Home > Consumer Reviews > Onkyo HT-SR600S 5.1 Home Theater Entertainment System (Silver)

I was skeptical at first because of the relatively low price, and I wasn't sure I was going to keep it. After I tested it out on my patio-I'm convinced.
I'm not returning it. Mind you,I was outside and it still boomed loud enough for me to be concerned about a disturbing the peace call being made. Let's just say:"I hope, my neighbor doesn't get this HTIB."

First I tested a DVD- (Marky Marky drive a Mini Cooper) sorry I can't remember the name of it. I do remember watching it the first time without a decent HT and not being very interested. The Onkyo made the movie tolerable and down right entertaining. Sorry it couldn't make it memorable but I doubt even a Bose could complete that task. I especially was concerned with "hissing" during quiet dialouge. I hate that about my other HTIB. The Onkyo was impressive. I thought it was very low(distortion) for the $.

Next I tried out the receiver on a CD. Blondie's greatest Hits. Not my fav, but my wife's collection is more organized and accessible then mine.
Wow!!! The surround Neo:Music option played it Beautifully. It hit on all notes and was very clear and crisp. SOLID PRODUCT, BY A SOLID MANUFACTUER.

The speakers are outstanding for the room I'm using them in. The software for sound seperation and reproduction suits my ears to a tee. Overall I'm very pleased with performace for the price.

We purchased this product to use primarily for movies/tv/video games/etc. and I must say I'm very pleased with it. It is also a very attractive setup as well. I do use it for listening to music sometimes (and it's fine for me) but I can see how a previous reviewer who bought it to replace his stereo system was disappointed though. If you're looking to use it for bumping loud music and the like, it probably is not the right choice. All in all for the price I would say it is a great system though. I'd definately recommend it.

I decided to try out the HT-SR600 and a Yamaha RX-V361/NS-SP1600 speakers after reading the reviews and my experience is summarized below:

Onkyo HT-SR600
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Pros: Very easy to set up
(color coded speaker wires make it a breeze), Superb receiver
Cons: Passive subwoofer weak/underpowered also vibrates a lot at higher volumes,
speakers a tad large for a entertainment stand and sound OK but not great. Also as someone else had remarked, music unremarkable even with dts:neo6 music setting. Sports and movies sound great however.

Yamaha RX-V361/NS-SP1600
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Pros: Overall an awesome system (5 x 100w and a 100watt powered subwoofer)Superb receiver and speakers, the tiebreaker for me here was the powered subwoofer and speakers which deliver awesome sound. Music enhancer superb, you can make out the difference right away (Not sure if this is Neo:6). Speakers smaller in size (better for my entertainment center) and sound better than the onkyo's.
To summarize i cannot emphasize enough how much difference a powered sub makes on LFE sounds and finally selected the Yamaha.

Cons: Setup was easy however no color coded wires, speaker wire came in one big roll and i had to measure and cut what i required. Not too big a deal, but only if you have time

Price: Yamaha ($300 from best) buy vs Onkyo ($270 from Circuit city)
Not too much of a difference to justify the Onkyo however i am still giving it 3.5-4 stars for the receiver and wiring alone. The sub is in my opinion a no-no.

The Onkyo HT-SR600S 5.l Home Theater Entertainment System is quite nice for the price! I gave it as a gift, and the recipients are very pleased.