Onkyo HT-S3400 Home Theater Systems Overview

[S_V]

[Onkyo HT-S3400 Home Theater Systems] :

Overall Rating : 6.5/10
Rating 8.5/10 (Compared to Same League HTS)


The Basic or Beginner Home Theater System from Onkyo which was recently launched. I am not a beginner for Home Theater Systems nor a first timer to mega sound systems. In my life I've used some good and reputable brands for movie and gaming purpose.

I am already using Creative Gigaworks S750 7.1 which is costlier as well as better than Onkyo but this doesn't mean Onkyo is bad.... Onkyo is awesome product..

Preview:

Spoiler:

Categories:

Build Quality:

Plastic and wood are used in this Home Theater system. Plastic is used on upper surfaces of satellite speakers. The build is strong and solid. They are little heavier than they seem, especially the front Speakers and Centre. Rear speakers are a little lightt but overall solid. Strong speakers.. Some may not like the glossy feeling but actually I liked it.

The woofer is very light especially compared with Gigaworks I own. It's a passive woofer which is powered by an external amplifier/receiver. The Subwoofer is 20 cm cone and very very powerful. I didn't expect this woofer to dominate my Gigaworks woofer. The build quality is awesome and cool. The only thing I didn't like about this woofer is it dances during every BASS. Yes, you heard me right. Because of its light weight it moves around sometimes it might reach you if you don't notice it's movement . Anyways this problem is solved by placing good matt underneath. So this time it stuck firm and sound better too. If it's moving you may hear rumbling especially with low frequency and spoils your experience.

The receiver is very good and fast. It does an excellent job and provides lots of options to optimize your Audio Experience in which way you may want to hear. I am pretty pleased with the options and the interface. It lit's all DIGITAL logos it supports while playback and visually it's pleasant to eyes. It does gets very Hot and it's normal, says the Sticker on it...

The provided Cables for speakers look to weak to me. Anyways I am using 16awg MX HI FI sound cables for all Speakers

Sound Quality:

"It's very Good .. (That's all I can Say if you want me to say in one sentence)."

The movie experience is different compared to Creative Gigaworks. The satellite speakers sound very High and Loud but not distorted. Out of the box this model doesn't sound excellent but with little adjustments and patience this Onkyo will sound brutal and awesome. I am using this system for more than 1 month and I must say I am pleased. Always looking for time to enjoy movies on this HTS...
If you are looking for good sound system for only music then this product is NOT the one for you. With some adjustments like "Audyssey Dynamic Volume" the music will very pleasant but it never comes near to my Gigaworks. Still guys the music is very good it just it lacks good treble while playing MP3. But this is not the case with movies. The treble in movies is good.

I am using Optical cable through my X-FI Titanium and the Setup is very easy and the Receiver did detect my PC well and never had any issues. I used my Video Card GTX 470 but unfortunately GTX 470 supports only LPCM 7.1 but not DTSHD MA or TrueDolby though they are same Lossless format and it sounded completely different and this Onkyo sounded absolutely awesome. Unfortunately my Vid card is running in Full load all the time, so I am back to optical cable.

Sound quality was very good especially in action, romantic comedy and classic movies but was disappointing in movies like STEP UP series. Blastings and gun shots were freaking awesome in war movies. The bass is deep and never distorted. Even in low volume, the bass sounded very good and you could hear all frequencies very well. In IRON MAN (Part 1), the chase between IRON MAN and F22 Raptors played really well especially the REAR speakers responded to F22 Raptors Gunshots is totally Impressive. The Hulk sounded Gruesomeness. The list goes on and like I told you Guys this HTS will not disappoint you in action movies.

Recently I watched Chalet Girl .. My niece nagged me to play this movie and so I had to watch this Girle Movie forcibly which later came to know it's not that Kid Movie. But honestly the background score is awesome and I continued to see this movie for music. The speakers performed very good with Background score and that's the reason I mentioned about this movie.. Overall the Story of the movie is ***** though....

Baraka 1992 Full HD is one of the best documentaries if you want to check out your HTS performance. Onkyo HT-S3400 managed very well in this right from the beginning.

****** This HTS is for only BluRay Movies or HD Rip Content with DTS 1.5mbps or Dolby 648Kbps BUT NOT FOR DVD Playback. This HTS is not for ordinary DVD Playback and If anyone is looking at this HTS for DVD Playback only, please SKIP this product.

Gaming:

To be honest, I am not impressed with Gaming. Maybe that's because of Gaming King GIGAWORKS I have been using it for long time. I mean Creative 7.1 sounded better than Onkyo.
My cousins and friends who got their XBOX and played with this HTS set were amazed with sound clarity. So, one owning a high-end product like this for the first time will not get disappointed. But people already into HTS or THX sets will not like this ...

Pros:
1. Killer price for a Blu-Ray Home Theatre
2. Excellent audio performance
3. Compact in size and fits easily in your furniture.
4. 3D Support and 1.4a HDMI Support plus other lots of Input.
5. 4 HDMI Inputs and 1 output
6. Supports all HD audio formats
7. Powerful front and centre Speakers.
8. Cross over adjustments (Which are really helpful to control low frequencies between your woofer and front Speakers)
9. 100% remote controlled.
10. Superb high volume with no distortion
11. Considering the price you really can't expect more than this performance which is pretty awesome. Kudos to Onkyo..

Cons:
1. Passive Subwoofer (If you want to upgrade only woofer then you need to replace your receiver too)
2. Remote button placement is odd. Takes a little time to adjust.
3. High frequencies sound a little weak.
4. No built-in dock for your gadgets. (You need to buy it separate)
5. Woofer rumbles odd sound if not placed on a grip surface.
6. Bass sounds too much in certain tunes. Sometimes I keep them in -db to lower the Punch.
7. You may need to tune the settings with different movies to meet your playback needs.
8. Lacks crystal clear treble. So if anyone is not at all into bass. Avoid this Product (Still I feel it's good as it is balanced between Treble and Bass but My cousin who prefers Treble than Bass has been completely disappointed)
9. Rear Speakers are not magnetic shielded


For now These are the issues i see with them..

(If anyone wants to know anything , I am glad to answer them).

Please through my settings in Receiver and also one can View the Options available in this Model....

** Remember these Settings suited my Room size pretty well and I placed Woofer on Right side rear Corner. After Testing on all Corners I think this HTS sounded very good if it is placed on Back side Corner.Depend on the Room Size and Placement, you should try to find sweet spot for your Woofer patiently and also HTS will perform different(Good) if it is placed and configured well.




Thanks and Please post your Comments or Questions....

Take care,
Bye
Sunil

[Krow]

Really good stuff and remarkably concise.

[S_V]

Thanks Krow...

[d6bmg]

Saw the review in your rig thread. But it is so good that you deserve the 'complement' for the second time.

[S_V]

Thank you.....

[vickybat]

Great review buddy. Well written.

[Tenida]

Very good review.Keep it up

[kummar]

Dear Mr. Sunil,

I have gone through your review and quite impressed by HTS 3400. I am very fond of viewing movie as well as TV programmes. Since, I own Tatasky HD set top box, which air HD channels. Will it will be useful to buy this Home Theater to have HD telecast and audio through Onkyo HTS3400?

Thanks and regards,

kummar

[S_V]

Dear Mr. Sunil,

I have gone through your review and quite impressed by HTS 3400. I am very fond of viewing movie as well as TV programmes. Since, I own Tatasky HD set top box, which air HD channels. Will it will be useful to buy this Home Theater to have HD telecast and audio through Onkyo HTS3400?

Thanks and regards,

kummar

yes you can use this HTS and through onkyo you can control SetupHD and TV..
I can able to use my Dish HD box with Onkyo and get sound through Onkyo and Watch Video in TV....

But first make sure you confirm with Tatasky too..because Recently I came to know not all the setup Box will support HTS... I think your Setup Box will support this HTS but confirm
once.

Thanks for Reading my Review...

[Arnab]

Hello Mates,
I just bought this product and having some issues while playing games and watching over movies, hearing songs while remaining connected with internet..
The sound is getting a glitch , as like its getting stopped for some 1 sec and starting again, very awkward .
Can u please suggest what should i do.

Its working fine with movies or hearing musics while my internet is off and quality is fab.
I have asus crosshair 5 formula mobo that has 7.1 channel audio and 1 optical out .

I have tried to connect hdmi cable with my graphics card from av receiver but its not working also

Please help

thanks