With the increasing selection of seven-channel receivers available, 7.1 home theater speaker systems are becoming much less of a rarity. One excellent choice is the Onkyo SKS-HT530, a very good system for a medium to large listening room. Onkyo has chosen to use different-size components in all of the speakers, but they are designed to work together both sonically and visually.

The SKS-HT530 is a powerful system with fairly large bookshelf speakers up front. Mounted in rear-ported cabinets, these speakers should not be placed directly against the back wall of a bookshelf, which may limit installation options. Each of the front speakers uses a pair of 5-inch woofers and a 1-inch tweeter. The substantial size of the woofers gives these speakers a very full, rich sound even before adding the subwoofer. The center channel has two 5-inch woofers and the same 1-inch tweeter. Each satellite uses a single 3-1/8-inch woofer and a 3/4-inch tweeter.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of the SKS-HT530 package is the 230-watt amplifier in the 10-inch subwoofer. Even though it has a volume control, the subwoofer lacks crossovers and speaker- and line-level outputs (it does have line-level inputs), but it makes up for that with a very musical sound. All in all, the Onkyo SKS-HT530 would make a fine choice for a 7.1 home theater speaker system.

Warranty
2 years