Onkyo HT-SR800 Theater System

Pros: 7.1 channels, value
Cons: Hdmi pass-thru only, complicated remote, cables

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 ...

Pros: Very high quality and high featured receiver
Simple setup
Decent sound quality with included speakers
Cons: Included speaker wire a bit thin.

Home-Theater-In-A-Box (HTIB) systems are quite popular these days. They run the gamut from a $160 RCA from Wal-Mart to systems costing thousands of dollars from a specialty Home Theater store. This unit is what most people would consider about the ...

Pros: Great value, 1000W, not cheap speakers, old-school styling
Cons: Bland and boring styling, tricky to find space for all the speakers, cheap remote/cables

Onkyo continues to impress me with the value of their HTIB ("home theater in a box") products. For several years now they have sold some incredible packages, and the HT-SR800 is no exception. You get a powerful 7.1 channel amplifier, 7 speakers, and a ...

Pros: MANY inputs, 7.1 sound, 4 digital inputs, powerful sub
Cons: lack of 7.1 content, Complicated remote

Purchased this surround sound early Jan 08' and been loving it ever since. This is truley the best surround sound system i've ever heard. Its nice, big, and sturdy. This is like the first home theater in a box that doesnt have a dvd player built in ...

Pros: awesome base, crisp clean sound, color coated wiring, comparable to Bose.
Cons: bulky speakers, lots of wires, but who cares, lol.

I wanted a Bose system, but couldn't afford it, this system is awesome, and with the price right around $500 you just cant beat it. I have heard, and compared the Bose system to mine, and I am very satisfied. the best feature is the 10" woofer, it shakes ...

Pros: Affordable, great sound, easy setup
Cons: no wireless rear speaker option.

I have had several home theater setups over the years, beginning with simply taking the audio out from a VHS machine to a stereo receiver to a component system built over several months.
I was setting up a smaller room for a personal space as we have older relatives living with us and needed a getaway space in the house. In looking for a simple solution I discovered the HT-SR800 on-line and then found it on sale at a local bricks and mortar store. When I took it home was very pleased with the simple setup compared to other component systems I had used and the sound really was a pleasant surprise.
While some complain of the small gauge wire, that's really not that big a deal to most users and replacement with heaver wire is too simple to be an issue.
The only issue I had was that several of the other HTIBs had included wireless rear speakers, which my wife really wanted and would have made the wiring process easier. But, that's really not a showstopper for me.