I purchased (I THINK) a HT-S760 about a year ago from Circut City - I recall it was about $500-550, but there was a rebate, so it was probably less. I love this system!!!
Specifically to your question, is the Onkyo HT-S870 a good HTiB, I say you can not go wrong with it, and if you can find it at an inexpensive price - the Onkyo HTiB's are some of the best values around. (NOTE - from what I know, the HT-S870 is a new model, I have been monitoring onkyo's site lately and they have just updated most of their products (also one nice thing at Onkyo site is that you can look at last years models) - so the price may be high still since it is newer). Anyway - I say again - specifically for HTiB, you cannot go wrong with a Onkyo system. The sub woofers are all powered and while the speakers are large, they are great for sound!!! If you want really small speakers that produce really great sound you have to pay alot, that is why most of those small speakers with other HTiB are utter crap!
ONE THING - check to see the model of the reciever included with each HTiB package. I mention this because different ones will have different connection capabilities in the back, and you may get one, that you later find out does not have a connection you really wanted. Overall - I really love my HTiB Onkyo system - I am currently investigating a new TV, to match the sound I can now generate.
ONE LAST NOTE - if you are really tight on budget and can not get the HT-S870 - consider a previous model, with 6.1. From what I know most movies you watch anyway only support or have 5.1 sound capabilities, so having is 6.1 or 7.1 system is overkill. The rear surround sound channels get split by the extra speaker(s). The cool thing though with the 7.1 system is that you can really set up the speakers similar to a really movie theater. Anywho - go ONKYO!!!
BJD in MEBANE NC
I was checking this HTiB and as far as I can tell, it's a really good sustem. It has a THX certified receiver, some nice speakers and a 220 watt sub. I need help on this since $800 is all I got and I'm wondering if this is the best value there is. I want this to rock and be loud, since I watch movies like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and The Lion King. I had other HTiB, it was a Sony, nut the sub was terrible and couldn't take the bass of the stampede in TLK and made weird noises. And if I put it too loud, the speakers would make noises they are not supposed to, and is terrible to listen to.
So is this a good Home theater? I've read a lot of good reviews about other Onkyo products and I'm looking forward to read what you think about it.
Info on the system can be found here: http://www.us.onkyo.com/model.cfm?m=HT-S870&class=Systems&p=i

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