TUNE DIGITALLY

Review by R. Bazan:

I purchased this unit to complement a Samsung LN52a550 HDTV. Didn't feel there was enough sound from the unit to complement the samsungs outstanding video. Shopped for reasonably priced HTIB units and decided (despite cautions that most didn't perform) to give this unit a try. In my wildest expectations I never thought this unit would perform up to its marketing description. Placed in a den of that is approx. 15 x 25 and playing a Dolby DVD, it placed me in a cinema that provides sound effects that truly astounded. I'll qualify this by saying that I'm a audio neophyte but for this sound at this amount of money I am truly impressed.

Be aware that this Sony unit is being used with a Samsung HDTV and consequently the transition between DVD usage & HDTV usage (must change input source) is a bit bothersome. I found that in order to obtain full surround sound from the unit when receiving audio only from you TV (not from the DVD) you must purchase a digital optical cable.

Hope I haven't misled any one but if you select this unit I don't believe you'll be disappointed.

Review by H. Rosales:

(UPDATE:

I just found out that the S-AIR technology interferes with the wii remote. The cursor on the screen will jump all over the place and the sound on the wii remote will get cut out. It very noticeable playing Super Mario Galaxy when selecting your file on the file menu. So if you own a wii you will be very disappointed. Turning off the home theater or taking out the S-AIR cart on the back of the receiver solves the problem. Way to go Sony. I think you did this on purpose. NEW RATING: 4 STARS. Original rating was 5 stars.)

This Home theater system is great. The wireless system is nearly perfect, so far only a couple of weird click noises, but I have been using this 24/7 and it has worked beautifully. The design is really elegant for the price. Before getting this system I tried a Panasonic SC-PT660 5 DVD Home Theater System, the Sony BRAVIA DAV-HDX587WC 5.1 Channel Theater System and the Sony HSS360 component system. And this system beats all of them by a mile. Highly Recommended.

Review by K. Pizarro:

I bought this product but am not using it for any kind of video display so I can't speak to it for that. I'm using it as a sound system for my ipod and computer and it hasn't let me down. The sound really packs a punch and is really nice if you use the right equalizer to get the proper balance in sound. The only drawback is that it doesn't put out any sound when using these functions through the center speaker so really its just like having a 4.1 system unless you use it as a surround system for a tv. It goes pretty loud considering i haven't really gone above 22 volume even though it goes up to 34. The balance is really good, although I tend to like a little more bass in my music, which it offers plenty of. Great system that isn't too pricey. Would recommend to anyone who wants an easy way to get out of having to use a 2.1 system on a laptop.

Review by JK:

I've own previous Sony HTIB systems and decided to upgrade to this system to increase quality and sound. You'd think the newer the model the better the upgrades, but I didn't see any improvements to the last model. See the reviews for the hdx275, both systems are basically identical. The only thing Sony decided to do was give this line of product an aesthetic make-over, a tried and true marketing gimmick. Anyway, I just wanted to be the first to say that after a week of use, the receiver all of a sudden loss power in the middle of normal DVD play. It's been sitting at one of Sony's "certified" service centers for over 3 weeks while they're still trying to figure out what went wrong. Pretty frustrating especially after having to pay postage out of pocket to send it there! I'm rating this system 3 stars because when it was working, it produced great sound and picture for the price you pay; budget system for a budget price. My only other complaint is that the sound level needs to be set pretty high for normal volume. On my older models of the same line, the sould level never needed to be set as high for the same amount of volume.

Review by Scott Vongsa:

I ordered this Panasonic home theater system on a Thursday and received it the following Monday. Let me tell you, when the UPS guy delivered this, it was hooked up in under 30 min. Nice, clear, booming sound, an i-pod dock and a 5-disc DVD changer that converts standard movies to 1080p- Incredible!! The picture quality(viewed on a 42-in flat screen) along with crisp sound and great price(thanks Amazon!)is all you could ever ask for in a home theater system. The only knock that I have with this system is that there are a bunch of wires that crisscross everywhere but it's not that big a deal. I highly recommend this product.

Review by DDS:

I bought this system expecting mediocre performance, given the price. On my other TV, I have a high-end Yamaha receiver with a Bose Acoustimass speaker system. I honestly believe the sound is just as good with this system, and it costs about 00 less.

What I did give up are features and controls, and really high volume. You can make minor adjustments that I believe are fully sufficient, but not the wide array of sound settings and tweaks that are available for more money. Also, it provides plenty of good volume and sound quality for a home theater application, but the volume may be limited if you are looking to also use the system as an audio system to play when not watching a TV (music for a party, outdoor connections). That is not to say it won't get very loud with good quality, just that is where a high-end system with more power can surpass this.

Bottom line, if you want a really good surround sound experience, I'm very pleased with this system. If you want all of the capabilities of a high-end expensive system...then don't look for it in a 0 HTIB. Definitely recommend this product.

Review by Bob:

If you are going to spend big bucks on a big screen TV, why not get a good quality audio system too. Any of them will beat TV speakers. Given the amount of time most people use their TV, would encourage others to get a good audio system if they can afford it. This thing brings new life to movies as well as other programming. Am glad I did not buy a cheap audio system to save a few dollars.

So far, have the center and front speakers hooked up along with the sub woofer. Like the adjustable active sub woofer volume knob. Have more speaker wire on the way for the long wire runs on my side and rear speakers. Am not using HDMI cables on my standard definition system yet. Next, will begin mounting more speakers with the Sanus mount system.

The clear sound quality of this powerful 1200 watt system is great for the money- as many reputable online review sources said. The powered (110 volt) 290 watt subwoofer will make the floor shake and windows rattle. One can crank up the volume to the point where the house is vibrating but it still maintains clarity and quality sound. They include cheap little protective pads to keep the sub woofer from marking floors. After watching a James Bond movie with it, believe the 10" sub woofer that is pointed straight down was designed so viewers could feel explosions and such for it sure does shake the floorboards. It gives one a sense of being right in the action scenes when you can actually feel the movie. All of the wires are fully color coded making it very easy to hook up with no mistakes. It would be hard to be unable to easily get this system up and running properly if you can read this.

Consumer Reports rated the Onkyo 5100 model that this system recently replaced their highest rated choice for a home theater system. It was the only model that they rated "very good" for sound quality. All of the rest only rated "good" per their opinion. This 5200 model is a new release to replace their 5100 system. Wonder just how many systems CR tested total.

You can't go too far wrong here for sound quality at a budget price. One review source said Onkyo consistently beats other brands.

My goal was top quality sound at a reasonable price. Will add extras (blu-ray player...) after I have the system set up and properly tuned with their included syncronization mic system that automatically adjusts the system for each unique application, room size, etc.

Everything about this system is big including the large, heavy box it comes in. Physics is physics- that's how they get the clear, high quality sound out of the sound chambers I guess. All of the speakers have a real wood grain laminate exterior finish- look good. There are numerous higher priced Onkyo home theater systems and one lower priced model than this one.

Oct. 6, '09: Consumer Reports has now put this one- the Onkyo 5200 system in their number one spot with a Yamaha YHT-591 model second at 0 and a cheaper Yamaha YHT-391 (0) in third place. They have all three systems rated "very good" for sound quality currently. Been enjoying mine thoroughly about everyday now. Especially using it for XM music from my Direct TV satellite connection. Am now working on getting a good old fashion TV antenna 34' feet into the air with a powered pre amplifer on it for all of my regional broadcast stations. The amplified rabbit ears gotta go with what's available free off the airways nowadays.

Nov. 13, 2009: Am definitely getting my money worth out of this system. Use it a lot for XM music. Usually last about five minutes or less before I switch from TV speakers to the home theater system and turn off the TV- great sound quality. There is no comparison. It's like a good quality stereo system.

Dec. 9 2009: Consumer Reports now has the Onkyo 7200 model (0) in 1st place with the 5200 model in 2nd. They rated the Yamaha YHT-391 (0) system a best buy. CR rated all of them "very good" for sound quality. Have noticed that many appear to like the Onkyo 6200 model system for its capabilities.

Bought my Onkyo 5200 HTIB system back when they were going for a best price of 0.00 or more at about all of the larger online retailers. Paid 3.00 for my system new including shipping from a small but reputable seller but I have no factory warranty for Onkyo does not see fit to cover their products unless you purchase them from an "authorized Onkyo dealer". So far, have not encountered anything I have not been able to figure out using the owner's manual. Hopefully, it will not need repair service anytime in the near (or distant) future. It appears that Amazon is an authorized Onkyo dealer.

Guess you can tell, I like this system. It was money well spent. Now, where is my commission Amazon???

Review by Lem Ung:

Got this for a little more than 0. Works great. Easy installation. Many options for a cheap model. I bought the Sony system earlier, about 0 and had to return them. Very happy with the Onkyo. I play my 360 and PS3 on it and the sound is crystal clear and deep bass! Can notice all 7.1 channels! Make sure you use the optical sound. Highly recommended for this price range, probably up to the 0 or even 0.

Review by A. Webb:

This system is wonderful for a starter set. If you're a college student, new to surround or looking for something simple for a smaller room, this is a great choice. The biggest plus about this system is that I can hook up my Xbox (RCA hook up or digital). Keep in mind that If you hook it up with RCA you can't get surround, but the stereo sounds amazing. I was afraid of Coby from all bad reviews on other systems. This one really exceeded every expectations. Very clear sound, great price and a great DVD player make this perfect.

I'm 21 and live in an apartment so the rooms aren't that big. I have a 100 sq. foot living room. This system is just right. When you finish setting it up (took me about 30 min, running cables and all) you need to put in a DVD like Lord of the Rings to test out the sound. If you leave everything at the default you'll notice that there's almost no bass and the center speaker is WAY over powering. Play around with your setting for a while, you CAN get bass out of it, just look through the menus.

Review by Scott W. Wood:

Not a bad product. Sounds good after replacing 20g wire with bigger 8g. Does not remember settings after turned off(including volume). Volume very high when turned on and no control for about a minute. Quality of speakers and sub ok. Very not up-to-date for connecting to modern hi-def tv's. Your old school rca jacks. Worth it to spend more on a more quality, up to date system.

Review by Jonathan Wong:

I own a new 40" Sony Bravia LCD that I hooked this system up to. I was very impressed with its sound and its wide range of features for the price! However, there were a couple areas that I feel need to be addressed.

PROS:

- Excellent sound, especially the Movie DCS mode which adds a ton of depth to any movie

- Easy setup

- Excellent integration with a Sony TV. I can fully control my LCD from the receiver remote after hooking up the HDMI cables.

- Full HDMI switching makes initial connection and switching between sources a snap. I can switch between cable and my PS3 with 1 button.

- Wide range of format handling, including Linear PCM.

- Wide range of sound modes.

- No color distortion issues when switching between HDMI sources. This seemed to be a problem in older models.

CONS:

- I found the bass to be a little lacking due to the fact that the subwoofer is passive. I swapped the included one out with this: Yamaha YST-SW216BL Advanced YST II Front-Firing Active Subwoofer and it brought the sound to a whole new level!

- Uses proprietary speaker wire connections. Sony makes it very hard to swap the subwoofer like I described previously because the receiver uses proprietary plugs for the speakers instead of generic speaker wire attachments. The system comes with 4 thin speaker wires with plugs to the receiver on one end, and bare wire on the other to hook up to the satellite speakers. However, the subwoofer's is HARD WIRED, so it can't be detached at all. What's worse is that Sony only sells their speaker wires in packs of 5, for a whopping .

To use my new subwoofer, I simply found an aftermarket plug with a small length of wire on eBay, spliced it with some standard 18 gauge wire of my own and hooked it up to my new sub. Voila, it worked like a charm.

OVERALL:

Out of the box, the system is a solid 4/5. With a powered subwoofer and a little bit of handiwork to get around Sony's greed, it can be improved to 5/5.

Review by Douglas Burkett:

As someone who was in the process of purchasing my first blu-ray player I was looking to upgrade my older Sony surround sound system as well. I was looking for a couple of things in a new system: One, that it had plenty of HDMI inputs and two, that it had a high-quality sound for the price point.

As for the most important item, the sound, this is a great system. People have said it is like listening to a 0-1000 system. I don't know if it sounds as good as a 00 system, but I would say it does sound wonderful like a 0-700 system so for the price it can't be beat. The highs sound very clear and crisp and the bass is deep with depth without losing too much 'punch' or getting too 'muddy'. The only minor issue I have with sound is that when dialogue gets loud the center speaker (on rare occasions) 'flinches' and has the slightest sound like feedback. It could be the case itself vibrating as I have it sitting against the T.V. base/stand so this could be the problem as well.

Out of the box the system takes a little time to set up (as does any surround system with the speakers, etc). This system looks sleek and is identical to the companion blu ray player I purchased to go with it; they have a matching black color, are matching in size and are similar in faceplate size and in overall sleek design. The receiver for this unit is about half the height and depth as my old Sony one, leaving me more space to add other components into my rack.

The speaker wires are thin and the speakers each have proprietary connections going into the receiver but it sounds so good I don't feel any need to replace the wires so this is a moot point for me.

Once the system is arranged and the speakers all connected there is a little microphone you can plug into the back of the unit, place it in what would be the ideal listening spot in the room and using the remote you can access a little sequence of sound tests in the menu to have the unit self-calibrate itself. This is a nice feature to use to get started but I found tweaking was needed to get the best possible sound...the bass was way too loud using the self-calibration. However, in all other aspects as far as distance of the individual speakers and the volume level of each speaker, the self-calibration did very well and was pretty accurate in these areas.

The unit's set-up and menu is all accessed by remote and uses kind of a branching mode in which to reach all of the individual settings. You have to look at the little screen on the receiver and this can be tedious but is easier once you are familiar with how to access the various areas of the menu. An on-screen menu would have been a great addition for this unit (but of course would also have raised the cost).

The HDMI connections for me were great. I have a blu ray player, a cable/satellite tuner and a 5-disc DVD upconverter/CD player all using HDMI cables for optimal performance...being able to run all 3 of those into the receiver and then running just one HDMI cable from the receiver to the HDTV cut back on the spaghetti of cables and gave me the best signal performance possible from all of my components. When you select the input on the receiver (blu ray player, cable, etc) that is what the receiver will play as far as audio and is the signal that will be sent to the HDTV as well.

However, there are two issues with this HDMI set up. First, you will not be able to use more than one component at a time. For instance, you can not listen to a CD while at the same time watch video from your cable or satellite because you will not be able to choose more than one input to play at a time UNLESS you connect them directly to each other instead of running them all through the receiver. Then you could play a CD through the receiver and play video from the cable or satellite box directly to the TV (bypassing the video around the receiver).

The second problem is that the audio and video does not always output correctly with the selection of the input on the receiver. For example, I have noticed that on occasion I may select the cable/satellite on the receiver and the audio will be there but I will not get a picture on the HDTV even though the TV is tuned to the right setting. If I turn the input on and off on the receiver or turn the TV itself on and off suddenly the picure miraculously comes on. Other times I will play a blu ray disc and I can get the picture on the TV but the audio will not be recognized or played back by the receiver (even though the picture and sound are going through the same HDMI cable) and I will have to either turn the receiver on and off or the blu ray player on and off to get the audio going. I can't figure out any particular pattern this follows but it does happen frequently...other times it works correctly with no problems. Perhaps this would not happen if all of my equipment was Sony and the components all 'talked' to each other better (my HDTV is not a Sony brand). I'm still trying to figure this out as it is annoying. I am always eventually able to get everything working together-it just might take a couple of extra buttons to get there.

One other very important piece of info is that this unit will accept a linear PCM channel for audio. This means you can playback the True HD Dolby and HD DTS Master lossless sountracks on blu ray discs AS LONG AS the blu ray player you are using has the processing for those formats built into it. The companion Sony player (the S360) as well as many newer ones do have the HD soundtrack processing in them.

In the end the performance and sound far outweigh the rare issue with the center speaker and the quirky HDMI input/output problems. If the price of the system was in the 0-600 range I would have to move it to just 3 stars. But the price is great for the quality of sound this unit produces resulting in my 4-star review.

Review by Tristan D. Traaen:

First off, this system can get L-O-U-D! It will be perfect in a standard household/apt and I would even say it could fill up a large living room with ease. I don't even have the sub turned all the way up in fear of getting a noise complaint. That's a good thing.

The system offers a lot of dynamic sound settings. Here are some of a few:

HEAVY - added bass/good clarity

CLEAR - More Treble/less bass

FLAT - All levels straight across

SOFT - More subdued/less treble/a little bit of added bass

The system also has a couple of Easter eggs that I was not expecting. There is a nice feature of being able to "re-master" the sound of any Blu-Ray/DVD to give it the user more control over the specific sound they want to hear. Additionally, one can manipulate the visual aspect to create a more refined picture.

The down side is that the system offers a limited amount of inputs, but in its defense, it is not a standalone receiver. The good thing is that it offers two optical inputs which can easily accommodate your XBOX/PS3/Wii and you Cable/Satellite TV receiver.

There is a nice smart setup feature which calibrates your sound from a specific device. In my opinion it worked quite well and the levels were automatically adjusted.

Extra features include the IPOD adaptor which has been done well and easily allows the user to access the IPODs songs/playlists etc. There is also a SD card which can play pictures/video files. The speakers are wireless capable.

Ultimately, I am a stickler for being able to manipulate every aspect of the sound/video to make my experience the best it can be. This system does not offer every little nuance, but for the money it comes pretty darn close with a lot of extra features. Most importantly, I have been quite impressed with the sound and visual clarity of the system and have been quite pleased with the purchase. Give it a look!!

Review by Brent M:

I was unsure if I should get this system due to the lack of reviews online. Most of the negative reviews I saw complain about the lack of in box wireless but say little about the sound/video.

After watching Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Planet Earth, I can tell you that the video looks great and the sound is really impressive. Planet Earth looks amazing on it. The surround sound works very well. So far I am really satisfied with the whole setup. I highly recommend the whole unit.

The only negative I can find with it is the manual. I rarely read manuals, however, there are a lot of features that are not explained real clearly for non-audiophiles. Therefore, I am not totally sure if I have it setup for the best possible sound/picture. Besides that, I am extremely satisfied.

Review by S. Misal:

Great product from Sony, I have had it for about 2 weeks now, I have played it every day made it go through some rigorous tests. Works perfect, I did a compare with Bose 321GSX and found this to be a lot better for half the price!.

Excellent surround sound effect, IPOD dock works great, rear wireless speakers are amazing, even though Sony says not to keep the unit under the shelf, it still works great and the rear wireless work perfectly.

Easy setup, and looks great, I even hid the subwoofer behind the TV and did the auto calibration..sounds great.

I'd recommend a 100% buy.

Review by HP:

This system is awesome. I've had it for about a month now and watched a few movies with it. I'm not an audiophile and this is my first surround sound system for my primary living room theater.

I picked this system mainly because of the tower speakers and the S-AIR module. It's a all in one system with a blue ray disk player that supports about 5 different digital audio codecs. It's a clean minimalist design. I was surprised by the depth of the receiver. It's bigger than I expected and fills the majority of shelf space in my entertainment stand.

One thing that bugged me are the the buttons on the top front edge of the receiver. They are small, the same shape and color which force you to read the label to tell what they are. This makes it even more irritating because the remote doesn't have an eject button and I had to learn which of those tiny buttons would eject my disk. I guess I'm really lazy.

Assembly took all but 15 minutes. It took more time to arrange the pieces around the room. There's a quick setup guide that will calibrate your system with an included microphone.

One thing to be aware of, as with most HTIB, there are no video inputs. What this means, is that you'll need to connect all your video sources directly to the TV or a HDMI switch. However, there are mutliple audio inputs. So for example, if you wanted to connect your XBOX 360 to this unit, you'll have to connect your HDMI to your tv and then use an optical cable to route the audio to the receiver. Or you could use the optical out from your TV. This is not ideal, in my opinion, but then again that was not a goal for me.

The sound is crisp, and clean. The sub-woofer gives strong enough punch that you can feel in your chest.

Blue ray disks load quicker than my LG blue ray player.

I'm very happy with my purchase. This was the right unit for me and I would recommend this unit to anyone else looking for an all in one system.