I also bought a 886 from shoponkyo and received a brand new unit. The majority of members over at AVS have also posted the 886s they bought from shoponkyo and A4L were new units in sealed boxes. The 885 I bought from shoponkyo was also a new unit.

I am curious to know if the 886s Outlaw will be selling will be the PR-SC886P or the PR-SC886. The difference is the "P" model (Professional) comes with the rack mount kit. The 885 and 886 I bought from shoponkyo were the non "P" models.

If Outlaw will be selling the non "P" models that might be why the 886 is no longer available on shoponkyo. Maybe shoponkyo has an arrangement with Outlaw to provide the new units they were selling as "refurbs".

Bill

How did you update it yourself? The only firmwear upgrade listed on Onkyo's site is for the TX-SR605, DV-HD805, and TX-SR605 ?
Also, Accessories for less is an authorized dealer for Onkyo. I checked with Onkyo before buying.

and had 1.0 FW installed. I updated it myself to 1.4.

One more question, how did you determine your firmwear issue?

How do you know the unit was "new"? Did it have a 2 year warranty?

This is my first post, so please go easy on me . Could Onkyo want to integrate Trinnov with their products? I, like many of you, have been wondering "why the 886?" and "why the expense?" Anybody know if the 886 has sufficient DSP-power to implement Trinnov in place of Audyssey? If yes, could a firmware upgrade get the Trinnov code in there? Is there any way to get the Trinnov microphone signal into the 886? Maybe HDMI, or multi-channel analog? Please don't hurt me.

Hey, CP1966 - I'm interested to hear that you think the Onkyo's sound is "incredible", but (1) is that compared to the Outlaw 990 and (2) have you used the phono preamp? The 997 interest of a lot of us vinyl lovers would be much higher if it had one.

My personal opinion is that the 886 sounds more "spacious" than the 990. It sounds more alive.

Another thing I noticed is the dynamic range seems larger. When watching "watchmen" there were times that the dialogue was not real loud, than other parts of the movie were quite loud. It was night and day in terms of teh dynamic range.

I also watched parts of Quantum of Solace (Blu Ray) and I noticed the same thing.

I liked the sound of the 990, but I have to say I am very impressed with the 886.

FWIW, I have an Outlaw 7700 amp, Klipsch RF7 main speakers, a Klipsch RFC center and a pair of Klipsch RS7 surrounds, and I was using a PS3 for the DVD player. My sub is a definitive technolgy PF1500 subwoofer.

I have not yet played an LP, so I am not sure how that sounds. I will try it this weekend.

**EDIT**

I just popped in the "Thriller" LP by Michael Jackson. I had to crank the volume way up to get decent volume. And I mean WAY up! I do not recall the 990 having to do this but I rarely listen to albums. I also noticed bleedthru from the FM radio, which is what I was listening to before I set it to the turntable.

If the 886 is anything like the 885 I have, the phono stage is really weak. The 990's is probably superior, although I haven't heard it.

The 886 is not known for its analog SQ. Although the upcoming 5507 (886 replacement) might improve on the weak analog section of the 886. I have had a 805, 885 and now have the 886 with all I have used a 2 CH preamp with HT Bypass for 2 CH analog music listening. I presently have a Parasound 2100 and it is a excellent sounding preamp IMO.

http://www.parasound.com/nc/2100.php

I do not have my old TT hooked up at this time although I was going through my album collection awhile back .

Bill

I just checked the link to the 5507 and if you clik on the picture in the upper left for the rear view to see the connections, look at the bottom right model#. PR-SC887. Hmmm verrry interesting.