Onkyo HT-S7409 Receiver & Speaker Package

It been a while since we’ve touched on the Onkyo home AV product range and so when (as these things do) I cycled back around to having a look at whets they are currently doing I realised that some of the stuff on of their best sellers lists had completely evaded my attention. So lets see if the Onkyo HT-S7409 5.1-Channel Network A/V Receiver/Speaker Package lives up to its top sales position.

First things first Onkyo have really tried to make things as easy as possible for the newbie to enter the home cinema arena with this package, not only is the Onkyo HT-S7409 extremely competitively priced but the package received comes with a full compliment of the THX certified receiver, 4 surround speakers, one centre channel speaker and of course the subwoofer & all the wires, plugs, etc you require for setup of a basic 5.1 surround system. This being said its actually interesting to note that even though the system supplied is 5.1 the receiver itself (a TX-NR609) leaves room for expansion to a 7.1 system on its back panel which was a nice little bonus as far as I’m concerned. The look of the system is pretty much standard Onkyo fare, the receiver is fairly large bit a well appointed and solid feeling front panel the speakers themselves are actually very attractive and modern looking and are for the most part solid and well built with the exception of the 4 satellites which feel slightly flimsier than the other units but not exactly what one would call low quality. The supplied remote is well appointed and can perform all day to day functions but as seems to be becoming common with newer gear it’s not up to the design standards or build quality of the rest of the system.

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Specifications wise the Onkyo HT-S7409s Receiver is a pretty standard mid range affair with a very respectable 130 Watts of power per channel @ 6 Ohms and with a good level of connectivity including 6 HDMI inputs (1 front & 5 back with 3 D Video Support and Audio Return Channel) & 1 HDMI out as well as a decent array of composite, Coax, Optical and Component I/O along with a single standard VGA PC Input. The Onkyo HT-S7409 is also iPod Ready via a direct USB Input. The specification is finished with the includes a Zone 2 Line Out to allow for a simple level of multi zone functionality.

Initial setup after hooking up the speakers is a little trickier than I would have liked for a unit aimed at entry level users, and while the speaker auto configuration system is actually very good indeed there are a few possible gotchas in the menu diving that may have novices opening the dreaded printed booklet and getting into RTFM territory especially when configuring the internet radio side of things.

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So on to the meat of any review the “how does it sound” bit. I’d have to say that after initially worrying that the satellites might be a little sub par in the build department I did think that perhaps they wouldn’t be able to handle 130 watts per channel and might introduce a bit of “rattle and hum” (apologies to any U2 fans out there) to the proceedings at high volume levels, but I’m glad to say it would seem that the engineering team at Onkyo have managed to match the speakers to the system extremely well and in fact have done a great job of eradication any shortcomings one might expect in a lower end system like this one. The overall tonality of the system in full flow is actually very dynamic and powerful, a real room filler. The sound stage is very well handled with extremely good separation and placement of well mixed surround material. The Onkyo HT-S7409 system manages to make loud and fast moving passages (kick ass, The Dark Knight) extremely enjoyable and punchy while at the same time keeping voices and general speech forward and very legible to the ears. If I’m being pick the top end of the signal could be seen as a little “brittle” and sibilant at high volumes but to be honest these volumes were well beyond what I would call comfortable room listening volumes. Stereo rendering of radio channels (SiriuxXM, Spotify and many others are included by default) was professional and decently managed by the system though perhaps better for speech and bass heavy modern recordings than for classical or subtle acoustic music. All in all though an extremely competent audio performance for a system in this kind of price range.

If I have any reservations about this system it would probably be the fairly minimalist specification for the zone 2 operation of the system. Though I didn’t test it, it does seem to me from reading the manual that if you want proper second zone management then perhaps this system is not for you. Apart from that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this package for a surround system newcomer who wants a very competent system at an extremely reasonable price.

Manufacturers Specifications

• 130 Watts per Channel at 6 Ohms, 1 kHz, .07%, 2 Channels Driven, FTC
• 6 HDMI Inputs and 1 Output
• HDMI Video Upscaling to 4K with Qdeo Technology by Marvell
• Direct Digital Connection of iPod/iPhone via Front-Panel USB Port
• Playback of Audio Files Through Local Network (MP3, WMA, WMA Lossless, FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, AAC, LPCM)
• RRP: $799.00 (Check Amazon for Current Pricing)

Grace Digital GDI-IRMS300 Internet Micro Hi-Fi Stereo System

Although for many FM/AM still rules the airwaves more and more each year people seem to get the concept of the vast choice afforded by an internet radio the Grace Digital GDI-IRMS300 Internet Micro Hi-Fi Stereo System is one of the more well specified mid range compact internet radio hifis available right now so we thought we’d put one on test.

Now when Grace Digital say compact boy do they mean it, the GDI-IRMS300 is very small. So much so that pretty much all the controls excepting the LCD display have been moved to the top of the unit (So no putting anything on top of the GDI-IRMS300 then). The overall look is compact and efficient in fact perhaps too much so. It to some degree looks a bit like apiece of ham radio receiver equipment rather than consumer level hifi gear. Having said that the build quality is very good, the casing feels seriously solid and the buttons and dials have a decent feel and responsiveness. The remote is fine in terms of operation but is a little bit of a let-down in the looks & feel department being a fairly cheap plastic & rubber unit.

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So on to basic features. You can tell from the outset that the GDI-IRMS300 is designed primarily with the at least moderately tech savvy and internet literate user in mind. Thought you can use services like pandora and also stream from your locally network attached storage (stream songs from your PC using windows media player) it is definitely primarily oriented towards internet radio use. The reason I say that the GDI-IRMS300 seems to be designed for the more tech savvy user is because in al honesty the initial setup and configuration of the unit is a bit of a rigmarole. There are several not insignificant gocthas and the menu diving required to get things exactly how you want them may make some throw their arms up in despair. Im not exaclty a newcomer to this kind of configuration and even I found it too significantly longer than similar units by other vendors to configure. Perhaps part of the problem is that there are just so many things you can choose to do with the GDI-IRMS300, it has more options available than many other vendors offerings. Personally I think that if Grace want the GDI-IRMS300 and its followups to be more successful then they seriously have to improve auto configuration options and the GUI in general, also perhaps the manual could do wit a bit of a “clear English” brush up.

Ok so once the pain of initial setup and configuration has been dealt with how does the GDI-IRMS300 sound? Well to be honest a lot better than I was expecting at this price point. The amp is rated at 32 watts per channel and so isn’t going to be breaking any anti noise laws but is perfectly capable of driving the supplied speakers to a decent small room volume. It will be perfectly fine in a kitchen bedroom or small living room but isn’t really suitable for a larger open plan room. The base end is a tiny bit flabby to my ears and at higher volumes could perhaps be perceived as baffling the other audio ranges. The mid range is quite flat and easy on the ears (as it should be). Finally the top end is moderately well balanced but I found with occasional sibilant notes noticeable again at high volumes. This will be perfectly suitable for talk radio or rock and pop music listening at normal volumes, though I would not recommend it for those who enjoy a lot of jazz, acoustic or classical music or those who like to belt out their music a high volumes. All in all though a decent enough unit with a great feature set at a very reasonable price.

Manufacturers Details
Bookshelf Internet radio with Pandora, Live365, iheartradio, Sirius and over 16,000 internet radio stations
Built in 32 watt high powered class D digital amplifier with 2 wood speakers to provide warm deep base, mellow mid range, and crisp highs
4-line display with 30 micro backlight adjustments to view artist name and song or set one of the 5 alarms
Built in 802.11n for superior wireless range, audio quality and WPS for easy network connectivity
Play your music direct from the internet without a computer or music files direct from your PC or Mac
Connects To Pc/Mac Music Library
High Performance Class D Digital Amplifier
Internet Radio Stereo Shelf System With Integrated Pandora Remote
Listen To Over 50,000 Radio Stations and On Demand Content
Plays Pandora and Live365.Com
RRP: $249.99 (Check Amazon For Current Pricing)

LG 42LK520 HDTV Review

We recently got our hands on a LG 42LK520 42-Inch HDTV for review from on of our suppliers, its been out for a little while and not a top of the line model but dont let that put you off, the LG 42LK520 has a lot to offer to the discerning AV fan. Here is the lowdown…

The LG 42LK520 build quality is pretty much what you expect from on of the big manufacturers the enclosure is hard plastic with an internal metal frame to harden everything up and attach it solidly to the weighted base. Assembly is reasonably simple and not too strenuous (it weights in at about 34Lbs including the stand) afterwards the unit stands firmly on most surfaces pushing on the front results in little wobble though a solid nudge form behind makes the LG 42LK520 teeter a little so not leaving any room behind for kids to run about is probably a good idea. The unit looks good, with a solidly modern design style and a relatively thin bezel surrounding the screen. The as regards inputs its pretty much as you’d expect with 2 hdmi inputs on the back panel and 1 more for good measure on the side a similarly side mounted USB slot for media playback from memory keys etc (The 42LK520 handles MP3,JPEG & DivX Formats) there is also a VGA computer input and several s-video and component inputs, the only thing that’s missing is an Ethernet RJ45 port for media streaming which is a shame but can be forgiven considering that this is the lowest spec 42″ TV in the LG range.

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On to the real meat of the LG 42LK520 review. Considering that LG 42LK520 is the entry level model of the range its picture quality is pretty stunning its full HD output is very impressive running at the standard 1920 x 1080 resolution it’s hard not to be impressed images are sharp and the 120mhz refresh rate provided by LGs TruMotion technology is impressive in its rendering of fast moving scenes and sports (The UFC really came to life on this TV). Tonally the balance is very good and colours seem vibrant and lifelike but never garish or overpowering, though on certain dark scenes we felt the blacks could have been a little darker. If there is one weak point with this TV it is probably the internal speakers which are not particularly powerful though I imagine will be perfectly adequate for most non home cinema fans needs. We tried the LG 42LK520 in conjunction with a Onkyo SKS-HT540 7.1 speaker system and found the sound when amplified with this mid range system to be excellent and more than a match for the units excellent picture.

So in summary the LG 42LK520 is a very decent performer, not cutting edge exactly but if you are in the market for a very decently priced 42″ LCD HDTV and arent worried about built in streaming you should definitely check this TV out.

Manufacturers Specifications

• Full HD 1080p gives it superior picture quality over standard HDTV. You’ll see details and colors like never before.
• Resolution 1920 x 1080
• Response Time2.4ms
• Viewing Angle178°/178°
• Life Span (hr)50,000 hr
• TruMotion 120Hz technology lets you see sports, video games and high-speed action with virtually no motion blur
• HDMI Ports: 3 In, 1 Out
• Energy Star qualified so your entertainment experiene uses less energy
• Picture Wizard II allows for self-calibration with on-screen reference points to ensure terrifc black, color, tint, sharpness and backlight levels
• An incredible contrast ratio of 150,000:1 delivers incredibly vibrant colors and deeper and darker blacks.
• Screen size 42″
• Display Type LCD
• RRP: $1,110 (Check Amazon For Current pricing)

Marantz NR1402 AV Receiver

When you first unpacks the Marantz NR1402 AV Receiver you could be forgiven for thinking you had been sent a compact audio amp rather than a full blown home theatre receiver. This piece of excellence the now famed Marantz design team managed to pack pretty much everything we’ve come to expect from an AV receiver into half the standard size of its competing units. Over the last few years I’ve commented several times on my liking for the somewhat “future retro” look of a lot of the new Marntz product line in the case of the NR1402 AV Receiver this is perhaps not as prominent as say for example the Marantz SR7005 but it does manage to cram a whole lot of control into a front panel that looks both easy to use and stylistically pleasing, this in no mean feat on an AV unit so small.

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Even though it is compact the NR1402 manages not to scrimp on connections it has a decent smattering of 4 in and 1 out 3d ready HDMI 1.4 ports. Also incuded are 3/1 composite in/outs and 2/1 component i/o’s along with 4 analogue in as well as digital optical and coaxial ins to finish with. Initial setup and room EQing was both easy and quick to perform (Though to be honest the manual can be a little on the obtuse side of things for my liking). But lets be honest what is most important with a unit like this isn’t necessarily it’s specification on paper or even its ease of use but its basic sound characteristics. I’m glad to report that the Marantz NR1402 is on a basic level even without its bells and whistles (Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD decoders and Dynamic EQ) an extremely competent performer. We tested it with our previously reviewed Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System and found it to be a nice match. The NR1402′s signal (50-watt @ 8 ohms per channel) drove the Energy systems speakers and sub easily and even at near top volume never showed any signs of boomyness or distortion.

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It manages to fill mid sized rooms in a controlled and powerful manner it has very good soundstage when working with fast transitions in action scenes but never feel overly bombastic, the mid range is quite smooth feeling with competent if not overly sparkling top end. Good news for the music lovers amongst you too, the Dolby Pro Logic II makes excellent work of rendering stereo recordings though a 5.1 system as a man with a ludicrous music collection this made me smile. Overall the availbale featureset for tinkering is pretty deep on the Marantz NR1402 allowing the tinkerers amongst you to play with pretty much every aspect of your speaker dynamics and signal EQ you would care to.

If you are after a compact good looking and sonically competent 3d capable mid range reciever you would do yourself a disservace to not put the Marantz NR1402 AV Receiver on you list of “Must Test” components.

Manufacturers Specifications

• NR1402 5.1 Home Theater Receiver
• At a Glance: Slim design with half the height of traditional receivers
• Four HDMI 1.4a inputs for added connectivity and 3D support
• On-Screen Wizard for easy setup
• Supports the latest hi-definition audio formats
• M-XPort allows audio playback from Bluetooth-enabled devices
• three-year warranty
• RRP: $399.99 (Check Amazon For Current Pricing)

Yamaha YHT-S400BL Home Theater System

When it comes to home theatre systems not everyone has either the cash or the space required for a full 5.1 or 7.1 surround system with its full compliment of speakers wiring and receiver so over the last several years the major manufacturers have started to wise up and try to supply decent products to this market sector. The Yamaha YHT-S400BL Home Theater System is one such offering that as it tuns out is actually a very solid choice for those strapped for cash and/or space.

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The overall look of the unit is quite minimalist with the receiver being very simple and modern in general appearance with a pretty solid feel to its build quality one interesting feature of this system is the fact that the subwoofer is actually built directly into the receiver which while a little odd looking at first is in actuality quite effective and powerful, this is assuming however that you like your receiver front and centre in your room. If you tend to put your black boxes off to the side this may be an issue and you may find the Yamaha YHT-S400BL is not a great match for your needs. Anyway on from there the second item supplied in the box is the extremely compact and nicely designed sound bar this is a 3x50w affair which is actually very easy to configure and place, I pretty much had it directly on front of the Sony BRAVIA KDL46BX420 I was testing it with with no problems.

Connections wise the Yamaha YHT-S400BL has all the basic connectors you would expect. 3 HDMI inputs, 1 analog in and an option for iPod input via the Yamaha Universal Dock (YDS-11). Setup is extremely easy taking less than 10 minutes form start to finish the only issue being receiver placement and sound bar height adjustment dependant on where your TV has its IR port you may need to remove the legs of the soundbar to get it lower. The menuing and configuration is easy to use and well designed (not too much sub menu diving on this unit) and the remote allows easy function access to everything you’ll need to adjust on a day to day basis.

One thing I was ever so slightly worried about was how the YHT-S400BL would deal with loud sounds and rattling issues since the sub is built into the units reviver, I needn’t have worried though as this has obviously been dealt with well by the Yamaha engineers as even at high volumes I found no such issues. So overall how is the sound? Well for a full sound bar based system that’s list price is less than $600 and in actuality sells for far less I wasn’t expecting a massive sound stage or pin point accurate placement of sounds and effects but I was actually very pleasantly surprised. The Yamaha YHT-S400BL has a very refreshing and punchy if a little “upfront” sound. If you plan to use your system for a lot of quieter passages, things like watching acoustic or orchestral recordings then perhaps this system will be a bit too unsubtle for your ears. Its bass handling though is excellent and will fill up most small to medium sized rooms with aplomb, it handles pseudo surround well and gave a decent feel of immersion if perhaps not standing up to the feel of a well configured mid range 7.1 system. Overall I’d hartily recomend the Yamaha YHT-S400BL Home Theater System to anyone working with a smallish room who is planning on using the system for mostly TV and up tempo action and adventure type movies.

Product Specifications

Output power: 250W total: 50w x 3, soundbar / 100W, subwoofer
Decoding processing: Dolby Digital / dts Digital Surround
Soundbar (NS-BR300): Three 1.5″ x 3.75″ cone drivers
Subwoofer (SR-300): 5.0″ woofer integrated into receiver unit / Bass-reflex
Best video connections: 3 HDMI inputs, 1 output
Digital audio connections: 1 optical input
Other connections: 1 analog audio input
Remote control: Included
Additional Specifications
UniVolume keeps volume during TV programs and commercials at the same level
Yamaha Air Surround Xtreme virtual surround sound
Yamaha 24kHz Head Related Transfer Function
Yamaha Extended Stereo
iPod compatible via optional Yamaha Universal Dock YSD-11
Bluetooth compatible via optional Yamaha Bluetooth Wireless Audio Receiver YBA-10
Compressed Music Enhancer
RRP: $599.95 (Check Amazon for Current Pricing)

Sony CMTMX700NI Music System

Though when I first started hifi-reviews.com my intention was to generally review mid range consumer hifi and av gear over time its become obvious to me that a lot of our readership is actually looking at the lower priced end of the home consumer spectrum. With this in mind I unpacked our latest delivery to the lab (IE: My dining room) a freshly delivered Sony CMTMX700NI. The CMTMX700NI is marketed squarely as a basic home use Music System with the added bonus of Wi-Fi Internet Radio and so I wasn’t expecting it to be anything too amazing in terms of sonic clarity or feature set. As you’ll read I was in fact happily surprised with the CMTMX700NIs performance, with a few minor oddities.

On unpacking the Sony CMTMX700NI the first thing I noted was its surprisingly retro looks with a fairly simple front panel combining a black clear plastic upper LCD display and a brushed aluminium look lower half. Its a not unattractive unit at all though one of the CMTMX700NIs main selling points is the built in iPod dock which is hidden away in a fold down hatch on the left hand side. The iPod dock is fairly solid in feel and seems to fit snugly with the 2 devices I tried it with (an iPod nano & iPhone 3gs) though the drop down nature of the dock does mess with the look of the CMTMX700NI in my humble opinion.

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Initial setup is a pretty simple affair with the internet radio facility being a simple matter of scanning for local wifi signals selecting your network and entering your wifi security details. You can similarly use the supplied rj45 port on the rear if you don’t have a wifi router available. The Sony CMTMX700NI is also DLNA compliant and so its an easy enough job to configure streaming from your PC or other DLNA compliant network devices. Setup of FM radio is similarly easy with the usual auto scan feature finding and storing all sufficiently powerful signals with ease DAB was left untouched during my testing and so Ill leave that up to others to look at.

So features and ease of use wise the CMTMX700NI is a winner, but how does it perform? Well I have to say I was positively surprise with the general sonic characteristics of the CMTMX700NI. Its actually shockingly good for such a low end and compact model. Considering the compactness and simplicity of the 2 cone speakers sullied with the unit I wasn’t expecting to be too impressed by the CMTMX700NI, but it would appear that sonys engineers have worked hard on the quality of these and as a result have managed to keep the overall sound very controlled and well moderated. The mid range is extremely flat in response and gives nice articulation to pretty much all the audio sources I tried the top end is similarly nicely controlled and lacking in nasty colouration, to my mind everything from acoustic guitar music to classic rock was well handled by the CMTMX700NI on its normal settings. Some may find the CMTMX700NI a little too bass light for certain types of bass heavy music (the CMTMX700NI might not be ideal for the Skrillex & Deadmou5 fans amongst you) but for most “small room” purposes the CMTMX700NI is an audio treat and punches way above its weight.

So are there any downsides? Being a SONY product the streaming services available are perhaps not a wide as some other manufacturers (Sony seem hell bent on pushing their subscription service right now) though the vTuner service has a lot of stations available from all around the world. As previously mentioned the CMTMX700NI is by no means a bass beast though the 50w RMS you do get is going to be fine for most users. Finally if you are the kind of person who likes to listen with headphones you will be a little disappointed as for some bizarre reason SONY neglected to fit one on the CMTMX700NI. All in all though if you are in the market for a compact hifi system suitable for a kitchen, bed or dorm room the CMTMX700NI is well worth having a look at. Its a quality product at a very decent price.

Manufacturers Specifications

• Internet radio music services from Slacker and vTuner
• Stream songs stored on your computer, wirelessly
• Compatible with iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch® 1st & 2nd generations, iPod nano® 1st-5th generation, iPod classic®, iPod® 4th & 5th generation, iPod mini®.
• Single Disc CD Player; CD, CD-R/RW, and MP3 Playback
• 50 Watts (@6ohms) per channel with 2-way Bass reflex speaker system
• RRP: $299.99 (Check Amazon For Current Pricing)

Onkyo C-7030 Compact Disc Player

On first opening the box that the Onkyo C-7030 CD player is shipped in you may think they have sent you the wrong package for a second or two. The Onkyo C-7030 is on first inspection not only extremely well built but man is this thing “professional” looking. To my mind the front plate has that certain simplicity, seriousness and dare I say it class, that you really don’t expect in stereo components at this price point. The Onkyo C-7030 to my mind looks and feels great, the buttons are all satisfying to push and the knobs are sturdy and feel reliable. So a great first impression and a solid, hefty and reliable feel, a good start from Onkyo.

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So how about features? Well Onkyo seems to have kept to the “less is more” philosophy here. An extremely simple front panel, standard audio outs along with optical I/O and a pair of simple remote plugs are pretty much all you get in terms of back panel connections. the unit is also specced to play MP3 CDs & CD-R/CD-RWs which is pretty much standard these days, so nothing to write home about. The remote is simple and easy to use, but doesn’t have the design or construction class of the main unit itself which is a bit of a shame.

The Onkyo C-7030s remte is pretty much the only let down in this package though. Sonically the C-7030 can hold its own with pretty much any unit you care to mention in this price range (and a few that are a lot more expensive). The Vector Linear Shaping Circuitry (VLSC) keeps the signal extremely quiet and the DAC is a 24 bit 192 KHz model, this would appear to have done the job as the C-7030 to my ears sounds clear, with a very neutral mid range and an extremely good stereo image. I A/B’d the C-7030 with a Cambridge Audio Azur 650C and was suitably impressed, the Azur 650C has a subtle edge in the mid highs that the Onkyo C-7030 cant quite match in terms of clarity but at this price I’d be happy to recommend the Onkyo C-7030 as a good cheaper alternative. Sterling work from the Onkyo team. Keep up the good work.

Manufacturers Specifications

Shuffle/Random Play
Direct Track Access: by remote
Digital Output (Optical/Coaxial): 1 Optical/1 Coaxial
Analog Output (Fixed)
RI Remote Control
Plays MP3 CDs, CD-R/CD-RWs
Vector Linear Shaping Circuitry (VLSC)
Wolfson® 192 kHz/24-bit DAC
Repeat and Random Modes
2 digital outputs (optical/coaxial)
Headphone Jack w/ Volume Control
High-rigidity, anti-resonant chassis

Frequency Response 4 Hz-20 kHz/+1 db, -3db (DSP bypass)
THD (1 kHz) 0.0029 %
Dynamic Range 100 dB
S/N Ratio 107 dB
Dimensions (W x H x D) (435 x 101 x 306 mm)
Weight 15.9lbs (7.2 kg)
RRP: $249.00 (Check Current Pricing on Amazon)