Customer Reviews

Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Got this for a little more than $400. Works great. Easy installation. Many options for a cheap model. I bought the Sony system earlier, about $700 and had to return them. Very happy with the Onkyo. I play my 360 and PS3 on it and the sound is crystal clear and deep bass! Can notice all 7.1 channels! Make sure you use the optical sound. Highly recommended for this price range, probably up to the $600 or even $700.

I did a lot of research before buying this model. I read all the reviews. I even read the reviews that tried to explain HDMI and how it only passes through this unit. I guess I just didn't get it.

I bought the unit for price point, Consumer Reports and others rave reviews of the sound quality, and because I've had great enjoyment of Onkyo stereo receivers in the past.

Only after buying the unit, and reading the manual, and researching for about 3 hours online, did I learn the following:

HDMI wires carry both HD video and sound. But, with the Onkyo 5200, HDMI is strictly pass through. This means the video and sound never stop or do anything inside this box. They pass through to the TV. The TV cannot process sound into 5.1 or 7.1. Supposedly, you can send the HD sound back from the TV to this unit through an optical audio cable. OR, you can simply send the sound part of your HD DVR or Bluray player directly through optical audio cable or audio coaxial cable to this Onkyo 5200 AVR. The HDMI inputs on the back of this unit do not deliver any sound to this unit.

And also realize, that all video only passes through this unit. The same type that comes into the unit must also go out to the TV. For example, if you send component video or composite video to this receiver, you'll need to send component video or composite video from this unit to the TV. Don't think that this unit can receive video signal from 3 or four other boxes that may or may not be sent via HDMI, and then channel it all into one HDMI cable to the TV. And if that is confusing to you, read the manual 3x and research online for a while until you fully understand it.

This is just one of the items that annoys me about home theatre. It is so complicated that you either have to be an audiovisual engineer or learn the hard way how to set one up. This is my first home theatre setup and its been a trip, to say the least. It shouldn't have to be this hard. And even if you hire an expert, or someone from the store to set it up, what do you do when one of the settings gets messed up. I know lots of people who don't even use their home theatre systems anymore because they can't figure out how they even work. That's one of the reasons I'm doing this myself. I want to understand how the system works.

Realize that without HDMI delivered sound, you apparently cannot get 7.1 sound. I may be wrong about this, but apparently, the optical audio cable can only deliver 5.1 sound. So, even though the ONKYO 5200 claims 7.1 sound and gives you all the speakers to produce 7.1 sound, there is no way for this receiver to accept true 7.1 sound because it doesn't accept HDMI sound. Apparently, the 7.1 surround sound is simulated or created inside this receiver using a 5.1 signal, for which, you will need to add an optical audio cable or a coaxial audio cable from whatever is generating the signal sound, i.e. cable box, dvr, or bluray player. So, make sure those units have an optical audio or coaxial audio out.

After solving that problem, realize that if your sofa is up against the back wall of your living room - and I'm guessing this applies to a lot of people, 7.1 sound is impossible to achieve because the back speakers have to be located at least a couple feet behind the sofa. After more intensive research online, I learned there is no point to even attempting a 7.1 setup unless I'm willing to move my sofa at least 1 foot in front of the back wall - something about sound reflection off the back wall from the front speakers, in addition to the lack of necessary distance between the listener and the back speakers. And interestingly enough, all the information I found out about this online came from guys who were unable to move their sofa at least a foot away from the back wall because they were married. See, wives don't like their living rooms being altered too much. It was bad enough when the huge box with this HTIB arrived unexpectedly. No way, the sofa is moving. So fine, I'll just set it up for 5.1 and use the two extra speakers in the dining room for sound coming from speaker B on this receiver unit.

Once I get all the correct cables from Amazon, I will actually turn this unit on and add to this review based on sound. Maybe my star rating will go up once I give it a listen.

I guess for an extra C note, I could have gotten the Onkyo 6200. This next level unit actually does accept the HDMI sound and can then generate true 7.1 sound inside the box to deliver to the speakers. I guess I might have shelled out the extra bucks, if I had known this upfront. OTOH, if this is supposed to be a step up from those flimsy systems that come in very small boxes and cost a couple c-notes less than this system - and the whole point of being in this price range is trying to achieve the most for the least - that extra c note for the 6200 becomes a sticking point. Did consumer reports understand the cabling issue? The true 5.1 and virtual 7.1 sound must be amazing - if you can move your sofa away from the back wall, that is...

Just setting up this thing. It is a breeze. No problem setting up, made for people like me (not a sound connoisseur, but listens to a lot of music and have a need for 1080p on my games, videos).

I will use the multi-room controls a lot.

[...]
The sound is really nice, it has an active bass, and the surround works super nice. Watching Star Wars /LoTR and other movies that use sound effects suddenly give the movies more depth and another dimension. Music is super nice, it really handles both deep and high notes really well.

I have yet to get with all the features on it, and will update this review.
I have connected my PS3, with HDMI, and optical sound.
Working on the xbox, and tv sound out to see which is the better. Thinking xbox with the optical and tv with regular sound as I don't watch too much TV...we'll see.

I programmed the remote to control my TV too, and so no need for tons of remotes. I can also (sort of) control the iPod from the remote.

The only thing I would like, would be an active / up-scaling HDMI instead of pass-through HDMI, it would make the set-up so much easier, but I have a PS3 that gives full 1080p blu ray, and xbox that upscales DVD's so I felt I did not need it. If the ht-s6200 was out when I bought this, I probably would have opted for it (depending on price..it is announced at $599 now), but amazon only made it available for purchase AFTER I got this. the ht-s5200 had some nice features over the ht-s6100 (game settings, and some other effects), and it is $300 cheaper.

Active base is awesome. Makes for a nice effect whenever something explodes on film :-) The late night settings also works.

TIP: Get your cables on Amazon, they cost a fraction of best buy (I mean comparable HDMI cables are $60 at Best buy and $2 on amazon.

So far, you'd be hard pressed to find a better system in this price range...IMO. I am super happy right now.

Update: after using th system for a few months there is one thing that irks me a little. Zone two does not take digital signals. I am not sure why, and I would really like to listen to music from my PS3. It streams from from my media server. Overall I am happy with the system, but are looking at NR-807 as an upgrade.

Bought this for my girlfriends house, her living room is 30 x 20 with cathedral ceilings, the system is very easy to setup but i am an electronics geek, so if you arent you may want to enlist your geeky friend to help you set it up. THE SOUND ON THIS SYSTEM IS ABSOLUTELY SUPERB!!! once you get all the wires strung and the speakers hooked up there is a microphone setup that you MUST run in order to get the maximum effect from the system, it will analyze the acoustics of the room, the distance the speakers are from each other and then optimize the system for YOUR house setup. Just be sure and READ THE DIRECTIONS before you start string wires, this is a complicated system and you should review ALL the instructions before you do anything. I must say that i spent around $1500 on a Pioneer system with 7.1 sound and JBL professional level speakers and this system absolutely blows the Pioneer away!!!! Never thought i would have believed it but its true. It has 4 HDMI hookups, we used a Samsung Blu-Ray player and Sanyo 42" HD TV with the system and it absolutely rocks the walls, just because it costs less than $500 you would think it was maybe inferior BUT NOT TRUE!!! It also has plenty of other hookups for just about anything you want to throw at it, CD, other DVD hookups, Cable/Sat, for your TV sound to come thru this system This is a fantastic buy and if you are considering a Surround Sound System you will definitely be glad you bought this one. A little tip, you can spend a lot of money on HDMI cables, but there is no need to HDMI IS HDMI IS HDMI just go to[...] and order your cables, i used a 25' foot with this system and it is a great value and fantastic quality, just dont try to "staple" the HDMI cable to the wall, you will probably cause interference in you system if you do, you will definitely want to staple all the wiring for you speakers though, i ordered 1000' of 16ga speaker wire for about $100

The delivery guy says to my wife, "Surprise!" I guess I should of told her first. Aside from the fallout from that altercation I can safely say that this sound system is a phenomenal value for what you pay. It took me a little while to set it up, but that was only because I had to rearrange the living room to accommodate for the size of my t.v. and homemade stand. Movies and games from my PS3 sound fantastic. Great bass levels for music as well. If you are looking for a good system that costs less than the name brands like Sony or Samsung, get this system and you wont regret it!!!

This package is worth the money. It's so much more than a normal home theater system, this is what you call "equipment", or "the proper tools". If you purchase this system w/ out noting the dimensions, you are in for a surprise. The speakers came larger than I expected, and they were encased in sweet smelling finished wood... black with grain still visible. Rich sound with complete bass, (the bass isn't just sloppy thunder) and the sub comes with its own effn power cord. Onkyo is the Japanese word for sound.

Great sound, fairly easy set up. I wish I would have read more and learned about HDMI pass-thru before I purchased this. I assumed (my bust) that one HDMI cable from the blu-ray to the system would suffice, little did I know that two additional cables would be needed, ditto for the satellite. Only the video signal passes thru the HDMI on this system, thus the need for the two additional cables for the audio signal.
Like everyone else has said, buy all your cables online at 20% the price of the brick stores.
Good system for the money. The HDMI issue was my error for not doing my research better.

I bought this system based on Amazon.com reviewer recommendations. They were spot on. Sound quality is outstanding. Speaker wires are a little lame, and a bit short for the rear speakers. That is why I didn't rate the system higher. I recommend this system if you are looking for great sound at an affordable price.

I certainly am far from an expert on setting up sound systems and this took me a little longer than expected but finally I got it up and running. I ran bigger gauge speaker wire because the ones that came were too short and thin. The room that I have it in is about 12 x 20 and the sound is great if I crank it up. It does not have as much power as I thought it would have but if you turn it up to 50-55 it will rock the place pretty good. Bass is not bad. I put in the movie the "Incredibles" because it has a great sound track and scared my mother-in-law death (good for a nice chuckle). I haven't used the speaker synchronization yet because the re-modeling project where the system is in is in the last phase. Will try that out next week. I run everything through the 5200 including my comcast cable box and my new Onkyo dvd player. For the money I don't think you can go wrong. Glad I bought it.

I bought this system as a replacement for my 17-year-old Pioneer Surround Sound receiver that finally gave up the ghost around Christmas. I read the reviews and was very comfortable with the HDMI pass-through issue. I'm totally OK with it because I connect my HDMI sources directly to my TV and then just need to run an optical digital cable from the TV audio out to the receiver's optical digital audio input. Order the optical cable online for less than five dollars - don't be surprised on the day you're setting it up and be forced to run to Radio Shack to buy one of their overpriced ones.

I used the supplied color-coded speaker cables for the left, center and right speakers. They're good enough for a short run. I chose to buy longer, 16-gauge ones for all the surround speakers since I'm wall-mounting them on the far corners of the room.

Getting set up took me about an hour, and that's with a fair amount of hookup - Cable STB, TV, VCR, DVD, Blu-ray. The subwoofer is pretty heavy and large; I ended up putting it behind the TV which goes across a corner of the room.

I found the Audyssey EQ setup to be a lot of fun. You put the supplied microphone in each of your listening positions (I chose two couch spots and one side chair), and it goes through a sequence of making quacking, squawking sounds and listening for the frequency and delay through the microphone. It then adjusts automatically so you get a smooth sound. My kids cracked up at the sounds it makes during the calibration.

The manual is better than average. It actually explains the features instead of just naming them. There are lots of hookup diagrams for various situations.
I've had it for about a week, and I haven't found any downsides yet. I haven't yet tried the IPod dock.