AC-3, Remote Control

lack of S-video and DTS

I bought this receiver online as well for only $213. This is my first home theater experience and so far so good. Only problem I have run into is that when I select Dolby Digital on the reciever I get no sound from my speakers. I have the Audio cable going from my Toshiba SD1200 DVD into the Digital Output on the receiver. Is there something else I need to do? Other than that this receiver is grrrreat. I have a 10" subwoofer and Aiwa surround sound speakers and my house shakes. I LIKE IT!! Any suggestions on the smaller problem above. I give this 5 stars, I have nothing to really compare it with yet.

price/value, clean sound-low thd, a volume remote that actually lets you fine tune volume,solid build,
volume contols for center,rears,and fronts.

lack of s-video

Like others- another U bid steal.
If contemplating a step up to DD at a great price- this is it. I however use mine more for music. Hooked to the RCA
dish- all the music stations sound great. Also a forgotten
item is dolby pro-logic playback. Most movies on satelite
are still dolby surround-not dolby digital.
I have had friends who while watching an HBO movie, that
thought it was DD. The prologic on this system is that good.
Plenty of bass- with my Infinity o 3's- I don't even use
the newcastle bass boost system, but it is nice to have.
I used to listen to the music channels a lot.
They sounded as good as CD quality.
I just coupled the newcastle CD-980 with the R-925 receiver.
Now that isn't the case. The CD sound is incredible.
At $250, this receiver will compete with those at $ 1,200-
as long as S-video is not a concern. If your TV has these
inputs- you get a better picture anyway.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha

Good quality components, Remote, Clean design, Dolby Digital performance, Pro_logic steering circuit.

No DTS, S-VHS input, Not enough digital inputs, Not enough analog inputs.

Just like any electronics unit I get, first thing I do is popping the cover and check the internal components to see how well it is designed and built. This unit is well made unit for price I have paid. Separate power supply, MOSFET transistors on generous heat sink, decent capacity capacitors for each channel, clean wiring, quality PCB used, etc.

Time to test sound quality using two front speakers. I listen to NHT 1.3 speakers. This is acoustic suspension 3-way speaker. Good sound stage due speaker itself is 15 degree beveled. I test music with several CDs I listen. First choice is Pierre Vereney TEST CD. This CD contains different test tones as well as music. It even has live fire cracker (sounds like fourth of July) to create realistic sound stage. I used Yamaha CD player as well as JVC DVD player using RCA cable and optical directly to Newcastle. The sound from test CD compared with Denon or Sony seems less lively at higher frequency. It sounded open, accurate, but warm sound that is similar to old vacuum tube amp. Switching from CD player to DVD did not make sound change. From RCA to optical made sound little louder and harsh. Perhaps, A/D unit in JVC is better than Newcastle unit.

Borrowed friends Bose AM-5 speaker to listen more music. It sounded different with Bose AM-5 unit. I feel receiver is better matched with Bose than my NHT. I listen another pair of Boston Acoustic T1000 speakers. This is old speaker but very accurate, open, detailed, and tight bass. Opened the volume up to 75 and receiver is running out of steam. Perhaps due to Boston's impedance, it is 6 ohm.

Power rating seems fairly accurate since I checked the loudness using dB meter and some calculation. speaker sensitivity 89dB + 100 watts@8ohms = 95 dB and meter shows about 94 - 95 dB at 1 meter. Receiver seems to have a good dynamic range as well as peak handling. Try listening Telarc Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture with good subwoofer (I am using infinity HPS-250 12" sub) and you will feel the cannon blast! (For music evaluation purpose, HPS-250 was disabled.)

Setup the home theater using Newcastle and it was simple to setup and control. I wish it has on-screen setup but it does not. The universal remote is not dedicated one for Newcastle 925 unit but it controls most functions as well as TV, VCR, DVD, Laser Disc without much of problem.

Watched Terminator 2 using laser disc to check Pro-logic steering circuit (2 analog signals to 5 speakers needs to be directed properly)
It was very good for $300 dollar receiver. Better than most receiver I tried. There is a scene where robot crushes a skull in the beginning and if you have a good setup, you will jump from your seat. Tried same movie using JVC DVD player. It is ovious that Dolby digital works more accurately and surround sound is more detailed. (due to frequency cutoff 6KHz verses 20KHz) This is one fine receiver to watch a movie! Good sound and well controlled imaging is a key to realistic home theater and Newcastle does a fine job. As good as other well known receivers costing 2 to 3 times as much. Watched few other movies and I am convinced that home theater purpose, you cannot beat this receiver. Get this receiver if you can and buy a decent subwoofer for price of decent receiver. You can't go wrong.

Summary: Very good performance on AC-3 performance, pro-logic steering seems to work fine as well. Good power to handle most materials you can find. Pure Music quality seems little muddy compared to other units. Excellent choice for movies!

Good value for first time home theater setup and casual listeners to occasional music listeners. Better suited for Classical than top 40 music. Male voice seems okay but female voice is less than ideal.

First time buyers, do not be sucked into power rating game. You cannot tell the difference between 75-watt receiver compared to 100-watt receiver. It is matter of impedance, speaker sensitivity, and music you are listening. TRUST YOUR EARS!!! Specifications are over rated.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-3600, Sony ES STDA-555, Kenwood VR-2080