Onkyo HT-S6100 7.1 Channel Receiver and Speaker Package Review

I had a miniscule HT system before this one, well thats what it feels like now. I did a lot of research before buying this. Options were Sony and Onkyo. Turns out, this is the closest you can get to pro systems with this money though a little pricier than Sony.
1st of all, the packaging is "HUGE"(i wished to make it in bold letters). About 4 and half feet tall, 90lbs. Its just plain huge. Anyways, going past the packaging, the moment i connected all my speakers, set it up and gave it a shot with a Max Payne BD, it just blew me away. If set up properly it really feels like sitting in a theater. However the setup process was not all that smooth sailing. The wires are long, but not long enough to properly conceal it. You definitely need to buy wires if you have a big living room like i do. There is plus point here though. The wires are color coded. So its fairly simple to understand which one goes where. The other problem while setting up was the wire connectors behind the reciever is a major design flaw as per me. half the time the hole where the wire should go in is on the blind spot or obsturcted by other connectors. But, hey, you have to do it only once. Big deal if it takes a little extra time. Trust me its totally worth it.
About the hardware. I absolutely love the fact that it comes with a setup speaker and a iPod dock. That should save you about a hundred bucks or so. However it should have come with speaker stands like 7100. The speakers are big but thats because Onkyo doesnt want to let you down with substandard sound quality. There is one thing i totally loved about it is the center speaker comes with a stand of its own. Nice touch there.
About the sound, the depth, clarity and the punch is really mind blowing. As I mentioned with proper setup it feels like sitting in a theater. All the speakers are 8 ohm speaks and the subwoofer output can resonate through you house. Turn up the bass and you may hear a few glasswares resonating in the kitchen.
If you ask me if it is a wise buy, yes it is, totally. You wont repent a penny spent.

Buy it here now!