Start off with a little story before I get into this write up. You can skip this completely but think it might be helpful. Back when I was in grade school and it was Christmas break during 8th grade. I came up with this idea that I wanted to put a home theater system in my room. I loved going to my uncles place at the beach because he always had the latest and greatest in technology and surround sound totally make it a different experience. Since I had a TV and pretty decent size room and Christmas was just around the corner I mused the idea of asking for a home theater system. I had no idea how much was out there when it came to audio. I browsed online for anything but never found much and if I did it was completely out of my price range. I’d wait every Sunday for the Best Buy ad and Circuit City ad. It was so complicated then. I didn’t know if I could just get speakers and hook them up to my TV or if I needed something fancy like a receiver. Quickly I learned that I needed an Amp to power the speakers and in home theater they were receivers that served as the amp and main center. At the time these things were priced outrageous and being a young kid I was totally let down. I did find a receiver online that seemed too good to be true. It was an Onkyo and I’ll never forget the name because I asked everyone I knew and they said they never heard of it and to go with a Sony, Yamaha, or Pioneer. This totally bummed me out and I gave up because I couldn’t find anything about this brand and you don’t want to buy something you know nothing about just because of the price. What a mistake and lack of risk. Now I look back and think that Onkyo probably would have been just the thing I was looking for. Great price, easy to use, and the perfect first receiver. Just because you never heard of a brand makes it suck, well not always the case (the Vizio is a whole different subject tackled later).
One thing that any person who is taught to sell or inform people about home audio is drilled this one line to give everyone.
“The full experience is 50% picture and 50% sound” - George Lucas
If you’ve decided that this is true and want to partner up your TV with a surround system my recommendation is an Onkyo Home Theater in a Box to start. Home Theaters In a Box (HTIB) are as you read it, EVERYTHING in a box. A receiver that powers the speakers and is your main hub, usually five speakers or even seven sometimes, subwoofer, and some even come with speaker cable. There are many out there and it can get confusing. The prices can go as low as $100 all the way up to $2000+ systems. Onkyo I believes gives you a lot of options with their products, great price, and best bang for your buck. Personally from all the systems that were available when I worked at Circuit City this was the best option by far. Best Buy does not carry Onkyo but the equivalent would probably be the Yamaha HTIBs if you weren’t a Circuit City fan.
Now for the the real information.
Onkyo HT-S3100
5.1-channel receiver/speaker package
What are the basics?
This system is the most basic of all the systems. Comes with the receiver, 1 center, 2 front, and 2 rear speakers. Also comes with a passive subwoofer. The receiver has all the basic needs such as AM/FM tuner. The receiver also has a zone 2, this allows for an extra pair of speakers to be used in a different room or outside. Total power of the system is 700 Watts (115w x 5 + 125w sub). It has plentiful amounts of inputs which consist of:
Video: 4 composite inputs / 1 output (Yellow) & 3 Component Inputs / 1 output (Red, Blue, Green)
Audio: 6 RCA inputs (Red & White), 2 opticals, and 1 digial coax (Orange)
Who is this for?
This is for the person who wants a good entry system with options. Unlike majority of the other major brand HTIB’s like the Sonys, Panasonics, LGs, Phillips, and Samsungs this comes with a receiver NOT a basic DVD player with one or two audio inputs/outputs. The receiver gives you great quality sound and tons of inputs which gives you the ability to hook up all your compents to the receiver for surround audio. You are no where as limited to how many inputs, outputs, and speakers to the traditional HTIBs. The best part about the system is the price. You’d expect to pay much more for having a versitile receiver compared to the all in one DVD player/Receiver HTIBs but it is priced in the same price range as the others. This means your paying for quality sound that comes from the receiver and not a basic DVD player that powers the speakers which limits you dramatically on what you can do. If you have a average size living room and want to hook up your TV, cable box, gaming consoles, PC, DVD player, etc.. to surround sound and don’t want to break the bank this is definately for you. One last feature that is great selling point is the fact that later on if you want to upgrade any of your speakers or have better speakers for the front there is no problem (you’ll be surprised how many system do not allow this).
Who is this not for?
This is not for someone who has a large enviroment. Its not that it doesn’t have the power its just for a large enviroment you’re going to want to have more speakers and not have to crank it up all the time which in turn means less clarity. This is not for someone who has a blu-ray player who expects to be wowed by sound. This is not for someone who is up to date and majority of their players support HDMI inputs. All in all this is a basic entry level system to dip their feet into a home audio experience. Not recommended for an audiophile. One last obvious thing, this isn’t for someone for small speakers that aren’t noticable.
Extras:
The Onkyo receiver that comes with this system supports the following Onkyo iPod docks: DS-A2x, DS-A2, & DS-A1
Color coded speaker inputs (makes setup extremely easy)
700watt power is rated @ 6 ohms. 675~ watts Total Power (95w x 5 @ 8 ohms)
Onkyo HTIB’s generally come with all the cables you’ll need for the speakers and sub
Also comes in Silver
Final words:
Can’t say this enough to people. Don’t go out and buy a HTIB that limits you or integrates a DVD player. You want to buy something that will allow you to hook up all your devices not just for use when watching a dvd. Your money is going a lot further with a system that comes with a receiver and decent set of speakers. For the price this is the best deal out there. The setup and options aren’t too advanced to the average person. The menus make sense and don’t go too in depth.
If you have any questions feel free to comment.
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