ONKYO HT-S5405B 5.1 Home Cinema AV Receiver Speaker Package

After spending days searching through the myriad of systems available I happened across a blog which basically said whatever you do avoid all in ones like the plague and go for a separate receiver and Blu-Ray player as the sound difference would be quite stunning . the name Onkyo seemed to appear again and again . The system that was highly recommended was the Onkyo HT-S5405 so when I found it on Amazon and saw that it was over £450 less than the all in one I was just about to buy , I decided to order one. Now I realise that you have to buy a separate Blu-Ray player and good quality HDMI lead but it was still a considerable saving on what I was going to buy so I was extremely nervous when it all arrived . After setting it all in place (and being quite impressed with the quality) I pressed the on button and waited to be disappointed as the sound quality was never going to be as good as the one I was going to buy as this was so much cheaper . HOW WRONG I WAS !!! This system is stunning . The sound is bright and precise , the bass is extremely powerful and tight with NO distortion even on action packed films with big bangs . I listened to at least 30 all in one's and they are just not a patch on this . Its just a different level . Worse thing in the world is muffled and loose "lazy" bass when listening to music or home cinema .This system will blow you away , the Bass is brilliant with no distortion at all even when really turning up the volume and pushing it very hard . Perfect and for the price it is just amazing and im fussy . Apart from looking the part it also sounds it as well . It handles 3D with precision and with 4 x 1.4 HDMI connections on the rear of the receiver AND pass through so you don't have to have the receiver on if you want to watch TV or DVD etc without surround on . I must point out that this feature is only usually found on much more expensive receivers so I wasn't expecting that either . How they do this for the price I just don't know but I would strongly recommend it and would advise anyone who is thinking of an all in one system , DON'T BOTHER . This system also has a great AM/FM receiver and optical , coaxial , component and all the AV sockets you could want . Great on screen display for setup and adjustments and a fantastic set up microphone where you just plug it in and it sets up all the speaker settings and distances for you automatically. This is the best AV receiver for the money I have ever bought and I have owned ones far more expensive than this before . I haven't the space to say all I want to say but believe me , you wont be disappointed with this system.

This is now my second venture into the world of home cinema. My original system was an all in one DVD affair boasting all round 300w capability. It was purchased from a popular online auction site and to be fair, sounded okay until the DVD player started spitting out lasers.

I spent a good time looking for a replacement (I actually thought about it in December 2010) before gathering all the tech spec, available budget info, and other reviews, every time my thoughts came back to the Onkyo kit.

I finally decided to go for this particular set up in early December (2011) as, although it is classed an entry-level system, it packs a real punch.

I ordered from Richer Sounds (via Amazon) and the free delivery was excellent. Ordered the kit on Saturday aftenoon, it was delivered to my nominated delivery address on the Tuesday. The courier even sent a text with the 1 hour delivery window. How good is that for nothing!.

The box itself is quite large and is square. Note, it will NOT fit into a Honda Accord saloon, no matter how many angles and doors you try. Trust me on this.

Attempt #2 to move the box eventually involved opening the box up. This was more pleasing. All items - Amp, 5 speaker Pack, and Powered Subwoofer are individually packed in 3 layers within the box, and are well wrapped up. This made life so much easier in getting the kit into the aforementioned Honda Accord Saloon.

Setting up:

A quick-start guide is provided to help you get all the wires into the right places. All cable conections from the rear of the unit, the cables themselves, and the speaker terminals are colour coded, and are of an acceptable length for running around the walls of a small lounge, making it very easy indeed to conect up the correct speakers. Connecting the various bits and pieces of my audio system were a doddle. I use 3 of the 4 available HDMI inputs for the Xbox, Blu-Ray player and PC, and an optical connection for a Streamium unit. Initially, the PC connection didn't play too well thanks to my old steam powered graphics card. A new electrically powered card was purchased for around 30 bucks (radeon HD 6450) which has all the necessary HDMI video (with integrated audio) stuff on it. Once inserted into the PC and installed I Plugged this via a huge HDMI lead into the back of the Onkyo and worked like a dream.

The main reason for going for this particular Onkyo system was the addition of the powered sub-woofer, and the built in Audessey sound sorter thing - Plug the supplied mic in, place the mic where your ears would normally be when watching the TV, and it auto adjusts the speaker levels for the whole room. I know within myself that without this I would still be tweeking the levels to get it just right. The audessey thing did this in a few minutes. Wow!

With the setup complete, cables run thru the trunking system, it was time to see, and hear, just what the system looked, and sounded like.

Blu-Ray - Excellent, Just like being in the movie theatre, as you would expect.

TV - Sony 40" LCD via the ARC channel - WOW! - auto selection of 5.1 audio sources when they are on the TV. The normal PCM audio is excellent, but good god - its a world of difference when the proper audio feed kicks in and it becomes such an intense immersive experience. I'm now quite impressed.

X-Box - Blown away! in GTA4, for example, you do feel like the cops really are right on your tail! Silent Hill Homecoming too became a real horror. Played for a short while with the lights out and the atmospheric sounds all around truly were terrifying. I deny this of course - but was told by family members that I had really turned a pale green colour while playing.

PC - MP3 files are now crystal clear thanks to some kind of tekky thing in the Onkyo. Don't know what it is exactly - it was noted in the spec - but it really does let you hear sounds that I'm positive were never there before. In addition movies with the 5.1 source play just like they should. Immersive and captivating. Makes me want to go and watch all my movies over again as I know it will be a completely new experience all round.

The bass level on the subwoofer, is adjustable so it can reduce the fear factor of your ceiling falling in, without losing any quality. The bass itself has an incredible wide range - deep and disturbing when it needs to be, but also crisp and purposeful. If you want your neighbours to hate you more than they already do, crank it all the way up :-)

The Onkyo also has an intuitive and very easy to use on-screen display which makes fine-tuning the system and connecting it appropriately a doddle. The instruction manual itself is well written and easy to follow.

Overall verdict:

I am a home user of an elegant, practical, and purposeful AV receiver. That's it. Using this sytem to view my favourite programmes, watch movies, listen to music that suits my mood of the day, do a spot of gaming on the x-box on occasion has all become an indulgent pleasure. The onkyo has enveloped my lounge in a pleasant atmosphere of high definition sound and vision.

I can only compare this system against my old DVD all in one, and I can truly say that I will never go back to using an all in one again, the Onkyo is a world apart.

If you are on the hunt for a quality A/V receiver package - with speakers, I can thoroughly recommend this sytem. If you're sitting there thinking, I wonder if I should...... then stop thinking about it. If you have the funds available and want a serious upgrade to your home cinema experience then JUST BUY IT!

If I were to give a star rating it would be as follows:
Rating of unit: ***** 5/5
AV experience: ***** 5/5
Amazon experience: ***** 5/5
Richer sounds: ***** 5/5
Big smile on face: ***** 5/5

Thanks for reading this, I do hope it helps to influence your decision to purchase.

Let me start of by saying that this is my first Home Cinema system, and so I can't really review in comparison to other systems. I can say, however, that I can't imagine this to suffer much when comparing, as the audio is simply incredible. The bass rumbles without ever becoming overpowering, the treble silk in audio form and the sound large and filling. Don't fall in to the trap of thinking 'it's only sound'. To me, the transition from a standard stereo system to this is far greater than the leap from standard definition video to high definition. It multiplies the experience of everything, making everything grander, greater, fuller and more wholesome.

The unit is incredibly reasonably priced for what you get. I researched heavily before buying, and everything pointed to this being the best value for money. Don't be put off if you haven't heard of Onkyo before either. I was initially a bit wary, but some internet research quickly revealed them to be a very well respected name in audio, and benefit from the fact it is their sole endeavor. The system is sturdy, and attractive in a relatively simple way. The speakers aren't heavily detailed, but are elegant. The receiver, with it's vast amount of inputs and outputs provides a very neat way of switching between devices (especially helpful if you have a lot like me, and your tv doesn't have enough inputs on it's own), and is very simple to work, as it has preset named channels. It also retains memories of your audio settings for each connected device, meaning you only ever have to fiddle with settings once.

The system comes in a huge box, which is very neatly (and securely) packaged, so you don't really have to worry about damage in transit. All cables are provided (apart from those to connect your devices, but you should already have these) and are colour coded for ease of set-up. The set-up process itself was completely painless, and only took about fifteen minutes.

All in all, even for a small room these completely change your experience while watching movies or playing games. You'll notice subtle sounds that you never knew existed before, and will really feel part of a cinematic experience.