100 watts per channel
3 digital optical inputs
A and B speaker selection - A's for 5.1 surround and B's to crank through a pair of 260w Technics SB-A55's (A fifty dollar addition to my high priced setup)

Remote operational angle is small - you really have to point directly at the unit and NOTHING better be in the way or it dont work.

No Coax Digital in.

Slight heat, fan should be variable speed with thermisistor control. Fan only comes on over 50% volume. Still it doesn't get frighteningly hot.

My brother was browsing the local classifieds one day and saw a listing for "5.1 home theater and speakers for sixty bucks. He told me about is as he already had an Onkyo 5.1 setup with KLH speakers and a Sony sub.

We got to this guys house and could not beleive what he was selling. All 4 KLH 100w surrounds, a 150w Pioneer center, a Jenson powered 100w downfiring sub, and the receiver a Technics SA-DX1040 with remote!! I automatically assumed this was stolen property and he threw in the receipts and manual!!

Neadless to say I bought it unheard on the spot. When I got it home and immediately hooked it all up and WOW Holy $h|te and a few other comments later my brother was kicking himself for not getting it for himself.

I give it 4 stars overall because there are a lot of nice newer models with desirable features that the 1040 doesn't have like 7.1, Dolby Digital 2, or THX certification. If you can get one of these for under Two hundred you should go for it provided the last owner didn't fry one or more of the 5.1 channels you might just be able to grab some nicer speakers for the setup. If you have multiple hundreds to drop go for the bleeding edge 7.1.

Customer Service

Not applicable. Nearly Vintage when it dies it's over Johnny

The overall clarity of the product is exceptional. For the amount of money I had spent, I hardly expected the clarity and the longevity of this receiver. I have run it in it's home theatre mode, with a powered sub, as well as in bi-amped mode. Either way, this thing shines. As in an earlier post, it does seem to lack bass response; but I believe that is due to comparison to other products, that I believe, overproduce the lower spectrum of the sound scale. My former roommate purchased a $600 Sony unit at about the same time I had purchased this unit and I must say, the sound that came from his gear screamed unnatural, while the technics produced the entire sound spectrum crisp and studio-like.

I must say that this unit does get hot. But after over a year of using it I have found that it does reach a certain temperature, no matter if the amplifier is on standy, or under load. I have left the unit on for days, probably even weeks at a time and have had no problems with it reaching thermal protection. I really don't understand why the 1040 has gotten a bad rep for the unit's running temp. It may run hot, but I have proven that it doesn't matter through my year and a half of abuse :)(I do not condone leaving your receivers run on standby for weeks at a time)

My overall assessment of this product would have to be ... wow. I saw this product at a Best Buy store marked at $199. I stood there and thought to myself.......is this thing mis-marked? the lower quality lines of technics receivers were sitting next to the 1040 for $50 more? Anywho, how could I pass it up?

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Sony dts receivers, Onkyo dts receivers, dabbled with Denon's gear

Low cost, great sound,plenty of power Dolby Digital & DTS. Aluminum front pannel. Solid build.

Does tend to run warm at low volume. Variable Gain Control mode turns the subwoofer output off when selected.(Magnepans need the sub)

I have to say that this is one of the best audio buys that I have made on new equipment. I have been using it for the past 3 months with a pair of Magnepan SMG''s. Those are a 4 OHM load. Yes it gets warm at low volumes but if you turn up the volume a bit to the point which the fan comes on it will get ice cold(reason they did this was so the music volume would cover the humm of the fan). Even after running all night at low volume with the fan off it didn''t get too hot, not enough to melt down. It seems to get to a certain temp and hold steady. Anyway, that BS stuff. The sound is where this unit shines. Mine has tested at 106 watts per channel@6ohms which exceeds the specs by a small margin. That is rare with the lower cost brands. Highs shine, and bass kicks(before the magnepans they don''t play much low bass)I have a powered sub for that now. These speakers are said to reveal any weakness in your equipment. Trust me, there is no major weakness here. The soundstage and clairity are amazing. If you can get your hands on one for $200 or less BUY IT!

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Pioneer, Sony ES, Yamaha, and a Jolida tube amp.

Simple design.

Only works in Stereo mode. Gets extremely hot. Incredibly poor customer service.

I never thought I would be the type of person to write a bad review but I just had to stop anyone out there from buying this thing. I bought the unit in Nov of 2000 and only had two speakers to use it with. I was satisfied with it (though it gets extremely hot). I recently bought a surround speakers and when I hooked them up the unit wouldn''t work. Nothing would come out of ANY speakers. It only works in Stereo Mode. I called Panasonic and they were very rude and unfamiliar with the product. A senior technician called me back and told me the it was broken. No kidding. So I want to advise anyone considering this unit to go elsewhere. This will be the last Panasonic audio equipement I buy.

Power,inputs, Bi-amp,

Display can be dimmed but not completly shut off. All surround sound and stereo settings are the same.

This is my second review for this great product. I recently conducted an experiment with the bi-amp capability. I did something the instruction manual does not exactly approve of. I bi-amped four speakers. I hooked up 2 klh 3-way bookshelfs for the mid and high frequencies and 2 EPI 2-way bookshelfs for the low frequencies. There was an immediate improvement in the clarity of the highs and mids. I can hear subtle sounds in my music and movie sound tracks that I couldn't hear before. The bass is also a little bit cleaner, but mostly unchanged because my powered sub kicks in a 150 Hz.

A couple of gripes. You can dim the display but you cannot totally shut it off. This is a little distracting when watching movies in the dark. Another thing is that surround sound settings for your center, sub, and surround speakers cannot be set independently for T.V. VCR, and DVD. If you set the sub for 6 for the DVD setting, it will be six for the T.V. and VCR setting. The same goes for stereo.

These things are minor. Overall a great product.

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sa-dx940 sa-dx950

Good specs for the price and decent sound. Plenty of connections for multiple SVideo and digital audio inputs.

Ran hot from the very beginning and shorted out after 4 months. Limited ability to adjust sound (no EQ or loudness).

It is very convenient for connecting multiple video and audio inputs. However, the SVideo pass through never worked (required using regular RCA cables instead). The unit ran hot from the beginning and, after 4 months of use, shorted out in a blaze of glory that blew out one of my Bose 301 speakers. After 2 months in the Panasonic/Technics factory repair center, they can't fix it and so far, haven't been able to get a replacement. I bought the Technics because the price was attractive and I have had very good luck with my Technics stereo receiver which is now about 15 years old (incidentally, the new unit does not sound any better than my old one). However, my experience with this unit has been completely unsatisfactory. From the other reviews I have read of other Technics receivers, it seems the heat problem is a recurring issue.

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Technics stereo receiver.

Power, inputs, sound,

No digital coax input

I bought this receiver for it's price and features. It has inputs for just about every source component you can think of. It does not seem to put out as much bass through the main speakers as my sony did, but the sub pre-out more the makes up for that. I also own the sa-dx 940 and sa-dx950
Out of the three I must say I like the 1040 the most. Not just because it has the most features, but because you get the most for your money. I paid 200 buck for my 1040. I recently went into a Sears where they were selling 950's for 250 bucks. The only reason I still bought one was because I got mine price matched off the internet for about $180 The 950's biggest inprovement is the fact that it does not give off as much heat as the 940 or 1040. Because of this the 950 also does not have a cooling fan like the 940 and 1040. None of these receivers have ever given me any problem. Just make sure they have plenty of space around them. If I had to pick out a short coming in the 1040, it would be that all of it's digital inputs are optical. This is not a big deal but it's something to consider when bulding your system.

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Sony pro logic-511, sa-dx940, sa-dx950

Reliable, excellent sound, and high quality.

Runs a little hot, but easily fixed.

I've read some of the other reviews, and i have a way to solve the infamous heat problem.

All you have to do is take out the screws from the fan in the back of the reciever, buy another cooling fan, (equal size, 12volts) and use the same screws to screw it in behind the factory fan. Then buy a 6 volt wall-outlet adapter (because at twelve volts, the fan noise is herendous) and then plug the adapter into the switched outlet on the back of the reciever. Problem solved.

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couple pioneer recievers

It has great sound and clean looks for the price.It also has an inbuilt fan to cool of components.

None

I looked around at diffrent receivers when i bought this one and what the others had to offer was basically the same but for more $$$. My intention was mainly to buy a receiver with the inbuilt decoders Dolby digital and Dts. I have to admit after buying this receiver and hooking it up with digital audio cable i noticed a big diffrence.

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Pioneer dolby pro logic receiver.

Wonderful Sound, Very full & rich. and really got my Advent Legacy 2's booming. The subwoffer out-put rocks, and the VGCA settings rules. very eazy to use.

It get's a'little warm, but the cooling fan seems to be doing its job.

After going throgh 3 amps, all 3 very good, and i'd say top of the line.. i came across the Technics SA-DX1040, and to my suprise there was an open box model for $159, I got it, and the only reson i can figure out that Best Buy marked it down so much, is there is a big scratch mark across the top, but its on a shelf so you never see it :} .... to go on about the amp, it works great and i have not had one problem yet. I have a par of old Avent Legacy 2's and I have never (even with the sony amp) heard them sound this full and power-full. If i have any problems with it i'll make sure to up-date. I soon will be getting the JBL S412P speakers, cant wait yo hear how the sound with the SA-DX1040.

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Sony, Pioneer, Bose(for give me)..