Serpicode

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Price Paid:  $279.00 from Etronics.com

Summary:
Very pleased with this unit. The less powerful HE100 received a "Best Buy" award from consumer reports. Puts out the sound! Somewhere around 115 W/RMS at 8 Ohms to 6 Channels. Has the rear-channel out preamps for adding a separate two-channel rear amp for a 7.1 effect. Nice remote. This thing gets hot! (Even when left on with no signal). Panasonic assured me that this is normal, but I can't help wonder why they designed it this way. It does have an integral cooling fan. Has one AC plug on the back for adding an accessory, plug has no power if the unit is turned off. Pity it does not have an on-screen display, no reason it should not. I'd buy it again, truly the best value I've seen.

Strengths:
Powerfull, supports all signal formats.

Weaknesses:
Very hot running unit, even emits a slight metallic smell. (Hence the four star rating)

Price Paid:  $349.00 from J&R Music World

Summary:
The fact that this receivers little brother (SAEH-100)got a "Best Buy," from Consumer Reports and was chosen as one of the products of the year by Sound & Vision led me to take a closer look at it. I have the original Bose Acoustimass, satellite, bass module which are rated at 4 ohms. No problem with this receiver though as you can switch the impedence. I had my eye on an Onkyo model, but I discovered it didn't have a phono input which this one does. I was surprised to find the features on this receiver at the price I paid and the silver look is very nice. The receiver that I previously had was a Tehnics with a seperate decoder. I must say that it proved to be very dependable as I had no problem whatsoever with it. The one thing that I did not like with the Technics that the Panasonic has, is the ability to control the sub-woofers volumne while adjusting the over-all volumne level. I have much much more freedom with inputs, the latest surround decoding and the sound options with the Panasonic though. Any issues with the remote don't apply as I will teach my Universal Remote to copy the commands that I need to use. All in all I am happy with this purchase.

Strengths:
Ample power, Volumne knob controls sub-woofer volumne, a bargain at this price, black or silver this unit is nicer looking than costlier receivers, phono input, clean sound.

Weaknesses:
No LED on volumne knob for a visual reference as to where volumne is set. As others have echoed, the manual is not clear. I am still trying to figure out how to switch on the DTS sound track on so I can finally compare it to Dolby Digital.

Similar Products Used:
Technics

Price Paid:  $349.00 from e-bay(new)

Summary:
This review is actually to counter COOPERS 2 star review below,first off he has reviewed the wrong reciever under this group...their is no reason that the ratings for this product to fall because of someones lack of knowledge with setting up a home-theater reciever...Back to 5 stars please...

Strengths:
Good amp section with ample power reserves in this price range

Weaknesses:
Some of the people who don't pay attention and otherwise ruin product reviews for the rest of us...gee...

Similar Products Used:
Sony777es,technics,ect

Price Paid:  $270.00 from bsless.com

Summary:
Actually a 2002 product, was unable to select proper year in drop down menu. Didn't have a lot to spend, but this baby has all I wanted: 6.1 DD and DTS, source direct, phono. Had experience with Technics receivers before and was happy. This rec even has binding posts. Has ok bass management, can set speaker distances, and I can see no signal loss when using component switching. I happen to like black components, and this does look good. Can be found at pretty good discount on the internet.

Strengths:
Good sound, even FM Up to date surround processing (6.1)

Weaknesses:
Does run hot, all Panny/Technics seem to. No pre-out jacks

Similar Products Used:
1997 Technics pro-logic receiver

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I previously had an all in one mini system with pro logic and no AV or aux input. Wow, what a difference :) I now actually enjoy watching that DD Helicopter feature at the begining of movies! I narrowed my choice down to the Panasonic, the Pioneer VSX D810 and the Marantz SR5200. I chose the Panasonic over the Pioneer because the HE200 was heavier and felt like it was built better. The Panasonic sounded more capable, warmer and it looked a lot nicer with the silver finish and mirror display face. It was about the same price. I chose the Panasonic over the Marantz because it had component switching, phono input and well.. it was about 20% less expensive. But I preferred the Marantz for sound quality. DSP Sound modes are crap ( as most are )but on the flip side, this model has source direct which is great. DTS ES, DD 5.1, Pro Logic II are all fantastic to have. I coupled it with some small Denon floor standers, centre, surrounds and a B&W Sub and haven't looked back! The phono input is great for listening to records and the sound is solid. It doesn't have OSD but frankly, I don't care. OSD... nice touch for sure, but on entry level recievers it's not really a deciding factor. It wasn't hard to set up and I could set seperate volume levels for centre, rears and fronts. This is great as I like my centre quite loud. I have it enclosed in a hard-wood cabinet and it gets very hot. I wouldn't touch it after a few hours of operation. I've been assured this is normal. Better Be! Remote is cool if you have mostly Panasonic gear, but I would suggest a third party one. Girlfriend likes it and finds it easy to use and that's a plus. She hates black equipment. But my big dissapointment was that the Aussie model lacks the component switching, a fact I only realised after opening the box! As it turns out, it's not a huge loss as S Video looks pretty good to me anyway. For a basic "consumer brand" receiver, this one hits the nail on the head at the right price.

Strengths:
It's pretty sexy. Confident sound and well built. Phono input - no, vinyl is not dead :)

Weaknesses:
Misses a star because I think it gets too hot and the Aussie model is missing component switching. What a sham!

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer VSX-D810 Marantz SR-5200