Price Paid:  $199.00 from Radioshack

Summary:
Using this little beauty for my home theater (5.1) and it's doing an excellent job. I love it so much that I bought the new model to use it as an amplifier for my second second sound system.

Strengths:
Very good price Simple to use Simple to configure Excellent quality Uses the same remote for my DVD and receiver. lot of POWER for the money

Weaknesses:
A little big, like any receiver

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $180.00 from Home Tech

Summary:
Over the years I have owned a few recievers by the likes of Technics, Akai, Yamaha,and Pioneer ranging in price from $150-500, though they were ok at best I think for the price my new Panasonic SA-HE70 is by far the best reciever I have had. It has plenty of power, a clean sound, and very functional features. Though I am not a hardcore stereo fanatic I am still an enthusiast who uses this unit everyday for music,tv,and movies. Currently I'm running five speakers on it 2 large fronts (vega linear)100 watts each, 2 small rears and a center channel 60 watts each (koda )they all cost me under $100 and with this reciever will give high end products a run for there money. I have not been able to detect any distortion whatsoever at any volume with this set up and the unit hasn't overheated even after hours of continued use at very high volumes. I would recommend this reciever to anyone who doesn't want to spend a large sum of money(under $200) but wants a system that will perform very well. I suggest being patient and looking for bargains when purchasing stereo products expensive components doesn't always mean quality.

Strengths:
Price Power/Amp Features Functionality

Weaknesses:
For this price none

Similar Products Used:
Technics, Akai, Yamaha, Pioneer

Price Paid:  $280.00 from Supermarket in Denma

Summary:
This is actually a review of the SA-HE90 receiver which is not included in the listing here. It appears to only have been made for the European and Australian markets. It is basically an upgraded HE 70 with 100W output instead of 70W and analog inputs for DVD audio. There are also proper speaker wire binder posts for the main 2 speakers. I bought this because it was cheap and had prologic 2. I was updating my system whcich previously comprised of a JVC dolby surround amplifier with no digital inputs or Dts, but which played music very well, even on my old nasty Dantax speakers if you turned the volume up. We have a small home, and 2 small children so the idea of spending a fortune on something as destructible as hi-fi gear is not a current priority. Basically we needed something that would do the job and the frills were not necessary. My chief reservations about this amp wer 1)the lack of an RIAA stage for my Technics record player but I wired an old Rotel amplifier into the system, instead of buying a cheap RIAA stage. At this price one cannot be too fussy. 2)Was it possible to make anything listenable for this price? My initial impressions about this receiver were that it sounded really tinny, even after I had adjusted all the speaker settings. This was a little irritating,especially as my Wharfedales sounded pretty good with the JVC amp. However, after the initial 36 hour or so burning-in period, my disppointment turned to elation as the sound warmed up phenomenally. Now it sounds very good, better than the old JVC. Avoid the surround settings though. The only one I found to be useful (or listenable) is the Party setting which runs the rear speakers in reverse stereo, but with a little sacrifice in clarity. It took some getting used to the volume dial as the volume increases at a curved rate. At lower volumes you have to turn the dial a lot more than at higher levels. This is a good thing as the volume levels an be set very precisely. The decoding appears to be pretty good. The Rotel RCD955-AX CD player I use sounds better via the digital coax input than through the analog one, even using quality interconnects, which I did not expect. The tuner is OK but nothing to get excited over. The interface is a little confusing and takes some getting used to. Playback of media from my PC via the coax digital output is vastly improved over the analog inputs I was using before. I listen to a lot of recordings made at concerts, which are compressed into non-standard (lossless) file types like Monkeys audio, SHN and FLAC and I can really notice the difference from before. The possibility of adjusting compression in digital playback is good when you live in an appartment and want to see films at night. Particularly a dts film like Lord of the Rings had astonishing level fluctuations which had me reaching for the volume control at 2 am. ProLogic 2 I found to be disappointing. Its claims of being able to create surround sound from analog stereo sources I found only to be true with films. Perhaps my ears are too well trained as my wife thought it sounded wonderful with classical CDs but I found there to be to much irregularity in the sound and it sounded very digital, at times almost like a low-bit rate MP3 file. I suspect that the casual user, or the listener with inferior speakers will get on fine enough with PLII to leave it turned on all the time, but not me. All in all though, excellent value for money. Performs well over and above what I expected and is adequate for my purposes. Not one for audiophiles but pretty damn good for the rest of us.

Strengths:
Price Functions Sounds surprisingly good for music playback Binder posts

Weaknesses:
Gets quite hot, no RIAA, not quite enough inputs. (especially digital co-ax) No digital outputs. Remote Plastic finish

Similar Products Used:
JVC AX-V4 surround amplifier Technics amplifier (80s model can´t remember which) Rotel 930-AX amplifier

Price Paid:  $147.00 from Fry's

Summary:
I recently purchased this receiver after agonizing for almost a year about whether or not such a low-end unit would be a waste of money. I finally decided to "bite the bullet," knowing that when I upgrade to a "high-end" HT system, I'll probably replace ALL my individual components. Anyway, this receiver is an incredible value! The separation is great, in both the Dolby Digital AND Pro Logic 2. The sound is also very smooth - from the highs to the lows! Also, I wanted a receiver that would fully utilize the (rear) surround speakers when playing audio CD's. The SA-HE70 has a "Party" DSP setting that send the full spectrum of stereo sound to all 5 speakers and the subwoofer. There is no compromising of HT (movie) performance for music, or vice versa. And by the way, it does get pretty "warm" (like most Technics/Panasonic receivers), but not to the level of "overheating." I use this unit to power an Infinity "SM" series HT system consisting of (4) SM-165's, an SM Video Center speaker, and a JBL PB 10 subwoofer. This is by no means a "high end" system, but it is a very good, moderately priced setup that sounds great! In summary, I would recommend this bargain-priced unit to anyone who needs an affordable Dolby Digital receiver to power a decent set of speakers. It will certainly serve me well until I get my "ultimate" home theater system!

Strengths:
PRICE! Features Separation Smooth audio output

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
JVC, Sony, and Technics Pro Logic receivers