Value for Money Receiver for Starter Home Theaters
Written: Mar 03 '04
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Pros: Cheap, lots of features, handsome appearance, adequate power
Cons: Difficult and confusing controls
The Bottom Line: Represents good value but a nightmare to operate for those who have trouble even programming their VCR
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| therichpeasant's Full Review: Sherwood RD-7103 5.1 Channels Receiver |
I have purchased a number of Sherwood products over the past 15 years. My satisfaction with them has varied, although the underlying reason for buying them has always been (and likely always will be ) that they offer good value for your money. I bought mine on eBay for $80.
Sherwood occupies the lower-to-mid price categories for electronics,often competing against the lower-priced models of Japanese companies with better recognized names and reputations, such as Kenwood, Technics, JVC and Sony.
The RD-7103 is a good receiver for anyone wanting to start a home theater without breaking the bank. While the trend for the novice audiophiles is to buy the cheap 'Home Theater in a Box' concept, I believe that while it may be more time consuming, it is better (in most cases) to pick and choose the different components that will make up your system.
While much of the quality of the sound in a home theater will depend on your speakers and the size/acoustics of your room, your receiver is the engine that drives everything. In stereo mode, the RD-7103 is rated at 200W, while in Surround Mode, it is supposed to support 125W for each of the front, center and rear speakers. While perhaps not to shake the ground beneath you, it is more than adequate for most beginner systems. Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) is rated at a very acceptable 0.09%.
Sherwood's amplifiers are always handsome in appearance, but it is often at the expense of practicality. The RD-7103 has a myriad of small control buttons for Tone, Speaker Mode, Channel Selectors etc. While it looks good, it is really confusing trying to understand how all of these buttons work, alone or in conjunction with one another. Rotary knobs may not be technologically cool, but they work so much better than a hundred tiny buttons. This unit is a nightmare for those technophobes who are petrified at programming their VCRs.
The RD-7103 has 6 surround modes: DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Virtual, Theater and Hall Modes. The Dolby Virtual is extremely useful for those individuals who are gradually building up their system and may not have all the components yet eg. powered subwoofer or rear speakers. This feature mimics the sound that it should sound like with all the components; while not entirely the same, it is wonderous for those who may only have the front and center channel speakers.
Audiophiles may not like the sound emanating from a Sherwood receiver, and it may not sound like the home theater systems set up in your local electronics store (usually the best and most expensive stuff they carry, smelling a bit like the bait-and-switch strategy of luring you in with a low priced system only to convince you that a higher priced one sounds much better) but for the average consumer, it represents a good beginning. It'll be light years better than just watching a movie from the video or DVD connected to the TV.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 80
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Epinions.com ID:
therichpeasant
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Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 0 members
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