Onkyo HT-S990THX

[Press4MECO]

I know this just came out about a week ago, but I'm interested to hear what people think about this.
I'm anxious to get a quality sound system, and everytime I start to look around for individual components, I get completely overwhelmed with what's out there. Therefore, I reasoned I should probably stick with a HTIB, granted one that's still quality i.e. one that comes with a true A/V reciever.
I've been seriously considering the Harmon kardon CP-35. Then this one comes along, which seems to fit what I've been looking for (price, quality brand, quality equipment, etc) and of course the THX endorsement doesn't hurt. I live in an apt, so this seems like exactly what I'd be looking for. I'm by no means on expert on this so I'm curious to hear what wiser people may have to say about this, and bottom line, if it's worth pulling the trigger on purchasing now, or if I'd be wise and wait for some reviews to come out.
Thanks!

[Jorge_Burrito]

This I think is actually a good question. Typically when buying separate speakers or receivers you don't worry too much about the THX certification as long as you are buying quality components. THX certification often just increases the price of the system due to testing/licensing fees, but not necessarily the overall quality of the system.

However HTIB are legendary for not having quality components so it makes me curious if they maybe actually had to put some decent speakers in the system to get the THX certification. Personally I would wait for some reviews to come out. The question is it worth the extra money over some of the other Onkyo offerings? That we won't know till reviews come out. Of course you could buy one and let us know your opinion...

[913kspc]

I have also been considering this unit as well but I'm not able to find it in stock anywhere. Anyone have any insight on where it can be purchased either instore or online?

[deadsoulz]

I will have to keep an eye out on this one, I was considering the HT-S790 for 400.00 , wonder what the component differences are, other than the receiver and subwoofer.

[Shufflefield]

Has anyone run into one yet? Put me on the list of the curious...

[Press4MECO]

I got impatient waiting for them to arrive at local retailers so last week I orderded one via B&H Photo. I've also since seen them available at J&R Music and most recently Vanns. The first two via Froogle.
It will be here tomorrow afternoon. May take me a day or two to get set up, as I still need to buy a couple of speaker stands and mostly likely some upgraded speaker wire (recommendations?).
I'll be able to post my impressions in a couple of days then. I'm by no means a true audiophile, so you'll have to take what I say with a grain of salt. This'll be my first real home theater system, so nonetheless, I'm pretty excited.

[armystud0911]

It'll probably come with speaker wire, so that should do fine. Manufacturers like Onkyo ussually don't cut corners like in the area of speaker wire. If you want, you can get oxygen free speaker wire at home depot for 45c per foot (14ga) and some twist crimp banana plugs from radioshack or best buy/circuit city for about $14per pair. I really don't recommend getting monster cable as you really won't be able to tell the difference, esp with your speakers. I have a higher end system and the home depot stuff works great, but by all means, feel free to experiment and have fun, congrats on your purchase. I have heard the 790 system several times at circuit city and it is respectable for the price so I hope that the 990 is that much better.

[JohnnytheSkin]

I will be one of those eagerly awaiting impressions. I'm looking at getting a 7.1 system later this year and seeing the THX certification in an Onkyo boxed system is very appealing. Enjoy!

[Shufflefield]

When you get it please let us know everything!!! I am interested in the options for mounting the speakers, specifically if any of them have a place to screw a post in on the bottom, or how they can be wall mounted.

I know everyone poo poo's HTiB, I was looking to get an Onkyo reciever and piece together a Klipsch set, but the THK logo means something, doesn't it?

[jewing1043]

I am also interested in how this differs from the 790

Ihave had the onkyo 660 for a few years now and I am itching to upgrade

[Shufflefield]

Cnet reviewed it yesterday...

http://shopper.cnet.com/Onkyo_HT_S99...?tag=pdtl-list

7.7 ain't bad, might just be good enough for me...

*edit* - read the review, seems pretty good, the included reciever is a rebadged (and possibly slightly nerfed, but I don't see any details on how nerfed) 703, which is the reciever I was going to buy anyway if I built from scratch. Getting more and more promising everyday.

I called the local retail shop I go too and inquired about availability, they didn't have it in stock yet, but said it could arrive any day. They are currently clearing out their stock of other Onkyo systems and are expecting the new models soon.

[G-star]

Originally Posted by Shufflefield

Cnet reviewed it yesterday...

http://shopper.cnet.com/Onkyo_HT_S99...?tag=pdtl-list

7.7 ain't bad, might just be good enough for me...

i'd be very careful about getting excited over this system based on CNET reviews. they also rate the 780/790 very favorably, and there is mountains of evidence in these forums as to how disappointing certain aspects of those systems can be.

it looks like they took the 703 receiver and matched it up with some updated onkyo speakers...similar to the 790, only there they're using the 503 receiver. a system that has a $700 receiver with 7 speakers and powered sub selling for $999 should throw up some red flags as to how good the speakers are. now, anything's possible, but i would certainly want to listen to it first before shelling out 1K for this system.

beware of speakers that can't survive on their own in the A/V market. if the THX certification is something that you find necessary, i think a safer bet would be to buy a refurbished 703 (or similar) receiver and invest in proven speakers.

all that said, i'm still curious to hear it.

[Shufflefield]

Why do us lazy people always have to get rained on?

Your right though, I do want to hear it, but I still may go another route. But a reciever plus speakers is going to be alot more than 1k as well. The klipsch I were looking at are 400 per front, 500 for the sub, around 300 for a pair of surrounds (600 total for 7.1) and about 180 for the center. Better prices online I am sure, but with a 703 that would be well over 2k all said and done.

Honestly, I am not an audiophile, what exactly *might* the THX certification say about this system? And why isn't it important when purchasing seperate components?

*edit* - Gstar, you replied to my other post about the quintet III's, I did go listen to them, and compared to the seperate other Klipsch speakers on the floor I decided against them, they sounded pretty muddy. So I am still looking for a cheap route, but might wind up piecing it all together. I *hope* this is as good as it looks, but I understand the HTiB criticisms.

[Jorge_Burrito]

The THX rating costs manufacturers a large amount of money to get. There is testing and licensing fees as well as often redesign costs. Most of the time manufacturers will have products that can pass the THX standards, but they will opt not to have it done as it would increase the price of the product for the consumer, which will negatively effect sales (of course this is offset some as people like products with the THX rating).

Speakers are especially problematic in that often manufacturers build there speakers to have a certain sound to them, which may not necessarily be congruent with what THX wants to see, but is what there customers want to see.

As far as receivers my guess is most $300 and above receivers could pass THX standards, just many do not choose to.

The advantage of the THX rating is that the equipment in question is required to have certain specifications and have a certain minimum sound quality to it. This is one of the reasons HTIB may benefit from a THX rating as often very cheap poor sounding speakers go into these. Components tend to be much higher quality as they are only selling one specific item to you (for instance if you are only selling a speaker, the speaker better sound pretty good otherwise there is no reason to buy it).

[afrogt]

from the CNET review...

The receiver isn't sold separately, but it shares most of the features of the company's least expensive THX (Select2) receiver, the Onkyo TX-SR703 ($800). In terms of connectivity, however, the HT-S990THX's receiver was a mixed bag. There are three A/V inputs, each of which can accept composite, S-Video, or component-video connections; a fourth composite-only A/V input is located on the front panel. But the HT-S990THX has no HDMI connections, nor does it offer video-conversion options. The latter issue means that, instead of converting all the incoming video to component output, you'll need to run the corresponding composite or S-Video outputs to your TV if you use those inputs for your VCR, your game system, and so forth. So, while you can connect far more A/V sources to the HT-S990THX than you can to lesser HTIBs--many of which offer little more than a couple of audio inputs--the Onkyo's dearth of advanced video conveniences was a disappointment considering its cost.

The HTIB version has 3 optical in and one coaxial input while the 703 has 5 optical, 2 coaxial and plus one optical output. The 703 does cross version to component video while the HTIB version doesn't. From Cnet specs it doesn't look like the receiver has 7.1 outputs so you can't connect to external amps and I'm guessing the auto calibration feature is missing too. I dunno, sounds like the best way to go is get the 703 for ~ $500 and then add a 5.1 system on your own. Maybe like the Athena B1 (2 pair), C1 combo for $380 and the ASP-4000, Dayton sub or Mirage S8 for $150-$200. Or the XLS system that's getting a lot of talk.

The photo of the receiver on the Onkyo site looks more like my 573 than the 703. But maybe that will change.

[G-star]

Originally Posted by Shufflefield

Why do us lazy people always have to get rained on?

i'm not trying to rain on anyone, i'm just saying buyer beware. i made the mistake of trusting those CNET reviews, and paid the price in the end. if you can find a place to listen to it, and it blows your hair back, then by all means go for it.

for $1K though, there are so many options. i like afrogot's suggestion about grabbing an onkyo 603 or 703 and coming up with your own 5.1 solution. 2 pair of B1's with a C1 and an acoustech H100 sub would be a great system. even better (for a bit more $$) would be an onkyo 503 or H/K 235 with the SVS SB-01 5.1 package. i would be shocked beyond words if the onkyo THX HTIB could even begin to hang with either one of those setups.

[Shufflefield]

Well after listening to a bunch of JBL's and Klipsch last night through an Onkyo 603 I wanted to spend nearly 2k on a setup with F-2's. So I don't think this whole thing is going to happen right now anyway. I will still wait and listen, but it looks like it's going to be a long time before I can get what I want.

I thought more about the inputs I need, and as it is in the review, it's not going to cut it. So much for simplicity.

[rspray]

What is it with Onkyo refusing to put HDMI switching on their HTIB's? I would have bought the 790 a while ago if this feature had been included. If they think HDMI is going to go away, they might want to rethink...

[afrogt]

Maybe Onkyo is saving HDMI switching for the higher level product line? HTIB is considered entry level home theater and perhaps they figure this market doesn't need these features.

I'm sure as HDMI becomes more prevalent in receivers, it'll trickle down to Onkyo HTIB's.

What other manufacturers include HDMI switching on their HTIB's?

[rspray]

Maybe I'm confusing the term "HDMI switching" with simply having an HDMI connection, but I bought the Panny SC-HT940 for ~$380 (MSRP $499) a couple months ago. Even their SC-HT740 (MSRP $399) has HDMI connection with upscaling DVD player.

[micah3sixty]

The receiver included in this package looks more like a grandized version of the receiver from the HT-S780/S790 packages as I have the same 3 component/optical/s-video inputs with no video upconversion capabilities. The speakers themselves don't look a whole lot beefier either, except for maybe the surrounds that have larger drivers than even the front/centers (5" vs 5 1/8" or something close to that). I agree with the poster that said that many speakers/receivers could pass THX certifications but choose not to go for it to save costs, keep sales higher.

[Ron Temple]

G-star's right, if you're going to spend a grand get a decent receiver, then go to a speaker company for the 5.1 or 7.1 package, Rocket, SVS, Ascend, Axiom, Athena, any of them...you're going to get a much better finished product, possibly for similar dollars, but you'll probably spend more...you'll get a ton more.

[Intrepidman]

Hi,

Newbie here. I had an older Onkyo HTIB, forget which model. It had a 8" ported sub, so the bass was a little mushy. ( It's for sale, BTW! )

I was in Fry's the other day just messing around and accidently saw the new Onkyo HT-S990THX ( $999 ) and was blown away. I'm not a sterophile by any stretch of the imagination. I just like really good sound. I had prepared my living room by putting up 1/2" sound board covered by 1/2" ceiling tile, which was in turn covered with 1/4" drywall. So the room is has no echos to speak of, and I can crank it without disturbing the neighbors.

Anyway, I got the Onkyo HT-S990THX home and hook-up was a breeze. The speaker wire is a little thin, but how much wire do you really need for 1 amp? The subwoofer is most impressive. This is my first home system where I have yet to turn it all the way up. I played the Apollo 13 launch at a high volume level and I could tell the system was just loafing. It was able to play the roar of liftoff AND the music beautifully.

Music is very clean and smooth, with no noticable spikes or dips. I'm kind of lazy as well. With all the choices out there it was nice to be able to know for a fact my components will work well together and meet the high standards of THX.

The only real gripe I have with it is the remote. I have yet to find the codes for my Go Video DVD/DVD Burner/VCR and my Moxie DVR.

The quality and finish of the components is first-rate as well. I would recommend this system to others without question.

[Ron Temple]

Originally Posted by Intrepidman

Hi,

Newbie here. I had an older Onkyo HTIB, forget which model. It had a 8" ported sub, so the bass was a little mushy. ( It's for sale, BTW! )

I was in Fry's the other day just messing around and accidently saw the new Onkyo HT-S990THX ( $999 ) and was blown away. I'm not a sterophile by any stretch of the imagination. I just like really good sound. I had prepared my living room by putting up 1/2" sound board covered by 1/2" ceiling tile, which was in turn covered with 1/4" drywall. So the room is has no echos to speak of, and I can crank it without disturbing the neighbors.

Anyway, I got the Onkyo HT-S990THX home and hook-up was a breeze. The speaker wire is a little thin, but how much wire do you really need for 1 amp? The subwoofer is most impressive. This is my first home system where I have yet to turn it all the way up. I played the Apollo 13 launch at a high volume level and I could tell the system was just loafing. It was able to play the roar of liftoff AND the music beautifully.

Music is very clean and smooth, with no noticable spikes or dips. I'm kind of lazy as well. With all the choices out there it was nice to be able to know for a fact my components will work well together and meet the high standards of THX.

The only real gripe I have with it is the remote. I have yet to find the codes for my Go Video DVD/DVD Burner/VCR and my Moxie DVR.

The quality and finish of the components is first-rate as well. I would recommend this system to others without question.

Enjoy your new system...don't mean to rain on your purchase, I hope it's great, but...

I did get a chance to look at the speakers, they've been upgraded and I'm sure they sound better, but the finish compared to even inexpensive speaker companie's products leave a lot to be desired. I pulled the grill off the sub, which is a totally different front firing design, but it exposes unfinished MDF...WTF???

Maybe they are so much better that they had to cut corners...hope so.

[Intrepidman]

Originally Posted by Ron Temple

Enjoy your new system...don't mean to rain on your purchase, I hope it's great, but...

I did get a chance to look at the speakers, they've been upgraded and I'm sure they sound better, but the finish compared to even inexpensive speaker companie's products leave a lot to be desired. I pulled the grill off the sub, which is a totally different front firing design, but it exposes unfinished MDF...WTF???

Maybe they are so much better that they had to cut corners...hope so.

Yeah, I saw that on the sub too. It's kind of like the quality of the paint finish under the carpet of your car. Is anyone going to REALLY see it? However, the box itself is very sturdy and the speaker is of good quality and the sound quality is excellent.

Did you listen to the system in a good environment? To me that's where the rubber meets the road. If you live in the Fullerton area you should come by for a listen. I could play the Ultimate THX Demo disk for ya.

As I said before, I'm not an audiophile. I don't claim to be able to tell the difference when a special rock is placed on a speaker wire.

What I can tell you is that this flat-out blows away my old Onkyo 5.1 system I bought a few years back for $500, and the sound on that one was pretty good.

Onkyo + THX meant I could buy with confidence. Knowing myself, if I had tried to purchase components separatly I would have driven myself crazy trying to get the 'best' sound, spent a ton of time and gas, and ended up with a system that would probably sound pretty much the same.

[Shufflefield]

Press4MECO - Did you get yours yet? Any opinions? It's nice to see that they are out in the wild in some places. I might go to the stores this weekend. I am still in a holding pattern, but I want to see this thing. I still don't think the reciever inputs are going to cut it for me.

I heard the Onkyo 604 will have HDMI on it, but no word on when that is coming down the pike.

[Press4MECO]

Sorry about the delay. Yes, I recieved my system about a week ago. However, I have had to delay set-up because I opted to buy a new stand to support the televisoin and the other A/v devices I have. Up until now, I've just had everything configured on or near an old coffee table. The stand came in yesterday and is assembled, so I'm just waiting to get some help moving the tv, then I will be able to get the system up and running. I expect to have everything assembled and operational by the weekend.
But I'm glad to hear of Intrepidman's positive experience. You sound to be in the exact situation as am I: not quite an audiophile, and just too overwhelmed with all the possible combinations of equipment out there, but still want something above average. This system just seemed to hit the sweet spot: credible name, and a THX certification to gurantee compatibility and a level of quality. Thanks for the reassurance!

[Intrepidman]

Originally Posted by Press4MECO

Sorry about the delay. Yes, I recieved my system about a week ago. However, I have had to delay set-up because I opted to buy a new stand to support the televisoin and the other A/v devices I have. Up until now, I've just had everything configured on or near an old coffee table. The stand came in yesterday and is assembled, so I'm just waiting to get some help moving the tv, then I will be able to get the system up and running. I expect to have everything assembled and operational by the weekend.
But I'm glad to hear of Intrepidman's positive experience. You sound to be in the exact situation as am I: not quite an audiophile, and just too overwhelmed with all the possible combinations of equipment out there, but still want something above average. This system just seemed to hit the sweet spot: credible name, and a THX certification to gurantee compatibility and a level of quality. Thanks for the reassurance!

Anytime. It sounds like you and I are the market they are aiming for.

[fernandosq]

I was just about buying onkyo 870 when I knew this system was coming out, so I decide to wait and get this one, the 870 included the ultimate thx demo disk, and I want to know if the 990 has it too.

Thanks !

[Intrepidman]

Originally Posted by fernandosq

I was just about buying onkyo 870 when I knew this system was coming out, so I decide to wait and get this one, the 870 included the ultimate thx demo disk, and I want to know if the 990 has it too.

Thanks !

It does!