- 130 watts total output on 2-way bass reflex front, center, and surround speakers
- Bass reflex powered subwoofer with 230 watts output
- Front and center 2-way speakers feature 5″ diaphragm woofers and 1″ balanced floating tweeter
- Surround speakers feature a 3 1/8″ cone woofer and a 3/4″ balanced dome tweeter
- Subwoofer construction includes a 10″ cone driver
Product Description
The missing piece to your home theater puzzle is this 7.1-channel speaker package from Onkyo. The perfect addition to your DVD player and home theater receiver, the SKS-HT540 provides all the speakers you need to enter the all-enveloping world of surround sound. 130W output, 2-way bass reflex front, center and surround speakers provide the soundstage. The earth-shaking 230W powered subwoofer provides the impact. All provide the cinema experience in your home…. More >>
Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 Channel Home Theater Speaker System
#1 by Jalen Anthony Krupa on June 28th, 2010
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I spent a good 2 weeks looking for a surround sound speaker system for my home theater. I was only looking to spend around $300 and I really wasn’t expecting to find anything great at that price. But then I continued to hear wonderful things about Onkyo speakers and I had to try them out.
I purchased them here on Amazon for $280 ($230 + $50 for shipping). The speakers were nicely packed and arrived farily quick. The speakers not only look great but they feel as though they’re high quality. No one would ever guess that these speakers cost under $300. Especially when you hear them. They sound amazing.
Movies sound great along with video games, (xbox 360). The speakers let you hear all the action, and the sub-woofer lets you feel every explosion. Onkyo’s SKS-HT540′s Surround Sound Speaker System is a treat to listen to and you will not be dissapointed with this purchase. A 7.1 speaker package with a 230 watt powered sub-woofer for under $300? That’s a great deal!
Only downside, (and I’ve read this in other reviews about these speakers) is that they don’t sound great when listening to music. They don’t capture the full sound that tower speakers would. Which makes sense, so if you’re going to listen to music with these speakers, you may feel a little dissapointed. If it’s just movies and video games… You’ll be happy.
I will say this about hooking up surround sound speakers (and this goes for all of them), when you first plug in everything, you have to configure your receiver to get the best possible sound out of your speakers. For instance, treble, bass and speaker size are going to dramatically change the sound of your theater. So, if when you first hear these speakers and you’re not satisfied with the sound… You didn’t set them up right, because my system sounds incredible once I dialed everything in.
Rating: 5 / 5
#2 by A. Sabbi on June 28th, 2010
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These are absolutely the best speakers for the price. Everything comes packed in a rather big and heavy(72lbs) box. The speakers are well packed in this big box. The build quality and finish is excellent. Especially, the subwoofer is huge and sounds sweet, it turns on and off automatically. I am surprised that they included such a big subwoofer at this price. I hooked these speakers to Sony-STR-DG800 receiver. All the speakers have spring clips(cheap) to connect the speaker wire. Speaking of the speaker wire, the supplied speaker wire is also cheap. And for the price I paid, I absolutely don’t have any complaints about that. All the surround speakers are wall mountable. The bottom line, I am very satisfied with these speakers and recommend to anyone not very particular about the size.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by N. L. Steele on June 28th, 2010
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I’ve had the SKS-HT540 speakers for about a week and am using them paired with an Onkyo TX-SR606 receiver to play movies from a Phillips DVP 5960 upscaling DVD player via HDMI and music from an older Sony 5 disc changer with stereo outputs as well as for video-gaming on an Xbox 360 via the optical output.
The box these come in is gigantic, and you would think it’s a small refrigerator, but that’s good packing for shipping as they arrived completely undamaged. The size and wattage are the same as Onkyo represents them; the guy that claims the fronts are smaller than listed is way off base. The speaker wire that comes with them is crap as is to be expected (buy your own 16 AWG and you’ll be fine); even the most expensive set ups don’t come with nice wire, and most don’t come with any wire so put a plus in the Onkyo box.
I’m currently only using the front three speakers as well as one of the surrounds and the subwoofer, because I have a pair of 5″ driver bookshelf speakers that are better voice matched as surrounds for 5.1 sound with the front three, I put the surround speaker in there as a 6th channel for 6.1. I’ll say the surrounds are substantially weaker than the front three (my AVR set its cutoff at 120Hz vs. 80Hz for the front three and the sound that comes from it is noticeably thinner than the fronts and my other surrounds; this is reasonable since it’s a 3 1/8″ driver and .75 tweeter, and its sound would likely be less noticeable mixed in with the other four of its kind). The one other negative I can cite for the subwoofer is that it doesn’t have a phase switch so if you find you’re having trouble with resonance, you’re going to have to place it differently.
Those negatives aside, this speaker set is so much better than its price would indicate (I got it refurbished for $219 elsewhere online). The subwoofer puts out surprisingly tight bass and powerful LFE effects for movies. The front three speakers and subwoofer alone would be worth the money paid so the additional surrounds are bonuses in my mind. Movies are fantastic, surround imaging transitions are very smooth, highs and lows are equally well handled, and the subwoofer has more power than I can use in an apartment. I can feel the bass vibrating the furniture and occasionally creating a slight breeze in its direct line. My movie collection has come alive and I’ve started hunting down well mixed 5.1 sound tracks to audition (Master and Commander and Saving Private Ryan are great; The Indiana Jones Trilogy is nice; the X-Men movies are starting to seem better even with the weak writing of the last one).
I had assumed that movies would be well handled, but that I would be sorely disappointed with music through these. I couldn’t be more wrong. Varying back and forth between Prologic modes, direct handling, and stereo that allots below cutoff bass to the subwoofer I’ve been extraordinarily pleased with the sound on my favorite jazz (Coltrane’s Blue Train; Miles Davis Kinda Blue; Getz & Gilberto; and some Woody Herman) bluegrass (Rounder Record’s 25th anniversary 2 disc) and other variously chosen others that I hoped would tax the system and show its flaws (Dire Straits; Jethro Tull; Cyprus Hill; Grieg’s Peer Gynt; Ray Charles the Atlantic Years). I’ve been playing these at half volume (for reference, I play movies and TV below half and my wife gets miffed), and it’s like I’m in the studio or venue with the musicians. I’ve heard key chatter on the saxophones, Stan Getz’s breathiness on his tracks, Joao Gilberto’s voice wavering at the deep registers… the detail is phenomenal to me (granted I’d never label myself an audiophile). I’m discovering layers of information I’d never known was there in my CDs. The sound is warm and oddly sweet to my ears. I haven’t found a passage or instrument that can make the front three stumble and I’ve tried hard. They do a very nice job at reproducing dialogue in movies and male voices as well (a weak spot for many smaller satellite packages with small drivers).
In short…
Pros
-Excellent front three and subwoofer
-Excellent music and movie reproduction (from these speakers)
-Excellent dialogue reproduction (even male voices)
-They look kind of pretty and are great in proportion to a 46″ screen (I’ll try and post a pic)
-Surprisingly tight and powerful bass from the sub for its price
-Astonishing price for all of this together (turnkey 7.1 ain’t cheap anywhere)
Cons:
-Weak surrounds comparatively, but still as good or better than many other satellite systems
-Thin wire included (but many don’t even include wire so not much of a con)
-Sub has no phasing switch
In total, I couldn’t be more pleased or feel I got better value for my money. If you’re looking for inexpensive entry into a 7.1 system as I was, you can’t go wrong with this.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Kaio on June 28th, 2010
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i carefully read reviews and researched these speakers before buying and im NOT disappointed. i was looking to replace a 7.1 setup from Denon that had small stylish satellie speakers. well, the sound matched the speakers — SMALL! yes, these Onkyos are a little larger than most common surround sets. but big sound resonates best from bigger speaker cabinets. if the Bose concept is so great, why dont movie theaters and rock concerts use tiny little speakers?? bottom line — because you cant get the same big sound and resonance from tiny speakers. sound is based on vibration, and bigger speakers give bigger sound vibration. these Onkyos have full rich sound with deep bass and great highs as well. a lot of speakers can handle mid-range and bass fine, but fall by the side when it comes to higher registers. i often listen to Native American music with flutes and rich high tones. these Onkyos reproduce the full spectrum of these elegant flutes in full detail. and the price cant be beat. you wont be disappointed!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Turtle in the City on June 28th, 2010
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Once you realize, Home-Theatres-In-A-Box (HTIBs) just won’t do because their sound quality is mediocre at best, you realize that separate speakers and AV receivers run the gamut from reasonably expensive to unbelievable. And buying 7 speakers and a subwoofer can quickly cost you over $2000 dollars. When I was looking at putting together a home theatre system, I wanted an AV receiver with future compatibility that was also fully featured (I settled on the Onkyo TX-SR605). For speakers, I wanted reasonably priced quality. Despite the fact that these speakers were originally part of a HTIB they are of surprisingly good quality for the price.
The Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 speakers are neither stylish nor ugly. They are functional looking with black wood grain cabinets and removable covers. I like their looks because they are classic and not flashy. I wanted quality over looks. When it comes to low-to-medium priced speakers, stylish looks usually mean a drop in performance and sound quality. These speakers don’t try to look trendy, they just produce great sound. If you’re going for styling in your speakers to match your decor, look elsewhere.
Another feature of the Onkyo SKS-HT540 speakers is that they are large. And I mean large. These would not be too small to be used in a huge great room. I have them in a cramped little apartment, but I love them anyway. You need large speakers to produce fuller, deeper sound and these have no trouble doing that.
The speakers are well made in that they have wood cabinets. Read up about materials and you’ll learn this is great; most HTIBs and speakers at this price are usually made with plastic cabinets. The Onkyo SKS-HT540 use spring clips as connecters, which don’t give the best possible sound, but few speakers in this price range offer banana clips.
Overall, the Onkyo’s give surprisingly clear, deep, and rich sound for the price. These are very affordable speakers that give great sound. Sure there are speakers that give better sound, but they will cost you over a $1000. These speakers are the best quality sound you can get for the price. (And Cnet agrees. Check out their review.) They are powerful and the sound they produce is realistic and varied.
I use my 7.1 system to play video games on my XBox 360, PS3, and PC gaming system. This is where these speakers really shine. Few DVDs or Blu-Ray discs take advantage of 7.1 yet, but many games do. Guns and explosions sound insane! on these speakers. I mean it. The subwoofer is huge and provides plenty of sound for a room of up to 800 sq feet. I’ve heard musical instruments I didn’t even know were there in my music while listening on these speakers. I’m an audiophile and I’ll admit there are much better speakers out there, but not for anything near this price. So if you want an affordable surround sound system these speakers are it. Get them now.
Oh and the included subwoofer cable is kind of short (8ft). I bought an extension for about $5. Very worth it.
Rating: 5 / 5