I posted this in the receiver forum to get feedback on the receiver. Perhaps y'all can give me feedback on the speakers that come with the Home Theatre system (HTS 650):
I got a great deal on the SR600, but I wasn't looking to spend this much on a HT system. Basically, in order to stay within my budget I'd have to get all speakers (I'm ok with only doing 5.1 at this point, so I'd have to buy 5 speakers) and the subwoofer for less than $200. So is it better for me to just sell the SR600 for $100 profit and invest that in the HTS 650, or should I buy the HTS 650, sell the receiver that comes with it, and use the speakers from that system with my SR600?
Are the speakers that come with the HTS 650 worth it? I feel like that's one good way to get all the speakers for $200 after I sell the SR500 receiver that comes with the HTS 650. Is the SR600 much better than the SR500? I know it has EX/ES, but other than that, is it significantly better, and worth keeping? I do like the Night Mode, which I don't think the SR500 has.
Basically my options: SR600 with HTS 650 speakers: $500 HTS 650 after selling SR600: $340
Thanks for the advice, tslugmo
tslugmo
Posted on
OK, not much response yet, so I guess I'll add what I've learned via Cnet's reviews. The SR600 is their favorite receiver, beating out the Denon 3802. They also did a review of the HT500 speakers, which come with the HTS650. They loved them. They also said that the SR500 was good, but the SR600 was worth the money to upgrade: "A brief shoot-out with the next model up in the line, the TX-SR600, proved the superiority of the more expensive receiver. The difference in rated power is a mere 15 watts per channel, but the TX-SR600 put more low-end oomph through our Dynaudio Contour speakers. Relative to the TX-SR600, the TX-SR500 definitely scaled back the action on The Thin Red Line DVD. If your room is large and/or you like to play your CDs and DVDs at fairly high levels, spend the extra money and buy the $500 (list price) TX-SR600. That said, the TX-SR500 carries a suggested retail price of just $320, so we consider it an absolute deal. It's perfectly suited to compact systems in small to midsized rooms."
I've got a small room, but I figure being able to hold onto it for a while, in case I move to a bigger house, is worth it. And they seem to like the speakers that come with the HT-S650, so I might go with that. Anybody have any more input?
hARL
Posted on
Check out Circuit City. They have the SKST500 6-Speaker System on sale for $199. This is the same speaker set that comes with the HTS650. I just bought the TXSR600 unit ($449) and the SKST500 speaker set ($199) today. I was going to get the HTS650 kit because the HT-R500 receiver that comes in this kit has 100W/Ch x 5. Onkyo's web site shows that it has 100W/Ch x 5 under the specs, but in their main catalog it says the unit has 65W/Ch continous power. Confused on this matter, I called Onkyo and the rep told me that the HT-R500 unit in the kit was more powerful than the TXSR500 (100W/Ch versus 65W/Ch). He even told me that the HT-R500 was more powerful than the TXSR600 on a per channel basis but that the 600 had more features (EX, ES, etc.). Anyhow, I went to Circuit City with my mind made up on getting the HTS650 kit because I wanted more power in the receiver. I thought it would be nice to have the newer TXSR600 but I didn't want the drop in power (100 to 80). The sales rep at Circuit City informed me that the 100W/Ch was not continous power but peak power and that the receiver was truly more like its brother, the TXSR500 unit. He assured me that the TXSR600 unit was more powerful at 80W/Ch because it was continous power. Well, I just got home with the TXS600 and have been setting it up. Tried out Lord of the Rings and it sounds awesome. I'm curious though about the power thing between the HT-R500 and the TXSR600. Does this sound right to the rest of you guys? Hope this helps on the speakers tslugmo.
Anonymous
Posted on
I was under the impression that the reciever of te HT-S500 is the same as TX-SR500. The catalog that you can download from the Onkyo page shows them to be identical and they are rated at the same power. Does someone know what differences exist? I tried a search and I did not find much. The only thing I am suspecting is the existence of a night mode which I have only seen mentioned in conjuction with the TX-SR500.
Nick Maloley
Posted on
I too am trying to decide if I want to go with the HT-S650 or get the TX-SR500 reciever and buy the speakers separate. I want to go with which ever one has the highest power output, don't realy need the EX,ES upgrade. I looked on their web site as well but found that they listed the HT-S650 at 100x/ch and the TX-SR500 at 65w/ch. But the dynamic power is different so there must be something different between the two. The HT-S650 has a dynamic power of 110w/ch @ 4 ohms and the TX-SR500 has 125w/ch @ 4 ohms. Any ideas???
Unless onkyo's website is wrong on the specs of the recievers, there has to be some difference internaly. Look at the specs for the tx-sr500 and the specs on the reciever with the hts-650. There is a 2.7 lb weight difference. The receiver with the HTIB weighing in more. Obviously there is something different inside.
Yeah I compared the specs between the two receivers. The receiver in the ht-system is heavier by a couple of pounds. (the model is called the ht-r500) The tx-sr500 specs are as follows Amplifier Section
Power Output* (8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC) Front L/R 65 W/Ch Center 65 W Surround L/R 65 W/Ch Surround Back Power Output* (6 ohm, 1 kHz, FTC) Front L/R 80 W/Ch Center 80 W Surround L/R 80 W/Ch Surround Back Dynamic Power** (front) 3 ohm 160 W/Ch 4 ohm 125 W/Ch 8 ohm 85 W/Ch THD (Rated Power) 0.08 % (all channels) Damping Factor (1 kHz, 8 ohm) 60 Frequency Response 10 Hz-100 kHz (+ 1 dB, - 3 dB)
And the specs for the Ht-r500 (the receiver in the ht-s650).
Power Output (8 ohm, 1 kHz, FTC) 100 W/Ch Dynamic Power* 170 W/Ch/115 W/Ch THD (Rated Power) 0.08 % (all channels) Frequency Response 20 Hz-100 kHz (+ 1 dB, - 3 dB) Damping Factor (8 ?) 60 S/N Ratio 100 dB (IHF-A) Acoustic Control 1 +/- 10 dB at 50 Hz/+/- 10 dB at 20 kHz
Weight: TX-SR500 - 18.7 lbs HT-R500 - 21.4 lbs
Other thing that is different between the two recievers is the frequency response?!! what does that even mean... Wish onkyo could tell us what the difference Is.. Oh Although the receivers have received rave reviews from cnet and consumers.. the speakers have been panned for playing music... so maybe if you want to listen to a lot of music.. u should investin some better mains .. since u have such a classy reciever anyway (sr600).. my two cents...
Anonymous
Posted on
Just talked to Onkyo on the phone today. The 2 receivers are identical EXCEPT the one that comes with the HTS-650 is more powerful (100W/Ch versus 65W/Ch).
FLAMANAR
Blue King
Posted on
I have a hookup question of the receiver (of HT-S650). I hooked up a DVD player and a VCR to it. I have both S-video and component video between the TV and receiver (on the TV side, they both belong to Video1). The DVD player works fine, but I only got audio when playing the VCR (on video1). If I unhook the S-video cable on the TV, the VCR signal will show up, everything is fine. But I don't want to touch the S-video cable on the TV every time I switch between the DVD and VCR. What did I do wrong? I do have another spare component video input on the TV (video3). I guess I could use that. I hope to only use Video1 on the TV no matter I play DVD or VCR. Can I do that (if I want S-video from the DVD)? I think the purpose of having video inputs on the receiver is that all video types will be routed to the same video cable connecting to the TV.
I have never heard the HTS650 system. I was just about to take my Panasonic HE70 Receiver and Sony SAVE335 speakers back to get the Onkyo TXSR500 Receiver and a Jamo sub Satt speaker system. Found out about the HTS650 and now want that but it has to be special ordered in Vancouver Canada and I can't give it back if I don't like it. By the way also have a Pair of Polk audio R30 speakers for my 2 channel cd listening which is important for me. My hesitation is that I don't know what the Receiver is that comes with this package. Is it a good quality Receiver like the TXSR500 or TXSR600 Receiver from Onkyo. It is definitely neither of these 2. It seems to have more power than both but the specs available are conflicting and misleading. Does anyone out there know exactly what this receiver is and does it have the same quality of build and more important the same quality of sound as the other 2 Onkyo's. Can someone give me some real technical, knowledgeable info so that I can buy this unseen and unheard and still enjoy my music through my PolkAudo speakers if need be and use the rest for Movies and so on. Ivan
Anonymous
Posted on
If your TV has another Video IN (Video 2), you can use it to connect the vcr. But if you have a receiver, and sufficient in/out jacks, use them and control everyting from your receiver.
Blue King
Posted on
I think the S-video cable actually blocks the composite video input. If you want to use s-video for dvd and composite video for VCR, your TV needs at least two video inputs and one of which has s-video. Once you hook up s-video, the corresponding composite input is disabled. This seems to be the case for me. If I am wrong, please let me know.
Thanks.
Anonymous
Posted on
I bought it from authorized dealer BestpriceAudiovideo.com The seller is wonderful -- I will buy again -- it is for 470$ no shipping no taxes -- the best deal with best service
Anonymous
Posted on
I think I have found the best deal on the Hts=650 set. Check out www.soundcity.com. They have the set for $434.13 shipped right now. Can't beat that.
Anonymous
Posted on
Actually, I can beat that. I just went down to Circuit City last night and picked up the s650 for $427.99. I got them to price match a deal I found on the internet. By buying it from an actual store, I don't have to worry about shipping costs or damage. And if there is a problem with the system, I can just run it on back to Circuit City vs. shipping it back, or worse yet, being non-refundable. I will add that this might be difficult to pull off. They are not supposed to price match internet deals, only local store competitors. In fact, even though I did actually find a website that was selling it for $427.99, I did not even have to verify it with Circuit City. They just took my word for it. You might not be so fortunate at your local CC. But it might be worth a shot. This system really does sound wonderful.
po
Posted on
If I were you, I would buy a Yamaha instead of considering either of those Onkyo receivers. In retrospect, I would have bought a Yamaha receiver for myself instead of the hts650.
The problems with the hts650 regarding overheating and LFE channel distortion are disconcerting and I would just feel more confident if I had a system that's more reliable and had better sonic performance like Yamaha.
I don't have any first hand experience with Yamaha products, but from what I hear from audiophile types, this is what they recommend. I'm fairly new to the home theater scene, but I'm pretty knowledgable on the high end stuff. You guys just have to educate yourselves.
-po
bo
Posted on
Hey po, did you hear if Onkyo is acknowledging the LFE problem. I have the LFE problem with my HTS650..GRRRRRRR. It pulses in all three sub modes when running the THX audio test. I loved it until I found about this problem, and now I feel somewhat cheated. Thanks in advance for any information!
TD3
Posted on
The reciever that comes with the HTS650/653DV system is the HT-R500. This is different from the TX-SR500. The only difference is that the HT-R500 is 100w/ch continous and the TX-SR500 is 65w/ch continuous. The frequency range is also different, but that doesn't matter since the human ear can't hear below 30Hz anyway. My experience:
Luckily, I was able to have access to both recievers. First, I bought the TX-SR500 reciever and tested it out with my system. It did NOT have the power I was looking for, so I went back to the seller, and originally was going to get the higher end TX-SR600, but he said that reciever was $150 more than the TX-SR500. So, he suggested that I take home the reciever found in Onkyo's HTS650 home theater, which was the HT-R500, and try it out to see if power was the problem. So I did that. WOW, what a difference. The music was definitely hitting harder and cleaner. And my front/rear channels were tighter than that of the TX-SR500. So in conclusion, the wattage on the HT-R500 is 100watt/channel at 8ohms, and this is continuous wattage, the store owner, a respectable Onkyo reseller confirmed this.
my two cents...