answers.

My view is that although the SC885 is an improvement on the TX-NR905/6, its not a BIG improvement. Given that you need a separate power amp, I think it may difficult to justify the additional cost over just using a receiver. Although the 885 is good value for a processor, in the big scheme of things it may be difficult justifying the value proposition. You could get a better receiver instead, or just use a separate stereo power amp to drive just the front L&R speakers.

So I think the stock processor is in a tricky position in the market. No such problems for the upgraded processor. Firstly, its better value than the stock processor, or any other processor for that matter. Secondly, it’s better than any other processor than I can find, including the Lexicon MC12HD or Denon AVP-A1HD. Therefore unlike the stock unit it comfortably justifies it position in the market - better than anything else I can think of, in fact.

So does that mean that you have buy one? No, of course not, but it means that you shouldn’t necessarily buy a stock one instead. So t my way of thinking, if you’re going to get an SC885, then you should only consider the upgraded SE version. So its “yes” as well as “no”. Does that make sense?

Nick