Price Paid:  $699.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
It's a decent bang for the buck. I've had it almost two years and no problems.
Over all a very nice system, the newer model 790 sells for less then I paid, maybe those speaker are better. Would I buy this again....no...might shop for better speakers.

Strengths:
Respectable clear thumping base and pleantly of overall volume. DVD's sound very good, TV shows broadcast in HDTV, or sports events are OK. Very good control over volume to each channel, and various Surround formats.

Weaknesses:
The speakers lack a crispness and the treble/bass controls are limited. At lower volumes the center channel seems a little muddy to me.
As for audio CD's, again I think the "highs" and a bright, crisp sound are absent.

Similar Products Used:
None

louderbetter

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
For an initial home stress test, I ran this system using NEO6:Music Surround at nearly full amp and 3/4 sub volume for a whole Rage against the Machine song, about 4 min, it was very loud with minimal distortion. For a video test this system was playing The Last Samari. The first fight scene was great and rumbled my mid size living room. The dynamic range of digital sound really showed with the first crack of the rifle firing in the Indian dream fight scene. Has a built in crossover along with speaker size selector in the Amp. There are several settings for the crossover but you can’t just turn it off if you want to hookup some full range speakers. Is it a subwoofer or speaker crossover? Not enough control over bass and treble, needs a mid control at the very least. No EQ hookup. With all the different speaker and surround settings, you will be able to find a sound that suits you. The manuals are pretty good, they are also vital with all the functions built into this amp. Specs for as low as 3-ohm speakers but every instruction says use 8-ohm minimum. FM reception is average in my opinion. Amp gets hot just being on. It doesn’t get much hotter when it is cranked up for a while though. No onscreen display. Dolby Pro Logic IIx is built in, but not mentioned in nearly any of the reviews I read. The six included speakers seem very adequate for music and great for movies. The 220 watt sub box puts out great thump. I had to take it apart to get a toy out that my son dropped into the port. The subwoofer speaker is made of paper. Also the ratings on the speaker itself say it’s a 4ohm 80 watt speaker. The included speaker wires are too thin. I like that this system has larger speakers than most all HTIB systems also. Can’t control non Onkyo CD players with the “programmable” remote. The remote is not fully backlit either. Can adjust each speakers volume individually and bass and treble with the remote control. The remote is big and can control nearly every feature on the amp. It even controls some settings that aren’t switchable on the amp itself, like CINEma FILTeR and OptiResponse-EQ. None of the codes for a Panasonic VCR worked for me either The Subwoofer and Amp/Receiver are the strengths. This system absolutely has the best and most bang for the buck “about $400" compared to anything available right now. It not as loud as my Carver TFM-4.0 Amp and 15" Infinity SM-152 Speakers. I never considered myself a audiophile, I just liked my music very loud and clear. It is really a different sound and hard to compare the sound of a 2 vs 6.1 channel system. Overall, I’m glad I made the switch because I’m not trying to blow the windows out anymore. After using this system for about 6 months. I’m not thrilled with the crossover options in the amp. After about a year I'm not even noticing, it sounds better than when I first brought it home. The fact that the remote isn’t as programmable as it should be seems senseless, what’s so hard that Onkyo won’t supply codes for other brands of CD players? I got the sub to bottom out pretty quick when watching Soul Plane. I do like all the surround settings, they really helped out my regular TV viewing. I’m really enjoying this system and truly feel the only way to get a better system is to buy each component individually. At moderate to loud listening levels this system works together great. I just wanted a really nice looking and affordable surround/stereo sound system that sounded good, this fits the bill perfectly. This is one of the best deals on HTIB. I compared this to everything Circuit City, Best Buy and SAMs had in the price range and am happy 1 year later

Strengths:
ONKYO had a great reputation. I love the amp. The sub really thumps and rattles the walls on DVD or Audio. More inputs and bigger speakers than anything in this price range.

Weaknesses:
No DVD player included. Remote: 1 year later and I still hold it backwards sometimes. It's to big to hold comfortably, can't be programed to control alot of mainstream equipment. Thin speaker wire. Amp runs warm so give it lots of room. Now theres a 7.1 HTIB by Onkyo for only a few $$$ more.

Similar Products Used:
Compared in stores to Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha, Sharp, Hitachi, Samsung.

Tarnz

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.25 of 5, 20.00 votes

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Onyko factory

Summary:
After a few days of setting up the Onkyo HTS770 home theater 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. 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. Be careful here: The 770 does not convert between video formats, so you might find it, as I did, easier to bypass the 770 for video and use it only for audio. The receiver also has an AM/FM tuner with an antenna input. A simple indoor plastic loop antenna is supplied. 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 toward 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 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 (the Harmony remote sells for $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!

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. No conversion between video formats.

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo HTS-S660