Technics SH-AC300 A/V Preamplifier
Technics SH-AC300 A/V Preamplifier
USER REVIEWS
[Jun 25, 2000]
Douglas Jones
Audiophile
Strength:
Price
Weakness:
Sound The original 300 model did not decode DD sound very well at all....I returned the model for a much better Yamaha decoder....when the 500 model came out with the DTS decoder, Similar Products Used: Technics DD/ |
[Nov 17, 1999]
Gary W.
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Dolby Digital, cheap
Weakness:
not exactly a stand-alone unit The sound is pretty good! I made use of the digital inputs, and both DVD and CD sound is excellent, with good imaging and clarity. I'm not quite to the audiophile level, so I suppose "pretty good" is relative. Similar Products Used: Old Dolby Surround-Sound units |
[Nov 15, 1999]
eric
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
at this price, every single thing about it
Weakness:
at this price, not a damn thing i paid $48.88, new in the box. it's disco'd. and when i opened it, the batteries supplied with the remote were dead due to its age. all that notwithstanding, for $48.88 it is the single greatest deal in the history of home theater! so what, one coax and one optical input? for me, that's just enough for my dvd player and my direct tv sat. receiver! i am in heaven!!!!!! sounds great through my yammy dsp-e492 (which i paid $99 for!). separaion is incredible, imaging is all there, and the sound really makes the movies. dolby digital is simply the way to go, and if you can find these -- BUY THEM UP! |
[Oct 10, 2000]
Micah Martinez
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
cheap, limited competitors
Weakness:
stops working This worked alright for about a year for me then simply stoped decoding in 5.1. Now Im stuck and have to buy either a new stereo or DVD player that both work fine just to decode 5.1! Thats what I get for buying technics. |
[Jul 20, 1999]
Evan Jones
an Audio Enthusiast
Well to start off, this unit is actually discontinued because of the new SH-AC500D that has come out (it is basically the same unit, but the 500D does DTS and has more digital inputs). I luked out and found this unit at a store that was selling it since it was a trade in (they are rather hard to find). It cost me $230 Cdn incl tax. |
[Sep 15, 1999]
Darryn MacDonald
an Audiophile
For the price that these things sell for I absolutely have to give it 5 stars. I have owned mine for about a year and it was only $240 Canadiam when I bought it. I have seen them go for as low a $100 (canadian dollars) new. This processor lacks two features that are found in the newer SH-AC500D. The SH-AC500D has a six channel discrete input (passthru, NO volume control), and DTS decoding. However I actually prefer that SH-AC300 because it has one feature that I find very useful that the SH-AC500D does not have and that is Cinema-ReEQ. I don't know why panasonic chose now to include it in the newer version, but it is very useful for some less than perfectly recorded movies, especially if you own bright speakers. I use a pair of paradigm active/450LR's for my front Left and right channels and this feature is essential for some movies on my system. The bass management on this processor is very simple, each channel can be large, small (except LFE channel), or not present. The crossover points are set to about 100Hz for small. In any case, you are better off using full range speakers for as many channels as possible, in which case you wont need to use the bass management at all. One thing I really liked about this unit is the small, light and simple remote. Oh yeah, the SH-AC500D also have one other featere not found on this processor and that is an extra digital input. In closing, to get a better dolby digital processor than this would cost over $500. |
[Jan 01, 2000]
Matt
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Great price, multiple inputs, nice volume control
Weakness:
Possible Optical Input Problem? Stereo pass through only goes l to r -- does not pass signals to subwoofer. Overall, I'm very happy. I found this unit for $99 from Crutchfield. |
[Dec 06, 1999]
Frederick Hetu
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
It's easy to use for anybody and does the job marvellously.
Weakness:
Cannot control the input level for the "line" input. This processor is the best of it's category. It's so easy to use and it's compatible with other technics remote control. The soud processing is almost perfect comparing with built-in processor/receiver. For me, I couldn't have made a better choice. Similar Products Used: none |
[Oct 10, 2000]
Daniel Garcia
Audio Enthusiast
Strength:
Does a good job in decoding
Weakness:
Line input can not be controlled For the price it is very good. |