Onkyo HT-S5200

CNET Editors' Take

March 17, 2009 2:38 PM PDT

Onkyo announced two new entry-level HTIBs this week, combining component-grade AV receivers with full-size surround sound speaker systems.

Home-theater-in-a-box systems are often associated with tiny speakers and underpowered AV receivers, but Onkyo (like Yamaha) bucks the trend, packing its home theater systems with big, boxy speakers and component-grade AV receivers. The company announced two new HTIB systems this week, both of which look impressive in terms of value, at least from the specification sheet. Let's take a look at the new systems:

Onkyo HT-S3200

Back panel of the HT-R370, the included receiver on the HT-S3200.

Key features of the Onkyo HT-S3200:

5.1 home theater system with 110-watts per channel
Two-way front and center speakers, each with 3.25-inch woofer and 0.75-inch tweeter
Smaller rear speakers, each with 3.25-inch woofer
110-watt subwoofer with 8-inch driver
Component-style 5.1 AV receiver
Audyssey Dynamic Volume and Audyssey Dynamic EQ
Three HDMI inputs
Two component video inputs
Three digital audio inputs (two optical, one coaxial)
Currently available in black, $380 list price

Onkyo HT-S5200

Back panel of the HT-R570, the included receiver on the HT-S5200.

Key step-up features of the Onkyo HT-S5200:

7.1 home theater system with 130-watts per channel
Two-way front speakers, each with a 5-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter
Three-way center channel with two 3.25-inch woofers and a 1-inch tweeter
Smaller rear speakers, each with 3.25-inch woofer
290-watt subwoofer with 10-inch driver
Component-style 7.1 AV receiver
Audyssey 2EQ automatic speaker calibration
Four HDMI inputs
Four digital audio inputs (two optical, two coaxial)
Minijack input on front for connecting to an MP3 player
Sirius-ready
Includes Onkyo UP-A1L iPod dock
Currently available in black and silver, $600 list price

These HTIBs compare favorably to the packages Yamaha announced recently. The HT-S3200 offers one more HDMI input over the comparable priced Yamaha YHT-391BL, although Yamaha's system steps-up to two-way satellite speakers. It's worth noting that neither system features automatic speaker calibration, which seems like an oversight even on these inexpensive systems.

The step-up HT-S5200 outdoes Yamaha's YHT-591BL ($650) when it comes to number of speakers--offering a 7.1 system compared with Yamaha's 5.1 system--but Yamaha's receiver features onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Of course, the true test for these home theater system will be comparing how they actually sound, and we're looking forward to putting Onkyo's and Yamaha's systems head-to-head.