ONKYO HT-S5500 any good? - Page 2

Well the way I figure it, I may get one (receiver or speakers) for Christmas and I would buy the other one if I go separates. Or I could get something like the 5500 and have a complete system for less than $400. Best Buy does have them in store, so I can check them out, play with it a bit. Maybe I'll see if I can do that this week. I was looking at Denon and Onkyo's lineups and both brands had some nasty reviews on Amazon. The Onkyo's seem to be notorious for having the HDMI board blow out. Anyone here experience or have heard of that?

*EDIT* Scratch that, Best Buy does NOT have the 5500 in store. Only online.

Just a post-holiday update:

Decided against the 5500 and am going individual components. Now it's a matter of having the cash to buy the new toys :P

After much debate, I've narrowed down the AVR to Denon - either the 1713, 1813, or save up some more cash and get a 2113CL or the like. honestly the 2113 is probably overkill for my living room (see diagram earlier) as I definitely wouldn't do 7.1 right now and am not really sure I could tell the difference between the MultiEQ and XT version. Because of that, I'm leaning towards the 1913. I want the video upsampling the 1913 offers, as well as a component input for my Nintendo Wii (the 1713 does not have it). I think those two features probably outweigh the benefit of the XT Audyssey but I'm open to suggestions. I'll also need speakers to go with it. I really don't have $1,000 to spend on both right now. I do have $150 in credit with Amazon from gift cards, though to put towards either the receiver or the speakers.

Let's review:

First, 12/35 reviews on Amazon are 1 or 2 star. That's is 1/3 of the reviews. So saying there are only 10 bad reviews is very misleading when that 10 comprises a full third of the reviews. And that's just going by Amazon. I based my decision off what I read *here* as well as the Amazon reviews, and Best Buy, and a bunch of other places that sell the 5500. Too many people are having issues with the sub and most 5500 owners are saying that the speakers in general just aren't high-quality speakers. The brunt of the cost of a 5500 is the receiver itself.

Second - If you never go by what people on Amazon review, then you can't argue that there are "only" 10 bad reviews. Either the reviews matter or they don't, good or bad.

Third - Look on here and there are a ton of threads saying to stay away from all of Onkyo's 2012 line. That alone would be enough to make me stay away as I trust the general consensus here.

Anyway, the point is, I've decided not to go with the Onkyo. Am I not allowed to change my mind? Even if 1000 people love it, I don't feel it's the right AVR for me. If you have any advice on speakers or the Denons, I'm all for it. I just don't understand why you would come onto this thread to start an argument, because that's what it sounds like you're saying.

As an aside, I have no idea where you're getting the number that it's the number 1 selling audio system on Amazon, either, because I went through every category and chose Most Popular (there is no top selling option) and it was the second most (Bose was first) on a single category and much lower in others. But whatever, it doesn't matter because I changed my mind on getting that one.

That's definitely one of the reasons I was leaning towards the 1913 as well - even if I may not need it now, it's a lot easier to upgrade speakers than it is a receiver. It's also another reason I decided against the 5500, because I don't think the receiver suits my needs. The more I thought about it, the more the 5500 was a this-is-an-okay-all-in-one solution and not something I'd be satisfied with in a few years. Why spend a few hundred now on something I *know* I'm going to want to upgrade versus spending a few hundred more and get something I would be happy to keep for a long time?

So do you think the MultiEQ XT is worth going with the 1713 over the 1913? AC4L has a refurb 1913 (still has a 1 year warranty) for $379. That's a great price for the receiver. It's a refurb, but as I recently learned, sometimes a refurb is just as good if not better than brand new (I had to RMA a brand new video card 2 times since October - the 3rd card they sent was a refurb and it's working perfectly.)

My tentative plan is this:

Buy the refurb 1913 from AC4L
Use my $150 Amazon credit towards speakers (maybe the Energy 5.1 Take Classic's?)

That would be $379 + $249 = $628 for everything (well, minus connectors, wires, etc.)

Technically I'd be spending more for the speakers at $399. Haha. I get your point, though. I'll post over there and see what people think. If I remember earlier from this thread, the Energy's are a good set. And yes, bigger driver = better. I'll keep that in mind. I'm not really an audiophile and I'm coming from the built-in speakers on my Panny 50" plasma, so anything would probably sound like the angels are coming down from heaven. Haha.

Oh yea, and to answer your previous question - I took another look, did some measuring, and I just won't be able to fit floor standing speakers. On the bright side, if I move into a house where I can fit them (or even 7.1's) with the Denon, all I would need to do is replace/add speakers
Edited by DJLittleMike - 12/27/12 at 4:20pm