Newnie here, so please bear with me on this.

After some research and looking at the reviews, the Onkyo 790 HTIB system has the connectivity I'm looking for (Panasonic 42PX60U HDTV, Directv TiVo DVR plus a DVD player to be determined, most likely an Onkyo DVD player but more on that later in the post). However, in looking at the reviews, the speakers on the Onkyo 790 are very bulky and I'm wondering if I should go with components instead.

Q - Does Onkyo have a comparable receiver that has all the connectivity that the receiver in the 790 HTIB package has?

Q - Does the remote in the Onkyo 790 have DVD control capabilities? I figure it would if I purchase an Onkyo DVD player (DVSP404)? I'd like to be able to control the HT and DVD with one remote.

Q - If Onkyo has a comparable receiver I can go with, any suggestions on a speaker package to go with this comparable Onkyo receiver?

Being a newbie on this, it makes all the sense to just go with the 790, deal with the speakers for now and learn some more until I can make a better informed decision. But the bulk of the speakers included in the 790 is a real killer for me.

the receiver included in the hts-790 is a renumbered tx-sr504

the included remote will also allow you to control sveral things including a dvd player

has far as the speakers are concerned you should go and see them in person they are not very big and have actually gotten smaller over the last few versions

Q1: The matching receiver for the one in the 790 system is the SR-504.
http://shoponkyo.com/detail.cfm?productid=TX-SR504&modelid=60&group_id=1&detail=1&ext_war=1

Q2: The Onkyo remote is pre-programmed and will control a variety of DVD players, including the Onkyo 404. I use a Toshiba DVD player with my Onkyo receiver and the remote works just fine. It'll also work with DVD players from other brands like Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Samsung, etc.

Q3: Lots of choices there. Depends on how much you're willing to spend. The Onkyo front speakers are 17" tall. I'm guessing you want something quite a bit shorter like satellite speakers?

If you're looking for good quality as cheap as possible, check out the Velodyne CHT speaker ssytem. They come in dark gray or white for $199 w/free shipping.
http://www.velodyne.com/velodyne/products/ob_products.aspx?sid=193m547c

Then a good inexpensive sub would be the Athena ASP-300. $99
http://www.amazon.com/Athena-AS-P300-Front-firing-Front-ported-Subwoofer/dp/B0002H4YQM/sr=1-1/qid=1162403968/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3612271-5663137?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

Or the Dayton 10" sub, $124 with free shipping. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-633

If you have a bigger budget, go for the BIC H-100 sub for about $200 + shipping.

Another option is the Athena Micra 6 speaker system. Comes with the sub. Free 2 day shipping from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Athena-15373-4-Speaker-System-Chrome/dp/B0007USO3S/sr=8-1/qid=1162406023/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3612271-5663137?ie=UTF8&s=electronics

Final option is the Polk 6750 sub/satellite system. Its about $285 shipped. I don't know enough about this system to recommend over the Athena or Velodyne though.
http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product_Id=3996146&JRSource=shopzilla.datafeed.POK+RM6750-TI

Oh, one more that I've never heard. $299 shipped.
http://www.accessories4less.com/cgi-bin/item/KEFKHT1005BLK

Outstanding reply. Thank you very much.

The last link provided in afrogt's last post (I sure wish I could figure out where the "quote" function is!!), the one he mentioned he has never heard, was to a set of KEF brand speakers. In high end circles, the KEF speakers are pretty highly regarded. They use a coaxial speaker they call a Uni-Q--in this case it is a mid-woofer cone and the tweeter driver sharing the same central axis, much like one of those old dual-cone cheap speakers that came in jukeboxes and factory speakers in cars, but in this case each driver has a separate magnet to drive each cone and a dedicated crossover is part of the speaker design. KEF's have been praised for their precise imaging--some people with golden ears believe they can hear some "smearing" of the audio image when more than one speaker is producing the sound due to the minimal differences in the distance between the two speakers and the listener's ears, hence the theory that a single full range point source driver would be the ideal speaker. We don't have one of those, but this design seems to try to good effect. I would suspect that with a 5.1 sound system in full swing, with sounds coming at you from all directions, the directionality issue might not be important. However, if the current KEF offerings are as accurate as they were in the 70's and 80's, they would be a good choice. Like afrogt, I haven't heard this particular offering from KEF--I'm just familiar with the company from having been following high end sound for 40+ years.

Doug

I plan to just use 3 front and 2 surround speakers as my seating is against the back wall and the wife will not permit the sofa to be pulled out from the wall more than a foot.

My question is for simply watching dvd movies and regular HDTV broadcast programs through my rooftop antenna will the 790 sound any better than the 680 or even the HT-S 590? I will not have anything connected except the DVD player which uses a component connection straight to the back of the TV at the present time. I don't have Ipods, tape players and really have no interest in satellite radio for $13.00 a month when I can listen to free am/fm.


The room is 14' x 18'

Heard them KEFs at the listening room, exactly the same model that Afrogt mentioned in his post, guys i've never heard anything like it at least to my by far non golden ears it sounded very crisp. I'm giving this system a serious consideration now.

My question is for simply watching dvd movies and regular HDTV broadcast programs through my rooftop antenna will the 790 sound any better than the 680 or even the HT-S 590?

In my opinion, the answer is yes. I've owned a "5 series (580)", a "6 series (680)" and a "7 series (780)" from Onkyo, so I've heard them all set up in the same environment. Here are a few reasons I'm really sold on the "7 series".

1. The front trio of speakers is much better, and the front trio is where the majority of the auditory focus is created when watching DVD's. Most people don't realize the importance of the center speaker, but it is critical for both imaging and impact. Because the visual focus is on the TV/monitor, the center channel is called upon to create quite a bit of the special effects and that can be a challenging requirement. In fact, IMHO the center speaker should be MORE capable than even the RF and LF for just that reason. When watching a movie which, for example, might include an explosion, you want both the picture and the sound to anchor your attention on the same point--hence the importance of the center channel speaker. The front trio on my 780 have 3 dB more efficiency than those included in the 580 and the 680 (that's like getting twice the amplifier power) and better frequency response, particularly in the higher frequencies, because they use a "balanced tweeter". That is particularly important for good music production. If you haven't gotten into high definition multichannel surround sound like Super Audi CD or dts/DVD-A, I hope you will audition a well set up MCH system. It is an incredibly enveloping experience.

2. The sub in the 7 series is more capable then the sub in either of the other two and particularly the (IMHO inferior) passive sub in the 580. Subs are very important for LFE (Low Frequency Effects), which can be very different from bass in music. LFE is very important for the "visceral" effects that can be part of DVD's--that feeling that an event in the movie has, for lack of better term, a percussive effect. Take that same explosion I mentioned in #1--the sub should produce a shock wave that will feel like an explosion while the speakers should produce the sound that will sound like an explosion. The advice I consistently give friends who are shopping for a home theater is to buy the best, biggest, most powerful sub they can afford, as it is a critical element of the home theater experience.

3. The receiver in the 7 series is much better. You may not be able to utilize the two rear surround speakers in your viewing room right now, but what happens if you move to a different home, as most families do from time to time. If that happens for your family, all of a sudden you may have an opportunity to use those two rear surround speakers, and the difference between a system with just surround speakers to the sides of the viewing/listening position and a system with rear surround speakers is, IMO, startling. The rear surround speakers add yet another dimension to the sound, a dimension which naturally occurs in nature but cannot be produced as well by even a well set up 5.1 system becuase it is an issue of directionality. With the 790, you're ready to take advantage of that new opportunity without having to invest in new electronics and buy more speakers.

flags, don't give up on those rear surround speakers yet. You may be able to use them even in the home in which you live right now. In my bedroom I have an Onkyo 6.1 system, and the headboard of the bed is right tight against the wall, so there was no room for a rear surround speaker behind the listening position. I solved the problem by ceiling mounting the rear surround speaker and bouncing the sound off the window behind the headboard. The sound appears to come from behind the headboard by about 5 to 10 feet, so the auditory effect is one of having that viewing position out into the room when in fact it isn't. You could, of course, achieve the same effect by bouncing the sound off a wall.

Good luck making your decision, flags. This can be a very confusing process, but as I said I've been following your quest and I'm impressed with your attention to details and in the end I'm sure you'll enjoy whatever you choose as the best system for you and your family.

Doug

Heard them KEFs at the listening room, exactly the same model that Afrogt mentioned in his post, guys i've never heard anything like it at least to my by far non golden ears it sounded very crisp. I'm giving this system a serious consideration now.

Kudos to you, Diman75!! Your experience is an example of being willing to "think outside the box". KEF speakers aren't well known, but my experience was just like yours--one of amazement, for lack of a better descriptor.

Doug

Thank you. I could pull the sofa out 4 or 5 feet from the wall but the wife won't let me. I do have a large window directly behind the sofa. However I have plaster walls and ceiling. Could I place them on stands and direct them?

Could I place them on stands and direct them?

Absolutely. When I wired my vacation home I mounted the surround speakers on Atlantic stands slightly above ear height. You could do the same. The surround and rear surround speakers are light enough for almost all stands. I needed to be able to move the speakers around, so you might want to do what I did--read on.

Just bring your rear surround speaker wires up through that same hole in the floor you were going to bring up your side surround speaker wires. If you really want to make the domestic goddess happy, make yourself a plug-in system for the rear surround speakers that will allow you to connect and disconnect the speakers easily. Bring the wires up into the room and make the speaker wires removable with some speaker connectors like you can find in a Radio Shack or other electronics store. I use banana plugs on my outdoor speaker connections, but you can get effective spring mounted connectors, too. Mount them on some sort of "project box" like you can get at a common electronics store and if you leave enough wire you can hide it under that chair. It's right there when you want to access it.

What this allows is for you to make the rear surround speakers removable. Need them for a movie (check out the rear surround's contribution with 6.1 discrete dts-ES or DD-EX movies)? It's a quick, 30 second process to snap the speaker wires into the connector. Need the living room for a party? Simply unplug the wires and store the speakers, stands and all, in the laundry room/garage/where-ever. Just remember to leave enough wire to position them as far apart as you expect you will need once you do plug them into the connectors.

Bouncing the rear off that large window behind the listening/viewing chair would work very well--it does for me in both my 6.1 home theater in my regular residence and also my 780 system in a modest vacation home.

Good luck--this will be a simple project requiring not much more than a drill to make your holes in the project box and a screwdriver. If you can solder, so much the better, but you can find connectors that attach to the wires with screws if you don't. If you have a label maker I'd suggest you label them for L&R. It won't make much difference now since both rear surrounds output the same rear surround signal, but once Blu-ray and HD-DVD decide to support discrete 7.1 you might want to upgrade, and it will make a difference then.

Doug