14 DAY TRIAL // It's obvious that Onkyo have been very-very busy lately because it is very rare that a manufacturer is granted two pieces of news in the same day, you must agree with me. As well you must agree that they really deserve such treatment, especially as this article is about their latest home theater in a box.
I won't have you bored detailing all the specs of the new series of AVRs from Onkyo as most of them sport about the same features, except for the entry-level ones who lack some of the hi-tech thingies met in the midrange and top-level gear. And even more, you can get a nice overview of the HDMI-enforced Onkyo gear here.
First of all, do not let yourselves be fooled by the "800" in the codename of this hometheater: I have also thought that this equipment was constructed "around" the oncoming TX-SR805 AVR, but when I saw that it sold for the same $599 the TX-SR605 sold I realized that the AVR was different.
Now, don't go thinking that Onkyo will treat you like dirt and sell you crap: the heart of the HT-SR800 is the HT-R550 receiver/amplifier which sports many of the new technologies which have now become a standard for Onkyo: WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology), HDMI passthrough (still perfectly outputting 1080p), 7.1 channel 110W/chann amplification into 8Ohms and so on.
For example the center piece of the HT-SR800 offers processing for Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, DTS 96/24, and even Dolby ProLogic IIx for generating 7.1-channel surround as a standard, again. The home theater is XM and Sirius-ready so if you're a satellite radio fan there you go! The speakers sport many of the Onkyo's proprietary systems such as Audyssey speaker calibration and OMF (Onkyo Microfiber) cone woofers able to go as low as 25Hz!
The Onkyo HT-SR800 sells for $599 as stated before and for this money it's a true bargain, especially as you get to choose from either silver or (my favorite) black finishes. I now clearly see that there will be some turmoil on the similar HT-products' market as Onkyo is making more and more decisive steps towards general recognizance.
