I'm horribly tempted to grab this deal. I've been in the market for a decent audio setup for a while (my TVs speakers are pretty appalling).

Sadly, I know very little about home audio components, so I'm wary on buying something from Woot compared to a brick and mortar store where I can have no hassle returns.

This looks like a great deal for what I'm after. I'd be happy with a good 2.1ch system as long as the sound was punchy. My question is whether or not this system will work with my setup (such as: http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-SC-HTB350-2-1-Channel-Multi-Positional-Streaming/dp/B0078GCLS8/).

I run a media PC to my TV via HDMI, so HDCP would be a concern. If there are HDCP issues, my TV does have optical out, but it doesn't support the TruHD or DTS HD codecs. Would using the TV's optical output limit me to the codecs it supports?

Anyone have thoughts to share? Would I be better off with that Panasonic 2.1ch option, or would this nice Onkyo be safe?

Looking forward to hooking up, how's quality of iPad hook up through hdmi any one use one before ?

Just ordered one - have the receiver & had it for the last few years & still working perfectly but wanted to upgrade plus speaker package is a bonus!! Now just found it in Frys ad ...after "discount" for $269. Mama very happy!! oh yeah..WOOT ROCKS!!!

IMO this 5.1 system is entry level looking at speaker specs. I'm going with the Pinnacle speakers here on Woot with the Onkyo receiver previously on Woot..

Can the directv remote be programmed to turn this on and use volume up / down? I searched and there's 70 some Onkyo models but not an AVR-290 listed.

Any HDCP issues with DirecTV H24-200 receiver?
What connector is used for the sub? I have an RG-6 wall plate that i would use an RCA to coax adapter. The other end is another wall plate in the corner of the room behind an L shaped sofa.

I also have a wall plate with banana jacks for speakers.

Good deal but I hate when they call home theaters "3d ready" such a crock... everything is 3d ready except for tv's....

Anybody know how long the speaker wire is that comes with the system? I have a fairly small living room, but I'd like to tuck the wires out of the way.

Should I just buy some speaker wire?

How difficult would it be to hook this up to an apple airport express with iTunes?

norwestguy wrote:Can I plug my Iphone into this system?

It won't 'dock', but a headphone-RCA cord can do the trick.

jeancarloa wrote:Good deal but I hate when they call home theaters "3d ready" such a crock... everything is 3d ready except for tv's....

Not true at all. The HDMI ports have to be compliant to pass the signal through and many Blu Ray players are not 3D compliant either. I have no idea what you are talking about.

Just placed an order for one, We'll see if it works as good as the reviews...

scottman54 wrote: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.

Thank you kind sir.

I plan to buy this model only to use the receiver and hook it up with my 5.1 speaker system. One important thing (from the manual) is that it only supports passive subwoofer connection, and self-powered(?) subwoofer (which is common nowadays) will not work with this receiver. If you plan to upgrade speaker system later, be aware of it. I will pass this deal.

tdford6 wrote:I read to turn off dark blacks on the Onkyo and it fixes the issue but does not change the picture quality. Someone had issues with a bluray player, but not their PS3.

My dad had this problem with a samsung tv and his cable box, we upgraded the hdmi cable and it went away. Don't know if it works in all occasions but it did in ours.

didgeboy wrote:How difficult would it be to hook this up to an apple airport express with iTunes?

It *should* be easy- especially if one uses a mini-toslink to optical-in (this is my intended use) - something like http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10229&cs_id=1022902&p_id=1556&seq=1&format=2 should do the trick)
/famous last words

I got my receiver today, but it shuts off as soon as I turn it on. I called Onkyo, and they said I could take it to my nearest service center - which is 265 miles away! - or contact woot.

I hope they can send me a replacement, because I REALLY wanted to get this receiver and have it hooked up before the Superbowl.

TerpBE wrote:I got my receiver today, but it shuts off as soon as I turn it on. I called Onkyo, and they said I could take it to my nearest service center - which is 265 miles away! - or contact woot.

I hope they can send me a replacement, because I REALLY wanted to get this receiver and have it hooked up before the Superbowl.

That's rough! I hope mine isn't the same.. also, I missed the first delivery because they needed an adult (21+) to sign for it! Looks like I'm leaving work early today to sign for my package...

Got mine today. Everything works great! Also, I can confirm that HDMI pass through works on this model. Awesome deal!

Now to decide if I wanna use my 90s Bose 201 IV bookshelf speakers or these.

Got mine and hooked it up last night. Realized that the FM antenna was missing from the packaging. Anybody else find that to be the case?

Should I contact Woot customer support, or go directly to Onkyo?

Fry's put this on sale today in their '2 day ad' for $269. Frys' ad specials are usually better than most, which shows that this woot! was a really good deal.

ehmanta wrote:Thanks for posting this link, but the Woot model, AVX-290, is not specifically listed as a defective model from that recall list.

The Tuner is actually the HT-R290. AVX is the "package" name.

I thought mine was missing too, until I realized it was just a little thin white wire with a plastic mini version of a coax F connector on it.

ROGETRAY wrote:Sorry for the (very) late reply.

Normally we recommend that you contact the manufacturer: Onkyo Support

If they're unable to assist you, please feel free to email Woot Member Services at support@woot.com and they'll be glad to help you find a resolve.

WHen I route my HDMI cables through this receiver, my 3D won't work.

I have a Samsung 3D Blu-Ray and Panasonic 3D plasma.

I'm working around it by keeping the video connections as they were, and just sending an audio signal to the receiver for movies, but the '3d ready' part was left at the warehouse in this case.

I had a cheap Walmart Samsung surround sound that I purchased 3 years ago and from past experience being a home theatre installer for circuit city I knew this Onkyo would have far better sound. I was sadly mistaken. The speakers handle far more power than my Samsung unit but the receivers built in equalizer settings leave much to be desired. There's literally no mid-range from the satellite speakers. Factory settings have the center speaker over powering the left and right. You must decrease the center and raise the sound from both front. Even once you get a even balance which for me ended up being -2 center, +6 left/right, +3 sub, +0 surround, there's no mid's. Don't get me wrong the sound is crisp but all you have is highs and lows.
If my Samsung didn't have special speaker hookups I'd trash the Onkyo receiver and use the Samsung with Onkyo speakers. Sadly this would leave me without the second optical audio which is a big reason I purchased this.
I plan to mess with settings a bit more to see if I can find a suitable adjustment, if not o guess I'll attempt to just sell the receiver for something else.
Doesn't seem to be defective, it just lacks the sound quality my Samsung has. If you hadn't heard the difference before and after then you'd probably not know you're missing anything.

Does anybody have any recommendations for audio settings for standard TV viewing? I've just randomly hit the "TV/Movie" button until it sounded ok, but now the volume between channels, and even between a show and it's commercials varies a LOT - from loud to almost muted and back again.

Purchased this as my first Woot and could not be more pleased. The sound fills our 18 x 24 living room nicely and with great definition. Absolutely no complaints, and would make the same purchase. Thank you Woot.com!

Finally got this one set up, boy was it a pain!

First, don't try to use the "onn" brand HDMI cables you can buy cheap at walmart. I was able to see the on screen setup menu using those, but no picture or audio. I almost gave up thinking it was broken or something. All this talk about HDCP issues had me thinking that might be the cause.

But then I tried a set of "premium" vizio HDMI cables, still relatively cheap. Now it works like a champ!

This is the very first time I've ever had a problem with cheap HDMI cables. What's worse, is both cables work just fine without going through the receiver.

Hope this helps someone else out, and thank you to the previous poster that gave me the idea to try new cables!

Bought mine about a month ago.No complaints at all,this thing rocks.No muss no fuss...I would recommend this to anyone....