Bangs for your bucks
Written: Oct 06 '02
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Pros: Cheap, reliable, good effects steering, decent connection options
Cons: Old, only 5.1, not great in stereo, only 3 dsp's to choose
The Bottom Line: If you have a small room and 5 home cinema speakers the Sherwood won't let you down for movie thrills.
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| readk's Full Review: Sherwood RD-6106 5.1 Channels Receiver |
I've lived with the RD-6106 for nearly two years now. At the time of purchase it was the cheapest DD/DTS 5.1 receiver available in the UK. Having never had a pro-logic receiver I jumped straight in at the deep end and managed to pull together 2 pairs of speakers from existing hi-fi setups and a centre speaker from a friend who was upgrading. As a first experience of home cinema the Sherwood was top notch with the effects from the likes of Aliens and The Matrix sweeping round the room with excitement and very forward presentation.
Over the years the Sherwood has withstood a number of upgrades. I have used 2 DVD players, 2 CD players and am onto my 3rd set of speakers. These upgrades have all sought to drag that little bit more performance from the RD-6106 before I upgrade it because it has done a great job for me.
OK the 6106 is pretty lame in stereo. I have used a decent CD player for the last year and have found it best to use the DAC from the CD player, running analogue RCA interconnects to the Sherwood and using the neat 'Tone Direct' control to bypass the on board tone controls. This means that the Sherwood simply passes the analogue signal to the speakers with little getting in the way at the amplification stage. At this point the 6106 is able to present a decent tune. Use a CD player with a digital cable running into the 6106 and the deficiencies of the DAC and the stereo performance are there for all to see. The result is a thin, treble heavy sound with poor timing.
For home theater duties though I have no complaints. The 6106 steers effects well using either DTS or DD and if you are using a sub or a decent pair of floor standers you will be pleased by the crash, bang, wallops of the systems bass. The DSP options are limited to Hall, Theater and Virtual. The first two add little to the proceedings, simply adding different levels of reverb to the source and panning the stereo image around all available speakers. The Virtual setting is useful if not overly impressive in taking a stereo source and providing the illusion of surround effects.
Stick to Pro-logic processing for stereo sources and all is well if a little artificial and top heavy in the tonality stakes.
The RD-6106 comes with a sensible remote, a decent onboard tuner, some nice features (tone direct and display dimmer) and ample amplification for a small room. Marantz, Yamaha and Denon all make better receivers for more money and can offer 6.1 audio. It's a question of whether your current speakers, DVD player, VCR and cables are up to a better amp. The Sherwood is a little long in the tooth but as a first dip into home theater it won't let you down.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300
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Epinions.com ID:
readk
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Member: Kevin Read
Location: Wallsend, Tyne & Wear, England
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
A big guy from a small country re-visiting epinions
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