Price Paid:  $350.00 from Good Vibes

Summary:
This is my first day with the AVR-1705. I was looking for something to get me by while I'm in an appartment. So I didn't need anything that would blow the doors off, but I am still fairly pickey about how things sound.

When purchasing this unit, I was debating between it and the 1905. Both entry level units, but the 1905 has a few more fetures, so natrually, the 1705 was a little less money. Everything is the same between the two models except for the 1905 has more optical inputs, pre-amp outputs, and a multi-room setup. For what I'm doing, I didn't need the extra stuff, and am going to a Rotel when I move back into a house. So I opted to spend a few bucks less on the 1705.

I just got done watching Master and Commander, and I am pretty happy with my purchase. The decoding is pretty dern good, the amp is really quiet, and the punch in the low end caught me off guard. I wasn't excpecting much of a good low end from it, but its as good or better as any of the entry level receivers I've heard. The literature lists a "Twin Drive Rectifier" as a feature, giving the impression that it increases the slew rate. So maybe thats the difference I heard, I dunno.

The surround modes are nice, and fun to play with, but not a major concern with me. One thing I found is the Music version of Neo 6 does really well with TV. Warms it up nicely.

There are lots of ways to change the setup and configuration on this puppy. It will take a while to dail it in just right, but even early on, I am really happy with this receiver.

Strengths:
Good Price!
Good sound and bass for entry level.
Video Up Conversion!
Great processing
Automatic detect for surround, video, etc.
Oodles and oodles of configuration settings!

Weaknesses:
I've not read the manual yet, so take my "weaknesses" with a grain of salt

The menu system on the unit is not very clear, but easy enough to figure out.

I'm not a fan of the remote or its layout. It could be a lot better organized.

The Auto detect isn't set from the factory, so it could make the initial setup a little more difficult that it needs to be.

Like I said thought, If I had read the manual, I might not be saying some of these things. :)