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At the beginning where Dr. Stone is working on repairing/upgrading the satellite, the camera is constantly floating around as if we are one of the astronauts in space. The audio follows the action around the room so precisely, that you immediately notice how much Dolby Atmos adds to the experience. A phono input connects a turntable so you can enjoy your record collection, and we’ve also added easy-to-use universal Hi-Res Audio compatibility as well. Just use our phone app to find your 192/24, 96/24, or 5.6 MHz DSD albums on PC/NAS and relish the clarity and detail on your Onkyo home theater. Onkyo Onkyo’s receiver delivers the most flexibility connecting outboard audio and video equipment. Due to a policy of continuous product improvement, Onkyo reserves the right to change specifications and appearance without notice.
To be clear, I am not saying that these speakers are a failure, or that you can’t hope to enjoy Dolby Atmos in such a setup, just that it is not exactly the same as with a full system. In fact, despite this difference, they still sounded pretty good with the demo material. AccuEQ equalizes the surround-sound to suit the room acoustics for crisply focused sound, while AccuReflex aligns the phase of upfiring height speakers with sound coming from your other speakers.
Stay Connected
What I missed, in comparison with higher-end Dolby Atmos systems, was any sense of depth behind my listening position. That’s to be expected, of course because you can’t connect rear height speakers to this system. In a matter of 20 minutes, I had everything unpacked and connected and I was ready to use the receiver’s AccuEQ room correction software. AccuEQ will equalize the system for speaker distance, type, crossover, and output level, and it can apply a dose of digital EQ in an effort to correct for acoustic anomalies in your listening environment. To use AccuEQ, you plug the included microphone into the receiver’s front panel and then initiate the step-by-step guide.
Most people will find listening to music on the Onkyo system to be a highly satisfactory experience—especially music with good bass lines. The system imaged well and presented a well-developed soundstage. Nevertheless, there was persistent image smearing–especially when I wanted to focus in on individual instruments during songs. The HT-S7700 is a real winner for the first-time home-theater buyer and technology novice. It’s a solid, feature-rich package that delivers a thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying movie experience at home.
Speaker - Input Sensitivity/Impedance
Throw in the Dolby Atmos implementation, and you have a package that will bring a big smile to your face. Theo Nicolakis Onkyo provides color-coded speaker cables with its HT-S7700 to make setup easier. Having said that, the cabinets feel sturdier than Yamaha’s speakers.
Each solidly crafted speaker in this 5.1.2 package reproduces next-generation sound as its creators intended. Midrange frequencies, on the other hand, came across a bit dark and muddy. Comparing the Onkyo to Orb Audio’s Complete Home Theater, the Orb setup sounded much more open and nuanced. The guitar at the opening of U2’s “Song for Someone” from Songs of Innocence lacked a natural, full-bodied presence on the Onkyo system, and I missed the delicate sense of fingers striking the guitar strings. Comparatively speaking, through the Orb Audio setup I had a much better sense of the guitar’s body and its individual strings being pucked and strummed.
Home Theatre Systems
The height channels also performed wonderfully, and unlike during my testing with the demo disc, I felt that they blended without calling attention to themselves. Power your speakers like never before with Onkyo’s unique Dynamic Audio Amplification system. Music lives and breathes thanks to accurate, noise-free signal processing and hi-current power that dynamically controls your speakers for authentic audio reproduction, filling you with emotion. Onkyo says it designed the HT-S7700 to be one of the easiest HTIB systems to set up, and they deliver on that promise.
Onkyo’s receiver offers strong home-networking features, thanks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and ethernet connectivity. The free Onkyo Mobile App allows you to control the entire system from your phone or tablet, and you can stream audio directly from your networked mobile device, computer, or media server. The receiver also supports popular streaming-audio services such as Spotify, Pandora, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Slacker, Aupeo, and TuneIn. This system can decode a variety of audio codecs, including FLAC, ALAC, DSD, and MP3. Backed by 70 years of experience building high-grade audio components, the HT-S7800 amplifies accurate, noise-free signal processing with high-current power for dynamic speaker control. Onkyo's dynamic audio amplification delivers massive power at 170 W/Ch (6 Ohms, 1 kHz, 0.9% THD, 1 Channel Driven)/ 100 W/Ch (8 Ohms, 20 Hz–20 kHz, 0.08% THD, 2 Channels Driven).
Product Key Features
Firing up Fury Road I immediately noticed that the Onkyo makes it a point to try and envelope you with sound with a very aggressive approach to reproducing the surround mix. Given the potential target audience, I think this will go over favorably. If you’re new to surround sound, you probably want to hear every speaker getting a workout.
If you own a turntable, the A/V receiver in Onkyo’s HTIB system is the only one we reviewed to be equipped with a phono input. I liked the included microphone to automatically balance the system. I was disappointed with the very thin, small gauge speaker wires. Very Nice System - Has plenty of inputs and works very well with new 4K TV - Make sure you go into set up on the TV screen - The sound had an echo until I did the complete set up on screen . I was pleasantly surprised at the performance of Onkyo’s subwoofer. A 10-inch subwoofer won’t deliver deep bass, but the Onkyo sub gave me a top-to-bottom, thoroughly satisfying experience.
The HT-R695 includes both wired and wireless connections, and is very easy to configure. As I have the luxury of a network drop in my cabinet, I opted for the wired connection. I found that a firmware update was waiting for me the first time I fired the receiver up, which completed in about 30 minutes. Aside from internet-based firmware updates, the network functionality also allows for control via the Onkyo Remote smartphone app, and network streaming audio services such as Spotify. As I have discussed at length in previous Onkyo receiver reviews, the Onkyo remote control app is fantastic.
They are definitely a great value for the cost – and sound like more expensive speakers. Home Theater in a box systems have certainly improved over time, and the Onkyo HT-S7800 is certainly a shining example. For a hair under $1000, you get a full Dolby Atmos-enabled speaker system, an excellent mid-range receiver, and the performance of a system that could potentially cost a lot more.
On the surface, the HT-S7700 packs in a ton of features where it counts. Set this up in an hour, used the included mic for calibration, was blown away by what I had been missing. I'm sure you could spend thousands and get something even better, but for the price the Onkyo system is great. Our magazine, which began with the publication of the SECRETS Primer, is available exclusively on-line and offers to our readers an extensive information resource about home theater and high-end audio. SECRETS of Home Theater and High Fidelity was launched in 1994 as the first major publication offering serious audio/video journalism on the Internet.
The system consists of an A/V receiver, five satellite speakers, a powered subwoofer, color-coded and pre-cut speaker cables, and a subwoofer cable. The front left and right speakers have additional speakers on top of the cabinets that perform as Dolby Atmos height channels, bouncing sound off your ceiling. The speaker package includes a pair of Dolby-enabled front speaker units that are actually two separate speakers in one chassis. They have separate inputs for the height channel and front channel. Also included are a standard horizontally oriented center channel and two satellite-style surround speakers. The subwoofer looks okay, though the blue glowing LED would annoy me after a while had I not been able to place it out of view.
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