Customer Reviews

Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(31)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I spent a good 2 weeks looking for a surround sound speaker system for my home theater. I was only looking to spend around $300 and I really wasn't expecting to find anything great at that price. But then I continued to hear wonderful things about Onkyo speakers and I had to try them out.

I purchased them here on Amazon for $280 ($230 + $50 for shipping). The speakers were nicely packed and arrived farily quick. The speakers not only look great but they feel as though they're high quality. No one would ever guess that these speakers cost under $300. Especially when you hear them. They sound amazing.

Movies sound great along with video games, (xbox 360). The speakers let you hear all the action, and the sub-woofer lets you feel every explosion. Onkyo's SKS-HT540's Surround Sound Speaker System is a treat to listen to and you will not be dissapointed with this purchase. A 7.1 speaker package with a 230 watt powered sub-woofer for under $300? That's a great deal!

Only downside, (and I've read this in other reviews about these speakers) is that they don't sound great when listening to music. They don't capture the full sound that tower speakers would. Which makes sense, so if you're going to listen to music with these speakers, you may feel a little dissapointed. If it's just movies and video games... You'll be happy.

I will say this about hooking up surround sound speakers (and this goes for all of them), when you first plug in everything, you have to configure your receiver to get the best possible sound out of your speakers. For instance, treble, bass and speaker size are going to dramatically change the sound of your theater. So, if when you first hear these speakers and you're not satisfied with the sound... You didn't set them up right, because my system sounds incredible once I dialed everything in.

We were wanting to throw together a sort of "auxiliary" home theater for the kids to give them somewhere to go when they didn't want to be under Mom & Dad's elbows (and vice versa!). While certainly we wanted gear that would last and perform well we also had minimal extraneous budget to work with so we feared the available options would be, well, lacking to say the least.

The entire setup includes a Sony Bravia KDL-32L5000 32" LCD, a Sony DVP-NS77H upconverting DVD player, and the kids' PS2 which still enjoys regular use. The Bravia LCD was chosen for its connectivity options and the price I found it for just prior to Christmas at our local Wal-Mart. The DVD player was chosen for its solid reviews, Bravia-Sync capability with Sony flatpanel monitors, as well as price; it was scored in a closeout sale locally.

For sound reproduction for the above display equipment the Sony STR-DH800 A/V receiver was chosen for its on-board surround decoding options and the ability to control itself (obviously), the TV, and the DVD player from a single remote while negating the necessity for buying a third-party universal remote control. Price again was a factor as I had a merchandise credit which had been pending for some time with another online retailer and the price I was able to obtain this particular receiver for after deducting that credit was all but irresistible.

And last but certainly not least the Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 surround sound speaker package was chosen for its 7.1 channel compatibility with 8 separate channels worth of speakers including the active subwoofer, mostly positive reviews online, and finally (our mantra, if you will) price. It was, hands-down, THE best available option, both locally and online, for under $240/shipped brand-spankin'-new. Though not an up-to-date model the expected level of performance compared to the cost far outweighed the fact of this choice not being the "latest and greatest" thing available. The inclusion of the SKS-HT540 for this setup in conjunction with the above supporting gear allowed us to complete our project well under the target budget even after purchasing all the necessary cabling to tie it all together.

First please let me address a couple of items contained within the negative review prominently displayed when you choose the reviews option for this item. That reviewer claims that the speaker cabinets for each of the front three main speakers (front left, center channel, and front right) are a full five inches shallower than the given dimensions as per Onkyo's product description. According to the manufacturer's website each of the large front main speakers have a depth of 7 7/8". My own measurements indicate a depth of 6 1/4" not including the baffle on which the speaker's three separate drivers are mounted or the removable cloth grilles. Including those latter two items gives a measurement of a bit over 7" deep. Each of these three cabinets, while not the same exact dimensions indicated by the manufacturer, remains of an appropriate size for the type of cabinet used with the specific drivers chosen.

The four surround speakers ARE significantly shallower than three front main speakers. However, the surround units use an acoustic suspension alignment (sealed cabinets) as opposed to the bass reflex alignment ("vented" or "ported" cabinets) utilized by the fronts. Combine that with the fact that the drivers in the surround units are both physically smaller (3 1/8th inch mid-woofer Vs. 5" mid-woofer) and numerically smaller (single driver Vs. dual-driver) than the front anyone with half a clue about speaker enclosure design knows this makes perfect sense.

Additionally the remark regarding the back panel of the active subwoofer unit displaying a claim of 130w while the product specifications claiming 230 watts of dynamic amplifier output is comparing apples to oranges.

Upon inspection of my own unit I located a specification on the back panel of the subwoofer indicating operating parameters of 120v A/C current @ 60Hz / 140 watts. This labeling is in compliance with Underwriter's Laboratories' product listing certification. The 140 watts value has nothing to do with unit output power and is indicative of maximum rated power consumption.
Additionally the 230 watt rating given in the product description IS provided as a "dynamic" output power capability. Anyone with half a clue about audio equipment would understand that in reference to amplifier power the terms dynamic, maximum, and peak are generally interchangeable and are values good for nothing more than marketing. These values are normally in no way equal to the "RMS" or "nominal" output wattage which will be a considerably more accurate representation of the actual real-world output levels the end user could expect to enjoy. While the actual RMS wattage ratings are not provided for some reason by Onkyo the 230 watt claim of dynamic power would lead one to believe the RMS figures are more along the lines of somewhere between 100 and 150 watts. This level of power is perfectly adequate for a 10" driver and is a fairly standard power level for active subwoofers anywhere near this pricepoint.

"Whew!"

"Having said all of that - how do the blasted things sound?!?"

For the cost involved they sound absolutely fantastic. Please be aware that I'm fairly discriminatory when it comes to audio gear and the equipment used in our main family room is of a very different flavor (and pricepoint) than the item currently being reviewed. After running the receiver's auto-calibrate feature and then making some further tweaks beyond that I was pleasantly surprised at these Onkyos.

During movie playback effects, dialogue, and soundtrack were faithfully reproduced and located properly. The machine-gun fire beyond Forrest Gump as he is running from the Viet Cong ambush attack was right behind you and the sounds of bullet projectiles ricocheting of off trees is unmistakable. The sounds of things flying apart (cars, military equipment, buildings, etc) during Megatron and Optimus Prime's final fight in The Transformers are enveloping and somewhat frightening! Perhaps unexpected is a better term here. There is an advantage this Onkyo set has over other sets at (or in many cases significantly above) this price point - the surround speakers, all four of them, are a 2-way design (separate mid-woofer and tweeter) rather than incorporating the single full-range driver configuration that is found in the majority of entry-level surround groups and a surprising percentage of higher-end units!

During music playback the lowest registers of mid-bass did admittedly feel a smidge thin. The bass solo in the live cut of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall, Pt2" on their double-disc 'Pulse' set sounded like it wanted larger drivers reverberating its insistence. The drums in "I Don't Care Anymore" by Genesis sounded slightly far away. Otherwise I found the set right on the money from one end of the audible spectrum to the other. The highs from the floating tweeters in the front mains were bright without being strained. Midrange vocals sounded true. The lowest octaves being provided by the 10" sub were accurate and well-blended.

Even with my minor complaints aside at this price I truly do not think there is a better alternative for a true 7.1 system available.

The one possible con is simply this setup's size. It will require a considerable investment in your space's real estate in comparison to other 'compact' surround options. It isn't designed to blend in with your decor like a Bose system and these speakers are substantially larger than the speakers commonly found in an entry-level Home Theater In A Box-type set. Please do review the dimensions provided by the manufacturer and know that they are "mostly" accurate so keep that in mind when making a purchase decision. If you want something easy to tuck away in a corner or hide in a bookcase this Onkyo set is not for you. If you do not mind the necessary space sacrifice and having a 'compact' surround sound set that will still, without a doubt, get noticed, then please give these some consideration for your budget surround needs.

Review Edit/Add-On: Further Impressions...

After living with the Onkyo SKS-HT540 for a bit now and having had the opportunity to really get the receiver driving them tweaked to what I believe is the best possible setting(s) in place for various modes I'm further impressed by this speaker set.

In my haste to get all this gear set up for the kids so I could get them out of our hair, so to speak, I ran the auto-calibrate in the receiver and made further EQ tweaks to enhance the settings put in place by the auto-processing. I did not, however, delve all that deeply into ALL of the available settings. After digging a bit further into the receiver's menu structure I located some additional adjustments that needed, well, adjusting. After the necessary tweaks were made these Onkyos sound that much better to us all and seriously has the wife questioning the wisdom in having spent as much as we have on our main family home theater!

A couple of observations - first is the fact that the surrounds on the mid-woofer drivers for the front main and center channel speakers are rubber rather than pressed foam as will be found in most "All-In-One" surround speaker packages in this price-range. This should offer both increased longevity of the speakers overall as well as give the speakers themselves enhanced control over driver excursion when being pushed to extreme volumes if that happens to be your thing. I do not have a peak-to-peak excursion measurement available but simply watching the speakers move with the naked eye would lead one to believe that woofer travel is actually noteworthy for drivers of this size. The amount of air being moved through the rear-firing port would further fuel that opinion.

The second observation brings along with it a word of caution to prospective buyers - these speakers are not particularly efficient. The specs provided by Onkyo indicate a speaker sensitivity for the three front (left/right/center) channel speakers and the four surround speakers to be 86dB and 82dB, respectively. What this means, for those of you whom I am speaking Greek to now, is that these speakers, while rated at 130w maximum input wattage simply will not perform at optimal levels on lower-powered sources. The receiver we're driving these Onkyos with, as mentioned previously, is a Sony STR-DH800 which is rated at 100w per output channel and this rating is given at full bandwidth output from 20Hz to 20kHz. Be mindful of receivers whose output ratings are given as "XXX watts worth of output @ 1kHz" or some other specific frequency rather than the entire range of average human hearing. Receivers rated in this fashion are (generally) not going to offer the same level of output across the entire range of audible frequencies as it does for the specific frequency used for the rating to begin with.

You'll also want to ensure that the wattage output per channel falls somewhere in the upper third of the input rating for these speakers.

All in all? My opinion that these Onkyos are a fantastic buy at under $250/shipped has not been dulled whatsoever after using them for awhile - pick these up if your living space allows for these to be included as a part!

I've had the SKS-HT540 speakers for about a week and am using them paired with an Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver to play movies from a Phillips DVP 5960 upscaling DVD player via HDMI and music from an older Sony 5 disc changer with stereo outputs as well as for video-gaming on an Xbox 360 via the optical output.

The box these come in is gigantic, and you would think it's a small refrigerator, but that's good packing for shipping as they arrived completely undamaged. The size and wattage are the same as Onkyo represents them; the guy that claims the fronts are smaller than listed is way off base. The speaker wire that comes with them is crap as is to be expected (buy your own 16 AWG and you'll be fine); even the most expensive set ups don't come with nice wire, and most don't come with any wire so put a plus in the Onkyo box.

I'm currently only using the front three speakers as well as one of the surrounds and the subwoofer, because I have a pair of 5" driver bookshelf speakers that are better voice matched as surrounds for 5.1 sound with the front three, I put the surround speaker in there as a 6th channel for 6.1. I'll say the surrounds are substantially weaker than the front three (my AVR set its cutoff at 120Hz vs. 80Hz for the front three and the sound that comes from it is noticeably thinner than the fronts and my other surrounds; this is reasonable since it's a 3 1/8" driver and .75 tweeter, and its sound would likely be less noticeable mixed in with the other four of its kind). The one other negative I can cite for the subwoofer is that it doesn't have a phase switch so if you find you're having trouble with resonance, you're going to have to place it differently.

Those negatives aside, this speaker set is so much better than its price would indicate (I got it refurbished for $219 elsewhere online). The subwoofer puts out surprisingly tight bass and powerful LFE effects for movies. The front three speakers and subwoofer alone would be worth the money paid so the additional surrounds are bonuses in my mind. Movies are fantastic, surround imaging transitions are very smooth, highs and lows are equally well handled, and the subwoofer has more power than I can use in an apartment. I can feel the bass vibrating the furniture and occasionally creating a slight breeze in its direct line. My movie collection has come alive and I've started hunting down well mixed 5.1 sound tracks to audition (Master and Commander and Saving Private Ryan are great; The Indiana Jones Trilogy is nice; the X-Men movies are starting to seem better even with the weak writing of the last one).

I had assumed that movies would be well handled, but that I would be sorely disappointed with music through these. I couldn't be more wrong. Varying back and forth between Prologic modes, direct handling, and stereo that allots below cutoff bass to the subwoofer I've been extraordinarily pleased with the sound on my favorite jazz (Coltrane's Blue Train; Miles Davis Kinda Blue; Getz & Gilberto; and some Woody Herman) bluegrass (Rounder Record's 25th anniversary 2 disc) and other variously chosen others that I hoped would tax the system and show its flaws (Dire Straits; Jethro Tull; Cyprus Hill; Grieg's Peer Gynt; Ray Charles the Atlantic Years). I've been playing these at half volume (for reference, I play movies and TV below half and my wife gets miffed), and it's like I'm in the studio or venue with the musicians. I've heard key chatter on the saxophones, Stan Getz's breathiness on his tracks, Joao Gilberto's voice wavering at the deep registers... the detail is phenomenal to me (granted I'd never label myself an audiophile). I'm discovering layers of information I'd never known was there in my CDs. The sound is warm and oddly sweet to my ears. I haven't found a passage or instrument that can make the front three stumble and I've tried hard. They do a very nice job at reproducing dialogue in movies and male voices as well (a weak spot for many smaller satellite packages with small drivers).

In short...

Pros
-Excellent front three and subwoofer
-Excellent music and movie reproduction (from these speakers)
-Excellent dialogue reproduction (even male voices)
-They look kind of pretty and are great in proportion to a 46" screen (I'll try and post a pic)
-Surprisingly tight and powerful bass from the sub for its price
-Astonishing price for all of this together (turnkey 7.1 ain't cheap anywhere)

Cons:
-Weak surrounds comparatively, but still as good or better than many other satellite systems
-Thin wire included (but many don't even include wire so not much of a con)
-Sub has no phasing switch

In total, I couldn't be more pleased or feel I got better value for my money. If you're looking for inexpensive entry into a 7.1 system as I was, you can't go wrong with this.

These are absolutely the best speakers for the price. Everything comes packed in a rather big and heavy(72lbs) box. The speakers are well packed in this big box. The build quality and finish is excellent. Especially, the subwoofer is huge and sounds sweet, it turns on and off automatically. I am surprised that they included such a big subwoofer at this price. I hooked these speakers to Sony-STR-DG800 receiver. All the speakers have spring clips(cheap) to connect the speaker wire. Speaking of the speaker wire, the supplied speaker wire is also cheap. And for the price I paid, I absolutely don't have any complaints about that. All the surround speakers are wall mountable. The bottom line, I am very satisfied with these speakers and recommend to anyone not very particular about the size.

Once you realize, Home-Theatres-In-A-Box (HTIBs) just won't do because their sound quality is mediocre at best, you realize that separate speakers and AV receivers run the gamut from reasonably expensive to unbelievable. And buying 7 speakers and a subwoofer can quickly cost you over $2000 dollars. When I was looking at putting together a home theatre system, I wanted an AV receiver with future compatibility that was also fully featured (I settled on the Onkyo TX-SR605). For speakers, I wanted reasonably priced quality. Despite the fact that these speakers were originally part of a HTIB they are of surprisingly good quality for the price.

The Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 speakers are neither stylish nor ugly. They are functional looking with black wood grain cabinets and removable covers. I like their looks because they are classic and not flashy. I wanted quality over looks. When it comes to low-to-medium priced speakers, stylish looks usually mean a drop in performance and sound quality. These speakers don't try to look trendy, they just produce great sound. If you're going for styling in your speakers to match your decor, look elsewhere.

Another feature of the Onkyo SKS-HT540 speakers is that they are large. And I mean large. These would not be too small to be used in a huge great room. I have them in a cramped little apartment, but I love them anyway. You need large speakers to produce fuller, deeper sound and these have no trouble doing that.

The speakers are well made in that they have wood cabinets. Read up about materials and you'll learn this is great; most HTIBs and speakers at this price are usually made with plastic cabinets. The Onkyo SKS-HT540 use spring clips as connecters, which don't give the best possible sound, but few speakers in this price range offer banana clips.

Overall, the Onkyo's give surprisingly clear, deep, and rich sound for the price. These are very affordable speakers that give great sound. Sure there are speakers that give better sound, but they will cost you over a $1000. These speakers are the best quality sound you can get for the price. (And Cnet agrees. Check out their review.) They are powerful and the sound they produce is realistic and varied.

I use my 7.1 system to play video games on my XBox 360, PS3, and PC gaming system. This is where these speakers really shine. Few DVDs or Blu-Ray discs take advantage of 7.1 yet, but many games do. Guns and explosions sound insane! on these speakers. I mean it. The subwoofer is huge and provides plenty of sound for a room of up to 800 sq feet. I've heard musical instruments I didn't even know were there in my music while listening on these speakers. I'm an audiophile and I'll admit there are much better speakers out there, but not for anything near this price. So if you want an affordable surround sound system these speakers are it. Get them now.

Oh and the included subwoofer cable is kind of short (8ft). I bought an extension for about $5. Very worth it.

i carefully read reviews and researched these speakers before buying and im NOT disappointed. i was looking to replace a 7.1 setup from Denon that had small stylish satellie speakers. well, the sound matched the speakers -- SMALL! yes, these Onkyos are a little larger than most common surround sets. but big sound resonates best from bigger speaker cabinets. if the Bose concept is so great, why dont movie theaters and rock concerts use tiny little speakers?? bottom line -- because you cant get the same big sound and resonance from tiny speakers. sound is based on vibration, and bigger speakers give bigger sound vibration. these Onkyos have full rich sound with deep bass and great highs as well. a lot of speakers can handle mid-range and bass fine, but fall by the side when it comes to higher registers. i often listen to Native American music with flutes and rich high tones. these Onkyos reproduce the full spectrum of these elegant flutes in full detail. and the price cant be beat. you wont be disappointed!!!

An amazing deal, they sound great, if a little large in size.. but I think that might be part of the reason they sound so nice, the larger size.

Best deal in America for a 7.1 set of speakers that can handle serious power. Hooked up to a Yamaha RX-V661 7.1-Channel Digital Home Theater Receiver Very nice combo, and both great values for the $$.

I took one of the 3 main speakers apart today to see the drivers and how it was put together. I took some pics and uploaded them to show people what's under the plastic. They seem to be very well put together, and the speakers look pretty beefy.

On another note, I do not agree with one of the earlier reviews that state these do not sound good with music.. they sound amazing with all kinds of music. Now my receiver has a plethora of functions and adjustments that allow me to fine tune the sound that comes out of them, but the way I have them adjusted, the speakers sound great with music, movies, TV shows, etc..

--- Ok, an update. November 30, 2011---
I've been using these for over four years and they still sound great. I always thought about upgrading, but found other things to do with my $$ as I'm satisfied with these speakers. I can't believe they are still available, and about $100 less!

I ended up plugging the port in the center channel with a tightly rolled up sock for 'clearer' midrange.. after a lot of experimenting with crossover points and receiver settings, that worked best for me. In the receiver settings I usually set the crossover to 60hz, 80hz sounds a little more 'boomy'. Lately I've set the center channel to 'small' and the front L and R speakers to 'large'.. remember about blocking the port in the center channel speaker. I set 'bass out' to 'both' (sub and front L&R). I get a nice smooth transition from speakers to sub that way. I ran the Yamaha YPAO after blocking the port though, it makes a difference.

For the subwoofer I noticed that at extreme volume I could hear what at first I thought was the woofer maxing out and distorting, but it wasn't. I cranked up some loud rap music and did some close-up investigation. This noise I was hearing was something on the front mesh part of the cabinate vibrating loudly.

What I did to stop this was to tie two doubled-up sturdy, but thin nylon ropes around the cabinate as tight as I could, then I got some small (about 2 inches) pieces of wood and wedged them between the rear of the cabinate and the rope. I pushed them from the center out to the sides to create tension on the ropes. The effect was something like a tourniquet that tightened the plastic/mesh cover down onto the speaker cabinate with a great deal of force to stop whatever was vibrating. I can't see the subwoofer in my setup -it's behind a chair, but if I could, I'd just find some black nylon rope/twine. You could just pry the mesh cover off completely, but it wouldn't be pretty.

After fixing the sub, I ended up turning up the sub level quite a bit on the receiver during movies and whatnot. It fills out the bottom end nicely. It took a while to figure out that wasn't the limit of the subwoofer, but the limit of the cabinate I was hearing before. Fixing the vibration just gave me a little more volume to play with, as it only happened when it was about 90% of it's capability anyway. Still, the sub sounds a lot better during those crazy explosions in movies that catch you off guard and make you think your entire home theater might blow up.

I've abused these speakers at times, as well as my trusty old Yammy, but they are both still performing flawlessly.

I also thought about upgrading the subwoofer, or buying another identical one to add to the system at some point, but I never got around to it because really, this one works quite well on it's own when tweaked a little.

In general, I've been very happy with the Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Surround Speaker System. I selected them out of sheer laziness to match the Onkyo receiver that I bought around the same time, expecting them to be best matched to Onkyo equipment. I primarily use the equipment in a home theater, which doubles as a part-time family room for watching TV.

For clarity of sound, I have never owned better speakers. Unlike with my older Infinity speakers, I can hear each and every sound and understand what people are saying even at low volume levels. My only complaint is that the bass response seems to be a bit weaker than I would expect. The subwoofer doesn't produce quite the power I anticipated without adjusting it to a high level. I have found that part of the problem is that the subwoofer is on pile carpeting, which seems to have a pronounced deadening effect. Placing the subwoofer on a hard, but vibration-resistant material helps a lot. The front speakers also don't have quite the punch in the bass range that I was expecting. Again, part of the problem may be setup. Although I tried to mount the speakers in the optimal location, the bottom two inches are obscured by surrounding equipment (from the perspective of the listener). Adjusting the equalizer to enhance bass ranges seems to mostly eliminate the problem.

All in all, I think this speaker set was a really good value for the money, and despite the minor complaints I have, I would repeat the purchase without a second thought.

Superior quality. Run the Audssey (if your amp has it) for superb sound. If you do not then set your crossover for 80Hz (the THX standard) and manually listen to the volumes (with your eyes closed) to set speaker levels.

It is true that the front surrounds do not have the keyhole mounting brackets like the surrounds and rear surrounds so I bought a $2.38 pair of heavy duty "D" brakets, drilled micro pilot holes, installed my own brackets, and hung them.

I have a $3,000 sound system thru the house (except the computer room where these serve as computer speakers with an Onkyo TX-NR609 7.2 amp and a Yamaha YST-SW315 woofer as the 2nd woofer (all bought thru Amazon)) and they sound equivilant to the $3000.00 system (maybe the bass is actually better). When you have a powerful computer with HD graphics and 7.2 sound what do you do for speakers? Seems a shame to buy anything less than a full surround sound for it!

5 stars

Let's be honest with ourselves, what do we really expect from a speaker in the box system at this prices point? Something that looks adequate has a bit of base, and the clarity to fill the void. Well this Onkyo 7.1 speaker system does all that with a punch.

I've been a fan of Onkyo for many many years and still own my original surround sound receiver purchased in 1987. The unit went to college with me, was set up in a business for 12 years running all day every day, and for the last 8 years set up as a primary source in our new home. Thru this time we've had zero issues. We are preparing to purchase a new RT-HT270 7.2 receiver. These speakers are step one.

Given the old received channel separation is limited and even thought these speakers sound pretty darn good. Over all volume is acceptable and clipping is limited to a level louder than I'm comfortable with.
In general I am very happy and somewhat surprised at the sound depth and quality of theses speaker given the price. Any deficiencies I hear in the muddy sub base cn be blamed on our old receiver.
Anyone looking for a low cost, multi channel speaker system with an adequate powered sub base, I can recommend this one.