I can't be sure when my model was produced but I can say for sure this beauty is at least 5 years older than I am and I'm just about 21! I've had this receiver since my uncle died in about 2004 or so and have used it as my primary home audio ever since.still beats most home audio/video receivers in audio quality in its platform and price bracket. have only had minor problems with it, a couple fuses and the power button fell in. but i mean it was built in 87 or so... Fantastic unit nonetheless!

For a moderate sized living room this is extremely powerful and clear, with quality speakers it will rival a much more expensive system. It's extremely clear and crisp. The volume goes up to 62 but I have never had it higher than 30 because the windows start to rattle. It has enough inputs for conventional phono, CD, Video, VCR ( which can be a line in for any component except phono) TV and with a good antenna FM/AM. The surround sound is first generation so it won't provide 5.1 differences although it's compatible with anything marked Dolby digital. Disadvantages are only that the center speaker tends to dull the stereo effect and I don't run a center speaker anymore. But it gives you an option to turn the center speaker on or off. The subwoofer response is great and it has separate volume controls for every speaker pair. It allows 4 front speakers, 2 rear speakers, 1 center, 1 subwoofer as long as they are all at least 8 ohms. Also it allows many options for theater effects, but I have most of them to be distracting. But a few of them are great and match certain movies perfectly. With so many options and features it takes a while to get to know which choices to make and what options are available. After some experience you can preset your favorite configuration and recall it with the remote or front panel buttons. For instance you can have one set of options for watching a DVD and a different set of options for FM. I admit, as much as I love this receiver, I am looking for a graphic equalizer to match the quality of the RX554, because I often want to turn up the bass when playing old vinyl records. But matched with high quality components and speaker it is as good as any receiver I have previously owned or seen. I would have to spend a small fortune to upgrade because it is seriously high quality.