|
|
Onkyo HT-S770 Home Theater (6.1 Speakers, 130 W/Channel, Tuner - MPN: HTS770)
Description: Face it. If you don?t have a receiver and speaker system, then you?re only getting half of the DVD experience. The HT-S770 gives you all you paid for, with a powerful 100-watt, six channel receiver at the center and the matched 6.1-channel .... Read More Description: Face it. If you don?t have a receiver and speaker system, then you?re only getting half of the DVD experience. The HT-S770 gives you all you paid for, with a powerful 100-watt, six channel receiver at the center and the matched 6.1-channel speaker system for the enveloping surround sound that you should be experiencing. Minimize |
 |
| Date Reviewed: 07/27/2004 |
|
Strengths: Great system for someone wanting a complete system without spending a lot. The sound is good as long as the speakers are position in the optimal location. Offers more connection than the 760.
Weaknesses: Speaker wire not to great, remote not backlit
Summary: Originally I had my eye on the 760, but when this system came out and offered a larger sub, even more powerful speakers and more connections, I had to go for it. This is my first Home Theater System and after about a week of playing around with this system I'm really glad I purchased it.
Firstly, I'm glad I decided to have it delivered rather than to pick it up my self. I could not believe the size of the box, it was not at all what I was expecting. However after getting everything out of the box, the setup was very easy. Everything is color-coded so finding the right speaker to connect to the right wire to connect to the right connection on the receiver was very simple. Even the tape on the bags the speakers came in was correctly color-coded. A minor detail, put is show that thought and planning even went into the packaging of this system. The manual even goes over every type of connection in which you can connect other equipment to the receiver.
After getting everything connected, originally I just had the surround speakers sitting on the back of the couch and the fronts on the floor just to hear what this system could do. It sounded great and I was very impressed. Soon after I mounted the fronts on stand and mounted the surrounds in the ceiling. This made a huge difference and the sound was a lot fuller.
There are a lot of pre-programmed settings to listen to. When watching TV or listing to the music I usually use the TV Logic or Studio-Mix and when watching movies I use the best option that is encoded on the movie. While watching S.W.A.T. for the millionth time, it felt as though I was right in the middle of the action. It was great.
I only had two complaints about this system and that is the speaker wire that comes with it and the remote. The speaker wire is junk. Replace them to get better sound. I replace them with some 16g and the sound is a lot richer. The remote itself offers a lot of feature. Take the time to learn/program it. The only thing I don't like about the remote is that it is not backlit. When watching movies, most of the time the room is dark except for the TV. Making minor adjust to the sound in the dark with this remote is a bit difficult. After a little time, I sort of know where the buttons are now.
Overall I think this is a great system for the price (especially the sale price). This was perfect choice for someone like me who wants a great system but don't want to spend an arm and a leg just to get great sound from a movie or music.
My suggestion are to learn the remote, replace speaker wire, adjust sound option for your room (distance, speaker level, etc) and correctly place your speakers to get the most out of this system. I have my two fronts on stand about 1 or 2 feet about ear level when sitting and away from the TV, but angled into the viewing area, my center on top of the TV centered, my surround left and right mounted into the ceiling on opposite sides of the main viewing position facing each other and my surround back mounted into the ceiling behind the sitting area in line with the center.
 98% of People (280/287) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
 There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 12/09/2004 |
|
Strengths: Loud, crisp, and clear. Able to handle anything I throw at it.
Weaknesses: Neighbors may call the police on you (yes, it's that loud)
Summary: If I were to describe this beast in one word, thunder. It will immerse you in any movie. I tried watching the Matrix Reloaded highway scene and the Return of the King Rohan rider scene, both of which made me feel as though I was in the movie theater. Albeit, true audiophiles will point out that clarity from $1000+ systems is still better, but who cares, I can't tell the difference and it can be bought for sub $400 on the web. My last purchases was a Sony HT-DDW840 system that despite its 600W rating is a pee shooter compared to this beast. The funny thing is, everything sounds just as crisp whether your volume level is at 25% or whether your house is shaking apart.
Of course there are some minor compliants. It won't win any points for style, and the heavy speakers and subwoofer components are a pain to move, but it's worth it.
98% of People (52/53) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 09/07/2004 |
|
Strengths: 1000W for all seven speakers, supports newer formats including DTS and Pro Logic IIx which intelligently
converts 5.1 to 6.1. Component and S-Video inputs. Great resolution on volume levels.
Weaknesses: Supplied speaker wire too thin. Large speakers. Remote not fully backlit, hard to orient, and does not have a learn mode.
Summary: After a few days of setting up the Onkyo HTS770 home theatre system, I could not be happier. The sound is fantastic as long as you make the effort to position the speakers optimally. The unit and speakers are available in either black or silver (silver is the HT-S770S).
Have the system delivered since the box is huge and heavy. Set up went very quickly. Initally, I used the thin speaker wire that came with the system to set up the unit and speakers on the floor to test out the system. The wires and connectors are all color-coded, so attaching the speakers to the receiver is straightforward. However, to get much improved sound, I ended up using Radio Shack’s "In Wall" speaker wire (16 gauge) that was about $19 per 100 feet.
At first, I had the surround speakers sitting on the floor around the couch to hear how this system performed, and I was very impressed. Next, I placed the front left and right surrounds on either side of our 42" plasma TV, about 2 feet from the TV's edges and the center surround on a shelf right below the TV. I mounted the back surrounds dropped down 5 inches from the ceilings using adjustable speaker ceiling mounts (max 8 lbs.) I purchased at Fry’s to point the speakers towards our couch. All this effort was worth it as the 770's sound became even more full and sounded just like an actual movie theater.
The manual and Onkyo website go over the myriad connection types with which you can connect your other audio-visual equipment (e.g. VCR, Tivo, DVD, Stereo, Cable Box, Game device) to the receiver. The receiver also has an AM/FM tuner with an antenna input. A simple indoor plastic loop antenna is supplied.
The remote has minor issues - it is not entirely backlit and because of its poor layout and shape, it is easy to pick it up upside down. Also, the remote is not one that learns in case your other devices do not appear in the remote's programming list, so some of your other devices may not be fully supported. For example, although it operates my Philips DVD player, it cannot bring up the DVD menu. But you know what? It may have been economically unfeasible for Onkyo to make a truly universal remote (Harmony universal remotes sell for around $200), so given that you probably will not be getting rid of your other remotes, what they provide is actually okay since it can set all of the 770's surround settings and remotely start and stop the systems speaker sound check.
Overall I think this is one of the best system for the price that I found in my research. My suggestions are to set up the system quickly on the floor to check it out, then replace the speaker wire as you mount the speakers in optimal locations, adapt to the remote, enjoy your new system, and save $$ by not going to the movie theaters as much!
96% of People (101/105) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 3 comments for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 12/18/2004 |
|
Strengths: Incredible Sound Quality, Includes 6.1 Extended Mode Decoding for both Dolby Digital and DTS DVDs
Weaknesses: Remote not backlit, does not perform any "up conversion" of the video inputs like some higher end receivers do
Summary: 2004-12-18 05:07:00 All I can say is WOW! I had been using a Cambridge Soundworks 5.1 setup in my apartment for the last several years, which was really a very cheap setup meant for a PC based system.
We finally moved into a house, and my home theater room now has this incredible system to replace it. I had read countless reviews of this online, the vast majority of which were overwhelmingly positive.
PROs:
I wanted a setup that had plenty of inputs (has two component inputs with component video switching for example), could decode all of the latest and greatest for my DVDs (does all of the standard and extended, i.e. 6.1, tracks from your DVDs). I also only had a small budget and wanted all of the speakers included for my 6.1 setup. The subwoofer is 10" so you get all the power necessary from it! I ended up putting my rear surrounds on speaker stands, but there are ways to wall or ceiling mount of course.
CONs:
- Remote is not backlit, but it does include a nice set of features that can be transferred to a good universal remote
- Receiver does not perform any "up conversion" of the video inputs. This means that you cannot have compositie, S-Video and component video inputs coming into the receiver and only a single component video output going to the TV for example. You need a matching output cable from the receiver to the TV for each type of input. It hasn't been a big deal since I bought my programmable universal remote that lets me put macros in to put my system into the correct TV input mode and receiver mode for each thing like watching a DVD. Also some reviews have mentioned that up conversion, while convenient, doesn't always improve the video signal of a lower source (in fact it may degrade it depending on the receiver).
Conclusion:
Let's just say that everyone who has heard this thing while watching the Battle of Helms Deep from Lord of the Rings Two Towers has been blown away. I had no idea what surround sound really was until I bought this system!
Overall this is hands down the best quality system for the person who doesn't have $800 to spend on just the receiver and then another $100 to spend on all of your speakers.
96% of People (25/26) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are 1 comment for this review. Read all comments.
Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 11/14/2004 |
|
Strengths: Lots of bang for the buck. Easy to put together with color coding. Great styling (silver model).
Weaknesses: Would be great if remote was a programmable universal remote but what can you ask for at this price!
Summary: This was a birthday gift for my husband who had been considering spending a fortune on a well known brand with smaller speakers but he was having trouble justifying the expense. Not knowing anything at all about home theater systems I took the advice of a stranger who had purchased this system and was extremely happy and I read the reviews. I took a chance that my husband would be satisfied and although he was skeptical at first (so was I considering the price) he is so pleased with sound, the ease of set-up and even the style. It is replacing a 10 year old Denon system with infinity speakers. Even though we haven't yet placed the speakers in the optimum positions they sound terrific. I would confidently purchase other products by Onkyo.
95% of People (40/42) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 03/30/2005 |
|
Strengths: Improved remote control & more power output compared to last year's HTS670. Probably the best value in HTIB systems. Overall sound quality is warm and pleasing. Easy to use and hook up.
Weaknesses: Ships in a large box due to size of speakers and sub.
Summary: Speaker cones are painted white now. Grills are not removeable on the 3 surrounds. The sub stands high, but does not take up as much floor space. You'll need speaker stands for the fronts (24" stands work the best) and be sure to account for that extra rear center speaker. Included color-coded speaker wire works fine, no need to replace. The receiver is easy to operate and provides more than enough functionality. It's basically the TXSR502 ($300 MSRP), with some minor additions. The sub is comparable to a $150 unit and worth keeping. Those particular to crisp sound quality and compact speaker size may look for replacement speakers down the road. Rated high for low price with high performance.
94% of People (16/17) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 12/08/2005 |
|
Strengths: Solid construction for crisp clear sound at all volume levels.
Digital connections include Optical, Coax, S-video, and Component.
Reciever has encoders for, DTS 96/24, Neo 6, Dolby digital EX.
Weaknesses: Have to manually program remote to recognise other system components ( no learn function )
Included wiring could stand to be heavier guage and a bit longer.
Summary: This was the first Surround Sound system I have purchased. In college I had a 3 speaker system, with Center, left, and right channels. After I bought my house I decided I needed some better equipment for my entertainment center. I have several friends who are audio-junkies and are willing to spend $1000+ on their speaker systems so I asked their opinion on set-up. The system I was recommended was priced at $950. A lot more than I was willing to spend. I decided to check on-line for deals. I tried to stay away from HTIB systems but I started hearing about how good Onkyo systems were so I decided to check them out. I searched here on pricegrabber and found the Onkyo HT-S770S (the silver color version) for $199.00 There were several refurbished units available directly from Onkyo. I decided to risk it and bought one. Heck the whole system cost less than the receiver I had been looking to purchase before.
Results? OMG! I should have bought every unit they had for sale. I could have had my x-mas shopping done in one shot. They say refurb (which according to their definition means there were some minor cosmetic defects) but I still haven't found any, unless they consider the subwoofer being more of a black color instead of silver a defect.
I have been extremely impressed with the sound quality of these speakers. Movies, music, games, computer, TV, and Radio all sound much better than I expected. All the digital sources are crystal clear even at the higher volumes, I still haven't taken it to max volume, but I don't think I need to go deaf anyway. Analog signals sound great too. Even my audiophile friends have been very impressed, especially when I tell them how much I paid for it.
This system offered everything that I needed and then some. I didn't need a DVD player when I already have a 400 disc changer so all I wanted was speakers and a receiver with plenty of connections. The connections are set-up for default components (ie DVD audio input was set for digital Coax. ) but they can be changed with little effort via the menu system. The receiver has just about all the bells and whistles you could need and puts out plenty of power. The receiver also has option to output to a second set of speakers. The second set is only in stereo but it works great for sending sound to the outdoor speakers I have on the patio.
Since I never really planned to use the wire that came with the system anyway so it wasn't that big of an issue to me but it might be to someone who just wants to set up right out of the box. The box it ships in is about 2/3 the size of a refrigerator, so it can be a bit tough to carry by yourself especially if you have any stairs to climb.
The last thing I will mention is the remote. Yeah it's a bit large and it's not back-lit but it has all the functions you really need. I was really hoping I could just press 1 or two buttons and be able to control all the rest of my electronics but instead they provide a list of supported models and give you a code to enter for the ones you have. Once you have done that, it works fine.
Overall I would suggest this system to anyone who doesn't plan to buy a $1000+ system which is close to the range you might notice a difference in quality. The quality is miles ahead of similar priced HTIB systems. And even if you are looking at higher priced systems you may want to purchase this as a unit for secondary systems. If you can afford $1000+ systems than you can probably afford a very nice 2nd system.
50% of People (1/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
| |
| Date Reviewed: 06/20/2005 |
|
Strengths: Quality, ease of connecting speakers (color coding), overall sound and power
Weaknesses: Connecting components, particularly Dish Network component. Just so many hookup options it is an embarassment of riches and confusing for a beginner. Complex remote, no backlight.
Summary: My system did indeed come in a box, a huge box! It appears to be of very high quality, well thought out and solidly constructed. The speakers were quite easy to hook up with the color coding and set up chart provided. I did replace the stock wires with Monster cable as others on here have suggested. For now the sound seems a little too center biased, but I think that's more a case of me not finding the proper settings. I have a feeling I'll be going with S-Video connections to simplify the component set up. There are so many options for hooking up all the various components that it's quite confusing for a non-techie like myself. For the money, it's a great system, very powerful, high quality, a great buy!
50% of People (1/2) found this review helpful. Was this review helpful or unhelpful for you?
There are no comments for this review. Post a comment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Report this as 
