Panasonic SA-XR25 6.1 Channels Receiver

Pros: Compact size and low weight, easy to use, stylish, good power and sound quality, inputs
Cons: Poor markings on remote and front panel buttons, could have more high-pass filter points

The Panasonic SA-XR25 is a very compact 6.1 receiver due to its use of the digital amplifier technology. It weighs only 9 lbs and its design matches P anasonic DVD players of late. This is good from ...

Pros: See Reveiw
Cons: Runs a little hot.

I have always been fond of sleek-looking electronics. However, they usually give up some kind of feature or performance when going for the "form over function" look. This unit is one of the few exceptions. This unit is solidly built, has an easy to use ...

Pros: All standard 6.1 decoding formats supported and work great.
Cons: Sometimes digital audio gets corrupted.

It's very simple. It's small. It's easy to use. It does 6.1 sound. It sounds incredible.

I only have 1 problem with this receiver: sometimes the digital input from my Pioneer set-top HDTV cable box just simply disappears. You have to switch to either analog sound, or go into the settings on the receiver and set it to "fix" mode. Yes, they have a solution to this problem built right into the receiver. It's even documented (in small print) in the instructions. That leads me to believe that the problem is in the receiver, not the cable box.

This problem is not a frequent occurrence, but it does happen.

Other than that, it's the second-best $300 I have spent in a long time (next to my iPod).

The Pro-Logic II and the Neo:6 work great. Television and audio CDs are turned into 6-channel sound flawlessly. It works 100 times better than I thought it would. I don't even listen to music in stereo any more. The Neo:6 sounds much better.