Jul 252013
Onkyo SKS-HT870 Home Theater Speaker System
- 7.1-channel home theater speaker set
- Highlighted by pair of floor-standing tallboy front speakers for visual and aural impact
- 130 watts total output on dual-drive front and center speakers and full-range surround speakers
- Bass reflex powered subwoofer with 230 watts output
- Subwoofer construction includes a 10-inch cone driver
For maximum audio impact, your multichannel Onkyo receiver should be accompanied by a full-blooded surround-sound speaker set. Fitting the bill is the SKS-HT870, a 7.1-channel system that injects power and vitality into all your movies, games, and music. The highlight-both visually and aurally-is a pair of dual-drive, floor-standing tallboy front speakers rated conservatively at 130 W. In concert with the two-way center and full-range surround and surround-back speakers-each also rated 130 W-the
List Price: $ 449.00
Price: $ 378.88
Good quality/build plus some extras add up to great value,
I am happy with this speaker set because, in my view, I got a lot of value for what I paid. I wouldn’t call myself an Onkyo fan when it comes to entertainment devices – Sony receiver, Sony PS3, Sony BD player, Samsung TV – but I am aware of Onkyo’s reputation for quality and this set of speakers doesn’t disappoint.
All prospective buyers should be aware that these are 6 Ohm (SIX OHM) speakers. They will work well with 6 Ohm receivers, of course, and you SHOULD be able to use them with an 8 Ohm receiver if it’s kept in a well-ventilated shelf and you don’t keep it continuously at full blast. My own receiver is 8 Ohm and it seems to be Okay but both Onkyo and the receiver maker may not want to honor the warranty if they get word of this.
CONTENTS
What you get is good quality, 130W speakers encased in well-built wood boxes, a 290W powered woofer and then, there are a couple of unexpected bonuses.
- 1 Center speaker, surprisingly large
- 2 Front speakers on ‘tower’ stands (tallboy) – will save you money on speaker stands but if you’re thinking about hanging them, this is not your set.
- 4 Satellite speakers – do have hanging holes
- 1 Woofer – powered, connects through ‘banana’ jacks on both ends
- Color-coded wires for each speaker – kind of thin and I used my own, see below but… they’re free
- Onkyo UP-A1 Dock for the iPod – this was totally unexpected
SETUP
A screwdriver will be needed to attach the heavy metal base to the front, floor-standing speakers.
If you go with the color-coded wires, connecting everything is easy. I decided that I wanted thicker, copper speaker wire so I went with ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AP-16100W 100′ White 16 Gauge Oxygen-Free Speaker Wire and I’m happy I did that. The 100 ft. spool was about 25 ft. short of what I needed so, until I get another 25 ft., one of my satellite speakers will be using the Onkyo-supplied wire so I’m happy they included these.
The center and satellite speakers have mounting holes in the back but not on the base. I like my center speaker to sit on top of the TV and that was accomplished with about 1 ft. of Velcro 2″-wide tape. I used Velcro on the 4 stands as well as, in my view, it preserves the speaker’s integrity and it even offers some cushioning.
I do not own an iPod or an Onkyo receiver so the iPod Dock I am trying to sell at Amazon. Hopefully, there will be a buyer and that should help reduce the overall cost of this set.
THE EXPERIENCE
I only have good things to say about this set. For what I paid, it fully meets my expectation. The sound is full, crisp and if there are any distortions my ear is not trained or sensitive enough to detect them.
Physically, the boxes look professionally built and designed, uncompromising black matte with the sides of the center, the top of the front speakers and the woofer’s front a perfect shiny polish – don’t touch them or the fingerprints could be seen from a distance. The tall front pair is stable even on my carpeted floor.
RATING
This set deserves its 5 stars well for delivering good quality, well-built speakers and the couple of extras – wires, iPod dock. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a 7.1 set of 6 Ohm speakers.
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|Great system…,
I had been looking for a reasonably priced 7.1 system, this one has been perfect. The speakers are unobtrusive, and reasonably sized, and the sound quality is great for a sub-$400 system. I wasn’t aware when I purchased the set that it also includes the Onkyo UP-1A iPod adapter, while I have no idea why it is included it was a nice bonus, however I suspect that the $90 optional adapter increased the price, and it only works with Onkyo receivers (I have a Sony), for Onkyo Receiver owners this could save an extra purchase. I put mine up for sale on Amazon marketplace. The sub is more than adequate for the 14×14 room that I have my TV in, and the surround effect is spot on. All in all, I’m quite pleased with the quality of construction and the quality of the sound. The included speaker wire is good in a pinch, but I opted for thicker Monster speaker wire, I don’t know enough about wire to tell if it made a difference, but I thought it was nice that the wire was included…
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|Probably The Best “All In One” 7.1 Speaker Sets Out There,
Okay, so look. Any hardcore audiophile is going to build their home theatre from the ground up and probably frown on “bundles” like this. However, Onkyo’s quality has substantially increased recently and these speakers do represent that. I have these speakers hooked up to a Sony STR-DH810. I measured the distances, inputed them into the receiver and balanced them. It took a lot of tweaking before I got everything to sound right. I did have some problems with the center channel being drowned out so I bumped that channel slightly above the rest. If you want this system to sound the best it can then I please urge you to NOT use the speaker wire included.
The speaker wire that Onkyo provides will not handle lossless mixes well at all. You may get crackling and peaking and everything will sound flat. I re-wired with decent speaker wire and the difference was night and day. Sounds are richer and more full. Dialogue is crisp and doesn’t cause peaking or crackling in the center channel. So do yourself a favor and toss the shoestring wires and get a 100 feet of THX certified Monster Wire for $21 here on Amazon.
All in all I love the sound. They are not the best but for the price they are extremely good. If the center channel could stand its ground better then the set would be exceptional. One day when I have a higher salary I will no doubt build my setup speaker by speaker, but for now this is as good as bundled packages get.
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