Introduction

My first Home Theater in a Box (HTiB) was a Sony unit about 10 yrs ago that went into a 500 sq/ft college apartment and, I thought for the time, sounded pretty good (I bought it on clearance from for $200 including DVD player, receiver, satellites and passive sub). I realized later that there were several important elements lacking from this system (mainly midrange and anything below 200Hz).  Then I upgraded to the HSU Ventriloquist, also bought on clearance from a chain electronics store that went out of business, for $119 (just 5.0 , no receiver/DVD/sub) but it was a major step up in sound quality as HSU overcame a major limitation in HTiBs affectionately known as the “hole” between 80-200Hz. So, I got a little nostalgic when I was offered a chance to review the new Onkyo HT-S7200 system which includes a receiver and complete 7.1 speaker package (with subwoofer).