85 of 86 people found the following review helpful:
Great Sound at a great price!
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)...
37 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
Onkyo SKS-HT540 Medium Quality Surround System
I purchased this system after reading reviews that told me that I would be disappointed if I used them for music. That review is right. I am VERY disappointed when listening to them with my music system.
The first thing I noticed when I opened the shipping box was that the primary speakers (center + left + right front)were physically much SMALLER (5"...
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.
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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.
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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!!!
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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.
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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.
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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 tried to upload them to show people what I saw, but after uploading them, Amazon through up a general "we are experiencing technical difficulties" error. I will keep trying to upload the pictures.. hopefully they will be in the user pics soon. 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..
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The speakers sound great and I can only come up with small criticisms:
- The speakers are black which standout too much on our white walls
- The rear speakers are a different size than the larger front speakers
- The front speakers have no "keyhole" or other mounting hardware and there are no speaker stands available from Onkyo
- The wire connection do not support banana plug connectors
These are a heavy item and the speakers survived their trip to us fine but the box was a bit beat up. Also we ordered ours from JR Music (thru Amazon) which is on the other side of the country from us. Shipping took a week.
As I said, these speakers do sound great and you are likely to be happy with them too if you don;t let these little things bother you.
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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.
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It's been about 2 years since I purchased this system and to be honest they still pump it out the same way they did on day 1! When I got them it was a steal at $500! Now look at them. By far the best investment if you're going all out for an entertainment center.
I'd say I'm a gamer before anything else. It's what I do and when I'm sitting smack in the middle of my living room and I'm surrounded by 7 speakers and a subwoofer behind my couch just blasting me from every direction I know that I made a good decision to buy this system. I always thought it was corny for people to say "it feels like you're there," well now I know what they mean. The immersion is beyond expectation especially for those high action games where there is noise and things going on everywhere you litterly feel like you really are there! (No, it still sounds corny, but hey, it's true!)
(Que the wife) When the game turns off and it's time for a movie there is no difference. The voices are right where they belong. If they're talking off screen and you got the volume up high then get ready to be startled by the split second you think someone is in your house because that's how real these things work. Coupled together with the sub practically right next to us you're placing yourself there in the scene. (I know, still corny.)
I have multiple things going into it. My PS3, XBox 360, Wii, cable box and the add on to connect the Ipod. And the receiver recognizes every input itself. It decodes that the PS3 is Dolby and so on. Although I do feel that the music coming from the Ipod can be a bit better(I don't know what it is there, the dock, the Ipod, or the system) it certainly is not a deal breaker. Also, there are some systems out there with a HDMI connection. At first I was divided on which to get, with or without. I went with this one because I figured why would you want to mix the video through your audio and possibly lessen the quality of it? I mean I have no idea how it would come out maybe better maybe not, but if that's a reason for you thinking twice about getting this particular system don't let it burst your bubble because to me it's working perfectly fine without it.
I know I could honestly say that even though I have all these components going on in my man cave it wouldn't be what it is without this system...
And the 12 miles of speaker wire I needed to connect it all together.
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You can purchase better speakers than the HTIB Onkyo SKS-HT540. Of course, if you're looking to upgrade your home theater to 7.1 and are on a budget, the SKS-HT540 is a gem. Easy connection, especially if using an Onkyo receiver and the sound is pretty good for the price you're paying. The speakers look good paired with an Onkyo receiver, plus they look nice with an HDTV 40" or larger. The center channel is strong which is a great plus for dialogue. The bass isn't the strongest available, but it's strong enough for small rooms. (ie: 16x13 or smaller) Setting the speakers properly through your receiver will make all the difference in the world. If you've hit the correct setting and pop in 3:10 to Yuma on Blu-Ray, the incoming train near the end scene will make you feel like you're standing at the train station. Now that's a true plus!!!!
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