I haven’t heard the Panasonic and have nothing to add regarding that receiver. But here’s a few random thoughts….

• It is important to select components (receiver, speakers, source) that work well together, emphasizing the strengths of individual components while minimizing their respective weaknesses. It is amazingly easy to put together a crappy sounding system from “top rated” components. The key to good sound is to assemble a system, not just pick-out well-reviewed components.

• Reviews are a great way to learn about components and help narrow the field. However, they aren’t a substitute for listening—preferably in your home with your equipment. Consider also that your perception may change over time. A product that blows you away out of the box may sound bright or harsh after a few days as you gain familiarity with the unit’s personality. A product that seems lifeless initially may ultimately satisfy. I like to try equipment for at least 2 or 3 weeks before rendering an opinion. Specs and reviews aside, select what sounds best to you.

• When auditioning a receiver try to listen to both movies and music—even if you don’t plan to use the receiver for music. Also be sure to listen to movies in all formats; e.g. DD 5.1, DTS, etc. Another good trick is to turn off the video when listening to movies—a significant portion of brain power is devoted to processing the visual information. Turning off the image will give you a better idea of how the unit sounds.

• Regarding volume levels; in most cases the volume control setting bares almost no relationship to the actual power delivered (i.e. a 20% setting 20% power) and zero relationship to quality. Many manufacturers intentionally design their volume controls using a non-linear scale so that it will play louder (deliver proportionally higher voltage) at low settings to give the illusion of greater power. It is a psychological/marketing ploy rather than an engineering benefit. As long as you have adequate power to drive your speakers to the desired listening level, it does not matter one iota whether the volume control is set to 10%, 40% or even 90%.

It is a pretty fair generalization that (esp. in the $300-ish price range) Sony just doesn't make good high-current amps that have the power to drive the dynamics of most speakers. The STR lin eis notorious for anemic amp capacity. Please tell me which ES receiver sells for around $300. They are better-built (closer to Denon/Onkyo standards) but tell me which ES receiver you can buy for around $300. I don't see any.

FWIW, the Denon I'm looking at is rated at 85W and gives a 'true' full-bandwidth output of 82W, which is significant. Especially with some speakers (like my NHTs) which sacrifice efficiency for accuracy. Or any other lower-impedance speakers, which will really strain the consumer-level Sonys. Having a high-current amp will improve the dynamic handling of source material, especially at moderate-to-high listening volumes. When things are played louder, it's the extra power reserve that will keep things sounding clean and not harsh or strained. And we *all* like to play movies loud occasionally, right?

I would suggest whatever the current low-tier model of Harmon Kardon receiver is out now. i have the AVR110 from a couple of years ago and it puts out excellent sound.

I'm saying that the ES receivers compare favorably to the other receivers at the same price point. Wasn't saying that they were $300 (although the DB line which had ES parts came close). If you know of any denon/onkyo/yamaha/HK receivers that have dolby digital 6.1/dts and produce at least 70 watts and are $300, I'd like to know which ones they are. My now somewhat older Onkyo 575 was $400, and it had what I considered, minimal features for a HT setup.

And BTW, the SONY ES - STRDA1ES is about $340 if you look hard. This is NOT a bad receiver at all for the money.

Not saying that Sony receivers are better than the others, but I don't think a generalization of their receivers is fair. Okay, their DE line is not the greatest, but Sony's trying to appeal to a wide range of consumers, some of whom care more about having a gazillion reverb effects more than having a THD less than 0.10%.
And hey, quite frankly, there's nothing wrong with that.

Anyhow, IMHO, the Sony ES line is easily competitive with the other "quality" receivers. Hey, I own an Onkyo. But I think Sony DOES make good receivers too (and for a fair price too).

The HK 125 is a great receiver and an excellent value. Unfortunately, it's around $400.

It's also 40 watts per channel if I recall correctly. Before I get flamed, I KNOW that wattage isn't everything. And I'm aware that HK's have low THD's and are high current. BUT I think there are better values than the HK's at $400. The HK 125 sacrifices too much power at $400. In the $300-$500 price range, I think the Onkyo/Sony ES/Pioneer Elite's offer the best bang for buck.

Keep in mind that it takes 10 times as much power to play twice as loud; the difference between 40 and 80 watts just isn't as significant as it looks on paper unless the speakers are inefficient and/or the room is large. And even then the difference in actual SPL produced isn’t as great as might be imagined.

I think a lot depends on how you define value. Certainly the HK offers less "spec" power than many other models at the same price point---but when married to speakers with about 87dB efficiency and used in a room of modest size, the HK will deliver more than adequate power. What the HK gives up in power rating, it delivers in clarity; the sound is clean and reasonably neutral. It doesn’t have a lot of bells & whistles, it does offer great sound in an attractive package.

There are a number of good receivers in this price range; I don’t think there's a single best product. I personally wouldn’t eliminate it from consideration simply because of the power rating. Besides, most of the receivers in this price range are not rated full bandwidth; the HK is. In actual use, the HK delivers more real world power than some other models offering better paper specs.

I agree - there are a number of good receivers in this range, and really what it comes down to is a whole lot of "my-favorite-color-is". In the end, you just pick the price and the minimal specs that will make you happy. After that, just pick which receiver you think looks best with your furnitur, has the best remote, etc...
In the $400 range, you usually get everything you would need for a pretty decent HT setup.

hahn, the Denon 1803 (mentioned above several times) has 80 W/ch x6 (and these are not anemic Sony "watts"!), DD 6.1/EX, DTS-ES, DTS:Neo-6, and Pro-Logic II. $333 at hype Audio, refurbs available for $300 online. (Never had a problem with a refurb either. As good as, if not better than, new as they're tested more thoroughly by the factory...)

I'll take a Denon/HK/Onkyo/Yamaha over a Sony/Pioneer/Panasonic receiver in the $300-$500 range any day. I've listened to lots, owned a few. Perhaps fewer bells and whistles, but they simply sound clean and clear.

BTW, in case it wasn't mentioned...the panny does "unofficial" DD 6.1 ex, Official DTS 6.1 ES, Dolby ProLogic II, and NEO:6 also.

What is "unofficial" DD 6.1 ex? That's a new one to me! BTW, if you watch tv a lot (and not *just* DVDs) Prologic II makes a huge difference. Much better than the regular stereo/prologic processor options.

It just means they didn't get the license from dolby...

I've seen some good reviews of this receiver; only question I have is whether the component video bandwidth is sufficient for HD sources (see review site below - 10mhz???). The Best Buy web site shows this model at $569.99, but I could've sworn I just saw this at Best Buy B&M yesterday for $449.99; as I'm now snowed in, can anybody confirm whether this is correct? I also saw a review (here: http://www.audioreview.com/PRD_135050_2718crx.aspx ) where a guy bought one at Best Buy and was told there is currently a $100 manufacturer's rebate on this model. Combined with the 10% off preferred customer weekend coupon, this could be a hot deal (if it's really $450 to begin with).

Edit: Looks like the bandwidth may really be an issue with HD on the 6070:
http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsth...b=5&o=&fpart=1

I guess I'll keep looking.

I just got a Onkyo SR500 last week and I am loving it.

Not that more evidence is needed, but one more sign that I've lost that last marble: went back to Best Buy and this receiver is indeed $569.99. I don't know what the heck I saw that was $449.99, but it wasn't this. Anyway, the bandwidth issue makes it moot for me, but wanted to correct myself in case others were interested.

I have a Panasonic SA-HE200 that I picked up for $330 online. To say that it's absolutely phenominal for the price is the understatment of the year. I highly recommend it.

Regards,

- DB

what does the 200 have that my lowely 100 doesn't?

What is the component video bandwidth on the SA-HE200? I'm wondering if it's any better than the 10MHz apparently provided by the Kenwood VR-6070.

I'm really losing it; posts in other forums indicate the 6070 really was on sale for $449.99. Back to $569.99 now. Good grief.

Dr. Dean
Well, the 100 is a great receiver! The only real "significant" difference as far as I know, is the power output. The 200 put’s out 130 watts x 6 channels at 6 ohms. Another difference, although not that significant, is the DTS decoder. The 200 has an "authorized" DTS decoder, where as the 100 I believe does not. But I hear that there really is no difference. The 100 can decode DTS perfectly. And then there's the difference in looks. This was one of the things I really liked about the 200. Anyway, the 100 is a great receiver, and I wouldn't call it lowely.

Dah-Dee
I can't find my manual right now, so I can't give you an appropriate answer about the bandwidth. But when I find it, I'll let you know.

- DB

Actually I this that the 100 has "authorized" DTS considering the DTS ES Logo is splattered right on the front...but I could be wrong...130 Watts nice

I'm a bit confused by your question. Component video is analog, not digital. And 10MHz is a frequency measurement. I don't think the 2 are related Am I missing something?

Not that specs and recommendations aren't helpful but I would suggest you let your ears do the walking in a local HT shop. It is very suprising to hear the variations that come into play with different setups. I would try to find an outlet that has the same or similar speakers you are currently using and sit down for a listen. I would also suggest that the receiver is probably the third most important component behind the big screen and speaker choices you have or are about to make.

With that said, I would look for a high current 6.1 amp from Harman Kardon (AVR325), Yamaha (HTR-5590) or Onkyo (TX-SR600) in the $500 - $600 range.

I was also confused about exactly that same thing. After reading a lot more than I ever wanted to, it's my understanding (as [still] a total layman in this area!) that in the context of component video bandwidth MHz is used, in a manner of speaking, as a measure of the number of units available to carry the signal. See the Home Theater Spot thread I linked to in my earlier post in this thread about the Kenwood:

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsth...b=5&o=&fpart=1

It apparently has a very narrow "pipeline" to carry the component video signal from source to television.'' Depending on which "expert" is talking, high definition signals apparently require somewhere from 30 to 50 MHz to avoid loss of picture quality.

I haven't been able to find similar info on the Panasonic, but I did look around for a component video switching option (other than buying a new receiver) and found the JVC JXS111; here's what I posted in another forum about that ( I eventually answered my own question and edited the post as shown):

"Can anyone address the bandwidth issue previously posted about the JVC JXS111? I'm also curious about whether the component video signal from DVD/HDTV receiver will arrive intact to my Panny 53WX42 through the JVC pipeline ("Video Frequency Response: 10 MHz" ???). Thanks.

Edit: The quote above is from the OneCall web site; the Crutchfield site list the component video bandwidth as 30 MHz. That sounds ok, if it's correct. So confusing!

Edit 2: Here's another site selling the same item, more info; looks like the bandwidth is 10 MHz for composite video, 30 MHz for component. Sounds good:

http://www.svideo.com/com3.html

Etronics has this for 74.99."

One thing I hadn't posted about after finding the JVC; I'm curious as to whether it's possible that the Kenwood is built the same way, i.e., has 10MHz bandwidth for composite video but something significantly higher for component video, as in the JVC. Seems like that would make more sense.

Anyway, that's the kind of info I was looking for on the Panasonic, have researched it on the web, including on the Panasonic web site (and in the online SA-HE200 manual) and can't find anything. I hope this clarifies my post.

Edit: Here's a good article on component video switching and bandwidth:
http://home.att.net/~rfowkes1/Compon...Switching.html

Edit2: Here's another article that also discusses (a little) the difference between bandwidth and frequency response:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/bandwid.htm

Basically, yes, analog signals have frequencies too! (I guess not too many people remember those quaint things called 'radios' etc. $^)

As for a good bang-for-your-buck receiver, I just discovered that J&R has the Yamaha RX-V590 (pretty much the same as their HTR-5550) for only $249. 75 w/ch, high current. Plus, they actually have DSP that has many listenable/usable modes, incl. a theater mode for DD and DTS.

This receiver drives my less-efficient NHT speakers great, very clean even at loud volumes. (I did the Matrix helicopter scene test!) FOr around $300 or under, I don't think you'll find a better-sounding receiver. (I was also looking at the Denons for a while, and the H-K's were pricier.)