Onkyo Professional PR-SC885 Preamp/Processor (BIG PRICE DROP

The PR-SC885 is a THX Ultra2-certified 7.1-channel A/V processor that delivers state-of-the-art features suitable for any home-theater environment. The connection options offer more than you will probably ever need, but in this price class, Onkyo Pro doesn't want to leave anything to chance.

Highlights include stereo balanced audio inputs as well as eight balanced outputs, which lets you run a 7.1-channel system or 5.1 channels plus bi-amplification for the front L/R speakers. For amplifiers with only unbalanced RCA inputs, the Onkyo Pro includes eight RCA outputs.

On the video side, you get four HDMI 1.3a inputs along with two outputs, one for your main display and the other for an additional display in the room. Only one output can be active at a time, but if you use a plasma or LCD for everyday TV watching and only fire up your projector for movies, the second output is a nice addition.

The Onkyo Pro can decode virtually every flavor of audio codec, including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio via HDMI. Three Texas Instruments 32-bit DSP chips handle the audio processing, and the digital-to-analog conversion is performed by Burr Brown 192kHz/24-bit DACs on all seven channels. The unit also includes Audyssey MultEQ XT, which helps automatically compensate for troublesome room acoustics. The system lets you measure up to eight positions in the room and provides both frequency- and time-domain corrections.

There are three different audio modes for 2-channel playback: Pure Audio, Direct, and Stereo. Pure Audio turns off the front-panel display and all video circuits except the HDMI outputs. It also defeats all audio processing (including bass management) and resets the front left and right channels to full range. Direct mode is virtually the same as Pure Audio, but it leaves the video circuitry on. Finally, Stereo mode drives the front left/right speakers without defeating the subwoofer, which was my preferred mode for listening to 2-channel music.

Video processing is handled by the Reon-VX HQV chip from Silicon Optix, which provides deinterlacing and video scaling to 1080p for all sources, which are sent to the HDMI output. If you have a legacy display that will not accept HDMI, the Onkyo Pro can transcode your composite and S-video sources and send them from the component output, though they are not upconverted in this case.

Catering to the custom-installation market, the PR-SC885 also includes a wide range of integration features, including an Ethernet port, RS-232 port, IR in/out, and three assignable 12-volt triggers with adjustable delays. Not to be left out is Onkyo's RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) system-control protocol, which, according to the company, allows many control functions to be integrated via HDMI between compatible components from Onkyo and many other manufacturers. This is Onkyo's implementation of CEC (Consumer Electronics Control); an addendum to the manual lists Panasonic's EZ Sync and Toshiba's CE-Link as being compatible, but I had no opportunity to test this capability.

Other features include HD Radio, inputs for both XM and Sirius satellite radio, and an optional iPod dock (purchased separately). Strangely missing is any type of network functionality found in other Onkyo products, such as Internet radio, home-network audio via Microsoft's PlaysForSure, or JPEG photo viewing over your network. Also lacking is a USB port for accessing media files on USB storage devices.

Multi-zone functionality is a must in this price class, and the Onkyo Pro doesn't disappoint. Zones 2 and 3 each have their own 2.1-channel audio pre-outs (yep, two main channels and a subwoofer channel for each zone) that connect to external amplifiers. You can also send video (component or composite) to Zone 2.


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Pairing the Onkyo Professional PR-SC885 pre/pro with an Anthem amp like mine runs in the range of $3600, but audio performance alone is worth the price of admission. AVRs that cost upwards of $2000 more than this combo would be hard pressed to deliver the bang for your buck that the Onkyo Pro/Anthem system provides.
But there are a couple of quirks with this pre/pro that must be kept in mind. First, there was a slight audio delay when changing sources—it took a second or two for the audio to sync. This also happened frequently when changing from a stereo 2.0 channel to a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel on the TiVo Series3. A second quirk is that the HDMI signal was a bit slow to establish a handshake with my projector.

When you add these two quirks in with some others mentioned earlier, the PR-SC885 is not perfect in every way. But does something have to be perfect in order to be appreciated? No. This pre/pro receives my highest recommendation, regardless of its minor faults. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I bought one.

Highs
Phenomenal sound quality
Excellent deinterlacing and upscaling
Internal decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
Passes below-black and above-white
Excellent value


Read more at https://www.soundandvision.com/content/onkyo-professional-pr-sc885-preampprocessor-conclusion#wVmVTiCoMYSoPjpz.99Setup & Tests
The Onkyo Pro provides four HDMI inputs, and I put each one to good use by connecting a TiVo Series3, a Toshiba HD-A35 HD DVD player, a Sony PS3, and an Oppo DV-970HD DVD player. I also connected a Microsoft Xbox 360 to one of the three component inputs, which the pre/pro transcoded to HDMI.
The HDMI output does not provide enough power for my PureLink HDMI cable, requiring me to use its external power supply. Other AVRs have had a similar problem, but it is of little consequence since PureLink includes an external power supply with the cable for just such a circumstance. In any event, I doubt it will be a problem with a good HDMI cable under 10 meters in length.

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Having used Audyssey MultEQ calibration in other devices, I didn't hesitate to make this the first priority when starting my critical evaluation. The calibration process can measure up to eight different locations in your room, but I only measured my four available seating locations. To initiate calibration, connect the supplied microphone to the mic input and the setup program automatically runs.

Measuring four positions and calculating the corrections took about 25 minutes. Once completed, I checked the distance calculations, and the measurements were recorded with an accuracy of 0.2 foot. The distance measurements were spot on and no changes were required. The same couldn't be said for the crossover—my front speakers were set to 40Hz, my side surrounds to 120Hz, and my two rear speakers to 150Hz. All of my speakers are THX-certified, so I manually changed the crossovers to 80Hz per THX's recommendation.

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Using a RadioShack SPL meter, the speaker levels were accurate with the exception of the surround speakers, which were a little hot and needed to be turned down by 1dB. Comparing the audio with Audyssey on and off, I preferred it on, which gave the audio a fuller sound with greater depth in the soundstage. If you don't like the results of Audyssey, the Onkyo Pro lets you manually adjust the tone of your speakers with a 15-band graphic equalizer. In addition, you can hire a certified Audyssey Professional Installer, who can perform the MultEQ Pro equalization from a PC laptop running the MultEQ Pro software. To find an installer in your area, check out Audyssey's website.

Unlike many AVRs, HDMI sources can be processed by the HQV chipset. I utilized the 480i output from my Oppo DV-970HD over HDMI and had the Onkyo Pro upconvert the signal to 1080p to see how well the pre/pro did at upconverting interlaced signals from DVD. It was perfect. Whether it was the jaggies tests from the HQV Benchmark DVD or real-world material from chapter 12 of Gladiator, the deinterlacing performance was spectacular.

To see how well it upconverts 1080i signals to 1080p, I used chapter 8 of Mission Impossible: III on HD DVD. The staircase sequence looked nearly perfect, with only a hint of moiré that was barely perceptible. Looking at the TLV-200 pattern from the Avia test DVD, the 6.75MHz circle in the lower-right corner looked as it should, and the pre/pro was not clipping any of the highest frequencies.

Although there is no mention in the manual of this, picture controls are available for the HDMI output. Adjustments can be made to brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, edge enhancement, mosquito noise, random noise, and block noise. To access these controls, hold the Display button on the remote for five seconds, and they appear on the front-panel display of the pre/pro.

I applaud the inclusion of these adjustments, but I do have one criticism. They are global, not input-specific, so if the outputs from three of your source components match but the brightness from the fourth needs a little boost, you have to manually change this every time. With only one HDMI cable going to the display, this would be a great feature in the pursuit of video perfection if the controls could be applied to each input individually.

There were two other flaws in the upconversion. First, it didn't handle 4:3 material correctly. Instead of showing the proper aspect ratio, it applied "stretch-o-vision," which expands the video to fill the full 16:9 screen. Second, when converting standard-definition signals to 720p/1080i/1080p, the color space was incorrect. I can't tell if it's converting Rec. 601 to 709 when it's not supposed to, or it's not doing that conversion when it is supposed to, or what. All I know is, with the processing turned on, the colors look slightly inaccurate when watching upconverted standard-def; when the processing is turned off, the colors look correct. I have spoken with Onkyo regarding this issue, and they are looking into it.