Home > Consumer Reviews > ONKYO SKS-HT240 Home Theater Speaker System

I spent a great deal of time researching a home theater system that fit my requirements. Online reviews were the single largest source of information and the biggest input to my decision. I'm hoping this review will aid someone in the same manner in the future.

First, a few words about my situation - we have a largish (20 X 20 X 25) family room with a 50 inch DLP (a Samsung HL-R5067W) in a corner. The room has large floor-to-ceiling glass windows on the right side, solid walls on two sides, and an open back, which overlooks the kitchen area. In short, a difficult acoustic situation. I needed a system that could fill this large space with sound, yet be crisp enough for dialogues. Plus, this was going to be our main music system as well, so it had to do a good job with music CDs and MP3s, with a large mix of genres and styles.

Since this is the family room (roamed by our curious 2 yr old, with spillover noise from the kitchen etc), we didn't want to spend the world either. The understanding was that we'd budget about $1000 for this system, reserving the future 'media room' for the _really_ good system.

Other requirements were: speakers should be medium sized (not as small as bose, but not large either), preferably in silver.

As mentioned earlier, I looked at many systems online, ranging from HTIB systems (Home Theater in a Box) to separate speakers that ran to hundreds of dollars each. We went to Best Buy, Flanners, American etc to listen to some setups, comparing Denon, Yamaha, Sonys and eventually this Onkyo set.

This Onkyo set has almost a 'perfect' review everyplace you see them online. That's what really made me take notice. And when I actually listened to them at American TV, they beat everything comparable, and then some. So we bought them online (from Vanns.com, actually), and haven't regretted them for a moment.

They do have a couple issues - one, and this is highly subjective, is that I don't care for the stainless steel top, bottom and linings (a little too flashy for our taste). They are a little on the large side, with the subwoofer being pretty big. Also, more importantly, you'll need a few tweaks to get them to play up to their full potential. But that's about it.

As many others have attested before me, the sound from movies will change your movie reviews, and to really top it all, Dave Matthews sounds like he's pretty much sitting in my family room (well, I'm exaggerating, but only a little). The subwoofer is beyond good - it produces a low rumble that's almost visceral.

I paired these speakers with an Onkyo TX-SR574S receiver, and the results are delightful. You will need a good receiver so that you can change the sound levels and distance to different speakers individually. I needed to do that before they started sounding really good. You also will need good, thick speaker cables. Not Monster cable - they are a waste of money - but good (16 gauge at least) speaker wire and a better subwoofer cable than what comes with the set.

The entire set cost me about $700, including $100 for good cables. So we have $300 left over for a HTPC I'm building.

And now for the most important measure of all - my wife, who hates sci-fi movies, sat through 'The Fifth Element' from the beginning to the end, including the credits. This one's a keeper.

These speakers look and sound fantastic! The speakers are all very easy to mount right on the wall with regular screws. You do not need any fancy speaker mounts. You can also mount the speakers vertically or horizontally in case you are limited by the shape of your room, as I was. Their low profile makes it look like you spent a fortune on your system. The sub-woofer is huge and puts out amazing bass sound. They are far better than other HTIB sets. The sound is rich and is perfect for a small/mid size room. If you want a step higher than these I would recommend the Paradigm CT series, but for the money these speakers are a bargain.

I wanted to get a new surround system that did just as good or better on music as it did on movie surround tracks since I'm an avid music lover of all types. Small speaker surround systems tend to do movie surround ok, but sound a little anemic when it comes to playing good old fashion music. I was impressed when I heard the ONKYO's at Circuit City due to their rich and clean sound. They also look great on the wall next to the ever popular flat screen TVs. Their brushed aluminum finish and accurate natural sound real makes a statement in style and performance. One online reviewer said that they have the gravity of a larger more expensive speaker system.
The powered sub is also fairly clean and deep though you might have to set the crossover to 100hz or more to get a good match and set the power output a little lower than normal cause of some booming at high volumes. With my test setup disc from Sound and Vision magazine the bass produced palpable bass down to the middle to lover 30's at least in my medium size room of 15 by 13 with very strong output in the middle 40's.
The wire connections are spring loaded and are adequate for larger size wires, but it would have been nice if they were gold plated binding post on such a fine speaker. They work well with my ONKYO AV receiver which does have binding post. In my room, I get room filling and lively sound on most discs using less than half power.
These speakers work well on Jazz, acoustic, classical and classic rock music but may not be for head bangers that live on heavy metal crunch. They're well worth the money for the discriminate listener. I'm listening again to all my CD's and DVD AUDIO/SACD's to hear what I may have missed over the years.

I have a small setup in a small living room, so I don't need house-filling sound. However, I also didn't want to spend much because I will be buying a better system in the future for a larger room. The Onkyo HT240 set more than satisfies my every desire for clear, crisp, substantial sound. It is no wonder this speaker system has received so many excellent reviews both from customers (such as the ones here at Amazon) and from professionals and audiophiles.

Set up is a breeze due to color-coded wires that are long lengths for larger rooms. The instructions are well-written, with easy-to-follow diagrams (fairly unusual for electronics equipment) if you need more detailed guidance. The spring-tabbed connections work very well and have a strong, high-quality feel.

The subwoofer is large and fills the room with a wonderfully substantial and deep bass and the control knob works smoothly and is of very high quality. You can adjust the bass all the way from silent to overwhelming. The rest of the speakers have a clear sound that enables the smallest details to be heard -- it's just amazing the amount of clarity you can detect with and between the various combinations of speakers when you adjust your receiver. The response is instantaneous and the highs are clean, with absolutely no hiss. This excellent quality is found within the entire range of sound; I've not been able to find any weaknesses, although I'm no expert. I listen mainly to classical music and classic rock and watch a wide variety of movies. I can hear things in all these formats that ordinary speakers simply wouldn't pick up and many old CDs sound as if they've been remastered. My receiver is a mid-priced Denon and the power output is a perfect match for this Onkyo system -- never too much, never too little. Even at extremely low volumes, every single satellite picks up the signals sent them and renders the sounds beautifully.

These speakers are also very attractive. The housing of the satellites is matte extruded aluminum, with polished chrome caps on the tops and bottoms. The chrome accents are continued on the grilles of black fabric and the Onkyo label is subtle in a dark gray. The subwoofer is large and will overhang a standard bookcase cabinet, so measure carefully. Its finish is in a slightly metallic dark gray with standby/on light that changes from orange to green, standby to on. (This light is small and very subtle.) I purchased two sets of matching speaker stands made for this set as well as an additional satellite, making my configuration a 7.1 setup.

I shopped around for several weeks for a good set of inexpensive speakers. I listened to brands such as JBL, NHT, Yamaha, Sony, Infinity and when I compared prices to sound, these beat them all hands down. The sound is better than many far more expensive systems and although they aren't for a large room, they are perfect for a modest-sized and modestly priced home theater system. Good speakers are one of the most important features of a good system and I cannot recommend these highly enough. That they look really great is a welcome bonus.

When I first started putting my Home Theatre together I relied heavily on user reviews found at a number of different sites. These speakers received high grades at all sites where my alternative, Bose, were just average. Unbelievable value for the amount they cost, I would gladly pay two to three times their cost given the result.
I purchased these speakers unseen, unheard and as stated above the sound is just amazing. They are powered by a Pioneer VSX1015TXO.
I write this review so others may benefit from user reviews as much as I have during my Home Theatre project.