Price Paid:  $69.00 from eCost

Summary:
I'd wanted to make the jump to 5.1 for years, but couldn't justify the price. But I did my research and discovered that Sherwood receivers got good marks for a great price. After a few weeks of searching, the RD6106 came up on one of the price search engines. I've had it for a couple of months now and am completely satisfied. Now I understand what all the fuss is about with surround sound. It is almost like seeing the moview again for the first time. Anyway, back to the reciever. Its an exceptional value ($130 or less usually) that seems sturdily built and has good sound quality.

Strengths:
The good: Very wife friendly price! Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital... and DTS! More than enough power for a small room (10' by 10'). 60W may seem low, but if you're going to 5.1 for the first time, trust me, you will be more than satisfied. Display can be turned off completely. Ample # of inputs.

Weaknesses:
Only to DSP setting and they're both useless (sound is horrible). Remote is huge, but doesn't actually do anything useful besides volume control. Spring clip speaker connections. Manual is a bit spartan.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer 50W Stereo Reciever.

Price Paid:  $129.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
This review is for the 3108 (since Audio Review doesn't update their webpages!!!). For $130, this is a great unit. It has many features including the ability to set the volume levels for each channel and cinema EQ (a necessity for watching movies because movie soundtracks are engineered for theaters and sound bright when played at home. Cinema EQ corrects this problem.). If you have speakers that cost more than $300 pair- do not buy this amp. Not all amps sound the same and the more money you spend the cleaner the sound. I recommend NAD amps for really good speakers. By the way- I got this amp for my mom because she can't hear the difference between a good amp and a bad one.

Strengths:
Price, breadth of features.

Weaknesses:
None for this price!

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo, Pioneer, and JVC models for $200 and under.

Price Paid:  $129.00 from CCity

Summary:
This is a review for the Sherwood 6108 reciever which hasn't been listed yet. Just got this cheap from CCity and it's comparable with the 6106 except that this new one has 100wpc @ 40-20 (up from 60 wpc), Pro-Logic II movie and music modes. Sound is great for movies and music provided that your not juicing power hungry speakers. Use 6-8 Ohm speakers w/ 89+ efficiency. Note that there are no pre-outs for additional power amps except for the one subwoofer pre-amp out. There are no convenience outlets either.

Strengths:
good for the money. Wait till there on sale again at CCity. Sound is fine on movies and music, 6 channel direct input for multi-channel formats.

Weaknesses:
No front pre-outs or convenience outlets

Similar Products Used:
Sherwood 8090, 6095 Kenwood 307 DD receivers

Price Paid:  $150.00 from uBid

Summary:
I recommended this receiver to a friend who was just getting his feet wet in HT. He was able to nab it on uBid for around $150($119+$31s&h) so he made out alright. It's OK for a beginner HT set-up but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone who's been doing this for awhile unless you decide to use it in a den or spare bedroom as part of a secondary HT system. My friend had purchased 16 gauge wire but I donated some of my 12 gauge after noticing that the spring clip connections had some trouble gripping the 16 gauge.I didn't have speaker pins on me(to fit through the small holes) so I just took a razor knife and carefully cut away some of the plastic so the 12 gauge could fit under the clip....much,much better. If I had known some of this receiver's shortcomings beforehand then I would've recommended the Sherwood RD7106 instead. I own the RD7106 and it's a much better unit in every aspect. He could've nabbed the 7106 for an additional $20-$40 on uBid and I've regretted that decision the more I fooled around with the 6106. Again, it's an OK unit but don't expect to be blown away. Still, this receiver is a great value,particularily for the low-ball prices that it commands on uBid.

Strengths:
Value...a decent selection of connection possibilities for a budget receiver. Six channel analog inputs for future expansion into DVD-A or SACD. A nice A/V Receiver for someone getting into HT for the first time.

Weaknesses:
I'm not sure if it's a design flaw or a malfunction within the receiver but the sub pre-out only engages during Dolby Digital and DTS...if it's supposed to be this way then it's an outdated and moronic design.If I had known this ahead of time then I would've used the speaker inputs and outputs on the sub instead of the sub pre-out.Cheap spring clip-type speaker terminals which have trouble holding 16 gauge wire firmly. The manual is kinda sketchy...they don't fully explain certain features in detail. You have to try using some of the features for awhile before it gets to be second nature. The amplifier's sound quality is thin and bright if you don't engage the Cinema EQ...Cinema EQ tones down the brightness and gives it a little warmer sound...I was very disappointed with the sound until I discovered the Cinema EQ button.

Similar Products Used:
Technics AX-530 and Sherwood RD7106 A/V Receivers

Price Paid:  $99.00 from Ubid

Summary:
I recently purchased the RD-6106 on Ubid and was impressed with its quality and output. my towers, surround, and cc (no sub as of now) sound like new speakers. If you own a solid set of speakers, this receiver will do the trick for your home theatre. If you own speakers that came along with a home theatre that you bought 10 years ago to fill up space in your living room, get rid of your piece-of-crap receiver, purchase the RD-6106 for $89-99 or lower on Ubid, and I promise it will change the way you listen to music. If your speakers are truly low end, search for a good surround set on Ebay and/or Ubid and it will bring color and life back into listening to music and watching DVD's.

Strengths:
Clean, Crisp sound, DD and DTS, great price for all its functions

Weaknesses:
for its price, none