I have spent the last week making my rounds to the stereo stores looking for a receiver in this price range. I wanted dts so I auditioned the sony 30 and 50 es. nakamichi av 10, yamaha 995, rotel 965 and the sherwood 945 mark2. Unfortunately the new pioneer elites with dts arn't out yet. i went in thinking the rotel and nakamichi would come out on top. was i wrong or what. the first test put the nakamichi against the sherwood. it wasnt even close. the nak started distorting way earlier then the sherwood and sounded so tinny. it was brutal. luckily the same dealer had the rotel. it was a bit closer but again the sherwood played louder and picked up the litlle sounds in the movie waterworld that i never heard with the others. so on i went to the sony-yamaha showdown. i couldnt honestly tell either of the sonys or yamaha apart. but i give the yamaha the edge because of 6 channel inputs for the future and the 70-mm dsp mode. both sony and yamaha remotes suck. so in the end i would think anyone would be happy with the sonys, yamaha, and sherwood. the major drawback of the sherwood is it doesnt auto detect dts and im not sure i like receivers that arnt black. the sonys look the nicest with the front panel that hides all the buttons.if interested in music listening i liked the sony 50es best for that.
i read a recent stereophile that still lists the sherwood as the best budget receiver. but i have a feeling that will change with the new yamahas and sonys with dts now.

Great features, Easy to use, Great Price

Not enough digital imputs, optical or coaxial. Runs hot unless you are using it as a pre amp.

Overall I have been very happy with this amp. I have run my 945 for hours every day for over two years and it sounds great and has had no problems. For the money it cant be beat. The amp is a little weak for loud listening levels, but it works well as a pre amp. The fit and finish on this unit is top notch. The remote has alot of nice features if you can figure out how to use them. If you want a well built receiver with great sound buy one. If you want a fancy name to show off to your friends buy something else.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel

I guess mine applies to Dave as well. First let's assume that an Audiofile would buy a Receiver instead of seperates. This is an Audiofile on a budget. So this Audiofile is interested in the Yamaha for music is he? I have a Yamaha 795 for Home Theater use that I got a great deal on. I personally think they have the best price per performance processors on the market, but admittingly I could attest to the fact that Yamaha's amps are not all that in the 995. They are good for what you pay. The Yamaha 995 is known to have a weak point reproducing bass. An 'Audiofile' would know that, and no 'Audiofile' I know would opt for a Yamaha of lesser quality then an A1, if that. Anyway, I think this receiver kicks ass, doesn't have the number of inputs I would prefer and I've only heard it reproduce Music and Laserdisc DTS but from what I've heard, it sounds great. I'll have to give this receiver a 5 if nothing else but to counter the weak review offered by Dave.

I personally think that it is a handsome unit. The remote is versatile. Stereo listening is smooth and warm with excellent vocal reproduction.

The manual sucks. The remote manual especially sucks.

I am relatively new to this hi- end or mid hi- end or whatever you want to call it. I have always loved audio equipment and most of what I learned I picked up from reading Julian Hirsch of Stereo Review. I have had this thing for about a week and in the 2 channel mode I think its excellent. It sounded better than most of the Onkyo's and HK's that I heard and the Sony ES models didn't seem as "smooth". DTS and DD for movies is great with fantastic impact and detail. The Pro-Logic is o.k. I think that I might actually like the Pro-Logic on my old Kenwood better. I simply love the looks and the sound the remote gets great reviews by alot of people but it is hard to learn the advanced functions. I really did alot of shopping before I bought. I looked at the Denon 2800 and Sony ES 333 and the HK AVR 500 lots of good units in their own right but the Newcastle just out shown them all.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood KRV-9080

I hate to break all of your hearts, especially all the "audiophiles" who are buying a sub $1000 receiver. I don't think this is the best reciever out there but I got mine for just under $400 and I can't touch this quality for twice that price. If you are going to give a review, please don't misrepresent yourself as a audio expert so some misguided newbie doesn't write of a perfectly good product. Overall, even at twice the price, a great reciever. 5 stars all around.

My system:
Paradigm
Monitor 9's
cc-350
ADP-350
ps-1000
( I had to skimp a little on the Sub but I my whole setup cost under 2K because I saved so much on the reciever)

Similar Products Used:

Denon 2800, 3300
Yamaha
HK

Cheap. Pro Logic, DTS and Dolby digital. LD RF AC3 in

Not very loud unless really cranked up to 45% volume, lacks bass unless using a sub

This amp is very good and has excellent sound for the money. In isolation this amp rocks.

However compared to Yamaha units this unit sounds awful has no bass and needs cranking to get loud. The A1 at 25% is as loud as the sherwood at 50%. However the A1 retailed at around $2000 so it should sound better!

A great amp but with the A1 now around $1000 in the UK you really cant justify the sherwood at $500. Get the new improved models at discount or if you can afford it go for the Yamaha A1 or A1ex.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha DSP a990 and Yamaha DSP a1