Onkyo intros the HT-SP908 and HT-SP904 do-it-all home theater systems

Have you ever been sitting at home at night, looking at your 19-inch CRT television and listening to your Victrola phonograph and thought, "Shazam! This setup stinks!"? Well, perhaps you're in dire need of an introduction to Onkyo's HT-SP908, a home theater in a box which does everything... and we mean everything. The progressive-scannin', multi-format-playin', 7.1 system offers 90-watts per channel, an iPod dock, XM and SIRIUS radio compatibility, 720p / 1080i / 1080p upscaling, 1080i and 1080p HDMI in / out, component in / out, optical and coaxial audio in / out, plus playback of DVD Video, Video CS, CD, CD-R/RW, DVD+/-R/RW, MP3, WMA, WMV, MPEG 4-AAC, DivX, and JPEG formats. If that's not enough, it also makes lunch, breaks up with annoying girlfriends, and organizes your t-shirts by color. The HT-SP908 is available now for $1099, a slimmed-down, 5.1 version called the HT-SP904 is also currently on shelves for $899.

Read -- HT-SP908
Read -- HT-SP904

[Kennyb123 @ Oct 17th 2007 8:16AM]

If it does EVERYTHING... why doesn't it support HD-DVD or Blu-Ray?

[Preston @ Oct 17th 2007 9:25AM]

It does through HDMI input.

[kjb434 @ Oct 17th 2007 9:30AM]

I would hardly classify HD-DVD and Blue-Ray as common place and standard viewing formats. For the vast majority out there, regular DVD upscaled on an HD TV is plenty good enough. I won't touch either HD disk technology until cost reach the level of current DVD's.

The overall setup of this product is awesome. Seriously cuts down on remotes.

[Kennyb123 @ Oct 17th 2007 9:53AM]

Don't get me wrong guys... I think the setup looks awesome, and I wasn't putting it down. I was more being a bit critical of Joshua's write-up that it did everything.
Supporting 1080P input is exactly what it needs... raising the price to support one format or another will make it become a niche product. Sorry for not clarifying.

[MIke @ Oct 17th 2007 8:19AM]

Now, I'm well aware that I'm not as big of an audiophile as the majority of people on here, and I'm sure some people are cringing at buying an all-out system like this, but this seems like a pretty good setup for someone that's starting from scratch and doesn't want to buy the individual components, right?

[billy bob thorton @ Oct 17th 2007 11:55AM]

we're not cringing. I actually want it really bad. My huge tower speakers were cool in college but now they just get in the way. Onkyo is a very trustworthy brand. They are one of the few brands I would buy without actually listening too first. I owned and have worked with several of their products. All have been class-a

[Rex @ Oct 17th 2007 8:29AM]

Frankly, I find CD, DVD a little irritating these days. Most media is recorded on SD cards in my digital camera, my computer SD card slot, my blackberry, etc. So, does this offer any support for SD cards?

[HineyWipe @ Oct 17th 2007 9:02AM]

Onkyo really makes some great products. I've had their Integra line (Think Toyota-Lexus) for some years and regret selling it for a lowered Onkyo just for extra HDMI inputs.
Definitely a good setup for some that want great AV product without the hassle of figuring what they need and how to set it up.

[Andy @ Oct 17th 2007 9:15AM]

What are the parts in this? I was thinking of picking up a Onkyo receiver anyway, but are these speakers any good? They look good, and so they would be likely to pass the "wife approval" test.

[BrettB @ Oct 17th 2007 10:45AM]

Sadly, this most likely sounds like crap, as almost every HTIAB sounds. And at that price, it's almost guaranteed. That's how they make money. They market a decent receiver with crap speakers and charge a reasonable price. Problem is, the speakers are garbage. Bose has been doing the same thing for years (sans decent receiver) and has made a bundle. They may sound OK for the price, but pay a little more and enjoy music and movies as they should be enjoyed. You'd probably be better off buying a receiver and 2 decent speakers over 7.1 channels of junk.

[matt @ Oct 17th 2007 11:32AM]

You know, I hear this often... which is why I'm glad I didn't read around before I bought my Onkyo HTIAB 2 years ago. Is it the best I could get? Well, probably not - but it's really *good*, a term that's often forgotten when we start comparing every gadget with the boutique top of the line items.

I'd venture that most anyone who purchases this setup would be very pleased with the quality of the sound.

[glide @ Oct 17th 2007 10:59AM]

The 908 is more "do-it-all". The 904; not so much.

[NetRaider @ Oct 17th 2007 12:01PM]

Do-it-all?
I'd be looking for an ethernet capability (preferably with Squeeze Box) for streaming of content from a media server (Slimserver) and access to internet radio stations.

Also, does it allow viewing of XM/Sirius displays on any output display? Can it display once source and listen to another (e.g. watch DirecTV NFL Sunday ticket and listen to local radio broadcast through Sirius)? Multi-card reader?

[DC Rhino @ Oct 17th 2007 12:50PM]

Disappointing to see only 2 HDMI-in. Every device in this price range should come w/ at least 3 HDMI-in for my cable DVR, DVD player, and PS3/XBOX360. Sony came out w/ one a couple months ago that has 6 HDMI ports. Can't be that expensive to add one or two more.

[Jake W @ Oct 17th 2007 3:39PM]

Yeah that's the real turn off point for me. PS3, STB and DVD player all use HDMI output. I also wouldn't need the extra DVD player. So obviously this setup isn't targeted at me, haha.

[foxb @ Oct 17th 2007 11:26PM]

Where are DVD Audio and SACD support?