Onkyo SKS-HT870 Home Theater Speaker System,Black

I bought this SKS-HT993THX 7.1 surround set for my home theater which uses a Onkyo TX-RZ730 9.2 channel receiver / amplifier. I'll break my review into three main categories: the product itself, delivery of the product, and support of the product. My 5-star rating is for the product (assuming it is not damaged; see below).Regarding the product itself, I love it! To match other people's reviews, I did not expect this to be a professional quality speaker set for this price, though I am very happy with the performance. I get crisp high-end and booming low end with it tweaked to my listening style. I did purchase an Onkyo SKW204 subwoofer independently of this set and find that the performance of that SKW204 subwoofer is much better than the SKW-980 that came with this set. Part of the reason that the SKW204 is better is that the 204 has a frequency cut-off adjustment where the 980 does not and the 204 seems to have more power than the 980.Regarding delivery of the product, it was less than acceptable. This set comes on one big, bulky box weighing in at over 100 pounds. The box is clearly marked with "machine lift", meaning there is no way one person should be expected to handle it. So, how did UPS handle it? They left it in my front yard (see picture). I'm not sure who I hold accountable for this as the box that indicated machine lift was put inside another non-descript box. I ended up unpacking it in my yard.Regarding support after the fact, I have issues with both Onkyo and Amazon. While unpacking the box in my front yard, I was surprised to see a box in a box at first, then I realized why. The Onkyo box looked like it had been run over by a truck a few times (see pictures). The box was beaten up, taped together, and beaten up again. I was expecting there to be major damage to the contents, but wanted to know for sure. After all, Amazon likely wouldn't take it back because the box was damaged.Inside the box, all of the molded styrofoam was destroyed. I picked through everything and removed all of the individual speakers, taking them inside. One of the surround speakers (SKR-980, the right one to be exact) had a damaged case (see picture) but none of the other speakers had any physical damage. I hooked each speaker up to the amplifier one and . time to test. All of them worked beautifully except one of the front speakers (SKF-980, right one to be exact). The SKF-908s have two 5-inch drivers and a soft-cone tweeter. One of the two 5-inch drivers was blown; after testing it, I pressed in on the speaker cone (I have worked in audio systems for decades and learned how to do this the right way, if there ever is a right way) and it feels like either the voice coil is contacting the magnet or there is some foreign object in between the voice coil and magnet.After testing all of the speakers and knowing exactly what was wrong, I contacted Amazon. I explained that I needed two individual speakers (one SKR-980 and one SKF-980) due to damage. In the extremely shortened version of the story, the agent told me that all they could do was replace the entire set. I explained that they would have to provide me with a new box and packing so I could return it; I was told that was not an option. Because I had no way to pack it up to send back, returning it was not an option.I was also told that, because Amazon does not sell the speakers individually, that they could not replace just those speakers. So, the Amazon agent got an Onkyo agent on the phone. The Onkyo agent confirmed that they do not replace individual speakers. I figured I would register the product with Onkyo and file a warranty claim. When I tried, Onkyo told me that I needed to contact Amazon, yet Amazon had already told me there was nothing they could do. With no real option, I agreed to a 25% refund from Amazon and planned on having the one damaged driver repaired (since you cannot find the Onkyo 5-inch, 3.5 Ohm driver anywhere outside of this set).I live in Nashville, TN; music city. Speaker repair shops are relatively easy to find here. I contacted a reputable firm who confirmed what I already knew: these speakers and/or parts for them are not readily available. They agreed to accept the challenge and have a look at the damaged driver. The problem is: they are overwhelmed with work and cannot take it in for three more weeks (from today, a full week after I had the issue with Amazon).So, long and short, this is a great sounding system! Buying it, you are accepting the risk that it will work right the first time and never need any repairs or replacements.

After purchasing an Onkyo TX - NR609 7.2 Channel Network THX Certified A/V Receiver, I wanted a 7.1 speaker system that 1. would best complement its features and capabilities, 2. had tallboy front speakers (to best complement our living room setup), 3. had received high ratings from consumers and reputable A/V websites, and 4. was reasonably priced. The SKS-HT870 met all four conditions and then blew away my expectations. As I slowly "built" the speaker system over a couple of days, starting with 3.0 (front and center speakers), then 3.1 (the subwoofer), then 5.1 (the surround speakers), then 7.1 (the surround back speakers), I was able to hear how the different 870 speaker types enriched the "sound image" with each addition and it was truly amazing as a convert to 7.1 from 2.0. The design specs of the speakers and the numerous audio settings of the 609 combine into a sonic synergy I didn't think possible for the money I spent on the two. It was exactly the result I was hoping for with the complete upgrade of our home A/V entertainment system.I had to pay special attention to the sub-woofer since although I do love bass, I didn't want to overpower the living room, or my wife, with too much bass "pounding". With adjustments of the sub-woofer's output level knob and the 609's bass and sub-woofer settings, low freqs are produced seamlessly for both music and movies. Using the physical and AVR settings, I've achieved the desired "omni-directional" sub-woofer output ("bass coming from everywhere and nowhere", meaning you can sense the bass but you're not able to tell where the subwoofer is located with your eyes closed) even though it's only 4 feet from where we sit!One recommendation that should not surprise anyone - instead of using the Onkyo supplied 22 gauge speaker wires (nicely color coded to match each speaker "+" spring clip) and the thin RCA-RCA sub-woofer cable, upgrade to thicker wires. I went with RCA AH1450SN 14-Gauge Speaker Wire (50 ft) for the 7 and a Mediabridge Ultra Series - Dual Shielded Subwoofer Cable - RCA to RCA Gold Plated Pro Grade Connectors (25 Feet). After using the Onkyo supplied sub-woofer cable for a couple of days while waiting for my new MB cable to arrive, I definitely could hear an increase in the "richness" of the sub-woofer produced bass with the new MB cable. It might just be that I finally tweaked the sub-woofer's level setting and the 609 bass / sub-woofer settings just right but after I installed the MB cable the sub-woofer seemed to be more responsive to low freqs; in other words, it appeared to come out of standby more often (a sometimes mentioned concern in other reviews). The sound from the 7 speakers improved markedly as well.Of note, the packaging was well done and all pieces arrived with zero damage. The system came in a single box of thick cardboard the size of a medium sized refrigerator (only slightly exaggerating) and was heavy enough to require use of a dolly from the delivery truck to my front door. Everything was very well protected and tightly packed in molded styrofoam with plastic banding, thin foam wrapping, and plastic sheeting. The attractive, shiny black top caps of the tallboys, side caps of the center speaker, and the front face piece of the sub-woofer were all completely protected with adhered plastic sheeting and were scratch free.The SKS-HT870 is 7.1 speaker system that has completely exceeded my expectations with its outstanding "sonic immersion". With it also being a very attractive addition to our living room and a great value ("bang (and bass) for the buck"), I highly recommend it to Onkyo AVR owners and everyone else.P.S. Using the 609's built in Audyssey 2EQ automatic speaker setup (using an included calibrated microphone), the 807 speaker system sounds even better. The easy to follow procedure adjusted individual speaker crossover freq and sound level settings as well as determined speaker distance from the listening position. One immediately obvious improvement was that we're able to watch streaming movies at a much lower volume but with the same high clarity as before, particularly dialog.