Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System

Frankly, we did not shop around a great deal for speakers and we selected these because of price and the Onkyo brand - we purchased the Onkyo TX-SR605 7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver.

The speakers sound great and I can only come up with small criticisms:
- The speakers are black which standout too much on our white walls
- The rear speakers are a different size than the larger front speakers
- The front speakers have no "keyhole" or other mounting hardware and there are no speaker stands available from Onkyo
- The wire connection do not support banana plug connectors

We used Monster Cable THX-GP 20-Pack Standard THX-Certified Gold-Plated Speaker Connectors rather than jam the wires into the spring hinge connectors on the speakers.

These are a heavy item and the speakers survived their trip to us fine but the box was a bit beat up. Also we ordered ours from JR Music (thru Amazon) which is on the other side of the country from us. Shipping took a week.

As I said, these speakers do sound great and you are likely to be happy with them too if you don;t let these little things bother you.

i carefully read reviews and researched these speakers before buying and im NOT disappointed. i was looking to replace a 7.1 setup from Denon that had small stylish satellie speakers. well, the sound matched the speakers -- SMALL! yes, these Onkyos are a little larger than most common surround sets. but big sound resonates best from bigger speaker cabinets. if the Bose concept is so great, why dont movie theaters and rock concerts use tiny little speakers?? bottom line -- because you cant get the same big sound and resonance from tiny speakers. sound is based on vibration, and bigger speakers give bigger sound vibration. these Onkyos have full rich sound with deep bass and great highs as well. a lot of speakers can handle mid-range and bass fine, but fall by the side when it comes to higher registers. i often listen to Native American music with flutes and rich high tones. these Onkyos reproduce the full spectrum of these elegant flutes in full detail. and the price cant be beat. you wont be disappointed!!!

I purchased this system after reading reviews that told me that I would be disappointed if I used them for music. That review is right. I am VERY disappointed when listening to them with my music system.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the shipping box was that the primary speakers (center + left + right front)were physically much SMALLER (5" shallower) than specified by Onkyo. The boxes are smaller, and have about 40% less internal volume than advertised. Also, the subwoofer was specified as 230 watts. The nameplate on the sub specifies only 130 watts. Significant false statements made by Onkyo. The primary speakers sound thin and dull when listening to music (virtually ANY type of music). When connected to surround sound for a movie, the sound is OK, but just OK. The Onkyo system is sturdier in design than most other medium and low cost surround systems on the market. Onkyo uses MDF (medium density fiberboard) boxes, rather than resonant aluminum extrusions or cheap plastic housing. MDF is the material of choice for better quality speaker enclosures, due to it's excellent dampening properties.

If you are looking for an inexpensive sourround speaker set, this Onyko provides very good value for the money. Just remember that in this lifetime, you do get what you pay for. If you are serious about the quality of sound you desire from a surround speaker system, you will need to cough up closer to $1,000 for a decent system.

All positives. Super sound for not so big speakers. The subwoffer can run you out as it brings down the walls.

Just an incredible 7.1 speaker system

I spent a good 2 weeks looking for a surround sound speaker system for my home theater. I was only looking to spend around $300 and I really wasn't expecting to find anything great at that price. But then I continued to hear wonderful things about Onkyo speakers and I had to try them out.

I purchased them here on Amazon for $280 ($230 + $50 for shipping). The speakers were nicely packed and arrived farily quick. The speakers not only look great but they feel as though they're high quality. No one would ever guess that these speakers cost under $300. Especially when you hear them. They sound amazing.

Movies sound great along with video games, (xbox 360). The speakers let you hear all the action, and the sub-woofer lets you feel every explosion. Onkyo's SKS-HT540's Surround Sound Speaker System is a treat to listen to and you will not be dissapointed with this purchase. A 7.1 speaker package with a 230 watt powered sub-woofer for under $300? That's a great deal!

Only downside, (and I've read this in other reviews about these speakers) is that they don't sound great when listening to music. They don't capture the full sound that tower speakers would. Which makes sense, so if you're going to listen to music with these speakers, you may feel a little dissapointed. If it's just movies and video games... You'll be happy.

I will say this about hooking up surround sound speakers (and this goes for all of them), when you first plug in everything, you have to configure your receiver to get the best possible sound out of your speakers. For instance, treble, bass and speaker size are going to dramatically change the sound of your theater. So, if when you first hear these speakers and you're not satisfied with the sound... You didn't set them up right, because my system sounds incredible once I dialed everything in.