Customer Reviews

Onkyo HT-SR800S 7.1 Home Theater Entertainment System (Silver)

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As you can see from a quick search this is almost always reviewed highly and is also highly rated by Consumer Reports. I recently got my own and I wasn't disappointed. The system was easy to set up and a quick browse through the instructions gave me all the info I needed. I have listed the 3 most common complaints about the system below.

1. The HDMI is just a pass through you have to connect the sound to the unit separately (not really that big a deal).

2. The included wire is too thin: this is true you can replace it cheaply with wire bought on Amazon, so its not devastating. I recommend the METRA Ltd S14-100 MTA 14 Gauge Clear Speaker Wire which you can get here for $21.53 and will really improve things.

3. Onkyo doesn't make speaker stands for this system and the speakers only have keyhole style brackets on the back for mounting which can make buying wall brackets difficult.
I'm not positive how to resolve this, B-tech makes some screw in mounts you can put in if you dont mind putting some wholes in the speakers B-TECH BT1 Universal Speaker Bracket for Small Speakers (Pair per box). They also make a wall mount that clamps the side of the speakers if youd prefer not putting holes in your new speakers B-Tech BT77 Speaker brackets Black.
But both of those solutions are kinda expensive (30 per pair for screw in, 70 per pair for the clamps).
I recently bought some universal mounts (Premier Mounts PSPK-5B Universal Speaker Mount for Walls and Ceilings with 2.5-Inch Extensions (Black)) that supposedly work with keyholes so we'll see.

UPDATE: the speakers are great, make sure to use the microphone to calibrate, this is part of the value of the system and makes a big difference in the sound quality.
About the mounts:
The cheap universal mounts, were ok.
They worked fine on the Satellite speakers but there were some design flaws and they don't have the strength to hold up the big front speakers. One of the pieces broke during assembly but as I had 5 and couldn't hang the front speakers with them anyways that wasn't too big of a problem.

I used the 29.99 B-Tech mounts mentioned above (the ones that have to be screwed in) for the front speakers and they worked perfectly. Enjoy!

Pros:Great reciever, great 1080p thruput, good power strong sub-w

Cons:HDMI 1080p thruput only, sub par speakers

HTIB have come along way, usally i would turn my nose to these systems but after looking at the specs and the past performance of ONKYO i felt it wouldnt hurt to try. Easy setup. easy speaker calibration. The speakers on this system does not do this receiver justice. I recommend replacing the cheap speaker wire ASAP to push the sound alot better. The receiver has alot of features and alot of custom sound settings not found in other HTIB what blows me away is that this system is only $450. The HDMI switch in this receiver works seemlessly. Best 1080p passthru I have seen for the price. This system is a diamond in the rough and should demand some attention. After spending some time with the remote its a breeze. Really am impressed with what onkyo is doing as a company.

I just received this system a couple of days ago, and I would agree with the previous reviews. The system was very easy to set up and the performance is fantastic for the price. I found that this was actually a bit more system than I needed for my room. But who ever complains that there home theater is too powerful?? I did replace all of the speaker wire and the sound was noticeably improved. I would definitely recommend this system to any friend looking for a powerful Home Theater with a budget under $500. You can't beat the flexibility for this price.

The only thing I would have changed is the size of the front speakers, I wish they were just a bit smaller and a little less obtrusive (They are about the same size as the receiver). But overall that's not that big of a deal. I am very happy with the system.

Great system. HDMI inputs allow you to hook up both your cable box and DVD player (or PlayStation if you have one). The speakers are solid. The package for the entire system is huge, so be ready to lift up some weight. Easy to setup, lots of features if you are into audio/video connections. In addition, the remote control is universal so you can set up your TV and cable box to it. I now only have 1 remote control for everything, the one that came with this system. I am very happy with it!

After having had this system for a week, I am now utterly impressed with it. Once you get all the speakers calibrated, replace all the speaker wire with some 14 gage, and get your room setup properly you'll find this system blows you away too.

Strait out of the box you will not be impressed. But that will be the case with any sound system. They need to be properly setup.

I HIGHLY suggest replacing the wire with METRA Ltd S14-100 MTA 14 Gauge Clear Speaker Wire. It really does make a world of difference. I was thinking the speakers were not as clear as I would have liked, until I installed the new wire. Now everything is extra crisp and clear.

After doing tons of research, Onkyo was the only one I could find that consistently got great reviews. I can see why!

Update 5/2/2008: I am still exploring the various capabilities of this HTiB, I received an HDMI cable box from COX and enabled the Dolby through the optical output, using the EX mode, the sound became astonishing. If you are using BluRay, it is better to leave it on PCM, but for regular DVDs, Dolby and DTS make an amazing contribution. This receiver is amazing, and still only one drawback, it does not process the audio coming from HDMI cable, it routes it to the TV (why would you want that?) but does not output through the speakers.. For BluRay, you might need a different receiver, but for upscaling DVD players, its wonderful (bear in mind one digital output cable!)

Review:
I have been researching for a decent enough HTiB for almost 6 months now. I had bad experiences with Panasonic, LG, and Yamahas (Not a particular model). They didn't impress me much and I always wanted to be blown away before I see the "Max Volume" on the screen. I was going to buy the HT-SR600 due to ONKYO's reputation but by the time I decided the new SR800 was released. The built-in 230W subwoofer and powerful satellites made me go with the 800 vs 600. However it becomes harder to mess with 7 speakers versus 5. I received the product and I was happy (not as much as I expected after reading the reviews). After testing it for 2 weeks, finally I replaced the wiring with 14AWG speaker wires and audio cables with Fiber Optics (or digital COAX). I had no clue that could make such a difference. I am no longer able to turn the volume all the way up and I see no distortion whatsoever. Endless input/outputs and amazing quality for the price. Highly recommended for people who want to stay below $500 and still be proud of their system.

For the price, you won't find a better htib, but you need to beware of some extremely important limitations that I overlooked. I ended up returning this unit because it lacked one very important feature that was necessary for my new plasma and playstation. The only way to take advantage of the full seven channels is to use one of the digital optical or coaxial audio inputs - you cannot use one of the hdmi inputs. The hdmi inputs will ONLY process video and will not process the audio and play it in 7 channels. You will have to use an additional digital audio cable with the hdmi cable in order to get the full seven channels with video. This is an issue with some players, such as the Playstation. Keep in mind that the PS3 does have both HDMI and optical audio output, but you are out of luck if you want the best audio from the PS3(because it lacks a coaxial output). The best digital audio is achieved from the coaxial and not the optical, or even better is the hdmi. You will achieve the best audio from the unit using hdmi v1.3. Most cable boxes, like my Motorola comcast box will also only have the optical audio out, again unless you have a receiver that can process the hdmi audio as well as the video. So, instead of running multiple cables for each device, I decided to return the unit, spend a couple hundred dollars more for a better receiver and get the hdmi v1.3 inputs, which will process both the audio and video signals. In many cases, this is the only way to use the full seven audio channels. This is the htib if you don't plan on achieving really good audio from your sources without using both hdmi video and audio cables together. The only function of the hdmi on this receiver is to switch just video between two sources, otherwise it is useless because it doesn't process the audio.

Got these speakers at Circuit City for $470. I had the whole system set up in a couple hours and I have minimal HT experience. Push a few buttons and its calibrated. In terms of sound, the subwoofer packs a punch! I agree with the other reviewer about getting better speaker wire, but that goes for most other systems too. Overall the sound is amazing even with the wires provided, system is powerful and incredibly easy to use, good company, no cons so far at all. HDMI is a good feature, but I don't have the equipment to set it up yet. I'm real impressed - I wouldn't go with any other package.

I have had this system for about 9 months now, and I have no real complaints. The sound (with upgraded speaker wire and subwoofer cable) is very good, and the various listening modes are fun to play with, especially when using an iPod. The only drawback is the lack of "audio over HDMI." I will admit, I did not really know what this meant. Here's my take:

It really doesn't matter if you have a standard definition (with or without upconverting capabilities) DVD player. You can output the sound via an optical cable or coaxial and the sound is great. It handles the Dolby digital 5.1 sound very well. I particularly enjoy it with "The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers" and "Star Wars III."

The problem occurs if you have a high definition DVD player (HD DVD or BluRay). Since these can decode "TrueHD" sound, there is more to be heard than what's in the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. However, this sound can only be passed from the DVD player to the receiver by HDMI or multi-channel analog audio. Since this receiver cannot decode audio over the HDMI, the only option is multi-channel analog audio. Most entry level high definition DVD players (at least the ones in the price range of us mere mortals) do not have a multi channel audio output. Thus, with this receiver, you are left with only optical/coaxial output which is still very good, but not "TrueHD."

Other than that, this is a good system. The subwoofer can be maximized for "window rattling" explosions if you want, and it's fairly easy to do. Just make sure you take time to go through the user manual, it helps alot.

First, the price of this system relative to other systems with exact and less features is UNBEATABLE. If you want to pay for the brand, such Bose/Sony for the same performance or less, by all means that is your choice.

Second, the surround sound feature with incredidable bass is just amazing. At first I said to myself that most media does not even emit 7.1 sound but only 5.1, particularly HD cable tv. This system, actually takes a 5.1 sound source and emulates it in 7.1 if you ask it to do so. The receiver gives you 15+ sound choices geared to your liking. If you want to switch the sound to just two speakers with no bass for some subtle quite or if you are watching the Transformers HD DVD and actually want to feel the base going through your body (I kid you not), all can be done in a flick of a button..it's that easy. Hence, flexibility is not even a question.

Yes, the HDMI connection does not carry audio as it 'should' in light of recent technology. But honestly, who cares! The one person on Amazon who left a feedback score of '1' for this system because of this, obviously is way too lazy to do a one time connection of an audio cable, that's all it takes! Use optical cables (the receiver has 2 hdmi and 2 optical) and there is NO loss in sound quality.

One thing people MUST do for ANY sound system is buy 14 gauge speaker wires. If you use the 24 gauge ultra skinny wires that comes with the package, you simply won't experience what I and others are experiencing. The 14 gauge wires are thicker than 24 gauge, hence it carries more voltage to the speakers, which means everything works to it's full potential because it is being powered accordingly. Logically, you know what this means for a surround sound system's overall performance involving 7 speakers. I could admit, that not including 14 guage wires is a negative aspect of this product, but realistically no home audio package provides you optimum speaker cables, which is the reason why there is an industry for speaker cables to begin with. If you can, replace the Subwoofer cable too. As for quality of the cables, do not bother with getting the highest quality simply because 14 guage cables is the same no matter what quality you get as they are the same thickness. Hey you're saving money on the system, use that to get the cables :).

Considering all, and considering I am a techy person, this is by far one of the top purchases I have ever made when it comes to electronics. This system has nothing but the highest user rating in every single website you may research on the net about it. So buy one, and follow the instructions me and others are leaving here. I am sure you will not be disappointed.