Outstanding home theater package
Written: Jun 03 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Looks great, simple to set up/use, plenty of room for expansion, incredible sound quality
Cons: Remote has limited features, doesn't play CD-Rs
The Bottom Line: This is a fantastic, space-saving, great looking system that produces incredible sound at any level.
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| valentino's Full Review: Onkyo LSV900 Theater System |
I never was really a fan of Onkyo's audio products in the past. They never offered the "bang for the buck" when compared to other manufacturers. Sure, Onkyo has always been known for quality and reliability, but when compared to similar components from Bose, Sony, Kenwood, JVC, etc., Onkyo seemed to deliver the same quality for a higher price. Looks like that has started to change and a clear leader in the field of home theater may be emerging.
The Good:
This system has plenty going for it! Here's what I find the most useful and advantageous:
1. Many functions built-in. No more need for a cumbersome, ugly rack of separate home theater components. This unit has the receiver, amp, & DVD/CD/Digital CD player included in one unit.
2. Overall size. This ties in with the above, but its only slightly larger than a standard DVD player. In my set up, it replaced 3 components and is only slightly larger than the smallest one! What a space saver!
3. Sound quality. This really surprised me! Sure it sounded great in the display room, but really, what doesn't? I was amazed at the difference once it was set up at home (where it really counts). I replaced a Kenwood, 6 speaker, Dolby Surround system that I thought was excellent considering it was 6 year old technology. The step up to 5.1 & DTS yields a very noticeable difference in music and movies!
4. Styling. The titanium color and low-profile design give a very up-to-date look to the room. The basic black & bulky look that was popular until recently is now gone & my living room again looks technologically advanced.
5. Power. Huh, power? It only delivers 35 watts/channel? And those little bookshelf speakers...please? That's what I thought when comparing it to what I had. I couldn't have been more wrong. Sure, according to the spec sheets, I'm at about a 1/3 of the output. And the speakers are substantially smaller than the floor speakers are. BUT considering the distortion is less than .1% at full power, I have crystal clear sound at any volume level. I always thought the more the better was the rule when it came to wattage, but if at 1/2 the rated output power distortion starts to degrade sound quality, what good is it? Anyway, this system sounds incredible at normal levels. It sounds incredible at a level that will run you out of the room. It sounds incredible at a level that will have neighbors calling the police!
6. Remote control. (The good part) Now, instead of a remote for the CD changer, DVD, and receiver, I have one remote that runs the whole system.
7. DVD player. It has all the bells & whistles of a high end DVD player. I was surprised to see all of its included features and capabilities considering how compact the unit is. Makes me wonder why other DVD players aren't much smaller since this whole system is only slightly larger than my Toshiba DVD.
The not so good
1. Remote control. (The bad part) While this remote does a lot of different functions, it could be much better. It has a small joystick that replaces the standard arrow buttons. Its different and a little awkward. The remote does very little for FM tuning and is a drawback if you listen to the radio a lot & change between several stations frequently. Also, for as advanced as this system is, one would think Onkyo could have included a universal capability to the remote that includes TVs & digital cable boxes. After all, the point to this system is to reduce redundancy and that simple addition would have left me using 1 remote instead of 3.
2. The system doesn't like CD-Rs. I've tried 4 and it actually plays one of them. Weird. I thought a system either could or couldn't and the specs say it won't. With everything else this system can do, that's another small capability I'm surprised to not have.
Overall
I'm very impressed with this system. I bought it with some reservations, especially in the area of power, but I have the option of returning within 30 days, so I went ahead with the purchase. I'm very glad I did.
Although its a little pricey, I'd recommend it to anyone who:
Wants the absolute best in sound quality.
Wants to upgrade to the latest in styling and technology.
Wants to start a home theater system. When compared to buying a high quality receiver, DVD player, and speakers separately, this is an economical choice.
The only potential drawback I see in the future is service. If any of the integrated functions fails and needs to be serviced, I'm without the whole system while repairs are being made, whereas with separate components, only the broken one would have to be sent away leaving the rest of the system in tact.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
valentino
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Location: Hendersonville, TN
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 2 members
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