Comparison Onkyo HT-S9800THX vs Onkyo HT-S9700THX

Rated power delivered by the built-in home theater power amplifier per front channel.

Note that in home theaters the rated power of the amplifier output to any channel (any channel, not just the front one) is usually equal to the rated power of the standard speaker installed on this channel (see above). Therefore, many manufacturers do not give the characteristics of the built-in amplifier separately at all — firstly, they are easy to determine from the information about the speakers, and secondly, when using a system with complete acoustics, these data are not required. However, information about the power of the amplifier is indispensable if you plan to use third-party speakers instead of standard acoustics. The rated power of each such speaker must not be lower than the rated power on the corresponding amplifier channel — otherwise, various undesirable phenomena are possible at high volume, from sound distortion to damage to the speaker.

Rated power delivered by the built-in home theater power amplifier per rear channel. For more information about this characteristic, see "Front" above.

Rated power delivered by the built-in home theater power amplifier per centre channel. For more information about this characteristic, see "Front" above.

The range of audio frequencies that the built-in home theater amplifier can produce. This indicator is similar to the speaker range described above: the wider it is, the more part of the sound is covered by the device, the less high and low frequencies are outside the operating range. At the same time, it is worth noting that the frequency range of the amplifier, usually, corresponds to the capabilities of the complete speakers. Therefore, usually, you have to pay attention to this parameter only when connecting "non-native" acoustics: it is desirable that its range is not narrower than that of the amplifier, otherwise the latter will not be able to realize all its capabilities.

The ability to play home theater "three-dimensional" video and photo, that is, an image that, in addition to height and width, has a visible third dimension — depth. The illusion of depth is created by the difference between the images seen by the left and right eyes. Both pictures are displayed on one screen, and the role of a filter that allows each eye to see its own part of the image is usually performed by special glasses. Note that for normal 3D playback, such an image must be supported not only by the cinema player, but also by the screen or other device where the image is displayed (TV, monitor, projector, etc.). At the same time, home theaters, usually, are not equipped with 3D glasses — such glasses are either included in the delivery package of the mentioned playback device, or they must be purchased separately.

A decoder can be broadly described as a standard in which digital audio (often multi-channel) is recorded. For normal playback of such sound, it is necessary that the corresponding decoder is supported by the device. Dolby Digital and DTS were the first signs of multi-channel decoding, gradually improving and introducing new features. The final stage for 2020 is Dolby Atmos and DTS X decoders.

Dolby Atmos. A decoder that does not use a rigid distribution of sound across channels, but the processing of audio objects, due to which it can be used with almost any number of channels on a reproducing system — the sound will be divided between channels so that each audio object is heard as close as possible to its proper place. When using Dolby Atmos, in-ceiling speakers (or speakers facing the ceiling) are highly desirable. However, in extreme cases, you can do without them.

— DTS X. An analogue of the Dolby Atmos described above, when the sound is distributed not through individual channels, but through audio objects. The digital signal contains information about where (according to the director's intention) the object audible to the user should be and how it should move, and the processor of the reproducing device processes this information and determines exactly how the sound should be distributed over the available channels in order to achieve the required localization. Thanks to this, DTS X i...s not tied to a specific number of audio channels — there can be as many as you like, the system will automatically divide the sound into them, achieving the desired sound. Also note that this decoder allows you to separately adjust the volume of dialogues.

— DVI. Digital connector, used primarily to connect external devices to monitors and projectors; almost never seen on TV.

— SCART. An obsolete, but still widely used connector for connecting external signal sources to a TV and analogue audio and video signal transmission. The largest connector in consumer video equipment has a characteristic rectangular shape.

— Component. An analogue three-cable connection (red, blue, green) used to transmit video from the player to the TV. Provides a very high, by the standards of analogue interfaces, signal quality; on the other hand, the audio signal is not transmitted over the component connector — it requires a separate connection.

— Composite. One of the simplest and most common analogue outputs. It consists of three connectors, one of which is responsible for the output of the video signal (coloured yellow), and the remaining two are for audio (1 channel of stereo sound per connector). Thus, the composite output allows both video and audio to be transmitted over the same interface. Another advantage of this standard is its prevalence, including on older TVs. On the other hand, the composite output is not suitable for working with HD video, and the picture quality is noticeably lower than with a component connection (see above).

— Linear. Outpu...t for analogue audio transmission. It can be used both for connecting a speaker system and for outputting an audio signal to musical equipment — for example, for recording. Usually, the line output provides sound transmission in stereo format. It can use different connectors; most often there is either a 3.5 mm mini-Jack or a pair of RCA jacks (“tulips”, one for each stereo sound channel).

— Dolby Digital 5.1. A set of connectors for connecting a six-channel (5 satellites + subwoofer) audio system.

— Dolby Digital 7.1. A set of connectors for connecting an eight-channel (7 satellites + subwoofer) audio system.

— Headphone output. Standard headphone jack. Most modern technology is equipped with plugs with a diameter of 3.5 mm; plugs of most modern headphones are also made for this output. The 6.35 mm jack remains the prerogative of high-quality Hi-Fi and Hi-End technology. There are adapters between connectors of various diameters.

HDMI is a comprehensive digital interface designed to transmit HD content (including multi-channel audio) over a single cable. Today, it is actually the generally accepted standard for HD-compatible video equipment, and is also found in audio devices. In home theaters, such outputs are most often used to connect a TV, monitor, projector or other device for playing video (the audio signal goes through other interfaces to standard acoustics). However, there are other applications — for example, broadcasting sound to an external amplifier, through which regular speakers are connected. Accordingly, the presence of several HDMI outputs allows you to keep several signal receivers constantly connected and not fiddle with reconnecting cables. In the most advanced models, the number of such connectors can reach 8.

The material from which the cabinets are made in general-purpose speakers (satellites), which are included in the delivery set of the home theater. It is believed that the material can significantly affect the characteristics of the sound, in particular, the “coloration” of the sound, but this assumption is only partly true: manufacturers can use different solutions in the design that can “colour” the sound in the right direction, regardless of the composition of the speaker cabinet. The materials themselves can be:

— Plastic. Plastic is characterized by low cost, light weight and ease of processing. It is often considered the prerogative of inexpensive low-cost technology, but in home theaters this is not at all the case. Firstly, there are many varieties of plastic on the market, including and very advanced features. Secondly, ease of processing facilitates the use of various design tweaks in the speakers, thanks to which high-quality sound can be achieved. Thanks to this, plastic is very popular and is found in all categories of home theaters — from inexpensive to top-end ones.

— MDF(Medium Density Fiberboard — medium density fibreboard). This material is considered more advanced than plastic, in terms of acoustic properties it approaches natural wood. On the other hand, it has no noticeable practical advantages over the same plastic, while MDF is more expensive and more difficult to proces...s. Therefore, this material is practically never found in its pure form, it is usually used in conjunction with plastic (see below), and even then quite rarely.

— Plastic/MDF. Combination of plastic with MDF. See above for details on the features of each of these materials; here we note that their combination allows to slightly improve the acoustic characteristics of the case (compared to pure plastic) without a significant increase in the cost of the speakers.

— Wood. Wood is notable for its excellent acoustic properties; many lovers of high-quality sound consider it the most “correct” material for cabinets in terms of acoustics. At the same time, these properties are not much superior to those of the same MDF, the tree also does not have much external advantages, but it costs much more. Therefore, this material is used infrequently, mainly in premium home theaters, and not so much for practical reasons as to emphasize the overall level of the device.