Onkyo HT-S9100THX

Although it's expensive, the 7.1-channel Onkyo HT-S9100THX is widely hailed for providing better sound than any other home theater systems. THX certification means you are assured of hearing the same audio in your living room as you would in a movie theater. Support for surround-sound formats is good, and it includes built-in decoders for lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio formats used on Blu-ray Discs. The use of color-coded speaker wires and the inclusion of an effective automatic speaker setup program help simplify installation. Complaints are few, but the upscaling of standard definition video to HD for output over HDMI is said to not be very good. Some say the larger than average speakers for a home theater kit might not appeal to everyone's aesthetics.

Despite its cost, the Onkyo HT-S9100THX does not include a disc player. For those who want the simplicity of a true all-in-one home theater system, the Panasonic SC-BT200 (*Est. $435) is less expensive and includes an integrated Blu-ray player that performs as well or better than most stand alone Blu-ray Disc players. Although sound quality is very good in its own right, especially for movies, it is a clear step down from the Onkyo HT-S9100THX.

We found several reports on the Onkyo HT-S9100THX. The best are at Home Theater magazine and CNET. Both write-ups are testing based and detailed. About.com weighs in with a profile that comments on features but not performance. User reviews can be found at Amazon.com.