Wootalyzer's Pricing Post! - The price of today's woot item is saved here for future reference
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Onkyo 5.1CH 3D Ready Home Theater System
$199.99 + $5 Standard Shipping
Condition: New

*DISCLAIMER* Wootalyzer! is in no way affiliated with Woot!, and this post may not always be here!

379.99 at amazon... and sold out.

399.99 at Best Buy

Great price here at woot!

Obligatory Amazon link: Amazon

379.99, out of stock with one review, 4 stars.

Onkyo site: AVX-290

It was $250 for a while at amazon in December, so even $45 cheaper now. Seems to be home theater clearance time. I bet it is temp out of stock at amazon right now because THIS PROBABLY IS amazon's stock.

I've had this system for 2 years, and no complaints. One nice thing about it is that it has 2 zones (A & B) which lets me switch from my surround-sound "media room" zone to my "all-house" zone. At the time I bought it, that feature usually popped up in $600+ models (I paid $300). The woofer is passive (not very powerful) and supposedly it can't be replaced by a powered woofer... except for the fact that I DID, and it works great. Go figure.

I have an earlier model of this (almost 3 years old) with mostly the same feature set, and it is great for home theater. The HDMI ports sold me, since I was no longer stuck with my small Sony DVD home theater (which had a whopping ONE optical in, and I had three digital components), along with a early-gen HDTV with only one HDMI input.

Between a handful of friends and myself, I've used several Onkyo systems, and I've never been disappointed. A lot of customization options, clean sound, and great power for the price.

Yeah, you could get a more powerful system, but probably not at this price (without going to a much sketchier brand).

You really can't go wrong at this price if you are in need of a home theater on a very small budget or a second room. Everything is matched up nicely and its not some fake setup with no options like the pre-wired stuff and 2 inputs.

Does anyone know if this does HDMI upscaling?

That is, where all inputs (component, composite, HDMI) get output over a single HDMI cable? I have an older model Onkyo receiver that doesn't do upscaling so it only outputs to the same type connection (composite -> composite, hdmi -> hdmi, etc) which means for example if I want to hook up a Wii over composite connection, I have to hook up a composite cable from the receiver to the TV and then switch inputs on the TV as well as the receiver any time I want to use the Wii. Becomes a bit of an annoyance.

I tried finding the answer myself but cant find the manual anywhere online. Wassup with that Onkyo?

jdpman wrote:Does anyone know if this does HDMI upscaling?

On the product feature page it seems like it doesn't. It has dashes instead of checkmarks next to:
Component Video Upconversion
Analog To HDMI UpConversion

jdpman wrote:Does anyone know if this does HDMI upscaling?

That is, where all inputs (component, composite, HDMI) get output over a single HDMI cable? I have an older model Onkyo receiver that doesn't do upscaling so it only outputs to the same type connection (composite -> composite, hdmi -> hdmi, etc) which means for example if I want to hook up a Wii over composite connection, I have to hook up a composite cable from the receiver to the TV and then switch inputs on the TV as well as the receiver any time I want to use the Wii. Becomes a bit of an annoyance.

I tried finding the answer myself but cant find the manual anywhere online. Wassup with that Onkyo?

Onkyo product features page a few posts above does not have a check on the analog to hdmi upscaling conversion so I would guess no.

Ah I missed that. Didn't know what the correct term was. Guess "upconversion" is what I meant. Thanks guys. Pretty big deal breaker for me though. That feature really simplifies hookup and usage headaches.. Oh well.

Some of the best deals on Onkyo can usually be found at Accessories4less.com, Onkyo's authorized factory refurbished online reseller. They sell this system for $169. After shipping it is about $190, making this woot! NEW system an excellent deal in comparison.

Here is the Manual for the HT-R290 receiver that comes with this system. It didn't seem to be identified anywhere and manuals were not on the Onkyo product page for this system.


EDIT: Changed the link, I believe this is the proper receiver. Can anyone verify?

jdpman wrote:Ah I missed that. Didn't know what the correct term was. Guess "upconversion" is what I meant. Thanks guys. Pretty big deal breaker for me though. That feature really simplifies hookup and usage headaches.. Oh well.

Yeah, this is a really important feature even when buying a budget system.

For those who still don't understand:

Usually HDTV's are connected with one HDMI cable. Older game systems, DVD players, video cameras, etc. do not support HDMI and have other cables to connect like the yellow RCA (composite) or the Red, Green, Blue RCA cables (component). Most modern receivers that support HDMI will convert non HDMI inputs to HDMI so you still only need one video cable going to your TV and can leave your TV 'input' on the same source. With this system if you connect composite video in, you will need to also connect composite video out to your TV from the receiver. This also means you will have to change inputs on your TV for each different source making it really difficult for the technically challenged.

Hi. I'm not very bright when it comes to electronics......I have an 8 year old Yamaha 5.1 surround sound system, but just bought a 55" LED 3D ready LG TV. Do I 'need' to buy this ? i.e. why would I want 3D sound?

I was just talking to my coworkers today about finally getting a decent audio system. WOOT TO THE RESCUE

Catawaba wrote:Hi. I'm not very bright when it comes to electronics......I have an 8 year old Yamaha 5.1 surround sound system, but just bought a 55" LED 3D ready LG TV. Do I 'need' to buy this ? i.e. why would I want 3D sound?

It's not 3D sound. It means that it can accept a 3D video input via hdmi from a bluray player or other 3d capable device and it will pass the 3d signal to your tv from this box. Otherwise if you buy a 3d player you would have to hook it up directly to your tv to get 3d video and output sound only to this system.

So unless you also plan to get a device that outputs 3d and blurays or games that are 3d, you don't need this yet.

I have the very similar HT-S3500 in a second, smaller room and it works well there. The price is pretty good for the whole set, and Onkyo usually offers good quality and value overall, but don't expect any miracles from the small included speakers and sub. It would be a vast improvement over built-in TV speakers and much better than a sound bar though, which is plenty for a lot of people.
It all depends on how discriminating you are and the available budget though I guess.
Personally, I wouldn't have been satisfied with this in the "real" home theater room, but still wanted to keep costs from getting too far out of control so I went with the TX-NR616, plus some better speakers and a good quality sub. I think the 616 is actually the sweet spot between performance and value, but for small rooms and to save money and hassle it would be hard to beat one of these little "home theater in a box" systems and this is one of the better ones in this price range.

theguruguys wrote:Most modern receivers that support HDMI will convert non HDMI inputs to HDMI so you still only need one video cable going to your TV and can leave your TV 'input' on the same source. With this system if you connect composite video in, you will need to also connect composite video out to your TV from the receiver. This also means you will have to change inputs on your TV for each different source making it really difficult for the technically challenged.

While it's nice to have, I disagree with the assertion that "most" receivers upconvert analog inputs, especially not HTIB systems in this price range. There are other simple ways to deal with older devices, the easiest of which is usually just to get a remote control that supports "activities" or macros. Then you just hit the "TV" or "DVD" button and it sends all the necessary commands to power things on and select the right inputs, etc. That makes things much more grandma-friendly than just using a receiver with analog upconversion and still needing to turn on the TV, the receiver, the selected device, and then pick the right input on the receiver manually before you can watch anything.
I think even the cheap refurb Harmony 300i in the sponsored deal on deals.woot should be able to handle that.

Will I be able to play my cable through this system? My current system will not and I would love to hear sports through surround sound.

kevlam69 wrote:Will I be able to play my cable through this system? My current system will not and I would love to hear sports through surround sound.

Very likely yes, but it depends somewhat on your cable box, and you might need to also change a setting or two there once you get everything connected up.

kmartind wrote:While it's nice to have, I disagree with the assertion that "most" receivers upconvert analog inputs, especially not HTIB systems in this price range. There are other simple ways to deal with older devices, the easiest of which is usually just to get a remote control that supports "activities" or macros. Then you just hit the "TV" or "DVD" button and it sends all the necessary commands to power things on and select the right inputs, etc. That makes things much more grandma-friendly than just using a receiver with analog upconversion and still needing to turn on the TV, the receiver, the selected device, and then pick the right input on the receiver manually before you can watch anything.
I think even the chep refurb Harmony 300i in the sponsored deal on deals.woot should be able to handle that.

I'm not to familiar with HTIB systems these days, I assumed most had video upscaling by now, even Onkyo's lowest end 'stand alone' receivers (the ones that go on sale at Fry's and here sometimes for $200) have HDMI upscaling.

I've been the harmony route with older folks, and they are a good solution, but I've found they can't read the screen on the lower end models so have to upgrade to a higher one with a larger color screen. The 300i doesn't have the ever so useful 'is everything ok' problem solving capabilities, really important for when grandma turns off the tv without the remote etc.

Cheaper here even when you include the $15 shipping:

http://www.accessories4less.com/index.php?page=item&id=ONKAVX290&gclid=CJf1joC68bQCFeuPPAodNUkASw

My momma told me . . . you better shop around!


[MOD: That is "reconditioned" with a 1-year warranty. Ours is NEW with a 2-year warranty.]

barrywilliams991 wrote:Cheaper here even when you include the $15 shipping:

http://www.accessories4less.com/index.php?page=item&id=ONKAVX290&gclid=CJf1joC68bQCFeuPPAodNUkASw

My momma told me . . . you better shop around!

That one is factory reconditioned. Today's woot offer is brand new.

Awesome deal! I'm wondering if the amp will handle the Klipsch Quintet speakers I have (still in the box).

The amp's nominal impedance is 6 ohms, the Quintets are 8 ohms. The Dynamic Power section of Onkyo's product specifications page lists 85 W @ 8 ohms, and the Quintets are 75 W RMS (8 ohms).

Any reason this would not be a good fit?

I have an older version of this system and it's great. The receiver and subwoofer are both excellent. But the satellite speakers are weak, which is typical for a complete package like this.

My advice is, get the system, and replace the satellites with larger bookshelf speakers. With this improvement the setup is incredible.

Don't get me wrong, the system is very adequate out of the box. Just be aware that what you're really paying for here is a quality receiver and sub, and you're getting a good deal on them.

mProwler wrote:Awesome deal! I'm wondering if the amp will handle the Klipsch Quintet speakers I have (still in the box).

The amp's nominal impedance is 6 ohms, the Quintets are 8 ohms. The Dynamic Power section of Onkyo's product specifications page lists 85 W @ 8 ohms, and the Quintets are 75 W RMS (8 ohms).

Any reason this would not be a good fit?

I checked the Klipch's sensitivity rating, which is measured in decibels. If the rating is 90 DBs or above, this relatively low-powered Onkyo should pair up well. Under 90 DBs, and they'll work, but.....you might not get all the sound volume you'd like at certain moments of movies, sports events, video games, et cetera. Yours are rated @ 91DB so, unless you're trying to fill a very large room with sound, this receiver should work fine for your application. At this price, it's unbeatable.

I got the older model about two years ago but it's got the A & B modes (B being for other rooms) What's hilarious is i couldn't understand why the front speakers were so weak for a 700 watt system until a month ago where I discovered I had the front speakers hooked up to B hookup instead of A. Doh! Teaches me to skim the manual and ignore the labels! Once I got it hooked up properly the system rocks! Its an excellent intro system to own.

kmartind wrote:While it's nice to have, I disagree with the assertion that "most" receivers upconvert analog inputs, especially not HTIB systems in this price range. There are other simple ways to deal with older devices, the easiest of which is usually just to get a remote control that supports "activities" or macros. Then you just hit the "TV" or "DVD" button and it sends all the necessary commands to power things on and select the right inputs, etc. That makes things much more grandma-friendly than just using a receiver with analog upconversion and still needing to turn on the TV, the receiver, the selected device, and then pick the right input on the receiver manually before you can watch anything.
I think even the cheap refurb Harmony 300i in the sponsored deal on deals.woot should be able to handle that.

Agreed. Not a common feature of entry level HTIB systems and good reminder about using a Harmony to get by this.

FYI, if you want HD Radio you need the external tuner to attach to the u-port(proprietary connector by Onkyo) on this model. About $100-$160 for Onkyo's UP-HT1 compatible unit.

Beware HDCP issues. I purchased this system new from amazon about 6 months ago. Panasonic 3d bluray plugged straight into my Samsung LCD no problems. Routed through the onkyo? Not so good. Repeated signal loss due to aforementioned issues. Receiver doesn't like the handshake between certain components. I gave up after the second unit shipped and failed.

Is it possible to make this system wireless? The front speakers with wires are fine but I hate running wires to the back of the living room!

I have this system for my living room and love it. In my opinion for $199 this can't be beat. I paid $249 for mine. It's actually tempting to pick up another set for the man cave I'm working on.

Does anyone know if the unit will accept wireless rear speakers?

New electronics on Woot? Nice! I hope to see more of this.

I just bought the reciever last week from WOOT.com. GRR.

How does this one compare to the onkyo Rc 430 they had a couple of weeks ago. I'm wondering if I should be kicking myself?

kevlam69 wrote:Will I be able to play my cable through this system? My current system will not and I would love to hear sports through surround sound.

Yes you will be able to use your cable box through this receiver. HDMI out to receiver from the cable box, then HDMI out from the receiver to your TV. On your current system, if it is a receiver, you say you aren't getting any sound from your cable box? I had a system like that where I just had to have an optical out from the cable box to the receiver as well as the HDMI.

be wary of the passive subwoofer. e.i. it probly won't shake the room as much as you would like.