Superb sound, Best Amp section in any receiver, substantial feel of controls, excellent tuner

No Phono Jack, Poor remote, lack of 5-channel stereo mode

I finally upgraded my first Hi end Stereo setup to Dolby 5.1 for full home theater. (I had already gotten Dolby setups for my other room, and in my vacation home). This entailed getting a center channel and a this Nakamichi reciever to replace some fine but old Kenwood Stereo separates. I have mixed feelings about this Nakamichi unit. 1st off, there is NO QUESTION that the amplifier section is the finest I've ever heard in an integrated receiver. I have some nice tower speakers (Wharfedale Sapphire 89s) for my mains, so I hadn't yet put in a subwoofer in this system, and now I won't have to, as this amp revealed a tight, robust low end that I didn't even realize that my Wharfedales had. The clarity and the delineation of the midrange and high end were also noticeably improved. The sound is just flat-out spectacular. Unfortunately, there are some gripes that go with this, however, mainly concerning the paucity of features for a high end receiver - in fact, I have a low-end Denon in one of my other systems that blows this one away for flexibility and options. First off, No Phono input is just UNACCEPTABLE for a high end receiver - I happen to actually still have some good older classical LPs, and now I've got to move my Phono setup to one of my other systems, or buy a separate phono pre-amp to run it through the Aux. (It DOES have 2 VCR inputs, though - I mean REALLY, who needs THAT!) Another quibble is the lack of a 5-channel stereo mode which my Denon has and which very nicely brings the surround speakers into play on non-Dolby source material, giving a more spacious feel but without giving too much Center channel weighting, which the Pro-Logic mode does. Also, as everyone else has noted, the remote is a piece of junk. The only other minor gripe is the non-ergonomic design/layout of the speaker posts, which made it a bit of a pain to connect the surround speakers.

So, A frustrating mixed bag review. Sound is the best I've EVER heard, (I'd give it 6 stars out of 5) but it is lacking in IMPORTANT features and intelligent ergonomic design.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR1601, JVC & Pioneer receivrs, Kenwood Stereo Integrated Amp/Tuner

Easy hook-up and operation. automatically selects source direct for Cd. Incredible sound and separation.

Fan noise, remote has short range. It is less than a month old, and I had to return it for repair. It generates a Data squeal through all the speakers ocassionally when switching from tuner to video mode. Also, with nothing connected to the AV-10, My TV would go fuzzy when I turned it on. In all fairness, It was a demo model, but being Nakamichi I had higher expectations of it.

As a mucician and audio nut, I spend a lot of time listening to many different brands of audio equipment.
I am always blown away by the Nakamichi bang for the buck.

I recommend that you listen to the Nak, and other brands hooked up to the same other components, at your local retailer,(The good retailers will spend hours setting up and demonstrating equipment to serious buyers).

The AV-10 has incredible sound quality and channel separation. It rocks my B&W's like no tomorrow.
I own an AV-2, CD-4, and DR-3, which have been to hell and back and are the most dependable components I have ever owned. That is why I did not hesitate to buy the AV-10.

I am disappointed that it is in for repair after 1 month of moderate use. I am hoping that it will be a quick repair, and that this is not a sign of Nakamichi cheaping out.

i will have to give this unit a low rating due to the reliability factor.

Similar Products Used:

AV-2 (which I am using again now. It is awesome, but not AC-3 or DTS). Marantz, Rotel.

Ability to drive low impediances.
Excellent centre channel preformance

Remote
No six channel imput
Auto detect does not switch between digital and analog
i.e digital cbale boxes which have digital pay channels and analog for the rest.

All in all, this product truly is worth the price of admission. I could see how fan noise could be disconcerting if listening to quiet passages. However, given the obvious limitations of a one box amp, proceesor, and preamp, I believe this is truly an amazing effort given the stresses of five channnels of amplification and only two power supplies. What this reciever does with the centre channel is awesome. Excellent decision to dedicate a transformer to the centre. Movie dialog and music in general are alive in a way the aforementioned Denons never were.
On the menos side, THROW AWAY THE REMOTE. This thing is absolute schwag. In addition, the lack of a true auto function b/w digital and analog is annoying. None of these gripes are even remotely bad enough to make me regret this purchase. The sound is just astonishing for a reciever. Enjoy.

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi AV-8, Denon AVR-3300, 2800, NAD T- 750

Powerful!
Musical reproduction!

No Back-lit remote
noticable fan noise.
Imbalance Volume Control.

Finally get the Nak to my home. Well, thanks a lot for reviews from here. They are important source for my decision.

Pros...
I do agree it provides the ture power output from my budget.(Onkyo just not so power even when i turn it to Max. output)
The sound is so good and without the 'digital' sound from yamaha and denon does.

No much tuning is needed and a easy stuff to handle.:)

Cons...

The fan noise should be noticable if you are sitting within 5 ft. of the amp and without any sound playing...

For my amp, I find the 'volume' is not so good. coz it is not so balance that at low volume (about turning from Min. volume up to 10 degrees), the right side is louder than the left. it becomes normal after 10 degrees. But at night i think sometimes 10 degrees is high enough to wake my families up. I will contact my dealer for this event, coz i just buy it for 3 days only.

Overall:
I am happy with beautiful sound from my Nak. and the power is good enough for my taste. The surrounds are good but need more time to give a longer review on them... *.^

Anyone looking for a HT with about 50% music and 50% movies. This Amp should be your favourite.

Similar Products Used:

Nil. Just walk around and listen to other brands.
include Onkyo 575x, Denon 2801 and Yamaha 596.

For you people out there looking for the best receiver in it's class your look should be over. I have owned Yamahas, Kenwoods and Sherwoods but this Nakamichi AV10 separates the boys from the men. It has no cheap frills like multiple DSP's e.t.c , they all sound fake anyway. Although the mere 2 DSP's this unit has sound spectacular. (Natural and Hall amongst DTS and DD)
I think the reason this unit sounds so good is the shear honest (real) power it has, 100x5 120x2 In stereo. My last receiver the Kenwood Vr2080 and Yamaha RXV793 were good but would distort at some givem part of music or a movie, especially the Kenwood. Fit and Finish are beyond reproach. Plain and simply it just sounds and looks better, set up is a sure delight and could not be any easier. You really do owe it to yourselves to try this bad boy out.

At the price i paid it was a steal, I bought mine from my local audio video installation center Extrpc and A1 Electronics for $870. Call them at516-931-4552

All I can say is CLEAN & SIMPLE! I went from a JVC RXV709(4 years old) first generation Pro-Logic receiver to this piece-of-art Dolby Digital/DTS receiver! You can imagine the difference in sound quality, Night & Day.
I was looking for a unit that had DD & DTS decoding, quality components & amps, more than 1 digital inputs, SVideo Switching, and very little DSP modes if any! I was looking at Yamaha's 2095 but I found you are paying more for the million DSP modes than you are a good, quality, clean amp(Heart of the system!). I want to listen to what the producer intended us to hear.

All my speakers are Paradigm. Front-main-pair - 7se(7 years old); Center - CC-450 Reference; Rear-pair - Titans; Sub - PS1000. My next upgrade are a pair of LCR-450 Reference to replace the front-main.

Again, this unit is Great!

Todd.

I recently purchased the Nakamichi AV-10. I can only say that it is fantastic!!! It is easy to use with a very clean and simple design. I was looking for a reciever with both Dolby Digital and DTS. I have an NHT powered sub. Polk front and center with MB Quart rear. The sound is very precise and I have more than enough power to spare.

I have had this product for approximately 2 months now. I listened to units from Denon (2700), Yamaha (995), Onkyo (656), Sony, Pioneer and Marantz (780 before settling on the Nakamichi. It has truly outstanding sound quality relative to similar products from the aforementioned companies and is a joy to use (10 minutes to set-up out of the box). It doesn't have all of the features of some of the other receivers, however, I have yet to miss them.

While I concur that this is a nice-sounding unit, there are two very poor design decisions IMO. Any buyer should be aware of them in advance. First, the unit has no ventilation holes in the top, so it requires a fan in the rear. (I presume this is to make cabinet mounting easier.) The fan is quiet but clearly audible from where I listen. I'm going to live with it for a while and see if it is a long-run issue, but I'm surprised that no one has mentioned or complained about this. My dealer said a few units have been returned because of the fan.
Second, when you switch between stereo and multi-channel modes, the volume level changes dramatically (stereo is louder). So if I switch from DVD to the tuner, I have to adjust the volume. The Rotel 965 avoids this problem with a digital volume control which is separate for each source and mode. The Rotel has other problems, well-documented in its own reviews, which is why I am now giving the Nakamichi a try. But the Rotel in my opinion has much more cleverly designed controls and a significantly better remote.

This Nakamichi AV10 is simply a work of art. Sheer listening pleasure for both DVD 5.1 and audio CD. This is after comparing it with the HK AVR65 (quitedisappointing with display panel defect and RF interference with TV on two pieces) I have never been happier. Highly recommend this to people that are debating, and atleast give it a try to hear it perform. The unit in terms of looks is very simple/rugged and makes my rack stand ( that I thought looked nice before)look tacky, I'm tempted to go buy a high end futuristic rack to best complement this beautiful piece. Setup is so simple, that I did it in few minutes and remote is easy to operate. GO ahead, buy one for yourself, and watch BLADE, CLIFFHANGER, THE SERENGETTI to appreciate the 5.1 DD and listen to Nancy Wilson's raspy voice.... Enjoy cause I am...I wish there was a category for 6 stars.