(1) Are these speakers adequate for this receiver? Anything else in the same price bracket that's equally good?
(2) At the same price point is there another receiver I should be looking at?
(3) Will this receiver up-convert an S-video signal into HDMI 1080p?
(4) When I connect devices such as my cable box or a future BluRay player via HDMI, will the HDMI cable carry the sound as well or will I need a separate cable for the sound to go to the receiver?
Thanks in advance,
1) The real question is "Is this receiver adequate for these speakers?" Yes, it is. You should really focus on the quality of the speakers and spend as much there as you can. I would really advise you to do as much speaker shopping as you can in person to listen to alternative speaker choices. I have a favorable opinion of Polk in general and if I were shopping in that price range, they would be high on my list of contenders, although I haven't heard those particular models.
The sub is a different story and I humbly suggest that there are better choices out there for the money. For this answer, I suggest that you make a separate post in the dedicated subwoofer forum since the replies are generally not universal at this price range and the specifics of you listening environment may play a factor in which sub is best for you.
2) Probably the Yamaha 663 is another to look at.
3) No. The Onkyo will transcode an analog signal to HDMI to a resolution of 1080i. There is some debate over that value of video conversion in the receiver. Chances are good that your TV has an adequate scaler/deinterlacer to convert the signal to it's native resolution as well or better than the receiver anyway. I'm leaning towards a Hippocratic Oath policy towards video processing in the receiver, i.e. First, do no harm. As long as the receiver doesn't degrade video quality, you should be fine. But having the option of either scaling or deinterlacing the video in the receiver gives you the option of checking for yourself the best manner and device of processing the signal.
4) Yes. HDMI is a one wire audio/video connection.
