Do my ears deceive me?

Sound is a very important part of the home theater experience. The speakers are strategically placed in the room to bring the sound all around you like you experience at the movie theater. It's like ear candy.

Price
I think this is a great value for the money. The retail price on this theater system is approximately $500. We tried to purchase locally but found a better deal online for $400.

Price had a lot to do with the system that we chose. This box set also includes the sub woofer which is something we would have had to buy anyway. From the research we did, we didn't think that the sound difference would be noticeable enough to justify a higher priced system.

What's in the Box
Front Speakers (SF-550F), Surround and surround back speakers (skm-550s / SKB-550)
Center Speaker (SKC-550C), Subwoofer (SKW-550), AV Receiver (HT-R550)

Remote control, Indoor FM Antenna, AM Loop antenna, Speaker setup microphone, Speaker terminal tool, Speaker cable for speakers, RCA Cable for subwoofer connections, 4 floor pads for the subwoofer (if it's on a hard floor to avoid damage to floor)

There is no DVD player in the box.

Appearance
The speakers come in silver or black in a wood casing. It was a hard decision but settled on silver which I believe was the best choice for our room. The silver blends into the walls whereas the black would be more noticeable. The instructions indicate that caution should be given to the location of the speakers as sunlight and humidity could damage them.

Installing
I think how a surround sound setup looks is important. We've seen people install surround sound systems themselves and we've seen it done professionally. Seriously. If you don't know what you're doing have it done professionally. It's not a task for beginners.

Speaker mounts (x 7 at approximately $15 each) or speaker arms are not included so will need to be purchased separately. The mounts also come in black or silver. We also added felt pads to the back of the front speakers to eliminate vibrations against the wall. Included speaker wire may not be long enough. Monster cable may be preferred.

7.1
The 7.1 technology basically adds two more speakers to keep up with the new technology. The 7 channels of sound are: center, left, right, left surround, right surround, left rear and right rear. The “.1” is for the sub woofer.

If the movie is not 6.1 or 7.1 compatible the the additional two speakers are just ignored. When Dolby EX is supported by movies, both of the 7.1 speakers are used as the 6th channel.

7.1 support also requires 7.1 wiring. Before purchasing be sure to verify that you have, or can have 7.1 wiring installed or supported for installation.

High Definition Support
There are two HDMI inputs, and one HDMI output, in addition there are three Component inputs, and two digital audio optical inputs.

This has High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) pass through. The device itself does not support HDMI audio or video conversion, you can not feed it an HDMI signal, and output to component or vice versa. You also can't send audio over HDMI using this theater system. This was a cost saving measure allowing the 7.1 system to be less expensive.

Radio / XM Ready / Sirius Ready
This is also XM and Sirius radio compatible which wasn't a consideration for us when we purchased the speakers but now that we have a Sirius radio I'm glad that the option is there. Another example of how this system can grow with your needs. The FM tuner is an included device.

Other equipment and paid subscription is needed to get XM or Sirius radio.

Sound
We did not have the opportunity to hear the speakers before purchasing them. For the price, these sound good. When it's movie time everyone knows it. Our bedroom is over the theater room. The floor shakes.

The sound quality is good but I'm not overly impressed with the sound. There is noticeable distortion when the volume is over 50.

I can't tell you how many times I've jumped out of my seat because I think someone is in the room. Some sounds from the movie come from the back speakers and it's hard to tell the difference between movie and reality.

There are different listening modes depending on the input signal. The modes can be accessed on the remote or on the receiver. Mono, dobly, movie, music, game, cinema. I just push the button until I find one that sounds best to me for me depending on if I'm listening to music or watching a movie. The book takes up 7 pages about the details of the modes and which modes would be best with each input signal.

Audyssey 2EQ/HTIB
Audyssey is a company that worked with Onkyo to develop a technology used to correct interference from things in the rooms such as furniture and walls. It works by combining speaker calibration with room correction to remove distortion and create balance for a better listening quality.

After the speakers were hung we connected the tuning microphone and allowed the system to tune itself based on a series of sounds generated from each speaker. The auto tuning was accurate enough that we did not need to make any additional adjustments.

Remote
This comes with one remote. We also have a universal remote hooked up so that my husband and I don't have to share. I personally hate the remote. It's thin and black. The buttons are tiny and hard to see. I just walk up to the receiver and push what I need because the remote is so complicated.

Other
The speakers have a two year limited warranty.

Overall
We feel that this home theater system is a great value especially since it included the subwoofer. It sounds really good for movie and television viewing. It's not that impressive for music. It sounds good enough (without spending a lot of money) and with 7.1 it will meet our growing needs.