I just received my Onkyo HT-S5100.

AUDIO: this unit was listed head-and-shoulders above the others in Consumer Reports, but reading the Amazon and other reviews cinched the sale. The HT-5100 has phenomenal sound, the bass can rattle your bones, and the surround sound is just amazing! FIVE STARS!

GOOD AND BAD OBSERVATIONS:

1. My heart froze when I opened the gigantic box and saw two empty slots in the Styrofoam packing. It looked like someone stole two speakers in transit! I was just about to look up the UPS store to return it, but dug deeper. It was just a "filler" area on the top/side of the box. Phew!

2. The subwoofer is freaking huge--you could use it as a footstool. The amplifier is no lightweight. Too big to fit on top of my blu-ray; too hot to enclose in a cabinet.

3. You will probably need a HDMI and an optical cable. Uh, one dumb mistake. I never used optical cables before. There are tiny, almost invisible silicone covers on the tips. I wasted two hours tracking down the problem--DOAH!

4. The audio calibration microphone is a great way to verify operation and balance those eight speakers in about ten minutes! It is REQUIRED the first time you set up your system: no calibration, no sound. Also, the HDMI MUST be assigned: no assignment, no video.

5. The speaker wires are lightweight and color-coded. 16-guage wires would probably be better, but I didn't notice any warming or sound drop-off, so I'm keeping it for now. If you do buy heavier wire, make sure you buy the color-coded stuff.

6. The iPod docking station is sweet! Solid, well-made, nice heft and HDMI input.

7. The speakers have a "keyhole" type hanging system that lets them hang from screws set in the walls (screws not included). You don't need to buy the expensive hanging arm systems unless you just want them.

I recently upgraded from a sony 500w 5.1 system which was pretty nice. But, i was recently talking to friend of mine who had bought an onyko system and had me wanting a 7.1 system. So i came across this 1200w 7.1 system for under $350 shipped. I read the reviews and knew that hdmi's only passed through video signals which is fine. I have a 360 and ps3, and both have optical outputs from my previous setup anyways. I must say setup and installation was very easy, however i did not use the calibration mic yet, i just adjusted the audio manually. The sound and power is very nice. I tested "Transfomers" and "Kingdom of Heaven" on bluray and both sound incredible! And for the price i was MORE than satisfied and recommend this system to anyone for its price. I also like the ipod dock, it works with my iphone well. Im loving it!!

Excellent sounding system, easy setup and auto cal, more than enough volume. I have really enjoyed it.

The only thing I didn't like is that this system is just an HDMI pass through. The actual signal has to be decoded by your TV first, and then sound must go out of the TV to the unit. I use it more like a traditional surround sound instead of a home theater system and use HDMI from my PS3 and cable box to the TV and send audio out from there. Other than this minor flaw, a great system, especially for the price.

I am very impressed how good this sytem sounds for the price. I replaced a Sony "Dream System" that cost three times as much as this system and the Onkyo blows it out of the water. The construction is solid and the install and use is very simple. I liked the system so much that I bought a second one for the basement. Highly recommended. I should note that I don't use the video switching capabilities of the unit, so I can't comment on that feature. I simply feed my digital audio signals into it. The Ipod dock is also nice and you can control the ipod with the Onkyo remote.

Using this system in for our Church Rec. Center (30'x30') and it FLOODS the room with sound. The woofer is great!! Setup was a BREEZE, and we have a DVD, Computer, iPod, and more plugged into it.
The only issue we had was getting the DVD sound to run through the system. Using the HDMI cable, we were able to get audio, but no sound. So we simply ran phono(audio) cables. 7.1 and beautiful!!! GREAT system!!!