very nice price.5.1 channels, cheap entry level surr. sound,ready to run.independant channel set up.

fm antenna is something to have changed in following years.

excellent choice for your first surround sound system. Bass is a little weak but fine for smaller rooms(15x15)

Similar Products Used:

harmon kardon

had 2 in a 6 month period, both had faulty processor chips and to date have yet to get customer service at onkyousa to answer my repeated e-mail complaints

faulty chip design...leaves you with intermittent audio...when it works, it is super...but...no customer service from onkyo

I went tru 2 of these...one was faulty right out of the box and curcuit city replaced it. My second one last about 6 months and then started to give intermittent sound and has been at an "authorized service center" for repair for over 6 weeks as onkyo is out of stock on the IC needed to repair it. Onkyo has not responded to numerous complaint via e-mail. In the future I will by from Outlaw or Marantz.

Good price, Dolby Digital, DTS, enough power for a midsize room, nice sleek gold finish ( I bought the gold finish not the black one. A good entry level home theater system

Remote is not universal, absence of S-Video input and output,(I guess this explains the low price. A little weak on the bass side when playing music

I did check out the various reviews logged here before I went out to check Onkyo 484 myself. I ended up buying it inspite of the weaknesses just mentioned. At this point, my main priority is to replace our 20 year old Sansui receiver with something that has the versatility to be used for home theater and audio listening. At the same time, I don't want to spend too much knowing the rapid development in technology this days. New models and formats come out quite fast that people end up with an obsolete model after just a few years. As Onkyo said in their website, that the 484 is good entry level HT system that people will enjoy. I think that they have delivered on that promise as I have been using it for about a month now. I have no further comment on the HT aspect, it's good enough for the price. As for the audio quality, there is not enough bass when I play those jazz Cds that I have. Not like the bass that my Sansui delivers. Also the music sounds a little cold and a bit veiled especially the vocals. My pioneer DVD player can output the latest high resolution 24/96 sound format of DAD. Unfortunately, the Onkyo cannot reproduce the sound as it should since they claim to have an on board 24/96 DAC which can decode this format. Toggling between the 96 and the compressed 44.1 khz does not generate any difference in the quality of sound. I think it's still best to use a separate DAC. Fortunately, I still have the 20 year old sansui 20 band equalizer working and in good condition. I found that hooking it up between the analog ouput of the DVD player and the analog input of the Onkyo receiver improves the music reproduction and hides the Onkyo's weaknesses, though not in full. But what can we expect at this price range? some compromise in quality has to show. Those of you who want to enjoy home theater now, without putting too much pressure on your pocket this is the product to buy. While you are enjoying it, you can save some money and buy a more expensive and hopefully better sounding system later.

Similar Products Used:

Sansui, Panasonic. Pioneer DV-525 DVD/CD Player

Cost, Standard Features & Sound Quality

Remote

First, I must commend the staff of WWW.Audioreview.Com for establishing a site for people to evalute and express their opinions on audio/video equipment they've purchased. And to all the people that submitted reviews which helped me evalute and choose a home theater (HT) system best suited for my needs. I spent countless hours reading reviews before I purchased my HT system and it was well worth it. THANKS

Being a budget-minded consumer, I wanted a HT system for my master bedroom that would give me reliable, high quality sound without the high price and the Onkyo TX-DS484 fits the bill perfectly.

Purchase mid-May at Circuit City (CC) for $300, this inexpensive receiver has standard features of the $400-$600 HT receivers such as: Dolby Digital and DTS decoders, 5-channel stereo, three programmable digital inputs, "late-night" (Midnight) feature and banana plugs for all channels.

I was little concern about the Onkyo's infamous "hiss" problem that's been widely reported on their earlier HT receivers. Frankly, I never seriously consider Onkyo since I was targeting Yamaha and especially the Denon line. But after spending over 2 hours at CC thoroughly testing this new model, the only thing I heard were both high-quality music and HT sounds. Surprise by the low price of such a well-equipped receiver, I didn't hesitate purchasing one.

As much as I like my Onkyo, there are a few minor inconveniencies with the remote: 1) remote is not universally designed, 2) unable to tune the receiver with the remote, 3) must sequence through the tuner presets to obtain desire tuner station (eg: if you are listening to preset station #1 and want to go to preset station #5, you have to press the preset button sequentally until you reach #5 instead of the remote having a numbered key pad with preset #s on them and 4) unable to turn on/off the "Late Night" feature with the remote.

Since I purchase this unit, I've watched well over 15 DVD movies and listened to countless hours of music and television and I am very please with my purchase. If you are in the market to purchase a HT system, you should seriously consider this receiver since Denon, Yamaha and other electronics manufactures don't provide this level of standard features and performance that DS484 has to offer at a cost of $300. My HT system includes:
Onkyo TX-DS484 receiver
Polk RT 15i (main)
Polk R10 (surround)
Polk CS 175i
Polk PSW 250
Panasonic DVD-A120 (excellent DVD player)
Hitachi 27" TV

Similar Products Used:

Considered Denon 1600 & Yamaha RXV 396/496

Great for Home Cinema,Easy to use,Subwoofer out,DTS,DD, Price, Quality

Remote Control

When I first bought this 484 receiver, I was worried about the strength and the power output. But when I came hoe and connect it to my system, all my nerve has gone. 484 is producing very clear sound at its original 6ohm format. My old JVC integrated amp was much more powerful than this onkyo but if you want to make a cheap home theater there are some decision you have to make :) Everything is ok with my 484. It doesn't have any S-video input but it's nothing to talk about. Who is really using that inputs anyway. I was between 484 and 575 model. At last 484 got me with it's great price. This model is a perfect choice for smart home entertainers who don't throw their money for more WATT tricks. The only weakness is remote control but after trying to make learn 575's macro, I decided that 484's remote is a child's toy. Macro learning remote of 575 is a very diffucult puzzle and it takes hours to make it learn. So if you are making a new home system or upgrading to a Digital or DTS system I can recommend you Onkyo 484.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS575

quality/sound/price/bidding post/sub-out/# of inputs ok for
this price range

remote and no s-video

For the price and entry level DD/DTS unit, this is a quality receiver. The sound is very good and well balanced, the bass is a little weak, but with a sub-woofer it is out of this world. DD/DTS is awesome for 55 watt unit plenty of sound with no distorsion. Sub is so good the first time I used it my wife thought it was thunder outside. Clear voice on the center channel, and surrounds very clear. I would say for money this is a great unit for entry level, because when I watch a dvd now it does come alive. No regets on
purchasing this Onkyo.

Similar Products Used:

pioneer

Great sound, not very expensive, 5 channel stereo

sorry excuse for fm antenna, not very many DSP modes

I bought this reciever a little while ago from Circuit City for about $300 and I love it. My harman kardon decided to die on me (only after about a month) and take one of my speakers with it so instead of getting another expensive HK that would last a month I got this one. It sounds great with music and dvd movies. It puts out plenty of power and has a 5 channel stereo mode which lets you listen to music out of 5 speakers at once. The only thing I miss that the HK had was pre-outs and a few more DSP modes but for the money difference I can do with out them.

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon

Value, a lot of technology in a budget box.

Poor sound quality, low power.

First, this reciever was a steal at the price, and it has a great set of features. DTS, DD, easy setup, binding posts for all speaker.

However, I was uninspired by the sound quality. It was dull. Music was somewhat lifeless. Movies are a little vague. It is also low on power, and I don't tend to "Crank it Up". Watching movies at a moderate level required 60% volume.

It would still be a very good entry level home theater receiver for an apartment or a small room.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood, Sony, Denon

Price ,Quality,

none

I purchased this unit to upgrade from pro logic to dts
i love it as for the bass problem people are refering to the velodyne sub takes care of that.Over all this unit is perfect for my small room conditions.My home thearter is very tight i run matched speakers set it up with yhe avia and video esentals and I can think of nothing bad to say
I love it.

Features, clarity, inputs, DTS/DD

None

This receiver has it all for the money. DTS and DD are solid along with the DSP modes. Very easy to hook up, and Onkyo's customer service is prompt. Binding Post connections are another great feature not found in this price range. I bought this as a Refurb. with the warranty for 1 yr. The sound is very clear, no hum or distortion. I made sure that I used quality shielded wires throughout. The receiver is connected to PS2 through Optical connection and DVDs sound tremendous. Stereo and CD sound excellent without distortion at high volumes. This is a great receiver for the budget-minded person looking for quality. It won't get you arrested for disturbing the peace, but the quality is there for sure. Late Night Mode is great for watching DVDs in DD. Sound is rich and remains fairly level.

Similar Products Used:

Denon/Sony