Onkyo SKS-HT510 - is it an upgrade? (1 Viewer)

[GarySE]

I'm currently using 5.1 speakers that came in a Sherwood Dolby Prologic HTIB set, which i bought on closeout 5 years ago. I think I paid about $285 for the whole package, just to give you an idea of the quality, since I don't know the model number.

I upgraded the receiver 3 years back to a Dolby Digital Pioneer VSX-D509S, but I'm still suffering with the original speaker set.

I'm now ready to upgrade my speakers, but with a very limited budget.

Circuit City is selling the Onkyo SKS-HT510 speaker system for $200. I know these speakers aren't the highest quality, but I'm wondering if they're a worthwhile upgrade over my current set.

Does this set include better speakers than would come with a cheap, entry-level HTIB system?

Opinions please?

Thanks.

 

[John S]

Oh yeah, with a powered sub to boot...

Should be much much better than anything provided with pro-logic in an HTIB.

 

[Johnny V]

Hey! I was just wondering the same thing! Right now I've got a Kenwood HTiB (HTB-504) although mine is only 2 years old. Would these be an improvement over HTiB's in general?

 

[John S]

Seems fairly equivelent to what you get with the HTB-504...
The Kenwood seemed to be designed with DD/DTS 5.1 in mind.

 

[Jamie Peters]

What is your "low budget" budget? That will help people make suggestions.


I too have been "budget speaker shopping" for a while now. After much reading here (GREAT SITE), other online reviews and forums, and Manuf. web pages..... I decided to buy the JBL NSP1II Home Theater Speaker System as my speakers. They can be had at bestpriceaudioviedo.com for $205 + Shipping. Shipping is probably going to be around $25 or so... From what I have heard, they are great little speakers and much better than the Onkyo 510 set. The only thing is these do not come with a sub. For about $150 you can get a Dayton Sub from partsexpress.com that everyone here says is the best $150 sub on the planet. So, for less than $400 you can have this setup. Although twice as high as the Onkyo HT-510 route, the reviews are much better from people who have heard both.

http://www.bestpriceaudiovideo.com/p...ry=1994&Show=D

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...=300-632&DID=7

Do a search here in the speaker forum on "Dayton" and "NSP1", set back and read....

Hope this helps...

 

[gene c]

Gary, I bought the SKS-500 speaker set (5.1) from Fry's last summer for $129 NIB. While they may not sound as good as the JBL-Dayton combo to some, for the price I paid I can't very well complain. Besides, I really like them! When matched with the HT-R 500 receiver I got as a refurb for $119 I have a very nice Onkyo system for only $250! If you look around, and get lucky, you can find some real good deals out there. And yes, I think the SKS-510's would be a big upgrade from a "cheap htib set", but if you spend a little more you may be able to do even better. Please let us know what you decide. Thanks, Gene

 

[GarySE]

One other question:

The Onkyo main speakers are 16 inches tall. Any problem with placing them horizontally, rather than vertically?

Thanks again for all your input.

 

[gene c]

I can't think of a reason not to except the name on the grill will be sideways. Gene