Crave

The best of today's home theater in a box systems are excellent, but how do you find the one that's right for you?

First, read my CNET reviews; they're loaded with information about how easy the HTIB is to use and how well it performs. It may be a dubious honor, but I probably hold the record for testing more HTIBs for magazines and Web sites than any other reviewer.

Most HTIBs come with Blu-ray or DVD players, receivers, and five or more speakers and a subwoofer. Right, HTIBs also come with lots of wires and setup chores, so they're almost as complex to install as separate receiver, player, and speaker-based home theater systems.

Onkyo's HT-S9100THX is the best-sounding HTIB on the planet.

(Credit: Onkyo)

If that's more than you bargained for, maybe you should be looking for something simpler: a single-speaker surround system? That would eliminate most of the wiring and setup hassles. Check my CNET reviews to see if one is right for you.

For small bedrooms or dorm rooms, a budget HTIB or single-speaker surround system may be ideal. Family-size home theaters may require larger systems with larger speakers and powered subwoofers.

Connectivity varies a lot in this category, so don't assume all HTIBs have what you need. If you don't want to switch inputs on your TV every time you select a different video source, say from a game system to a Blu-ray player, make sure the HTIB has enough HDMI and other video inputs. Some HTIBs don't switch video at all. Some have USB inputs and iPod-docking capabilities.

HTIBs tend to sound best with movies; music comes in a distant second place. I always refer to HTIBs' performance with movies and music, so if you plan on listening to a lot of music over your new system, definitely look for that in the reviews. Don't assume the sound will be equally good for music and movies; it rarely is.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Prices on AV receivers range from as little as $100 up to several thousands, but most home theater buyers focus in on the "sweet spot," where you get most of the important features and performance for the least amount of money. We tested the midrange models from nearly all the major AV receiver manufacturers to see how they stack up, and after completing our roundup we came away with some clear picks depending on what you need for your home theater.

The standout AV receiver is the Pioneer VSX-1019AH-K, which we awarded the Editors' Choice. The VSX-1019AH-K does just about everything right--it has four HDMI inputs, a graphical user interface, and outstanding sound quality. It can upconvert analog video signals to 1080p with average image quality, which is impressive because receivers at this price generally have poor image quality on upconverted sources.

The most unique feature is the VSX-1019AH-K's iPod-compatible front-panel USB port, which allows you to browse and play back songs from your iPod using the receiver's onscreen display. (Pioneer even throws in an iPod cable.) It's a little more expensive than some of the other receivers we looked at, but you'll feel like you got your money's worth.

Next in line are the two Onkyo receivers. The trump card for these units is HDMI connectivity; the TX-SR607 has six HDMI inputs and the HT-RC160 has five (it lacks the front-panel HDMI input of the TX-SR607.) They also measure up well in terms of sound quality, which won't surprise fans of the Onkyo brand. On the downside, both have poor upconverted image quality and surprisingly lack a multichannel analog input. Both receivers offer a lot of value, but the HT-RC160 is an incredible deal with its street price inching below $400. If you just need HDMI connectivity and powerful sound, the HT-RC160 is the way to go.

The HT-RC180, the best-sounding receiver for a grand.

(Credit: Onkyo)

Powerful-sounding receivers are hard to come by.

Sure, you can buy respectable-sounding models from the usual suspects--Denon, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, Sony, and Yamaha--but most of the more affordable models lack real muscle. They sound acceptable at moderate volume levels, but can't fully convey home theater impact the way bigger, read "more expensive," models do.

Onkyo's new HT-RC180 ($1,049 MSRP) is THX Select2 Plus Certified and that's always a good sign. A bevy of features including an Ethernet port that enables the HT-RC180 either to receive and output audio tracks playing on your PC, or to bypass your PC and directly stream Internet radio stations such as Rhapsody and Pandora. There's five HDMI 1.3a inputs and the ability to upscale any video input to 1080p via Faroudja DCDi Cinema. You'll soon get the complete scoop in the full HT-RC180 review I did with Matthew Moskovciak.

The features are nice, but it was the HT-RC180's power and dynamic slam that wowed me.

The very first thing I noticed about the HT-RC180 was its ability to play nice and loud without strain. True, in absolute terms it probably can't play much louder than lesser receivers, but the HT-RC180 definitely sounds better playing loud. Home theater, at its best, is all about producing a more visceral experience, and the HT-RC180 does just that.

(Credit: Sherwood)

The Sherwood NetBoxx is an interesting hybrid product. It combines the accessibility of a midrange AV receiver with that of an Internet media streamer. So in addition to connecting various AV devices like Blu-ray players and game consoles, the NetBoxx can retrieve audio, photos, and video off the Internet and play them on your TV.

The NetBoxx can grab content from YouTube, Cinema Now, online TV channels, and Shoutcast. With the help of PlayOn, users can bring in additional media from Hulu, Netflix, CBS, CNN, ESPN, and Amazon Video On Demand. If you connect the receiver to your home network, you can share content locally from other computers or a NAS (network attached storage) device.

The NetBoxx itself is actually an impressive piece of hardware. The 7.1-channel receiver can take up to three HDMI 1.3 and two component video inputs with support up to 720p. On the audio side there is room for one optical and two coaxial digital audio inputs. Two USB ports (one on the front, one in back) also let you playback media off a portable hard drive.

While it may seem the NetBoxx is the ultimate all-in-one media center hub, it'll run you $650 when it goes on sale this month. Yamaha offers a similar product within the NeoHD series, the Yamaha YMC-700. It adds networking capabilities--though not as in-depth as the NetBoxx--for around $800.

Sony STR-DA5500ES

Like many manufacturers, Sony has two brands of its AV receivers--the standard line (from the STR-DH100 and the STR-DG1200) and the premium, ES (elevated standard) line. Today at CEDIA, the company announced two new models of the ES line, the STR-DA3500ES and STR-DA5500ES. Let's take a look at the feature breakdown.

Key features of the Sony STR-DA3500ES:

• 7.1 AV receiver, 100 watts per channel
• Four HDMI inputs
• Second zone HD video
... Read More

Harman Kardon AVR 3600

Harman Kardon has announced a new line of AV receivers at CEDIA 2009, ranging from $600 to $1,200. Each of the models features a nearly identical exterior design, with a stylish two-tone front panel and a thin strip of buttons running down the middle. Let's take a look at how the receivers break down in terms of features.

Harman Kardon's new line of AV receivers--photos

Key features of the Harman Kardon AVR 1600:

• 7.1 AV receiver, 50 watts per channel
• Three HDMI inputs
• Automatic speaker calibration
• Text-based onscreen display
• Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
• Six digital audio inputs (3 optical, 3 coaxial)
• Available now | $600 list price

Key step-up features of the Harman Kardon AVR 2600:
... Read More

The Onkyo TX-NR5007 has eight HDMI inputs, dual HDMI outputs, HQV processing, and Rhapsody/Pandora streaming.

Onkyo's been on a tear recently releasing new AV receivers, and the company is rolling out another trio of high-end units. The receivers are packed with functionality, from eight HDMI inputs to HQV video processing, so let's take a careful look at exactly what each of these units offers.

New high-end Onkyo receiver photos

Key features of the Onkyo TX-NR1007:

• 9.2 AV receiver, rated at 135 watts per channel
• Six HDMI inputs
• Dual HDMI outputs
• Onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
• Also supports Dolby Pro Logic IIz and Audyssey DSX surround processing modes
• Streaming audio from Pandora, Rhapsody, vTuner, and Sirius Internet Radio
• DLNA 1.5-compliant
• Analog video upconversion to 1080p, using Faroudja DCDi Cinema processing
• Includes THX Loudness Plus and a suite of Audyssey sound processing modes (MultEQ XT, Dynamic EQ, and Dynamic Volume)
• THX Ultra2 Plus certified
• Available in September | $1,600 list price

Key step-up features of the Onkyo TX-NR3007:

• 9.2 AV receiver, rated at 140 watts per channel
• Seven HDMI inputs, including one front panel HDMI input
• Analog video upconversion, using HQV Reon-VX processing
• Front panel USB port
• Dolby Volume processing
• Available in September | $2,100 list price

Key step-up features of the Onkyo TX-NR5007:

• 9.2 AV receiver, rated at 145 watts per channel
• Eight HDMI inputs, including one front panel HDMI input
• Two USB ports (one front panel, one back panel)
• Available in September | $2,700 list price

There are some also some minor connectivity differences between these AV receivers; it's worth checking out the back panel shots in the slideshow to see if there are enough ports to handle your home theater.

Overall, these receivers are clearly overkill for the average home theater, since the most important features are included in Onkyo's cheaper TX-SR607. On the other hand, many of the feature upgrades will please home theater enthusiasts; dual HDMI outputs are great for home theaters with a projector and an HDTV, and HQV processing makes a big difference for scaling analog sources. We're still not fully convinced that integrating streaming audio services in an AV receiver is a good idea--we'd prefer to add a more flexible, dedicated streaming solution, such as a Logitech Squeezebox or Sonos--but we'll be getting a review sample of the Onkyo HT-RC180 soon, so we'll be able to see how that functionality works.

It looks like a typical Onkyo AV receiver, but it's packed with streaming-audio functionality.

Last week, Onkyo released its new "HT" line of receivers, and the company has followed-up with two additional models in its traditional "TX" line. The Onkyo TX-NR807 ($1,100) and TX-SR707 ($900) are both available now and are step-ups to the popular TX-SR607 model that we reviewed in April.

The TX-NR807 is the most interesting of the two; on top of normal AV receiver functions, it adds streaming-audio functionality from Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius and Internet radio (using vTuner's database of stations). It's also DLNA 1.5-compliant and capable of playing back MP3, WMA, FLAC, Lossless, Ogg Vorbis, and AAC files from network-attached PCs and hard drives. (It seems to be the "TX" analogous model to the HT-RC180 released last week.)

Onkyo TX-NR807 and TX-SR707 photos

Aside from audio streaming, the TX-NR807 has six HDMI inputs, analog video upconversion to 1080p, and onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. The TX-NR807 is THX-Select2 Plus certified, which means THX gives it the stamp of approval for rooms where you'll sit 10 feet away from the speakers. Generally we don't put much stock in THX certification; it costs the manufacturers money without adding performance and there are great-sounding receivers that lack certification.

The TX-NR807 also has support for Dolby's Pro Logic IIz format, which adds "height" speakers to the standard 5.1 speaker arrangement. We weren't fans of the format when we tested it in the TX-SR607. There's also support for Audyssey DSX processing, which involves up to 9.1 speakers. Given that we feel like the difference between 5.1 and 7.1 is often minimal, we're skeptical as to how much benefit these new surround formats really provide.

The TX-NR707 is very similar to the TX-NR807, but it lacks the audio streaming and networking features and has less power.

(Credit: Onkyo)

Onkyo is one of the heavy hitters in the AV receiver market, with its TX-SR lines of AV receivers consistently scoring well in our reviews for their combination of features and performance. Wednesday, Onkyo announced a new line of AV receivers, dubbed the HT series, which includes the HT-RC160 ($550) and HT-RC180 ($1,050).

Although the model name is new, the HT-RC160 is only slightly different from the existing TX-SR line. For example, if you use the "compare" feature on Onkyo's Web site, the major difference between the HT-RC160 and TX-SR607 is that the HT-RC160 has slightly lower-rated wattage, lacks Sirius support, and doesn't have a front panel HDMI input. Otherwise, they're virtually identical and the HT-RC160 has a $50 cheaper list price. Also, it's worth pointing out that the HT-RC160 is the receiver included with the upcoming HT-S7200 HTIB.

The Onkyo HT-RC160 back panel.

(Credit: Onkyo)

The HT-RC180 is more unique and doesn't currently have an analogous TX-line model. It adds network functionality to the HT-RC160's features, including support for Pandora and Rhapsody. We've generally found that digital audio streaming is best handled by dedicated network music players, but we're interested to see how well Onkyo can integrate the functionality into the HT-RC180.

The HT-RC160 is currently available and the HT-RC180 is coming out later this month. We're already expecting to get review samples of both receivers, so expect more coverage in the future.