I've had the Sherwood Newcastle for a about 6 weeks now and for the most part I think it is fantastic. I haven't had the problems that Frank is talking about. I'm not sure if he's hooking the DVD from a computer or HT unit. Also as far as the onscreen display, there is a way to turn it on & off. Maybe it's turned off. My system includes The Sherwood Newcastle Pre/Pro
Marantz THX monoblocks MA500 (5 pcs)
Panasonic A110 DVD
Sony 200 disc CDP
Technics mk1200 turntable
Nakamici Tape Deck
Panasonic Sat.
Pioneer LD
Energy 4.1E's (front)
Energy 3.1E's (rear)
Energy AC300 (center)
M&K V125 Sub
Audioqest Jade interconnects
Monster Video S-video
The only gripe that I have is that it doesn't switch from the input modes (DTS,DD,Etc) automaticly. Most people will not have a problem with this bt I run both rglar cd's and DTS cd's in my 200 disc cd player. If I am playing discs at random and a DTS disc plays,it could be very damaging to you speakers.
As far as the sound is concerned, I tried several recievers in my home for various amounts of time. None of the had the sound of this combination. For the price range I was geeting in to, the logical choice was this system. The Denon reciever I tried had good sound and above average tightness in the bass region,but I felt that it lacked in many areas. It cut of the rear channels at 80hz. If I'm gonna have full range speakers in the rear, I'll be damned if I'm gonna limit the to 80hz. I guess it's a matter of principle on that on. I also felt it was a little overpriced.
I tried a Sony ES reciever for a while and I have to say I loved everything about it. It looked good, had features and inputs galore but on 2 channel stereo it really fell flat on it's face. It sounded like there was reverb added to all the vocals. With my major listening being cd's, this was far from acceptable. I've been told that the Sony ES preamp sounds the same but I haven't checked personally. I tried Marantz, Harmon Kardon and Kenwood and they all had faults with them.
I finally realized that at this price range, You have to give up a little to gain in areas that are important. This held true with everything I tested. Nothing pleased me in every way. So I had to look at what I really wanted. Excellent 2 channel stereo was probably the most important. The Sherwood is super (for the price,and then some). I needed S-video,DTS and DD. The Sherwood fit the bill there too. I own several DTS cd's and DVD's and love them, I wasn't gonna go without DTS.
I needed a phono input. You would be suprised at how many companies are omitting this input. What a bummer! Not only does the Sherwood have phono inputs, but it has a switch for Moving Coil & Moving Magnet cartridges. This is a godsend for many people. Way to go Sherwood.
Of course it had to kick but on DTS & DD movies. The Sherwood does this as well or better than anything out there.
One thing I found was that the LFE sounded a little muddy. I had just finished testing out the Denon and was impressed by the tight bass that it had. When I went to the Sherwood it sounded kind of sloppy in comparison. It acually sounds the same as all the others I tried, except the Denon. One thing that helped out was to turn the LFE to minus 14 on the Pre/Pro and turn yor sub up to the level you need. This seemed to tighted the bass up a bit. Use a SPL meter if you have one. If you don't.........well, go to radio shack and get one. You'll be glad that you did.
Yes, the Sherwood could have used more digital inputs. This is one area that I had to give a little on. It satisfies my system right now but in the futer it may not. Keep in mind there is the MSD Digital Director that would solve this problem.
I paid $799 for this Pre/Pro and honestly, your not gonna get any better than this at this price (or even close to it). It has component video input,DTS,DD,MM & MC phono input. At this price you couldn't get more unless you beg. It also has 5 channel input to boot. When DVD audio arrives, the chances of being obsolete is pretty slim. Sure there are better Pre/Pro's out there for 2-3 times the money but if your debating on the bad boy recievers or entry level seperates, this IS the way to go. As you might have guessed, I am a satisfied customer. Oh by the way, be sure to check out the Marantz THX MA500 monoblocks. Simply put they are sweet.

I've had this unit for two days and here is what I've found.
1. Nice looking and seems to be built nicely.
2. Very intelligent design and easy to use.
3. No hums, hisses, pops or other strange noises.
4. Sounds great in stereo mode
5. Doeaasn't autodetect the different audio standards, DTS, DD, etc.
6. A very nice remote that is top of the line.

Now the bad news
1. The unit won't detect my optical cable's input from my DVD drive. I have to use RCA cables. I was on the phone with tech support for an hour and he was
stumped. I had a digital recorded copy of lost in Space and just no luck. I had to use the stereo mode which kinda defeats the purpose of the $4000.00 + I paid for my setup. Because the unit won't detect my optical input 5.1 AC-3 is useless. Also, under analog stereo I can't get the audio to play in any of the special modes.

2. No on screen display. Tried using the S-video connection directly into my TV, tried rca cables, no luck. If I input my DVD in to the TV I get a picture and I used this cable to dismiss the possibilities of a bad cable when connecting the preamp to the TV. And of course the DVD won't play through the preamp either. Atleast the unit is consistent.

3. No display reading for the tape 2. The tape 2 button mutes the machine. Not sure if this is normal. A very minor bitch compared to the other problems. I can live with this since I don't even have a tape 1.

If anyone has any advice send me mail. The unit is going back at the end of the week. Too bad since I really like the price and the build. I hope I get a better next unit next time or all be forced to buy the new Sony ES preamp which is much more expensive.