Electronics Gadget Reviews

Coby DVD938 5 1 Channel DVD Home Theater System with Digital AM FM Tuner Black

COBY DVD 5.1 CH DVD HTIB WITH USB AND SD INPUTS

User Ratings and Reviews

2 Stars you get what you pay for
Not a bad product. Sounds good after replacing 20g wire with bigger 8g. Does not remember settings after turned off(including volume). Volume very high when turned on and no control for about a minute. Quality of speakers and sub ok. Very not up-to-date for connecting to modern hi-def tv’s. Your old school rca jacks. Worth it to spend more on a more quality, up to date system.

5 Stars Perfect For What I Need
This system is wonderful for a starter set. If you’re a college student, new to surround or looking for something simple for a smaller room, this is a great choice. The biggest plus about this system is that I can hook up my Xbox (RCA hook up or digital). Keep in mind that If you hook it up with RCA you can’t get surround, but the stereo sounds amazing. I was afraid of Coby from all bad reviews on other systems. This one really exceeded every expectations. Very clear sound, great price and a great DVD player make this perfect.

I’m 21 and live in an apartment so the rooms aren’t that big. I have a 100 sq. foot living room. This system is just right. When you finish setting it up (took me about 30 min, running cables and all) you need to put in a DVD like Lord of the Rings to test out the sound. If you leave everything at the default you’ll notice that there’s almost no bass and the center speaker is WAY over powering. Play around with your setting for a while, you CAN get bass out of it, just look through the menus.

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Onkyo HT S3100 5 1 Channel Home Entertainment System Set of Seven Black

The HT-S3100 covers today’s key entertainment options. The HT-S3100 has a trademark amplification design that puts power and precision before all else. Onkyo’s High Current Power Supply (H.C.P.S.) concept ensures that you will always have the power to respond to the wide dynamics of surround sound. When the sound is attenuated in a conventional amplifier, the audio signal drops close to the noise floor at low volumes, thereby tainting the signal. Onkyo’s Optimum Gain Volume Circuitry adjusts the gain so that less than half the standard amount of attenuation is necessary. The gloss finish of the speakers accentuates the minimalist styling of today’s displays. An equivalent technology from Dolby Digital, Pro Logic II, also brings you multichannel sound from regular stereo, for a more expansive home cinema experience. CinemaFILTER restores the correct tonal balance for playing a movie soundtrack in the smaller confines of your home theater. CinemaFILTER can be used with DTS and Dolby listening modes, and is easily activated from your remote control. If you use the OR-EQ equalizer button, you’ll get a more powerful, direct sound from movie sources. Color-Coded Speaker Terminals Easy-Set Speaker Configuration Crossover Adjustment (40/50/60/80/100/120/150/200 Hz) Compatible with RI (Remote Interactive) Dock for the iPod A/V Sync Control Function (Fixed at 0/20/40 ms) Full-Function RI (Remote Interactive) Remote Control HTP-360 5.1-Channel Home Theater Speaker System Tuning Frequency Range – FM 87.5 MHz-107.9 MHz and AM 530 kHz-1710 kHz Front Speaker – 4 x 10-3/4 x 4-3/4 (101×273x121mm), 2.2 pounds (1.0 kg) Center Speaker – 10-3/4 x 4 x 4-3/16 (273×101x106mm), 2.2 pounds (1.0 kg) Surround Speaker – 4 x 10-3/4 x 4-3/4 (101×273x121mm), 1.5 pounds (0.8 kg) Subwoofer Speaker – 9-5/8 x 16-1/8 x 14-5/8 (245×410x372mm), 14.6 pounds (6.6 kg)

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Onkyo is junk, and they don’t care
I purchased Onkyo’s HT-S3100 home theater system on February 6, 2009. On May 15 the receiver failed. After being put on standby mode for about two days, to save electricity, all of many attempts to turn it back on to use it have been unsuccessful. It’s apparently “fried.” The Onkyo web site offers a telephone number to call for technical assistance. I’ve called it 5 times in the last eight days (through 5/29/2009) and am each time invited by their recording, since alive person never comes to the phone, to leave a telephone number at which to be called back. Onkyo has not called back once. Their stuff is junk, they know it, and apparently they have no intention of honoring their warranty. Anyone know if Bernie Madoff owns them?

5 Stars Great Deal for the Money
I have owned this system for about 4 months now and I feel that is an adequate length of time to give an accurate review.

I read reviews and did in store tests for just under a month before buying this. I originally was interested in the base Sony model, but after testing it at the now discontinued Circuit City, I saw the Sony was no match for this Onkyo. The Sony wattage is always over-exaggerated, with it being extremely evident when doing a side by side comparison.

Here is a quick breakdown on the pro’s + con’s.

Pro’s:

Amazing sound for the money

-Blu-Ray live concerts will blow you away

Above average bass (but not the best for the $)

Extremely easy setup

Lengthy wire cords (Have to buy extra wire w/ the Sony)

Easy to use remote

Con’s:

No HDMI’s

-This can be overcome by using HDMI from your source (PS3 or cable box) to your TV and optical cable from there to the console. I have it set up this way and no signal quality is lost, guaranteed…a optical cable does carry Dolby Digital and DTS signals.

Large main console (You may face placement issues)

I am very pleased with my purchase and have 0 regrets to this day. I know you won’t either.

5 Stars Sweet Surround Sound on the Cheap
First things first. This is a great surround sound system in a box! Plus, it was pretty inexpensive. Onkyo is known for their great surround sound systems, and this one is no exception. I have an HDTV, but this system does not have an HDMI connection, but I knew that when purchasing. I simply bought a really inexpensive optical cable from here at Amazon to connect the system to my TV. The audio quality is excellent, and the system has plenty of settings to mess with. I have an Xbox-360 and PS3, and the 5.1 sound pumped out of this thing really puts you in the game. I can’t recommend this unit enough! You still reading? Buy this thing already!

5 Stars Good deal
It comes with a decent price and all the ins and outs you want for your home theater needs. The A/B speaker controls allows you to set up that extra set of speakers outside for the afternoon bbq. Clean and clear sound as expected. Very happy consumer.

Josef

Audio engineer

5 Stars Great System
We needed a new speaker system when my DVD surround sound system kicked the bucket after 5 years. The speakers wouldn ‘t work with any other system, so we decided to buy something that we could plug everything into. This system is great. It ’s nice to be able to hear our Playstation, VCR, and DVD’s all in surround sound. Easy to assemble. I did a lot of shopping around before buying. I found that Onkyo is the best low-end system around here and what I paid was lower than average price for a refurb system. Works great. We’re very happy with it. Delivery was within 7 business days.

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Onkyo HT S5200 7 1 Channel Home Entertainment Receiver Speaker Package with Dock for the iPod Black

If you want an idea of where Onkyo’s home theater packages are heading, the HT-S5200 is well worth checking out. Like previous Onkyo 7.1-channel receiver/speaker packages, the HT-S5200 delivers reassuringly hefty amounts of power and all-round performance. And in line with other recent offerings, it’s also perfectly suited for high-definition entertainment in the home: 1080p video takes center stage from sources such as Blu-ray Disc, DVD, HD broadcasting, and gaming. The emphasis is still on Onkyo’s audio prowess, so the HT-S5200 is equipped with three groundbreaking Audyssey technologies that will give you the edge in terms of surround sound. It also features some exciting innovations from Onkyo: a dedicated port that connects the iPod via the Dock for the iPod and DSP modes specifically designed for gaming. Includes dedicated RI iPod dock (UP-A1L) Audyssey 2EQ to Correct Room Acoustic Problems DOLBY Decoder – PLIIx, DD, DD-EX; DTS Decoder – DTS, ES, NEO6, 96/24 AM/FM 30 stations Preset Memory SIRIUS Radio Ready 4 Digital Inputs (2 Optical/ 2 Coaxial) 4 HDMI Inputs and 1 HDMI Output 6 Audio Inputs and 2 Audio Outputs 2 Components Input and 1 Component Output Front-Panel Portable input (stereo mini jack) Front – 2-way, bass reflex speakers (5 cone woofer and 1 balanced-dome tweeter) Center – 2-way, bass reflex speakers (3 1/4 cone woofer and 1 balanced-dome tweeter) Surround/Surround Back – Full-range, acoustic-suspension (3 cone) Woofer – Bass reflex (10 cone) Front Speaker – Dimensions – 6 1/8 W x 14 5/8 H x 7 13/16 D; Weight – 6.4 lbs. Center Speaker – Dimensions – 17 3/16 W x 4 1/8 H x 5 3/16 D; Weight – 5.7 lbs. Surround/ Surround Back – Dimensions – 5 5/16 W x 10 11/16 H x 3 3/4 D; Weight – 2.86 lbs. Subwoofer – Dimensions – 11 1/8 W x 19 5/8 H x 15 11/16 D; Weight – 25.4 lbs.

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Sony BRAVIA DAV HDX589W 5 1 Channel Theater System Black

Crank up volume and experience your movies with sensational surround sound. The 5.1 Channel BRAVIA Theater System by Sony boasts an integrated 5 DVD/CD changer, 1000 watts of room-filling power, and an included iPod dock. With the included S-AIR rear speakers with rear receiver and amp, you can now hear powerful sound from behind you without running wires. What’s more, you’re able to control a select number of BRAVIA televisions with BRAVIA Sync via the HDMI interface, and it all works through one remote control (included). And for amazing picture quality, the HDMI interface upscale DVD media up to 1080p. Digital Media Port – ability to connect and playback your iPod (support is limited based upon which optional Digital Media Port is being used; the unit will support the following players – iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod Nano 1st, 2nd & 3rd generation, iPod 4th & 5th generation & iPod Mini), Walkman(R) MP3 Player, PC and Bluetooth-enabled devices 1000 watts – enough power to get the most from the included speakers and subwoofer BRAVIA Sync – connect Sony products with HDMI and use one button from one remote to switch the right input and begin playing Digital-to-Analog Converter – 108MHz/12bit Disc Capacity – 5 disc tray Surround Effect – Movie/Music Mode; Multi-stereo link; Speaker formation; Virtual Speaker Mode (Headphone) Tuning – FM- 87.5 MHz-108.0 MHz (100 kHz step); AM- 530-1710 kHz (10k step) 531-1710 kHz (9k step) Audio Power Output – Amplifier – 1000W (RMS) / 512W(FTC) Center Speaker – 84W (FTC 0.7%THD), Center Speaker – 143W (RMS) Front Speaker – 84W x 2 ((FTC 0.7%THD) Front Speaker – 144W x 2 (RMS 10%THD) Subwoofer Speaker – 160W (FTC 0.7%THD) Subwoofer Speaker – 280W (RMS) Surround Speaker – 50W x 2 (FTC 0.7%THD) Surround Speaker – 144W x 2 (RMS) Accessories Supplied – RM-ADU007A Remote Wireless Rear Amplifier Easy Setup Disc iPod doc

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Onkyo SKS HT540 7 1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System

Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Surround Sound Speaker System – Movies in the theater are designed to envelope you in a large, widescreen image and sound that comes at you from all angles. That’s why a surround sound speaker system like the SKS-HT540 is essential for replicating this experience in your home. Unlike typical 5.1 systems, this 7.1 system adds two extra surround sound speakers to the equation. Offering you a more detailed and life-like experience. Sensitivity – 86 dB/W/m Max. Power – 130 W Nominal Impedance – 8 ohm Unit Dimensions – 6 3/16 (w) x 17 1/16 (h) x 7 7/8 (d) Unit Weight – 8.4 lbs. Surround Speakers 2-Way Bass Reflex Woofer – 3 1/8 Cone Tweeter – 3/4 Balanced-Dome Frequency Response – 60 Hz to 20 kHz Sensitivity – 82 dB/W/m Max. Power – 130 W Nominal Impedance – 8 ohm Unit Dimensions – 6 7/8 (w) x 10 7/16 (h) x 4 (d) Unit Weight – 3.1 lbs. Center Speaker 2-Way Bass Reflex Woofer – 5 OMF Diaphragm x 2 Tweeter – 1 Balanced-Dome, Floating Frequency Response – 55 Hz to 50 kHz Sensitivity – 86 dB/W/m Max. Power – 130 W Nominal Impedance – 8 ohm Unit Dimensions – 17 1/16 (w) x 6 3/16 (h) x 7 7/8 (d) Unit Weight – 8.4 lbs. Subwoofer Bass Reflex Powered Woofer – 10 Cone Frequency Response – 25 Hz to 150 kHz Max. Power – 230 W Unit Dimensions – 10 13/16 (w) x 18 5/8 (h) x 17 11/16 (d) Unit Weight – 25.4 lbs.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars As good as I hoped, and I hoped for a lot
I’m not going to make any claims about what these speakers sound like compared to really high end systems, because the truth is I’ve never owned a really high end system. What I can say is that for what they cost, they sound pretty amazing.

I bought them to replace some Aiwa speakers I had for quite a while (like 10 years), that admittedly were nothing special, but they got the job done. Obviously the improvement from that set can’t even be described in words.

Outside of what I’ve personally owned, I can say that I have lots of family members and friends that have a lot more money than me to spend on home theater, and I can honestly say I can’t think of any speakers that I feel are noticeably better sounding.

I would say that if you don’t have a bottomless wallet, you definitely can’t go wrong with this set, if you DO have a bottomless wallet and think you can do better, I don’t have any hard evidence saying that’s impossible, but I’m sure you wouldn’t be disappointed if you stayed low end with this set.

As if the sound quality isn’t enough, it even comes with color matched speaker wire, and how cool is that?

5 Stars Great Speakers
Great speakers, great price. Only drawback is they’re not great for wall mounting. The front speakers are not designed to be mounted. The side and rear have a “keyhole” mount. My side speakers are up high so it would be nice if they were pointable or if they had a better mount that I could point downwards. But even up a bit too high the system sounds great.

5 Stars Of course my horse…
So I paired these speakers with the Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver and it’s pretty much the sweet bomb diggity. I got a PS3 and a Hitachi 52″ Plasma, and DirecTv HD, and these speakers just complete the whole package. It took me about 3-4 hours to properly run all the wiring and I am dreading taking it all out when I move but, it’s definitely worth it. I bought better speaker wire as the speaker wire is pretty thin. (Think dental floss.) Anyways I originally ran the speakers with the supplied wires and now I think I have like 12 or 14 gauge. I honestly cannot tell a difference. If I had to do it again I would have saved the 60 some dollars I spent on speaker wire and used it towards something else. Blu-rays maybe. I did have quite a time mounting the surround speakers as they are pretty hefty and they are designed to hang flat against the wall. Flat against the wall doesn’t work in my house as the living room is oddly shaped. I bought some speaker mounts from best buy and I had to rig some makeshift brackets as I was worried the speakers wouldn’t stay on the mounts. (You can’t see them though so it’s cool.) If you have a perfectly square room or something similar don’t worry. The mounts on the surround sound speakers look like something you would hang a picture or painting with. Long story short… These are the speakers you want, they rock. Do whatever you have to to get these: rob, steal, kill, sell your 1st born, it’ll be worth it.

1 Star Junk
Worst set of speakers I’ve ever had the miss-fortune of semi-owning EVER !! I’ve BUILT better systems

5 Stars SKS-HT540
I’ve had the SKS-HT540 speakers for about a week and am using them paired with an Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver to play movies from a Phillips DVP 5960 upscaling DVD player via HDMI and music from an older Sony 5 disc changer with stereo outputs as well as for video-gaming on an Xbox 360 via the optical output.

The box these come in is gigantic, and you would think it’s a small refrigerator, but that’s good packing for shipping as they arrived completely undamaged. The size and wattage are the same as Onkyo represents them; the guy that claims the fronts are smaller than listed is way off base. The speaker wire that comes with them is crap as is to be expected (buy your own 16 AWG and you’ll be fine); even the most expensive set ups don’t come with nice wire, and most don’t come with any wire so put a plus in the Onkyo box.

I’m currently only using the front three speakers as well as one of the surrounds and the subwoofer, because I have a pair of 5″ driver bookshelf speakers that are better voice matched as surrounds for 5.1 sound with the front three, I put the surround speaker in there as a 6th channel for 6.1. I’ll say the surrounds are substantially weaker than the front three (my AVR set its cutoff at 120Hz vs. 80Hz for the front three and the sound that comes from it is noticeably thinner than the fronts and my other surrounds; this is reasonable since it’s a 3 1/8″ driver and .75 tweeter, and its sound would likely be less noticeable mixed in with the other four of its kind). The one other negative I can cite for the subwoofer is that it doesn’t have a phase switch so if you find you’re having trouble with resonance, you’re going to have to place it differently.

Those negatives aside, this speaker set is so much better than its price would indicate (I got it refurbished for $219 elsewhere online). The subwoofer puts out surprisingly tight bass and powerful LFE effects for movies. The front three speakers and subwoofer alone would be worth the money paid so the additional surrounds are bonuses in my mind. Movies are fantastic, surround imaging transitions are very smooth, highs and lows are equally well handled, and the subwoofer has more power than I can use in an apartment. I can feel the bass vibrating the furniture and occasionally creating a slight breeze in its direct line. My movie collection has come alive and I’ve started hunting down well mixed 5.1 sound tracks to audition (Master and Commander and Saving Private Ryan are great; The Indiana Jones Trilogy is nice; the X-Men movies are starting to seem better even with the weak writing of the last one).

I had assumed that movies would be well handled, but that I would be sorely disappointed with music through these. I couldn’t be more wrong. Varying back and forth between Prologic modes, direct handling, and stereo that allots below cutoff bass to the subwoofer I’ve been extraordinarily pleased with the sound on my favorite jazz (Coltrane’s Blue Train; Miles Davis Kinda Blue; Getz & Gilberto; and some Woody Herman) bluegrass (Rounder Record’s 25th anniversary 2 disc) and other variously chosen others that I hoped would tax the system and show its flaws (Dire Straits; Jethro Tull; Cyprus Hill; Grieg’s Peer Gynt; Ray Charles the Atlantic Years). I’ve been playing these at half volume (for reference, I play movies and TV below half and my wife gets miffed), and it’s like I’m in the studio or venue with the musicians. I’ve heard key chatter on the saxophones, Stan Getz’s breathiness on his tracks, Joao Gilberto’s voice wavering at the deep registers… the detail is phenomenal to me (granted I’d never label myself an audiophile). I’m discovering layers of information I’d never known was there in my CDs. The sound is warm and oddly sweet to my ears. I haven’t found a passage or instrument that can make the front three stumble and I’ve tried hard. They do a very nice job at reproducing dialogue in movies and male voices as well (a weak spot for many smaller satellite packages with small drivers).

In short…

Pros

-Excellent front three and subwoofer

-Excellent music and movie reproduction (from these speakers)

-Excellent dialogue reproduction (even male voices)

-They look kind of pretty and are great in proportion to a 46″ screen (I’ll try and post a pic)

-Surprisingly tight and powerful bass from the sub for its price

-Astonishing price for all of this together (turnkey 7.1 ain’t cheap anywhere)

Cons:

-Weak surrounds comparatively, but still as good or better than many other satellite systems

-Thin wire included (but many don’t even include wire so not much of a con)

-Sub has no phasing switch

In total, I couldn’t be more pleased or feel I got better value for my money. If you’re looking for inexpensive entry into a 7.1 system as I was, you can’t go wrong with this.

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