The energy consumption of an Onkyo TX-SR876 receiver was measured using a Kill-A-Watt power meter. The 876 is one of the higher-end Onkyo THX certified AVR's that were reviewed here. It has an HQV Reon-VX video processor, 3 TI DSP chips, and 7 channels of 140W amplification. Here is a list of the watts consumed in the different standby and idle modes:
standby: 0W (default) standby: 86W (HMDI Power Control on) idle: 120W (4 ohm) idle: 149W (6 ohm)
The Onkyo 876 is Energy Star approved and it consumes less than 1W in its standby (off) state. When the HDMI-CEC Power Control mode is enabled the standby energy usage jumps to 86W which is ridiculous in my opinion. Unfortunately the HDMI Power Control option needs to be enabled for the HDMI TV Control to be active, so you can't have any basic HDMI-CEC controls without wasting a lot of juice all the time. It is best to save the planet, and your wallet, and leave the Onkyo's HDMI control options disabled.
The 876 has an amplifier speaker mode for selecting the either 4 ohm or 6 ohm operation. The 4 ohm option dramatically reduces the amplifier power which was required for UL certification. The difference in idle power consumption is almost 30 watts which makes it a good choice if you happen to have external amplifiers and are using the 876 as a pre-amp/processor.
The TX-SR876 was in an open air rack with good ventilation on all sides and it did not get uncomfortably hot. So the rumors of the Onkyo 876 and 906 having a heat problem are false but I'll have to wait for the summer hot months to know for sure. The 876 did get a bit warm but it was definitely cooler than you would expect from a device consuming 120W at idle.
The Onkyo 2008 lineup has 4 THX certified AVR's and one THX certified processor/preamp. All five Onkyo products have 7.1 analog pre-amp outputs so they can be used with separate external amplifiers. They also all support the internal decoding and the external bit-streaming of the newest Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA codecs used by the Blu-ray format. Below is a list of the base features that they all have in common.
base features
THX certified
7.1 analog inputs
7.1 analog pre-amplifier outputs
3 coax and 3 optical SPDIF digital inputs
1080p upscaling, Deep Color (36bit), xvYCC color support
Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding
Sirius and XM satellite radio
available in black or silver
As you step up through the Onkyo product line higher end features are incrementally added. Other than power, dimensions, and price; the major changes are highlighted below.
TX-SR706
THX Select 2 Plus
Audyssey MultEQ
HDMI v1.3a 4in, 1out
two TI 32-Bit DSP chips
Faroudja DCDi Cinema video processing chip
192 kHz/24-Bit Cirrus Logic DACs
100W x 7 ch
exposed front controls (no flip down panel)
14.8" x 17.1" x 6.9"
27 pounds
5.9A power consumption
MSRP $800, street $500
TX-SR806
THX Ultra 2 Plus
Audyssey MultEQ
HDMI v1.3a 5in, 1out
two TI 32-Bit DSP chips
Faroudja DCDi Cinema video processing chip
192 kHz/24-Bit Cirrus Logic DACs
130W x 7 ch
16.9" x 17.1" x 7.6"
37.5 pounds
7.8A power consumption (idle: 88W for 6ohm and 56W for 4ohm settings)
MSRP $1000, street $600
TX-SR876
THX Ultra 2 Plus
Neural THX
Audyssey MultEQ XT
ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) video calibration
HDMI v1.3a 4in, 2out
HD radio
three TI (Aureus) 32-Bit DSP chips
HQV Reon-VXvideo processing chip
192 kHz/24-Bit Burr-Brown DACs (PCM1796)
140W x 7 ch
switched 110V trigger outlet
18.1" x 17.1" x 7.6"
53.1 pounds
9.5A power consumption
MSRP $1600, street $1000
TX-SR906
THX Ultra 2 Plus
Neural THX
Audyssey MultEQ XT
ISF (Imaging Science Foundation) video calibration
HDMI v1.3a 4in, 2out
HD radio
DLNA audio streaming; Ethernet and USB (AAC, WMA, MP3, WAV, OGG, and FLAC)
three TI (Aureus) 32-Bit DSP chips
HQV Reon-VX video processing chip
192 kHz/24-Bit Burr-Brown DACs (PCM1796)
145W x 7 ch
switched 110V trigger outlet
18.1" x 17.1" x 7.6"
54 pounds
9.8A power consumption (standby 20W, idle 140W)
MSRP $2000, street $1500
PR-SC886P (pre-amp/processor)
identical features of the TX-SR876
except 7.1 XLR pre-amp outputs replace the internal power amplifier
Ethernet for remote control
17.5" x 17.1" x 7.6"
29.3 pounds
1.1A power consumption
MSRP $2050, street $1600
Amplifier power output is what signifies the difference between the THX Select and THX Ultra classes. A 30W - 45W increase only amounts to an additional 1 or 2 dB of headroom which isn't all that significant.
The TX-SR706 and the TX-SR806 both use the same Faroudja video chip which has a "blue dots" problem with 1080p sources that can be fixed by disabling the on screen display (OSD). The Faroudja video chip also has a black clipping problem which is active even when HDMI pass-through mode is enabled. Clipping the black level doesn't let "blacker than black" signals pass through, such as a pluge test pattern, which makes it difficult to properly calibrate the brightness on your video display. So even when in video pass-through mode the Faroudja chip is modifying the video signal. On the the audio side, the analog 7.1 inputs lack ADC's so all digital processing is bypassed, this means that the digital delay, equalization, surround processing, and bass management features are not operational. Channel level control with the 7.1 inputs does work since the gain adjustment is done in the analog domain.
The upgrade from the TX-SR706 to the TX-SR806 adds one HDMI input and a cosmetic flip down panel that hides a number of infrequently used controls and input jacks. Is the extra power and improved looks of the flip down panel worth an exta $100?
The upgrade from the TX-SR806 to the TX-SR876 removes an HDMI input but replaces the Cirrus Logic DACs with Burr-Brown DACs and replaces the Faroudja video processor with one by Reon. The Reon upgrade allows ISF video calibration which is convenient but not that useful if you prefer to do your de-interlacing and video scaling on your flat panel display. Some displays, such as the Pioneer Kuro 9G plasmas, provide higher quality video processing circuitry. In fact, 24 FPS PureCinema film mode doesn't operate with a 1080p source, so Reon processing could even be detrimental in this particular case. Another interesting addition is that the TX-SR876 has an extra TI DSP chip, its use is speculated to be for the extra processing capability needed by the Audyssey MultEQ XT, Dynamic Volume, and Neural THX features. While all these features are nice, except for the potential Reon 1080p Kuro PureCinema problem, the main improvement are the Burr-Brown DACs. It is interesting that last years TX-SR805 had the Burr-Brown DACs. The important question is the improved signal quality of the Burr-Brown DACs worth an extra $400? The upgrade from the TX-SR876 to the TX-SR906 adds DLNA audio streaming over Ethernet or from the USB port. Audio streaming your music collection is a great feature if you have a home network set up but is it worth an extra $500? Or is the modular addition of a streaming Apple TV, Sony PS3, or a Roku box a better value?
The upgrade from the TX-SR876 to the PR-SC886P (pre-amp/processor) is more of a horizontal move than an upgrade. Since it is a pre-amplifer, the internal power amplifiers have been replaced by 8 balanced XLR outputs. The PR-SC886P has an Ethernet port but it lacks the USB port and DLNA capability the TX-SR906 has. The PR-SC886P is made by the Onkyo Pro division which makes it more difficult to find and since it isn't a high volume product it doesn't get the same pressures on price that the mainstream Onkyo products have. While $1600 is a great price for comparable high-end pre-amps, it does seem odd for the removal of features (power amps) to cost an extra $100.
Unless the performance of the Burr-Brown DACs is a significant improvement, the best value is to use a TX-SR706 or a TX-SR806 as a pre-amp/processor. This represents a $1000 - $1200 savings. That way, in a couple years when the newest greatest codec, DSP algorithm, or technological HT feature comes out it will be that much easier and less painful to upgrade.
The energy consumption of an Onkyo TX-SR876 receiver was measured using a Kill-A-Watt power meter. The 876 is one of the higher-end Onkyo THX certified AVR's that were reviewed here. It has an HQV Reon-VX video processor, 3 TI DSP chips, and 7 channels of 140W amplification. Here is a list of the watts consumed in the different standby and idle modes:
