Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've been a big fan of Onkyo since I bought my first Onkyo receiver and CD player back in 1994.This is my third Onkyo purchase and an upgrade from an Onkyo 700 I bought about five years ago.I bought this HTIB because it had everything I was looking for to go with my new HDTV.I wanted HDMI switching, low profile speakers I could mount on the wall, a powered subwoofer, a DVD player with HDMI and to improve the whole sound experience.This package had it all and at a pricepoint well below the systems I was trying to put together by hand.
Being experienced with Onkyo and setting up HT systems of my own, I had little trouble getting this system setup.I wanted to "do it right" this time so I bought banana plugs to terminate the speaker wire (I did not use the wire that came with the system) which makes it SO MUCH easier to install.Besides the speaker connections, I have an HDMI cable going from my cable box and another from the DVD player into the Onkyo receiver and an HDMI out going to my HDTV.I also have a analog output from my cable box into the receiver for listening to on Zone 2 and a mini-jack to stereo RCA plug into the receiver for hooking up either my MP3 player or laptop for playing MP3s.This is by far much less cluttered than before thanks to the HDMI cables.
The sound of the system and all the options for adjusting the sounds blow away my Onkyo 700.The speakers sound better than the Bose 501s and Cambridge Soundworks surrounds I had setup with the 700.Both the new system and the old system were setup for 5.1 but the new system just blows the old system away in terms of sounds and 5.1 effects.I think a lot of that has to do with the subwoofer but the other part of it is that the sound just seems more "expansive" for lack of a better term.The speakers look fantastic on the wall and they sound really good.It's hard to believe the quality of the sound given the pricepoint of this system.
The HDMI switching works great and I've noticed absolutely no degradation in picture quality running the HDMI through the receiver vs. directly to the HDTV.I don't have equipment to take advantage of the HDMI 1.3a capabilities but it's nice to know that someday if I get a DVD player that supports TrueHD or an HDTV that supports the various 1.3a features my receiver can handle it.
I have three small complaints about the system but they aren't enough for me to reduce my rating from 5 stars.
1. The DVD player comes set out of the box to NOT output DD5.1 through HDMI.You have to go into the DVD player settings to change that.It's not a big deal but a real pain if you don't happen to notice that in the product manual it's default is to not output DD5.1.That seems like a poor choice of default setting out-of-the-box.
2. The subwoofer when it kicks on out of standby mode tends to make a "popping" noise.I am going to try turning down the volume on the sub to see if that makes it less noticeable.This happens when watching TV.If there's no sounds below the crossover threshold for sometime, the sub turns off.When it turns back on "pop" goes the sub.
3. This thing get HOT.The receiver gets so hot.I have it in a small cabinet with glass doors.I've had to lower the shelf to give it more space and install a fan on the back of the cabinet.That's helped quite a bit but before it would get so hot you could not touch it.My other Onkyo receivers NEVER got like that.
Overall, this is just a terrific buy.I am very happy and have been enjoying it thoroughly along with my new HDTV mounted above it.They compliment each other very well.It's great for watching TV, movies and for listening to music and it looks great in my cabinet and up on the walls.
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Product Description:
Many home theater systems are designed as an add on to HDTV. With little thought or imagination, these systems detract from, rather than enhance high-definition home entertainment. With generic amplifier designs, limited playback capabilities, and inferior parts, they are little match for the range of A/V formats, sources, and technologies offered today. The HT-SP908 is a completely different proposition. With the TX-SR605 7.1-channel A/V surround home theater receiver and the DV-SP405 DVD/CD/MP3 player providing video and multichannel audio via today's ultimate transport, High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI), this system will effortlessly transport audio and video signals in the digital domain. Some stunning innovations, like Audyssey 2EQ- to correct room acoustics, multi-room playback, a full connectivity suite (with switching and upconversion), XM and SIRIUS capability, and integrated system control, elevate this system into a league of its own.
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