Good Price! Good sound and bass for entry level. Video Up Conversion! Great processing Automatic detect for surround, video, etc. Oodles and oodles of configuration settings!

I've not read the manual yet, so take my "weaknesses" with a grain of salt The menu system on the unit is not very clear, but easy enough to figure out. I'm not a fan of the remote or its layout. It could be a lot better organized. The Auto detect isn't set from the factory, so it could make the initial setup a little more difficult that it needs to be. Like I said thought, If I had read the manual, I might not be saying some of these things. :)

This is my first day with the AVR-1705. I was looking for something to get me by while I'm in an appartment. So I didn't need anything that would blow the doors off, but I am still fairly pickey about how things sound. When purchasing this unit, I was debating between it and the 1905. Both entry level units, but the 1905 has a few more fetures, so natrually, the 1705 was a little less money. Everything is the same between the two models except for the 1905 has more optical inputs, pre-amp outputs, and a multi-room setup. For what I'm doing, I didn't need the extra stuff, and am going to a Rotel when I move back into a house. So I opted to spend a few bucks less on the 1705. I just got done watching Master and Commander, and I am pretty happy with my purchase. The decoding is pretty dern good, the amp is really quiet, and the punch in the low end caught me off guard. I wasn't excpecting much of a good low end from it, but its as good or better as any of the entry level receivers I've heard. The literature lists a "Twin Drive Rectifier" as a feature, giving the impression that it increases the slew rate. So maybe thats the difference I heard, I dunno. The surround modes are nice, and fun to play with, but not a major concern with me. One thing I found is the Music version of Neo 6 does really well with TV. Warms it up nicely. There are lots of ways to change the setup and configuration on this puppy. It will take a while to dail it in just right, but even early on, I am really happy with this receiver.