I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS WAS THE BEST FOR THE MONEY THAT I PAID FOR. EVERY WHERE ELSE I LOOKED IT WAS $550 AND ABOVE, MY BEST FRIEND FOUND A SITE THAT GAVE IT AWAY FOR AROUN $460. I BOUGHT IT AND IT ARRIVED ON MY DOOR UPS WITHIN THREE DAYS. THE FIRST TIME I HOOKED IT UP IT DIDN'T WANT TO WORK, YOU HAVE TO READ THE SIMPLE PAGE INSTRUCTION MANUAL TO GET THE DARN THING TO WORK CORRECTLY. I LIKE THE SIMPLE ON SCREEN MENU'S AND THE NEAT FEATURE WICH STORES DELAY TIMES, AND DB LEVELS FOR EACH INPUT. I HAVEN'T HAD THE CHANCE TO USE THE DTS, YET DON'T HAVE A DTS COMPATIBLE PLAYER, BUT THE AC3 SOUND GREAT. I DO HAVE TO SAY THE AMP. PORTION LACKS A LITTLE PUNCH, BUT I AM USING IT A PRE AMP AND IT DOES THE REAR SPEACKER AND CENTER SPEAKER JUST FINE. SHERWOOD SHOULD THROW THE REMOTE AWAY, BECAUSE IT ONLY CONTROLS THEIR STUFF, IT WOULD BE A LOT BETTER, IF IT WERE A LEARNING REMOTE, AND FOR THE PRICE PIONEER GIVES LEARNING REMOTES WITH THEIRS. THERE IS VERY LITTLE TO NO HISSING AT ALL FROM THE SPEAKERS, AND THE PRE AMP OUTS ARE VERY CLEAN. I ESPECIALLY ENJOY BEING ABLE TO PLUG IN OPTICAL OR COAX FOR DIGITAL INPUTS, AND THERE SEEM TO BE SUFFICENT NUMBER OF AUDIO AND VIDEO INPUTS TO SATISFY MOST HOME THEATER ENTHUSIASTS. THE REMOTE CONTROL AND SOME WHAT WEAK AMPLIFIER IS THE ONLY THINGS I HAVE TO PICK ABOUT, BUT OTHER THAN THAT, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SPEND MORE THAN $700 FOR A DENON OR HARMEN KARDEN, THEN YOU REALLY GET A VERY GOOD DEAL FOR THE PRICE. I GOT MINE FROM WWW.SUTTERTEL.COM, THERE PRICE WAS VERY GOOD, AND I ENJOY THIS RECEIVER EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I auditioned this receiver for use as a central audio/video control amp. I have not been disappointed. It's a pretty solid unit with good features and power. I found it for $499 at Pricenet which was a pretty good deal, I thought. They also have some good prices on CD's, DVD's, and books. Here's their link if you want to check it out. http://www.vstore.com/vstoremall/pricenet/index.html

Very good sound reproduction, Display dimming feature, On screen display, Runs very cool

No digital out (no biggie though), Large remote that only controls other Sherwood products through digilinkII or III

This is an very good A/V receiver. Firstly, as a 2 channel receiver, I am very happy with sound reproduction. Stereo output is very good, although the wick (volume control has to be wound up before we get enough sound to eliminate ambient noise. The volume control does not operate on a linear scale as the sound between 0-40 is nothing like the increase between 40-50. Anything over 60 (out of 80) is just crazy. Either you live on a freeway, or you are near deaf. I wouldn't risk the tweeters going for more noise.

I only like to use DD or DTS. The 3 sound field and Prologic don't do anything for me. I agree with another reviewer in that I would rather have paid less for the receiver in the absence of these gimmicks. The DD and DTS reproduction are magic. Sound is crisp and clean. Also, in DD and DTS, you really appreciate the binding posts. There is nothing worse than fiddling around the back of the machine trying to fit speaker cable into a hole. On the downside, although rated at 100 watts (1 channel only driven), with all 5 channels, it is (I believe), around 45 watts. But really, I think people look at power output like they do top speed on cars. Just because a car can travel at 330km/h, doesn't mean its better than a 180km/h car, when the legal limit is 100km/h. Remember folks, you TV speakers are probably only 5 watts (max) and I bet they make a hell of a lot of noise when they ate turned up, so what sort of person needs 100 watts of speaker sound.

I would like to say, this receiver is the same as the AMC R9, which retails here for $US700. They come out of the same workshop in Korea, and have an identical rear panel. Think about that.

By the way, if anyone here considers themselves an audiophile, and reckons this is a great receiver, then your full of $hit. A true audiophile, firstly wouldn't buy a 5 channel receiver. They'd buy an amplifier with 5 discrte power amps for each speaker output. Seperate components will produce much better sound quality. What we have here is a box that can do lots of things. So if an audiophile is trying to convince you to buy a receiver, question their integrity.

Why is this a great about this machine is that it will run very cool after hours of operation. Unlike Sony products which produce enormous amounts of heat, this Sherwood product has enough heat dissaption to alleviate all fears of frying the internals.

If you buy this unit, you have to run it in for about a week before you get the best quality sound. Seems like we need to get rid of the cobwebs (so to speak).

Please ensure you give this receiver good, efficient speakers. Look at anything with a sensitivty above 90db's. Any for heavens sake, use good speaker cables.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX425 DPL,

Appearance, features

amplifier power

This is a decent receiver. Bought it for $404 shipped from JoeMammaComputer.com. It is a solid unit with discrete amps for each channel. There are a lot of features to like, but I found one main problem: this amp cannot power big speakers. I have some large speakers (12" 5 ways) that aren't too efficient, and they require the volume to be turned up half way or more in order to make them come alive. The amp is very clean though - no noticeable distortion, even when over 1/2 volume. It sounds very natural in stereo mode especially. The sound comes alive in surround mode, but the subwoofer is important to the setup, and I don't have one yet. No hiss in the speakers either, when sound is absent - very clean. Binding posts are cheap feeling, but they are better than the clip terminals of most Sony/Kenwood/Pioneer stuff. Finished quality is excellent. Front panel S-video and all the S-video switching is a nice feature, and the 4 digital inputs (2 coax, 2 optical) are nice. Lots of auto-sensing on this receiver make it very different from other models out there. Another nice feature is the ability to dim or completely shut off the display when watching movies, from the remote.

I don't really care for the DSP modes, but it may be my speaker placement at this point. The surround sound is auto-sensed, based on the incoming signal, which is OK, but I'd rather be able to select it myself. The remote is alright, but nothing special. Most of the commands on the remote are for other Sherwood components that I don't have. The manual is awful. It hardly describes half the special features. It needs to be about 3 times as long. It isn't a bad price for DD and DTS, but I wish it had more power. Guess I have to update my speakers next.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha HTR5150, Sony STRDE835, Kenwood VR209

Adequate power, price, inputs, inputs, inputs, DD/DTS decoding.

Stupid RC.

First of all, I think that the AVP I had was much better for straight stereo reproduction. The 9090 is not quite as good. Close, but not quite. Anyway, besides that, I really love this reciever. My DVDs really blow all my friends away. I think the plethora of inputs are a great strenght of the reviever. When I get the PS2 later this month, I will be hooking it up to the reciever using the Optical in.

I also wanted to comment on one person's review. It concerned the lack of a separate balance control. From what I know from my Audio Electronics course, I believe the lack of a balance knob is due to the fact that in DD/DTS mode, you can't adjust levels relative to each other (what you do with a balance knob), so you must adjust each channel individually. I like this feature, because I believe it gives me more control, but to each his own, right?

In conclusion, this is a great reciever for the price I paid. I see this reciever lasting me quite a while before I finally earn enough money to purchase the Sherwood Newcastle separates (1 KW of power, oh baby!).

Similar Products Used:

Sherwood Newcaste AVR 725, cheapo RCA reciever

Price, Features Galore, Both DTS and DD builtin decoders.

The manual is very poor but it can be figured out

Unbelievable value. So much bang for the buck. Movie sound is rated 10/10 with music 10/8. I will be using this receiver as a pre/pro as soon as I hookup my Citation 7.1 amp. I can't believe the value in this receiver but its there. You can search high and low but you will not find this kind of value for your money. 5 stars for value and 5 for overall.

Similar Products Used:

Denon ProLogic

DTS & DD, S-Video inputs, 2 optical & 2 Coaxial Digitial inputs. On screen display.

Remote, Binding posts a little cheesy as mentioned below, no phono stage. Tuner section doesn't appear that great, but whose does?

Did a lot of research concerning mid-priced DD/DTS receivers. This was in my top five. When I came across it at 800.com for $349 plus $7 shipping I couldn't resist.

So far, this has been a great product. I have only a demonstration DVD with DTS, but the DTS is really out of this world. The DD really makes a difference as well on my other DVDs after only having experienced them with my six year old Technics pro-logic receiver.

The remote really is cheesy as well, but I'm planning on getting a good universal to operate all my equipment. I'm pretty tired of having four or five remotes lying on the end table.

Similar Products Used:

Technics Pro-Logic receiver.

Great Sound, Very cheap ($229) [sugguested price: $699]

Remote Controll can only be used with its own brand.

I just bought this AV Receiver. I am very please with the product. It offers great sounds, and has plenty of inputs/outputs. The best thing is this receiver is very inexpensive. Highly recommend.

On screen Display, front S-video and composite input, 4 S-video Inputs, 4 Composite Inputs, 2 Optical & 2 Coaxial Digital Inputs, DTS decoder, volume adjustment for each of the 6 DD channels, 2 year warranty

Remote is cramped and has tiny buttons, remote should be a universal remote, manual is very basic

Intro:

I saw a Fry's ad selling this unit for a ridiculously low price of $199. Most of the time Fry's blow out ads on receivers are phony. They usually have only 2 or 3 units in stock, yet they heavily advertise these units at blow out prices. It must have been my lucky day, because I picked up the last unit that they had in stock. I was planning to purchase a more expensive unit for around $400 to $500, but the price on this unit was just too cheap.

Review:

Build Quality:

This unit is manufactured in Korea. However, it is nicely constructed. The construction is definitely not cheap, but it isn't built like a $1000 receiver either. I don't see why other reviewers are criticizing the binding posts. They work fine with banana plugs.

Features:

This unit is nicely equipped. It does not have any gimmicky features like most mass marketed receivers. My favorite feature is the On Screen Display. The OSD is easy to use and is much better than adjusting the settings through the remote or front panel. Other useful features are the generous amount of video inputs (4 S-video and 4 composite). I also like the two pairs of both optical and coaxial inputs. Heck, some $1000 receivers give you only one of each. Other nice features include adjustable gain setting for each of the six channels.

Sound:

I am very satisfied with the way Dolby Digital sounds on this receiver. I run this receiver at about half volume. However, I would not recommend this receiver to those people using inefficient tower speakers.

Summary:

A well constructed, feature packed, receiver at a very reasonable price. I think that this reciever is worth up to $399.

My HT system:

Sherwood RVD-9090R
Toshiba SD-3109 DVD player
IXOS Optical Cable
Energy XL-15 Front and Rears
Envery XL-C Center Channel
Klipsch SW12 Sub

Similar Products Used:

None

Good power
Solid construction, heat sinks
Heavy!
Lots of features

Somewhat odd operation
Bad remote
Volume control doesn't do much at start
Volume memorized by mode

Pretty excellent for the price. Only 227 at Fry's(I'm jealous of the 199 in the last review!). Has lots of features- 6 channel inputs and pre outputs for all channels. Doesn't get too hot, even in a small area(manual only says keep 2" in back open). A little funky in operation, not as good in user friendliness as the Pioneer. Poor remote, not universal or anything. I use a Cinema 7 anyway, which is better than the remote on any of the receivers I tried. Also, the binding posts are OK, not great but acceptable. I wish the VCR1 or VCR2 were renameable (to something like TV). Volume is memorized by mode, so if you use DD and Stereo and Pro-logic, or whatever, the volume will change to what you last had when you used that mode- could produce surprises.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood VR-407
Pioneer VSX-509S