Onkyo HTS650
 

Hello all,

I am about to get a HTS for the first time. I am looking for something in the middle in terms of cost, being a college student with a teaching job that pays close to minimum wage. My budget is probably around $600 or less for everything. Right now, I am looking at the Onkyo 650. It can be found on the circuit city website. If you go there, in right side of the main page, there should be a big graphic that says Onkyo HTS, which sells for $499. I read all the reviews on the site, but I want to hear from people who do not own it. If anyone of you has any experience with it, or has a better suggestion, please let me know.

Thanks!

Re: Onkyo HTS650
 

Well, I picked this up a few weeks ago, so I probably don't qualify to answer your question. (Not sure why you wanna hear exclusively from those who don't own it). But, I am going to chime in anyway.

I am by no means an audiophile, so I can't comment on any distortion to thingamabobby ratio or any kind of technical mumbo jumbo that goes over my head when shopping for speakers. But I can say that I am very very happy with the purchase. For the awsome sound that it produces, you can't beat the price.

You get more then enough bass out of the subwoofer. I tuned it with a sound level meter using the receivers test tone, and I had to turn the bass all the way down to match the other speakers. (Might not have been the right thing to do, but it was sounding TOO bassy).

If you set the volume to a level where low voices are audible while watching something like Pearl Harbor, the louder scenes (explosions, etc.) are almost too overwhelming. (Seriously -- these will rattle your windows and scare your pets). With this system being my first real experience with Home Theater sound, I do not know if this is standard for any home theater system. But, the receiver does have a "Late Night" filter that equalizes the sounds a bit, so this volume range isn't as pronounced.

The only real "con" that I can think of with this system is that it comes with dental floss thin speaker wires. You will probably want to pick up some better ones.

Re: Re: Onkyo HTS650
 

Thanks for the review. Well, basically, I was thinking that most people who spent close to $500 on the system will probably have nothing but good things to say about it. (at least to make themselves feel better...) but reviews from those who own and doesn't own it are welcome!

oh, waskydiver, did you purchase the 3 year warranty?
and the speakers wire that you mentioned, how much do they run? and what kind do you recommend?

Thanks again!

Re: Re: Re: Onkyo HTS650
 

I honestly didn't check the price of the speaker wires. I just picked up a reel of 100 foot Monster speaker wire. I am guessing about $50.

I explicitly didn't get the 3 year warranty. I figured that if something broke (e.g. blew a speaker or the receiver went on the fritz), then it would be a good excuse to upgrade what ever went out. (But, honey... we HAVE to get a new set of speakers).

In hindsite, I can foresee no reason to upgrade anything in this system.

I also bought this system. It was (IMHO, of course) the best sound quality for the price. I also suggest picking up some better speaker cable, and the sub-woofer cable that comes with it is quite thin, too. My prior system was just a dolby pro-logic system, so this was a big step up.

All in all, I am very pleased with it, and everyone else who has heard it was impressed. The room I have it in is pretty small, so it might not sound as great in a bigger room.

Another thing to note: I see that on the CC homepage, it looks like the front speakers are the same size as the rears, but in my system, the fronts are twice as big (tall) as the rears. But when you go to the item page, the speakers they show are the bigger ones (that I have), so you might want to make sure which ones you are getting. So, one of the two images are wrong, maybe Onkyo changed the speakers in this model at some point, and one of those pics is out of date. I would suggest checking it out in a store, to make sure you are getting the right speaker package.

I also didn't get the 3-year warranty, for pretty much the same reason as the other guy. I figured it would be an excuse to upgrade some part of the system, if something broke.

My father just picked up this system and I am very impressed.

I have an energy take 5 system and an Onkyo TX-DS575 at home and this system sounded comparable.

He picked it up for $349 at the local Bernies... I don't think he could have done better than that...

looks like decent fronts and center!

I picked up the SKSHT-500 (apparently the same speaker set that comes with this HTIB) at Circuit City for $299 a couple of weeks ago (was put on-sale for $199 11/29-30 & price-matched at CC). Instead of getting the Onkyo reciever (which is supposed to be excellent), I decided to pair these speakers (which are available separately) with the Panasonic SAHE-100 reciever, which has 6.1 capability (I just added another speaker for the rear surround). I'm very happy of the sound quality from this pairing.

The speakers are of excellent build quality, with wood cabinets. They are also on the large side (the fronts are about 16-17 inches tall, for example and the other speakers are pretty sizable, too) and provide excellent audio quality. While the Onkyo HTIB with the speakers and reciever is an excellent deal and supposed to be terrific, the speakers are available on their own, so you do have the option of pairing them with a different reciever if there's another one that looks interesting.

i just picked up this system 2 weeks ago. i originally went with the $299 kenwood 600 watt non powered sub system (cant remember the model number). the onkyo provided much better sound than the kenwood. i watched episode II on both systems and it was just a huge difference. the onkyo sub produces great bass. i see your point about how ppl who buy this may say it is good b/c they spent $500 and want to feel good even if it wasnt. but i have no qualms returning something if it sucks or doesn't meet my expectations. i also listened to one of the sony systems which was on sale for $449 or $399 2 weeks ago and it sounded pretty bad, even compared to the kenwood. the onkyo provides nice clean sound. i think for $500 or less, u cant get a better system.

like others have said i suggest picking up better speaker wire. i got 100 ft of monster and it was $60 at cc.

I ordered the OKYO speaker set when it was on sale at CC for 199. I was planning on connecting it to the Panasonic SAHE-100, which was a consumer reports Best Buy for receivers. Now that I see that dvdmovie 1 has done the same thing, I feel comfortable pairing those 2 together. I plan on picking up the receiver in like 2 weeks when I get some more moolah. Any recommedations for the 6th speaker for the 6.1 setup?

My only complaint about this system (besides the cheap speaker wire) is that without proper ventilation, this unit gets extremely HOT!

The rear speakers do seem a bit large if they are in a modest living room. Because of the wood cabinets, I purchased some B-TECH side-clamp speaker mounts from
Crutchfield.
http://pix.crutchfield.com/lifestyle...21BT7WSPK.jpeg

I have a friend that just recently purchased this set. So far he has been very pleased with it. I've gotten to listen to it once or twice, and I would venture to say it's the best deal you're going to get for $500.

Make sure you don't have any problems with the size. My friend was suprised to see how big they were.

Ditto to the comment on the dental floss speaker wire.