Bought this Friday afternoon and it was at my doorstep Saturday morning. Less than 24 hours. Fantastic. Got a great price ($299) and signed up for the free trial of Amazon Prime, which gave me next day shipping for $3. Setup was fairly simple. I used my own speaker wire that I had already ran from my previous surround sound. The on-screen setup when using HDMI input/output is fantastic. Had it all hooked up in about 20 minutes and had the sound quality perfect after another 15 messing around in the settings. I've watched a Blu-Ray movie and a baseball game already and so far I am very impressed. The lows and mids were dead on but I had to tinker with the highs a bit before I got it where I wanted it. I imagine room size and viewing distance all plays a part.
My only con would be the "keyhole" on the back of the speakers that is used for mounting. I would have preferred a threaded hole or a latch rather than just using a screw through a keyhole mounted on the wall.
That all said, I recommend this Home Theater to anyone looking for a quality entry level system for a small to medium sized room. I also think the receiver alone is worth $299. Tons of inputs and plenty of settings to please even the pickiest audiofile. Onkyo HT-S3400 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver/Speaker Package
Everything seems great so far. I have some pretty decent monitor speakers hooked up instead of the fronts, so I cant comment on the entire system. That said, the receiver has every option I could ever need. You can't find a receiver for 300$ that is better, or has more options than this one, so with the speakers and sub included it seems like a great deal. Took 10-15 minutes to set up. Easy on screen menu and set-up options. I had a Denon AVR-391 that I just returned to Best Buy, and this Onkyo Receiver has an extra optical audio input, and the audio actually passes through the hdmi cables where the Denon didnt. Absolutely no complaints after watching a couple TV shows and listening to different types of music, everything sounds really good for the price.
This is the upgraded version of Onkyo Ht-S3300, you can read reviews on that product, it is basically the same except 3400 has an extra HDMI input. As long as you buy this product realizing you are buying a budget entry into home theater audio you will be extremely pleased. While the manual is confusing crap, set up doesnt even require the manual. Just hook up the wires into the appropriate colors, and then hook up your devices. Remember, this receiver does not convert a A/V response to HDMI, so if its HDMI in, it is HDMI out, and if it is Composite in, then composite out.
Also take note that the sub woofer is passive, and the receiver is more passive speaker level sub woofer, so if you upgrade in the future, make sure the sub you buy also accepts speaker wire input, and not just RCA.
With those said, this system is great for small rooms. The passive bass produces adequate sound, it has 4 HDMI inputs (which is plenty for my set up: cable, ps3, tv, pc). It handles inputs from each of these very well, and the dynamic Audyssey Equalizer works nicely for these speakers.
As long as you realize you arent buying high quality BOSE speakers, but instead budget entry level home theater in a box, there is no way you will not be 100% pleased with the purchase.
This is my first Onkyo product. I had a mix and match system that was mainly Sony components. It was not HDMI compatible, but it sounded pretty good. At least I thought it did.
I spent several weeks researching home theater systems ranging from $300 up to $500. This system met all of my needs I was wanting. Multiple HDMI inputs, 3D ready, Dolby HD and DTS HD decoders, and at least 100 watts per channel. This system actually has 110 watts for a total of 660 watts. I looked at Sony, JVC, Phillips, and even another Onkyo system. All of them had great features, but this one had all the right features for the best price. Others had also rated this system very highly, and not just on Amazon. There are several 3rd party reviews about this system just after it was released that show it is a very respectable budget home theater system. This system was just rleased by Onkyo in February 2011. Independent reviews are hard to find on new products from professionals, but this product has several. It is even more attractive with the deep discount offered through Amazon.
I received the system in just a few days and immediately set it up. I had existing wiring in place already, so I did not use the included color coded speaker wiring. The included wiring is only 18 guage. I had 16 guage in my ceiling and it fit just fine. I don't recommend using anything bigger than 16 guage as it probably won't fit in the terminals. The speakers are marked on the back to identify their designated location, like Center, Front Right, Rear Right, etc. I don't think it matters mixing right and left, but there is a physical appearance difference between front, rear, and center speakers. After everything was hooked up I set up a radio station to do a sound check. I must say it was pleasantly impressive. I thought my Sony system sounded good. This sounded better.
I tweaked the system setup a bit and the sound got event better and fuller with the subwoofer. The sub is not powered, but it's not the end of the world. The receiver is more than capable of handling the 8" down driver. I attached my home theater PC and tested the Dolby Digital sound abilities. Again, I was impressed with the rich surround sound. It has handled everything I have thrown at it very nicely.
Since the installation I have watched Blu-Ray movies, and the NBA finals games. The HD sound is awesome. When watching the NBA Finals It feels like I am at the game.
If you choose to buy this system, I do not think you will be disappointed. The only drawback I have discovered is the multi system control ability of the remote. It can control the receiver and probably a DVD player, but that's it. It misses out on the Sattelite/Cable systems. Most Cable/Satellite remotes have truoble controlling Audio systems effectively. I will probably invest in a Harmony remote to get rid of the clutter. I didn't fele the remote issue was enough to warrant dropping a star. - Onkyo - Home Theater System - Ht - 600w'
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