Great sounding receiver, DTS, AC3, and Circle Surround decoders, good power, lots of inputs, awesome value for the money

Digital signal unlocks between CD music tracks when using the digital connection

I did as much research as possible on this receiver, but there really isn't much info out there. As mentioned by another reviewer, Sherwood's USA website is badly outdated. Anyway, I did find a couple of reviews, talked to a few people, and decided to give the receiver a try. There's no Fry's around here in SLC, so I found a good web merchant with an excellent return policy, so my risk was minimal. I think anything under $300 is a great deal on this receiver, but I envy the prices that some of the others have paid!

Setup was relatively painless. All the inputs are clearly marked and the buttons on the front panel and remote are pretty easy to figure out. The remote is a little flimsy and not the best designed but works just fine when you get used to it.

This receiver sounds AWESOME when playing music and watching movies. Circle Surround is kind of fun on some CD's, but only sounds good at low to medium volume. At higher volumes, the Circle Surround mode sounds too harsh. Regular stereo sounds great at all volumes, and especially when you crank the receiver. Plenty of bass and clear high and mid-range on my Boston VR965 tower speakers w/ built-in subs. The AC3 and DTS decoders work great and make movies a pure joy to watch. Tested it with the Matrix, Toy Story 2, Bugs Life, Dinosaur, and other DVD's and loved it!

The only major issue I have with this receiver is when listening to music CD's with a digital input. The signal is momentarily lost in between music tracks on some CD's, which creates an audible "blip" and causes you to miss about 1 second from the start of the next track. It only happens when you use the digital connections; I switched to the standard RCA analog cables and had no problem whatsoever. It happens when playing certain CD's from both my Denon CD player and my Toshiba DVD player. I sent an e-mail to Sherwood asking them about this problem, and here is their response:

"The behavior you describe is normal. When manufacturer's implement "Auto Format Detection" we must examine the incoming data stream and decide on the correct decoder to implement. If we move too quickly, loud white noise could come through which could be startling or damaging. We have, apparenlty, erred on the side of safety."

This seems like kind of a lame excuse to me, but there is obviously some type of design flaw causing this problem. Anyway, I decided it wasn't that big of a deal, it sounds pretty dang good with the analog connection for music, and has no problems with DVD's, so I kept the receiver. At this price, this receiver is a pure bargain. You're bound to find little quirks with receivers in this price range, whatever the brand.

Here's a couple of reviews I found on the web; the one from home theater mag actually noted the same problem I described above:
http://www.hometheatermag.com/showarchives.cgi?58:0
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/SoundAndVision/Article/0,1653,123_4653_1,00.html

Amazingly clear sound, Loads of inputs, DD DTS CRS

Slight hiss when movie/music is quiet and the volume is turned up....no biggie though

I recently bought this after hearing it at a local shop. After seeing some of the other prices you paid for this(especially the $97) I'm feeling a little ripped off!! But on the other hand, I love this receiver and honestly believe it's worth every penny. I replaced my Pioneer with this afterit started messing up. I thought about getting another Pioneer but after seeing/hearing the Sherwood I said "no way". This receiver is just amazing! The sound is SUPER clear and can get VERY loud. It also has excellent DD and DTS decoding and even has an additional "Circle Surround" decoder(GREAT for music). Overall, I feel any one looking for a great receiver and still wants some extra money to spend MUST go with a SHERWOOD.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 509

Clear, balanced and clean sound on both home theater and straight music modes. Enough power - 500 watts total. 4 S-Video, 3 Coaxial and 3 optical digital inputs. The onscreen display is both helpful and convenient.

The speaker terminals are a bit difficult to use without banana plugs. Remote and manual seem poorly designed.

I was skeptical that the improvement in sound quality when comparing this digital receiver and my old Yamaha analog unit would prove significant. After using the RD-7106 as my systems AV receiver the last few weeks the improvement is without question. Like comparing CD's to vinyl or DVD to VHS - more technology I initially wrongly doubted in their overall contribution to quality improvement. I purchased this at Fry's for $169.99 and for that price I feel like a bandit value wise.
It passed the Matrix and T-2 DVD Saturday night movie test inspiring many ooohs and ahhhs from an equally skeptical audiance. We heard subtle sounds important to to the sound tracks we never would have noticed using the Yamaha and I never thought my sub had so much nicely textured woof. When playing CD's, the Circle Surround Mode addresses the common complaint that I often hear about mid price range digital receivers being inferior to their analog cousins. It looks and feels sturdy, heavy and well built. The manual - well isn't that why the gadget pubars invented programable universal remotes? I bought a Cinema 7 with the purchase and the total price was still under $200! This is a 500 total watt receiver that does not seem to overheat. It brought a good sounding system into the major personal pride catagory. This receiver has really brought out crisp and clear highs and lows from all my systems speakers. The system includes:

4 Infinity R2001 Bookshelves
1 BIC Venturi V62CLR Center Channel
1 JBL PSW 1200 Sub
1 Toshiba 35 Inch Monitor
1 Toshiba SD-2109 DVD Player
1 Toshiba M-622 Hi-FI VCR
1 Hitachi DSS
1 Sherwood RD-7106 Digital Receiver
1 Cinema 7 Universal Programable Remote

This entire system cost less than $1750. I would recommend the RD-7106 it for anyone wanting to upgrade their analog home theater receiver. I would rate the RD-7106 5 stars for value and 4.5 stars overall.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha R-V502 Dolby Pro-Logic Receiver

Price
Clean Sound
On Screen Display

No second zone A/V output
Slightly difficult to set up

I bought this to replace my old Sherwood 8090 since the price was so good. I had a good experience with the 8090 but this receiver has so much more for just a couple extra dollars.

The sound is very clean, sometimes it lacks punch but it is very neutral sounding overall. I use the coaxial inputs for my CD changer and DVD player. These can be difficult to set up since Sherwood uses auto format detection and you can loose the very beginning of some songs. HOWEVER, if you are using PCM or DTS, you can lock it so that it doesn't lose the signal.

The on screen display in pretty good overall and I don't have any complaints about it.

Really the best thing about this receiver is the price, you can't find anything under $500 in my opinion that has all the connectivity options and quality sound. I realize that this isn't audiophile quality but I like it all the same.

Similar Products Used:

Sherwood 8090, Yamaha 5280, Technics ProLogic