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The most helpful favorable review
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55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
Japanese Attention to Detail
If you are going to spend big bucks on a large screen TV, why not get a good quality audio system too. Any of them will beat TV speakers. Given the amount of time most people use their TV, would encourage others to get a good audio system if they can afford it. This thing brings a whole new dimension to movies as well as other programming.
So far, have the...
Published 11 months ago by Bob
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137 of 159 people found the following review helpful:
Will absolutely need optical audio cable
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...
Published 8 months ago by Cyrus
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55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
Japanese Attention to Detail, September 18, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
If you are going to spend big bucks on a large screen TV, why not get a good quality audio system too. Any of them will beat TV speakers. Given the amount of time most people use their TV, would encourage others to get a good audio system if they can afford it. This thing brings a whole new dimension to movies as well as other programming.
So far, have the center and front speakers hooked up along with the sub woofer. Like the adjustable active sub woofer volume knob. Have more speaker wire on the way for the long wire runs on my side and rear speakers. Am not using HDMI cables on my standard definition system yet. Next, will begin mounting more speakers with the Sanus mount system.
The clear and deep sound quality of this powerful 1200 watt system is great for the money- as many reputable online review sources said. The powered (110 volt) 290 watt subwoofer will make the floor shake, windows rattle and my cat head for cover. One can crank up the volume to the point where the house is vibrating but it still maintains clarity and quality sound. They include cheap little plastic protective pads to keep the sub woofer from marking floors. After watching a James Bond movie with it, believe the 10" sub woofer, that is pointed straight down, was designed so viewers could feel explosions and such for it sure shakes the floorboards. It gives one a sense of being right in the action scenes when you can actually feel the movie. All of the wires are fully color coded making it easy to hook up with no mistakes. It would be hard to be unable to get this system up and running properly if you pay attention to the easy set up guide.
Consumer Reports rated the Onkyo 5100 model that this system recently replaced their highest rated choice for a home theater system. It was the only model that they rated "very good" for sound quality. All of the rest only rated "good" per their opinion. This 5200 model is a new release to replace their 5100 system. Wonder just how many systems CR tested total.
You can't go too far wrong here for high sound quality at a budget price. One review source said Onkyo consistently beats other brands.
My goal was high quality sound and realism at a reasonable price. Will add extras (blu-ray player...) after I have the system set up and properly tuned with their included syncronization mic system that automatically adjusts the system for each unique application, room size, etc.
Everything about this HTIB is big including the large, heavy box it comes in. Physics is physics- that's how they get the clear, deep, high quality sound out of the sound chambers. All of the speakers have a real wood grain laminate exterior finish- look good. There are numerous higher priced Onkyo home theater systems and one lower priced model than this one.
Oct. 6, '09: Consumer Reports has now put this one- the Onkyo 5200 system in their number one spot with a Yamaha YHT-591 model second at $600 and a cheaper Yamaha YHT-391 ($300) in third place. They have these three systems rated "very good" for sound quality currently. Been enjoying mine about everyday now. Especially using it for XM music from my Direct TV satellite connection. Am now working on getting a good old fashion TV antenna 34' feet into the air with a powered pre amplifer on it for all of my regional broadcast stations. The amplified rabbit ears have to go with what's available free off the airways nowadays.
Nov. 13, 2009: Am definitely getting my money worth out of this system. Use it a lot for XM music. Usually last less than five minutes before I switch from TV speakers to the home theater system and turn off the TV- great sound quality. There is no comparison with TV speakers. It is comparable to a high quality stereo system.
Dec. 9 2009: Consumer Reports now has the Onkyo 7200 model ($800) in 1st place with the 5200 model in 2nd. They rated the Yamaha YHT-391 ($300) system a best buy. CR rated all of them "very good" for sound quality. Have noticed that many appear to like the Onkyo 6200 model system for its capabilities.
Bought my Onkyo 5200 HTIB system back when they were going for a best price of $500.00 or more at about all of the larger online retailers. Paid $443.00 for my system new including shipping from a small but reputable seller but I have no factory warranty for Onkyo does not see fit to cover their products unless you purchase them from an "authorized Onkyo dealer". So far, have not encountered anything I have not been able to figure out using the owner's manual. Hopefully, it will not need repair service anytime in the near (or distant) future. It appears that Amazon is an authorized Onkyo dealer.
Guess you can tell, I'm happy with this HTIB. It has the level of sound quality and power that I wanted. It was money well spent. Don't comprimise sound quality just to get a system with a built in DVD/Blu-ray player. The live concerts Direct TV broadcasts periodically are great with this system and a 52" LCD TV.
After watching a live Jethro Tull concert last weekend and a live Toto concert this weekend with this thing cranked up just right, must add: if you have a hang up about the size of the speakers, do yourself a big favor and get past it.
May 2010: See that Amazon now has a similar looking Onkyo 5300 model currently for sale for $39.00 more. It probably has technical improvements. Looks like it's a newer model. Check out Onkyo's website at [...].
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37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
Great item for budget home theater! Much better than others., June 18, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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.
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137 of 159 people found the following review helpful:
Will absolutely need optical audio cable, December 19, 2009
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...
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
So far very good., June 23, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Best bang for your buck, boom in a box!!, June 30, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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!!!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
Fantastic System, November 5, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Worth it... Buy it, August 18, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Warning HDMI Pass Thru, December 4, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Solid system--great value, August 13, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Good sound, August 21, 2009
This review is from: Onkyo HT-S5200 7.1-Channel Home Entertainment Receiver/Speaker Package with iPod Dock (Black) (Electronics)
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.
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