Crisp, clean,

Poor volume control, poor remote.

Volume control could be improved. Not only is there no lighted arrow on the volume, but there is no decible reading. The remote moves the volume in too large of increments when you are trying to find that delicate volume as you try to fall asleep. As well, there is no sleep timer!

If you are not an "audio nutbar" but are looking for great value for money, this receiver will do everything the enthusiatic, casual listener needs it to do.

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N/A - but I have it hooked up to Energy C-2 speakers and the extra SH-AC500D Digital Surround Processor.

powerful amplification, low distortion, crisp-clean sound, versatile A/V receiver. This is a great unit and it's packed with features!

for 400, there's no weaknesses! This is one awesome reciever!

There's no doubt about it: Technics has produced an awesome hi-grade A/V receiver with tons of bells and whistles. This product is available in a package deal (Receiver and Surround Sound Processor) from Crutchfield for 399 plus shipping. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a great system that's super for both 2 channel and surround/DTS listening! I have just finished Bi-Amping my front speakers (Klipsch RF-3's) and the sound is excellent! It features 100 watts by 6 channels (4 ohms) which includes your choice of passive or powered subwoofer output. If you get a chance, listen to this receiver/processor package. It's fantastic! 5 out of 5 stars in both value and overall rating!

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Technics surround sound processor
Kenwood CD Player
Audio Control Octive EQ
JVC DVD Player
Teac Cassette Deck
Klipsch RF-3,SS-1,SC-1,KG 3.2
Boston Acoustics Subwoofer

High performance/low price, large terminals for high quality speaker cable, 6 channel Amp ( you can use a passif subwoofer !! )

No digital decoder built-in, no sub function on remote control.

Exceptional product for such a low price !! I wanted the SA-AX7 N ( champagne gold color, looks great too ! ) because I got a passif subwoofer in the same time : it is a 12" sub 200w max. much cheaper than the actif ones and it works just great with the adaptive control and the low pass filter of this receiver. My DVD player has the decoder built-in so I don't need the SH-AC500D surround decoder. I used to watch DVD's with my old good Kenwood processor surround on the 5 main channels and now with the Technics I got more power and a sub ( LFE ) which really add another dimension to the movies. Very clear crystal sound with the DVD , and good match with my Kenwood stereo for the music ( I use an equaliser though ). Also my Cabasse Goelette speakers are much more efficient with this amp because the Adaptive Subwoofer Control work also with the main speakers ;)
For the quality you get with this receiver of that price you really can't go wrong !!

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kenwood

Very Clear Sound. Nice and clean with all devices that I run through it.

Remote Control, Not being able to turn it off with the remote when I have had it on another mode. Tuner is a little weak.

I love this thing. It is very clear in sound and I have not had any problems. All of the devices that I run through are different brands and this this makes all of them sound top of the line. There is no extra noise when listening at high volumes. The ease of use is good with the exception of the remote, I think that the remote control is the only negative thing I would change about this system. I have had just about every brand of reciever and speaker combos you can buy and this is the best sound that I have heard. Bose and Technics make a great listening experiance.

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Kenwood VR-3080, Harmon Kardon

looks cool with the blue lights, and its built heavy, has cooling fan, lots of inputs and outputs, DD ready (6ch input)

remote feels cheap
amp power is over rated (my opinion)

strong reciever, sounds great, looks great, lots of features,but i made a mistake purchasing this reciever, it just doesn't have as much power as they say it has, the 100w per channel is more like 60 or 70 per channel, but it does sound very clear, has 100W output for a passive sub, low distortion unlike the previous model (SA-AX6) which was known to have problem, but it seems like they fixed the problems with the SA-AX7, good DD ready reciever for the price.

I'm going to go back to sony, because my old reciever was a pro-logic 60w per channel and it had just as much kick as the technics reciever i have now.

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Sony, pioneer, etc.

Good performance on movie soundtracks, attractive, sufficient outputs, quiet, affordable.

Skimpy music listening performance, poor AM/FM reception, poor pre-programmed universal remote control(non-learning).

It was a toss-up between the Yamaha RX-795a and the Technics SA-AX7 with the SH-AC500D surround decoder (packaged together from Crutchfield for $399 dollars). I am pleased to say that I am not dissapointed with my choice of going for the Technics package deal. I now have two components for the under the price of one! How cool is that? But more doesn't necessarily mean "more" in terms of audio/video gear, but in this case I can't complain. Set up of the receiver and decoder was a little tricky. I read the manual at least three times through before I figured out what goes where. Set-up took a little more than a couple hours (including fine-tuning and tweaking the speaker and surround settings) and before long, I was ready to put in my first movie and test the sucker out.

The performance of this receiver/decoder package is very good, faithfully reproducing every movie soundtrack that has been pumped through this ensemble. All of my friends who come over to watch movies have been very impressed with the performance of the system. It's funny to watch them turn their heads, trying to figure out the sound they think they've heard from outside, when it was actually the surround speakers doing their job. For a while, I was doing the exact same thing!

Since I have a small listening space, my speaker ensemble is also small. I have two pairs of JBL Northridge 24's serving as mains and surrounds, an Acoustic Research C225 center-channel speaker (which is surprisingly well matched with the N24's), and a Yamaha YST-SW45 subwoofer for the lows. If I went for any larger of a subwoofer, my neighbors would probably evict me. I would argue that the Technics SA-AX7 is a fine receiver for small to medium-sized listening spaces. For larger listening spaces, I would opt for a more powerful receiver such as the Sony ES series, or Marantz receivers. But for your average-sized living room, the SA-AX7 performs beautifully with little distortion at even high listening levels. With a larger speaker ensemble, I'm sure that the receiver could even fill up large listening spaces with little effort.

The Technics decoder is easy to use and accurately reproduces both Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks. There is a noticeable difference in quality between the DD and DTS soundtracks. One DTS DVD that comes into my mind is "The Red Violin". If anyone has doubts about the performance strength of the SA-AX7, one should use "The Red Violin" as a test disc to test all of the features of the decoder and receiver.

The DSP modes on the SA-AX7 aren't too great and I find that I leave mine set on either "THEATER" or "SIMULATED SURROUND". The SA-AX7 is a receiver definitely built for movies. Though it performs fairly well with music, I would choose to invest in a good seperate component "stereo" system, consisting of a pre-amp, amp, tuner, and cd-player. The stereo system I'm looking at is a bit over my price-range at the moment, something like $10,000 and so the SA-AX7 will have to do for now for my music listening.

The receiver is very attractive with its blue bars that can be turned off. The decoder's display can also be dimmed. I am puzzled though, because I wish that I could also dim the receiver's display as well. But the components are situated behind tinted glass in my audio cabinet, and so even the blue bars are tolerable in low-light conditions.

For the price, you really can't go wrong with this receiver/decoder package. There are much better receivers out there with built-in decoders, but their prices are substantially higher, and their performance isn't as good. The SA-AX7 also boasts that it is DVD-Audio "ready". We'll see about that in the near future.

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Pioneer, Sony, Yamaha

looks cool, and lots of features for the money

remote

its just a good deal, trust me

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none

The pOwEr of 6 channels.....and very god look

It´s not a dolby deccoder in it

den rular totalt kickar alla andra skit märken.

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JBL speakers and a kenwood woofer.

Price, performance, features, power.

Somewhat complex setup with outboard Dolby Digital decoder.

The first time I heard my dad’s SA-AX7 was an eye-opening experience. I own the previous version of this receiver, the SA-AX6. My dad and I have exactly the same speaker set-up (Polk RT800i’s), so I knew the difference in sound was due to the receivers. The SA-AX7 was much cleaner sounding, probably due to the VGCA circuitry providing 113dB of signal-to-noise ratio. Technics had somehow designed an amp with cleaner sound that still retained the gobs of reserve power of the original (see my review of the SA-AX6). In fact, my dad’s setup was, without a doubt, the best sounding surround system I had ever heard, and I’ve auditioned many multi-thousand dollars systems in my years in this hobby. I decided it was time for me to upgrade (See my review of the SA-DA10). By the way, the $399 price tag included the outboard Dolby Digital decoder!

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SA-AX6, SA-DA10

6 CHANELS INPUT, COOL BLUE BARS, DVD-AUDIO READY, SUBWOOFER OUTPUT, BI-AMP CAPABLE, "HELP" FUNTIONS, BUILT IN CROSSOVER.

LACK OF BUILT IN DOLBY DIGITAL, DTS DECODER. SMALL AKWARD REMOTE WITH SMALL BUTTONS, DIFFICULT TO ACCESS PRESET TUNER FREQUENCIES.

I HAVE HAD MY EYES ON THIS RECEIVER FOR SOME TIME NOW. I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT THE COOL BLUE LIGHTS AND THE ABILITY TO BI-WIRE HELP IN ME IN FINAL BUYING DECISION. NOT TO MENTION DVD-AUDIO READYNESS. I BOUGHT THIS RECEIVER SHORTLY AFTER PANASONIC/TECHNICS RELEASE NEWS ABOUT UPCOMING DVD-AUDIO/VIDEO PLAYERS. AND SINCE I'M A MUSIC/HOME THEATER FANATIC, I THOUGH THIS WOULD BE PERFECT MATCH. AND A PERFECT MATCH IT IS. ALONG WITH MY NEWLY ACQUIRED DVD-A7, WHICH HAS DOLBY DIGITAL/DTS DECODER BUILT IN, THE SOUND OF MY DVD MOVIES IS EXPLOSIVE! I DID NOT BOTHER TO GET THE ADITIONAL DECODER THAT SELLS WITH THE RECIEVER SINCE THE DVD-A7 HAS THIS FEATURE BILT IN.
I MAY NOT HAVE FANCY SOUND MEASURING INSTRUMENTS OR A TEST LAB TO DETERMINE THE ACTUAL SOUND QUALITY, OR AMOUNT OF WATTS THAT THIS RECIVER DELIVERS. BUT LETTING MY EARS BE THE JUDGE, THE SOUND COMING OUT OF MY T-300 TECHNICS SPEAKERS, IN BI-WIRE MODE, IS LOUD AND CLEAR. I HAVENT HAD A CHANCE TO REALLY KICK THE VOLUME UP AS MUCH I WOULD LOVE TOO, BUT I'M VERY PLEASE WITH THE RESULTS WHEN I GET IT ABOUT HALF WAY UP THERE.
THE ONLY NEGATIVE ABOUT THIS UNIT IS THE LACK OF DIGITAL INPUTS. LATELY I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT HDTV WITH DTV DECODERS. AND WHEN I FINALLY MAKE MY MOVE, IS VERY LIKELY THAT I MAY HAVE TO REPLACE IT WITH ONE THAT HAS BUILT IN DIGITAL DECODER IN ORDER TO TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF DTV. BUT IF I DO, THIS RECIEVER WILL SURELY BE MISSED.
I WOULD DEFINETLY RECOMEND THIS UNIT FOR THE HOME THEATER BEGINER WHO IS LOOKING FOR GREAT SOUND AT A VERY AFORDABLE PRICE.

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NONE