How do you check the firmware version on the 886? I looked everywhere in the menus and can't find it....

I got this from a thread at AVS:

Check Your existing Main firmware version:
=> Turn on Your unit, push & hold "Display", press "Standby", release buttons
=> To see additional firmware infos (DSPs etc) press button underneath "Tone" repeatedly ( don't wait to long)

Thank you Gonk - a life saver as always. I can kick myself because I ready that same thread but was trying to check the "loader" version instead of the firmware version - doh!

For anyone who happens to be on a old version of the firmware (e.g. me -- who's on v1.01), to get the new version you can call Onkyo at 800-229-1687. They will email a waiver for you to sign, and once you return that, they will email the firmware loader and data file to you. I plan to do my update today (since I have an Audyssey Pro tech showing up tomorrow) -- and will (hopefully) be posting my success story here in a few hours...

Robert,

I'd be interested in hearing how it went since my unit has 1.01 as well.

What's of more interest to me is some sort of summary of what problems these firmware etc. upgrades are supposed to fix. I don't have the patience to go through the thousands of posts (most of them inane and arcane) on the topic that one can find on a variety of forums - and Onkyo doesn't seem to post much of any help either.

Right now my 886 is running without any problems - however it does have a quirk or two that I'm wondering whether is fixed via these upgrades - or not.

If you have such a summary, or have seen a good one posted, I'd sure appreciate seeing it.

ok - update was successful. Took about 20 minutes, and was very painless. Only hitch is that you need a Windows PC that has a serial port, and serial ports are getting to be a bit rare on new PCs nowadays.

Post-update, my versions are as follows:
* Main 1.04
* HDMI 1.00
* Net 1.00
* XM 1.00
* Sirius 1.00

So that said, it only updated the Main (I was 1.01 before). **** I'd be interested to hear how these FW Version numbers match against the units anyone's receiving from Outlaw.

Sorry Jeff, I dont have a list of what was fixed in the update - nor do I have a before/after comparison of the sound since I just hooked up the 886 yesterday.

I needed to fast-track the update to 1.04 since I have an Audyssey Pro tech coming over tomorrow to install the "Pro" license key and get me calibrated.

Thanks Robert.

Just curious though. Why would you go to the trouble / potential risk of doing the update if you don't know what it fixes?

v1.01 doesn't support Audyssey Pro.

Thanks again Robert.

That's certainly a major difference.

I'd be interested in hearing how the Pro calibration works out. As I've posted elsewhere I've choosen to not use the Audyssey calibration - for a variety of reasons. Chief among them being that it displays no before and after curves - and does not allow you to tweak the "after" (instead forcing you to start from scratch when doing a manual calibration.)

Using directions above I see that I too have Version 1.01. I don't suppose that the upgraded firmware does anything for the loud popping and extended silence when switching listening modes or sources. This popping strikes me as being potentially more than just annoying. Even the muting and sudden resurgence of sound seems to pose a potential risk to speakers.
While I am generally very happy with SC-866 I wish that I had been aware of these issues before I purchased it from the Outlaws. I do love my 7500 amp and my outlaw LFM-1 Plus subwoofer. But these issues with the 886 make me a bit nervous about my purchase.

I also had Version 1.0.1 when I got the 886 from the Outlaws. I called them and they paid for it to go back and get updated to version 1.0.5. Look in the posts for the 886 in November and December. December 2 at 1542 Scott sent out a post which says they will upgrade the firmware. It took about 10 days for the turnaround but I have had no issues with any knid of dropouts.