Price Paid:  $300.00 from Frye''s brand new

Summary:
The av-1s has been a good budget receiver. I consider these models as the "economy line" of Nak receivers. I feel Nakamichi kinda "sold out" when they decided to manufacture these things in Malaysia. Before, all their units where made in Japan. It does have a hefty power supply, total weight is 33lbs.
I am a DIY speaker designer and have auditioned many speakers with this receiver. Most of which I have built as well as some manufactured ones and have been mostly impressed with its overall performance. I mostly audition in stereo mode and it has plenty of clean power. Seems to have very low distortion. Not sure if this is the result of their trademark harmonic time alignment or the oversized power supply. Maybe both. The tuner section pulls in stations really well but only with a desecent antenna, not the one that comes with it. Like the signal strength meter too. Like the nice orange display and simple layout of the front controls. I don't like alot of useless features including useless theatre modes. Remote is very simple with a great layout. Fairly easy to use in the dark.
I own a vintage 1978 Pioneer SX-1050 (stereo receiver only) which is my receiver of choice for critical listening. The Nak pales in comparison in every aspect for two channel listening. The Nak does not seem to have much bass impact unless the loudness contour is activated which I thought was strange. But, compared to todays receivers it can sure hold its own. IMO I think in todays market you would have to spend >$700 to find an equal.
I had my av-1s about one year and the two buttons on my remote control stopped working. The + and - subwoofer and rear surround gain control buttons. Decided to contact Nak for repair and never got a response or a callback. It takes them at least a month to respond to any question you have, even if you call them. Shipped it to them anyway. After seven months finally received status stating beyond repair and a new one will cost $100. If I did not accept, there would be a estimate fee and return shipping of $40. Unacceptable. I will never buy another Nak product.
Worst customer service I have ever encountered in any market.
Beware!!
My ratings are greatly influenced by this.

Strengths:
Receiver build quality, power supply

Weaknesses:
VERY, VERY BAD customer service. Beware. Cheap remote.

Similar Products Used:
Many

Price Paid:  $410.00 from OnSale.COM

Summary:
I've used the AV-1S for over 2 years. 5 channels of abundant clean power with great bass response. Lack of Dolby Digital Processor a plus - it won't be obsolete tomorrow, but it does complicate the back panel and the hook-up. Driving 4 Ohm speakers (C2s and Ls), NHT Center Channel and an Energy sub-woofer. Uncomplicated design, very easy to use. Perfect home theater amp. Some signal leakage in the pre-amp stage, integral cooling fan a plus when you're driving it hard. Simpler than most other "high end" receiver - home theater combinations

Strengths:
CLEAN 5 Channels of Power + NO Unnecessary Bells & Whistles

Weaknesses:
Small clips for speakers, poor isolation in pre-Amp section

Similar Products Used:
Sony 9000ES Series

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Custom Cinema and Sound

Summary:
Absolutely nothing negative to say about the sound production of the receiver. Love it!

However, pray that something does not go wrong and you need a repair. Three months after purchase, the volume control knob broke. I have tried to get a replacement in 4 high end stereo stores over the past 18 months without success. Apparently, a volume control know of all things is a special order from Japan!

Nakamichi makes great components. Just hope that you never need a part to repair it.

2 stars overall rating because of the frustration in getting my hands on a trivial, little part.

Strengths:
Strong pro-logic surround effects. Great AC-3 (dolby digital) reproduction through DVD. Minimal useless gadgets, bells and whistles with good remote

Weaknesses:
Speaker connectors somewhat small to receive high end monster cable. Poor service support.

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from custom cinema and sound

Summary:
one of the best sounding receivers on the market. near audiophile quality sound for both home theatre and music listening. no useless and complicated bells and whistles to distract you from enjoying the sound. very sturdy construction. works well with my older energy pro speakers. only problem is you need an outboard processor for dolby digital or dts. i should have waited for the av-10s. but very happy with purchase. only downside, spring clip connectors for centre and surround speakers. best $1,000 cdn i ever spent

Strengths:
ample power, easy to use, very good sound, good remote

Weaknesses:
one only-spring clip connectors for both the centre channel and rear surrounds

Similar Products Used:
yamaha,

Summary:
Actually I have Nakamichi AV-1, with only prologic mode, but I use it in any case mainly for music (stereo). I picked up this receiver few months ago from ebay and very happy with it.
Of course for that money (250$+shipping) I could buy
some junky new receiver, and I did a lot of research to find it, but all that DolbyDigital receivers below 300$ sound very dirty. You should pay much more to get receiver with reasonable quality (~800$) or to buy separates, but for me that was just another price level.
AV-1 was a top of the Nakamichi line in beginning to middle nineties. AV-1 has very rich, detailed and natural sound. It also looks nice and solid. Comparing to Yamaha (which I don't like) it has much more on bass side, but it well balanced, tight enough, and does not become boomy ( as all cheap receivers)even with my small bookshelf speakers (AE Aegis One). This receiver has a lot of power and can definitely drive big serious speakers.
FM tuner is also good, defenetly good enough for the most of radio stations, but the overall quality of radio stations is not very high (compare to hi-fi records). Make sure to play with antena, it makes huge difference for any receiver, and that is what many people forget to do!
There are some very nice feathers: additional to bass, there is a separate adjustment for superbass ( I believe below 70 Hz or so), pre-outs, source-direct mode to bypass all controls, and mono-out for woofer.
If you looking for good solid receiver but have a limited budget, that is a very good choice.

Strengths:
rich sound, pre-outs, control of low-bass

Weaknesses:
heavy

Similar Products Used:
Marantz, Yamaha, Sony, Nad, Pioneer