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Onkyo HT-S490 Theater System Product Technical DetailsTechnical Details:HT-S490 Key FeaturesIncluded Components:...

Excellent Value and Performance Onkyo HT S650 Theater System The system provided excellent value at a cost of $499.00 The overall system performance is above other brands I c...

I’ve had this system for a couple of months now. I’m no audiophile, so my tastes aren’t the most discriminating, but I’ll give you my impressions anyway.

I got the HT-S490 system for $369 from Electronic Express.

First, the details. The receiver (HT-R490) is very nearly identical to the Onkyo TX-DS494; however, it has been stripped down slightly. The receiver that comes with this package does not have the phono input, and it has one less of the following inputs:

- Digital audio (1 coax and 1 optical instead of 2 coax and 1 optical)

- S-video (2 instead of 3)

- Analog audio (2 instead of 3)

Other than that, all specs appear identical between the two units. The TX-DS494 has gotten some great reviews, so if you can live with fewer inputs, this one should be just as good.

Thankfully, the receiver contains the same quality construction of other Onkyo equipment. All of the accolades heaped on the TX-DS494 apply here, so I won’t rehash that stuff (for reviews, see http://www.epinions.com, http://audioreview.com, http://www.circuitcity.com, etc.). The limited number of inputs will be a big drawback if you have a bunch of equipment.

Setup was easy and operation of the unit is pretty intuitive. The front panel is clean and easy to understand. The remote is adequate, but hard to use in the dark because all of the buttons are the same size and shape. It also has very limited control of other devices.

Now, the speakers are always a question in these HTiB packages. These look decent on paper, for an entry-level setup. Considering the quality of the receiver, there may not be much left over for Onkyo to put into the speakers. If you consider that the TX-DS494 can be had for well under $300 now, the HT-R490 would be worth even less than that. That still leaves less than $200 for the speakers out of the $400 street price for this system (non-DVD version).

I really didn’t expect much, knowing how much of the purchase price was put into the receiver (leaving little left over for the speakers). I was pleasantly surprised by the relatively clean sound of the speakers and decent rumble from the little 6.5″ sub. Keep in mind that I’m no expert, and my frame of reference is an old Aiwa bookshelf system.

The Onkyo system seems to be able to handle lots of power and delivers good sound even at very elevated levels. My room is small, so I don’t need huge power. This thing is more than enough for me, with the ability to fill the house with music when asked. Some people are surprised because you have to turn the volume up pretty high on the receiver even for normal listening levels. Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of power on the top end of the dial.

For the money, I doubt you can do much better. I briefly considered the Kenwood HTB-504 which is comparably priced. The Kenwood’s gotten lots of good reviews, but I feel a little better about the Onkyo quality. Another deciding factor was the speaker size–the Kenwood mains are just too big for my limited space. The Kenwood surrounds seemed kinda cheap, too. Everyone raves about the Kenwood sub (8″), but in my small house, it would be overkill.

The Onkyo system is a low-priced entry-level system, so it’s not going to give stellar audiophile performance. However, it does provide excellent bang-for-the-buck, and more than meets my needs. I opted for the convenience of getting everything together in one package. You could probably get better results by just getting the TX-DS494 receiver, then buying a separate speaker package, but you’ll also likely spend more. I thought about doing that by getting the Home Theater Direct level 1 speaker set ($150). Unfortunately, the mains in that package aren’t shielded, and I’m forced to put them near the TV. I’ll live with the Onkyo system for now, and if I ever crave better performance I’ll spring for some better speakers. So far, though, I have little reason.

I’m happy with my purchase so far. The music sounds great, and the digital surround is phenomenal. For under $500, this is about as good as it gets.

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