I noticed that as well when the pictures were first posted on AVS. I think it will be the 5507 and not the 887 as shown on the rear panel. The receiver number designations have changed as well such as the 5007, 3007 and 1007.

So my thoughts are the preproduction pictures were shot before Onkyo decided to change the model number. Thats my guess . Either way the 887/5507 looks to be a killer prepro .

Bill

Well it looks like my 886 is soon to be "obsolete". If Onkyo isn' posting upgrades on their web site for the PRO section now, can you imagine how difficult it will be in the future. To me this is a reason to wait for the 997. Now I can enjoy my 886 until the 997 comes out and wait a year or two, read the reviews, get the bugs out and buy one then. I e-mailed Onkyo for upgrade info over a week ago and still haven't rec'vd an answer. If it were'nt for forums like this I would never have known about the upgrade fix. Product support is worth waiting for.

Actually, Onkyo never posted updates for 885 firmware even when it was in production - they insisted that you take your unit to a service center. It was a massive chore to get the necessary update files to upgrade the units to fix the DTS bitstream bomb. It's not a matter of being obsolete - it's a matter of Onkyo's customer service being pretty bad.

No offense to the 997 but how does one know if there could be possible bugs with it as well that any new A/V processor could have? The 886 will be far from "obsolete" anytime soon IMO. Unfortunately if the 997 is not released soon it could possibly be "obsolete" like the 886 .

Are you talking about the 5507 when you mention waiting a year or two to get the bugs out? The 9.8/885 had its share of issues but the 9.9/886 was much refined with minimal issues. So I expect the 5507 to be hopefully as bug free as possible .

Onkyo is finally entering the 21st century and will be doing FW updates via the web for the new receivers and prepros. So future Onkyo owners will not have to depend on the kindness of a few AVS members to get FW updates .

Bill

What is the "DTS bitstream bomb"? And do you know what the latest firmwear issue is for the 885?

There are certain Blu-ray discs with DTS-HD Master Audio tracks that have a point in the disc where they will produce a frighteningly loud noise. It's unrelated to the audio track (the one I used to test my unit was in a quiet scene in The Fly). This noise became known as the "bitstream bomb" because it only happened when bitstreaming the audio (players that decoded DTS and output PCM didn't have the bug). As for the 885, I'd have to dig into the firmware thread at AVS to recall all the details of its current status.

To be clear, the fix for the "bomb" is not updating the firmware......I think the latest is 1.08 or 1.09. You need to update the DSP code which is more involved. As Gonk said, AVS has an Onkyo Firmware Upgrade thread that has all the info on it's first page. (AVP Requiem - Directors Cut also has the bomb)

Has anyone compared the features of the 997 to the 886? To my eyes, the 886 seems to be at least equal to the 997 and has several things the 997 does not. I don't know enough about the various processors used to be able to compare them, though - like do I care about a Silicon Optix Reon in the 997 vs. whatever's in the 886?

Do we have any compelling reason to wait for the 997 besides brand loyalty? The combo deals being offered are pretty impressive.

Thanks,

-Joe

Both use the Reon.

The 886 is extremely well-equipped from a feature standpoint. It is also a pretty darn nice-sounding piece of gear. Will the 997 sound better? Maybe. To my ear, the 990 (without room correction) compares remarkably well to the 885 (with room correction, albeit in a relatively well-behaved room acoustically). The 997 should retain some of the 990's sonic legacy, but add Trinnov. We have to have a chance to hear Trinnov to know just how good it can actually be, how much difference it might truly make.

My guess? Neither choice is a bad one. I expect to go with the 997 in part because my wife has never been a fan of the Onkyo's user interface or its slow signal acquisition times. Going back to an Outlaw should allow her to say farewell to a component she isn't fond of. I'm also curious to hear Trinnov, though.

I guess the biggest testament to the 886 that I can make (and I suspect that I would for the 997 as well) is that it simply disappears into the background during use - like every such device should.

As to Audyssey versus Trinnov... well I'm not using Audyssey in my 886. While it sounds different with it engaged, I can't say that it sounds better. I will be giving it another shot over the coming weeks. But my biggest problem with it (as implemented on the 886) is that you can't display before and after curves and you cant tweak the "after" - rather any manual calibration must start from scratch.

I'd say that the door is wide open for Outlaw to score a major victory in this category if Trinnov performs up to its advance billing AND they make it more tweaker-friendly than Audyssey is in the 886. I contend that the masses will buy a Trinnov-equipped receiver (972) and be happy to push one button (ie. "calibrate") and be done with it - whereas the enthusiast buys a pre/pro instead - and expects more control over his destiny.

Take the 886 (and Onkyo's failings) as an example. On the video side there is a TREMENDOUS amount of user adjustability and control. It's a calibrator's wet dream - and then some. Whereas on the audio side it's nothing but a bad case of coitus interruptous from a tweaking perspective!

With a name like Outlaw AUDIO, I expect that the Outlaws will get it right.