Although Onkyo PR-SC886 is quite an old device, it still remains competitive in terms of sound quality. Certainly, I haven’t made so many upgrade versions for it as I have for Onkyo PR-SC5507 and newer. It does not have as many channels as the latest receivers and processors do, but many listeners don’t need that anyway. It can be bought at secondary market at a relatively low price, but the result can be really nice. I have only developed two upgrade versions for it.


The difference between these versions lies in the functionality only. In the first version the functionality is the same as in the standard Onkyo PR-SC886, and in the second version it’s curtailed, but the sound is drastically better. To achieve that, multichannel analog circuits should be removed from the analog path circuit. In all other respects the upgraded versions are the same.


What the upgrade includes:

1. Removal of all electrolytic capacitors in the analog signal circuit.
2. Replacement of PCM1796 D-to-A converter microchips by PCM1792 in all channels.
3. Replacement of all operating amplifiers by better quality ones.
4. Replacement of electrolytic capacitors by better quality ones.
5. Upgrade of analog units power supply.
6. Upgrade of CS3318 preamplifier power supply.
7. Elimination of VLSC – a proprietary Onkyo filter, which is actually a nasty thing for the sound.


These improvements are sufficient to make even the deaf man hear the difference.

Author: Timur Sheykhov