Price Paid:  $500.00 from On-line

Summary:
Overall, I''m very pleased with this unit. I purchased his receiver along with a set of 6 speakers including subwoofer. I bought it for a deluxe ski condo rental (see www.parkcitytownhome.com) and was afraid it might be too complicated for the renters. However, along with some brief instructions, I''ve had no real complaints and many compliments. The are three Sound Settings (AFD, MODE & 2CH) that allow greater listening flexibility among Movies, Videos/Games and AM/FM, tapes/CD''s.

Strengths:
Compared to some receivers, I believe it may be somewhat easier to operate. I like having the different components easily visible on the front, and dislike the selection from the LCD on some new units. There''s a blue light that comes on when you have Dolby 5.1 ch that makes it easy to know that it''s on, and it looks kinda sharp.

Weaknesses:
1) There is only one S-VHS input connection and no front input connectors. I purchased a Sony A/V switcher with multiple S-VHS connections to hook up game cables & allow the sound from the TV & DVD to go thru the stereo. This was costly and hard to set up. 2) The volume turning knob does not have a light on it, so you do not know the volume level using the remote. 3) The remote is very poorly designed. The poor colors & small lettering make it almost impossible to select items without having the lights lit.

Price Paid:  $300.00

Summary:
This is by my opinion great A/V receiver with a lot of nice features.
I recomend this receiver to everyone.

Strengths:
Lot of power 5*75wats RMS at 8ohms or 4ohms,
Over load, over heat,short circuit and click protection,
Very good dolby pro logic and dolby digital,
Lot`s of sound efects,
Lot`s of setings,
Good sound quality, clear sound without distorzion
Movies yust sound great with this receiver

Weaknesses:
It has only 1 optical and 1 coaxial digital input (you dont need more than that)
It doesn`t have s-video conectors (it`s not a big deall)
Doesn`t have DTS (all movies are dolby digital, but if you wory about dts you can buy DVD player with DTS and use analog conection with the receiver for DTS movies)
But considering the price and the performance of this A/V receiver these weaknesses are not so important.

Similar Products Used:
receiver SCOT
receiver Pioneer
I have tested diferent brand`s of receivers

Price Paid:  $85.00 from from a co-worker

Summary:
This receiver is excellent in my book. There's plenty of range for adjustment of all speakers (volume, bass, mid, treble) and custom-balancing output. With as many listening environments as this receiver has, you'd be awfully picky not to be able to find one that suits you.

I use this receiver in a 320-SF family room that opens onto a large kitchen, and the volume rarely needs to be turned up higher than about 20%. If you take the time to adjust the bass, there's plenty to be had. I use a Sony SA-W303 subwoofer with only 35 watts, but the power that comes out of this combination is in most cases way too much, so I generally reduce the sub's level setting (volume) to a little above half. The sub, adjusted to coordinate with two old front Panasonic speakers with 8" woofers, produces lots of deep sound -- more than I need.

There are many adjustable settings on this receiver, and they take some time to work through. The Sony manual, however, takes you through a logical progression that can result in a surround system that's customized for the listening environment.

I'm sure there are better receivers, but if you can find a good price on this receiver, I'd highly recommend it.

Strengths:
Dolby Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital, 5.1 surround, lots of hook-ups, plenty of power with good range adjustment

Weaknesses:
Possibly over-featured, remote is hard to read when selecting components, even in good light

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer SX-201

Price Paid:  $190.00 from Sears

Summary:
All in all this is a solid reciever. The primary weaknesses are the often confusing and not too well laid out remote control buttons (the top portion flips up) and the features/settings that require some serious tinkering to figure out. These problems are the mark of a good deal of over-engineering.

Still I think there should have been more optical hookups one for the Cd and one extra for a future digital source
but for $199.00 (tax included) this is just a gripe.

Once you get the settings to your tastes, you should find the reciever fulfilling many ,if not most, of your needs as a good basic reciever. The bass response will get some kick out of most floor standing speakers and the Mid range and Treble can likewise be tweaked to meet your listening
preferences. For the price this is a good reciever.

Strengths:
For the bucks a pretty nice reciever

Weaknesses:
Over all design of the remote and the complexity involved in setting up the EQ ranges.

Similar Products Used:
Sony Str-GX 700 ES, Kenwood KR-V107R

Price Paid:  $299.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
Great reciever....first surround system I owned. So far never treated me bad, took everything i threw at it and kept running.
definatly worth it for a lower-midrange surround reciever

Strengths:
Loud, amazing surround, great price

Weaknesses:
no s-vid