The Fresh Are Out To Undertake This Jaded Competition
Written: Jul 24 '02 (Updated Jul 24 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Stereo performance excels the competition; fine socketry; well built
Cons: 3 DSP effects; Dolby only; noisy fan; simplistic, ugly or retro?
The Bottom Line: The 180-250 price bracket is filled with all these receivers, the AV-8 is the middle, both in price and performance.
|
|
|
| MichaelHatton's Full Review: Nakamichi AV-8 5.1 Channels Receiver |
Introduction
The Nakamichi AV-8 is probably one of the oldest products still available, the reason is simple – a basic design with a well built layout and all-round good performance. That was over two years ago, but can it hold ground to newer machines? For reference I’ll use a Kenwood KRF-V5050, which costs £20 ($28) less than the Nakamichi – this is going for £200 ($280), a massive £300 ($420) off the retail price.
Build & Design
This is where that extra £300 comes in, as the AV-8 is a lot larger by comparison and a lot heavier than the V5050 at 13Kg (25lb). There is also a lot more weight to the front of the unit, and the casing is much stronger. The front of the box is more basic, it has more knobs and buttons, and the display window is smaller. Overall it doesn’t look any better, the black and silver finishes don’t exactly stand out. Also there isn’t any vents on the top so the machine uses a fan, which is very odd, air cooling would be better by just adding slits to the top and sides of the case, of course if a DVD player or machine is going to be put on top – the fan will be a better idea. Although the fan does take up much space, which makes the unit much larger and leaves less space for sockets and can be heard easily.
Features & Specification
The main difference would be the price, although between the Kenwood and the Nakamichi there are subtle trade offs in each receiver. Firstly the AV-8 doesn’t have DTS 5.1 decoding, the V5050 does. Both receivers host the same Dolby Digital and Pro Logic decoding, with the V5050 having a set of one optical and two coaxial digital inputs and the AV-8 having two coaxial inputs. Both units support a second 5.1 six channel input – which can be used for DVD-Audio or SACD players.
The AV-8 includes separate video inputs for each stereo source, these including S-Video and Composite sockets, these are for the four stereo inputs with two tape loops here, and with an additional four stereo inputs including a tape loop and phono input. There is a separate S-Video output and Composite output also. The AV-8 also has separate Subwoofer and Center channel outputs. In comparison the V5050 only has four video inputs and one output and are all in composite, it only has five stereo inputs of which three are tape loops and one a phono input, and there is a subwoofer output too.
For speaker outputs the AV-8 has complete binding posts, although they are slightly smaller than the 4mm standard, so some binding posts – especially ones with straight pins – will be hard to fit. The speakers outputs are for three stereo rear channel, front stereo and centre. There is also an additional stereo output so you can bi-wire the fronts or add a second pair. There is a switch at the front for switching the speakers. And you can’t use them as DSP effects channels like that of Yamaha receivers.
The amplifier section gives a power output of 80W RMS to all five speakers, with a tolerance of 120W for just the front speakers being run. The Total Harmonic distortion for average listening can be around the 0.001% mark, whereas the Kenwood has a quoted mark of 0.0005%.
The audio circuitry has PCM (CD) and AC-3 (Dolby Digital) decoding only, it also has Nicam and Dolby Pro Logic decoders built in as standard. Through the digital inputs it will sample at 32kHz, 44.1kHz (CD) and 48kHz frequencies if the source gives it, and the Quantization is through 16, 20 and 24 bit. On average it will give a frequency response of 20-20000Hz. But the amplifier section will be tolerable from 10 – 40000Hz through the stereo inputs.
In comparison the V5050 gives out 100W x5 RMS, and decodes PCM, Dolby Digital, DTS, Pro Logic, and Nicam stereo.
Tuner
Both units come with built in tuners featuring RDS – Radio Data System which allows headlines and messages to be shown, and the title of the radio station. The V5050 also has EON technology (Enhanced Other Networks). There are a total of 30 presets for AM and FM stations, and it will cache the radio station names, just like the V5050 does. Both machines accept bare wire or coaxial cable for the antenna, and a loop Ariel for the AM or MW/LW section.
Display & Menu System
Both feature an LED display, the AV-8 has a small wide window, with red texts, there is minimal descriptions on the screen, but there is a selection menu which shows which input it selected. In general units which have video outputs usually have menus or at least some form of on-screen information, but neither of the units do. This is especially poor from the AV-8 as it means you have to read the extensive handbook to know how to set it up. The V5050 however has a number of icons such as the “surround speakers” area which shows which speakers are on and are in use. The inclusion of tone controls on the AV-8 is a nice touch, although these are probably not a good idea, since you are probably making it sound worse adjusting them.
The speaker setup for both is pretty relaxed, the AV-8 features a 10-scale dB adjustment for each one, however it doesn’t give out tones. The V5050 has at least a “white noise” output when you do the set-up. One other feature that the AV-8 is lacking is the ability to turn off speakers, you can’t for example switch off the centre speaker if you don’t have one, this is kind of a shot in the dark as you’ll need one with almost all DVDs.
As for DSP effects you’ll only find three on the AV-8, including Natural Hall and Stadium.
Sound Q
I’m not sure why, but both units have extremely low outputs in the digital inputs. It may be the decoders but I may have to put the volume up to 70% to get a good volume level. Both units seem equally matched in terms of power, the Kenwood was somehow more impressive with the included “Cinema EQ” mode which adds a THX effect. Bass from the Kenwood was very powerful and accurate, the AV-8 was slightly more relaxed. The surround decoding from both was free from distortion, and both could handle 90% volume, although this was pretty noisy.
Turning to music and the two are starting to separate a little, with the Nakamichi most music came through with a lot more “Hi Fi” sound quality. Details are remarkably clean and resolution not drowned out at all. Even stereo imaging was clean and had a fine sense of scale. The V5050 is slightly more upbeat and faster.
Nothing to worry about though, the AV-8 is good with surround tracks, with placing the surround effects very well, voices are clean without traces of muffle.
Conclusion
Between the two receivers lies a fine line between features and price. You have on one hand the Nakamichi AV-8 who is very old now, with the limiting factor on decoding options and DSP effects, but benefiting from better video inputs and speaker sockets. While for £20 ($28) less you have the Kenwood KRF-V5050 with the DTS decoding, more DSP modes and easier menu system and a similar sound if a little heavier. Overall the two are about equal, although the lack of DTS support may just edge the Kenwood forward in this battle.
Other Items In This Price Range
Denon AVR1801 (£200 - $280)
Yamaha DSPAX620 (£230 - $322)
Kenwood KRFX9050 (£250 - $350)
This Receiver Was Reviewed With
Mission 77C1 (centre speaker)
Mission 771e (rear speakers)
Eltax Linear Response 6.5 (front speakers)
LG DVD-4950 (DVD player)
Sony CDP-XB930U (CD player)
Sony KV-32FX20U (TV)
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 107
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
MichaelHatton
|
 - Top 200 |
|
Location: Darlington, England
Reviews written: 192
Trusted by: 59 members
About Me:
Retired
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.