Amplifier Reviews

This was, quite virtually, an 'impulse' buy.....I had been wanting an INEXPENSIVE subwoofer that I could use to reinforce only the bottom octave in my project studio (digital multitrack, so forth). My Alesis powered monitors tried their best to portray the bottom end, but my mixes almost always came out way too boomy, when played back on other systems, on in a car. So, I ordered this, knowing I'd probably have to stuff the cabinet on arrival, according to almost every other reviewer I'd read. Taking the driver and the amp module out was no problem; lo and behold, there was the "power puff sized" piece of fiberfill that several others had described....totally ineffective. The sub cabinet is actually particle board, NOT medium density fibreboard (MDF), as described.....it would be notably heavier, and way less resonant if it were. Anyway, after lining the cabinet walls with some left over Auralex (egg crate foam would work just as well, and be a LOT cheaper!), I loosely stuffed the cabinet with dacron fiber fill(this, in effect, causes the driver to "see" a slightly larger cabinet than actually is there, so long as you don't over-stuff it). I used speaker caulk (a black rope caulk) to re-seal both the driver, and the amp module, and TADA! Not bad at all! I'm running the crossover somewhere around 50Hz, and with corner-loading this little jewel, I've got the volume set no higher than one fourth. After about an hour of demoing about a dozen various CD's, I was able to blend the AudioSource and the Alesis monitors pretty well. It's every bit as "forward" sounding as my Klipsch sub on my home theatre system, and honestly, not nearly as "tubby". BOTTOM LINE IS THIS: For well less than [money], a bit of acoustic foam and spray glue, you can't beat it. Don't drive it wide open, and it should perform just fine. I'm very satisfied with it.

I've been in the market for awhile to get a sub for my home theather project,wanting the best sound i could afford. Having purchased everything separately, the BOSE 301'S AND the smaller Bose surround speakers still did,nt cut it until i purchased this monster now i've filled that hole or void, it really brought everything together, it cranks...when i opened the box there was some damage to one of the top corners, checked it out anyway,liked it, called amazon back with my disappointment they gave me 50.00 back, it works great, sounds ausum can't even see the slight damage because of the placement pleased all around.excellent product.

I purchase this subwoofer at the Friday Sale when my KLH 8-inch woofer died after 2 1/2 years of service. All I can say is WOW! The sound difference is incredible, with the lows now thundering. Don't worry, purchase and you won't have any regrets.

This is the first time that I have bought a reciever of this type. I was reading all the reviews and recommendations from everybody before I bought this sucker. I actually bought it at a good price at the time ( 379 bones ) knowing from comments that the manual was lousy. I figured that it shouldn't be all that bad since I have a technical degree. Receiver was great. But it took me a fairly long time to get it work right with the subwoofer ( I had to fumble with a bunch of settings before I found the right one ). Still, it's a great system for the future.

I purchased this amplifier about three days ago. I had been looking for quite some time looking at sony, pioneer, denon, yamaha, morantz, onkyo, and some others that were so expensive I can't even remember the names of them. Of all the brands I looked at I chose this one because of the things I had heard about it from friends. With cost being no factor I wanted something dependable, sleek, powerful, and good sounding. This reciever is all that and then some. My home theater is now complete. Compared to the other brands I looked at (including the $5000.00 ones), this one seemed more reasonablely priced and more so high quality. It sounds great, looks great, it is great. Thanks to the JVC engineering. I needed something that was compatible with my DVD player and something that would sound great with my music. I have front speakers that were $1200 for the pair and I needed something that was powerful enough and clear enough for them. This amp is. I would reccommend it to any future buyers looking for one, not to mention it does have a very nice light set on the face of it. That just adds to the look of the home theater. Im glad my friends reccommended this to me. Thanks guys!

I have owned this receiver for a couple of months and bought a JVC DVD Player with the receiver. The sound and clarity is outstanding. I tried units like Yamaha and harmon kardon and found that this unit has more features and sounds identical to the Yamaha or H.K. The TEXT CompuLink between the DVD Player and the receiver makes using the unit extremely easy. The One Touch Operation keeps a memory of all the settings for the different functions used on the receiver. The remote is great. I use it to operate my satelite, tv, vcr, dvd, and receiver. The DTS and Dolby Digital is great on this unit as well. I would recommend this unit for any individual that wants a clear, precise, digital sound for a fraction of the cost of a high-end unit. JVC uses the Motorola DSP chip for its decoding. This is the same chip used by all the high-end units.

As an professional audio engineer, I'm not usually impressed with consumer home audio equipment..The Sony TAE-9K stands out ,though, with features like ... 32-Bit Floating Point Processor - Digital Signal Processing for Multichannel Digital Audio Decoding...Dolby Digital (AC-3) and DTS decoding - for digital surround sound that is far more dynamic, spacious and realistic...Dolby Pro Logic decoding...Sony's Exclusive Digital Cinema SoundTM Virtual 3D, Virtual Mutli-Dimension and Studio Mix Modes oversomes limitations in rear speaker placement...Three Separate 32-Bit Digital Signal Processing ICs recreates Sony's Digital Cinema Sound with Unprecedented Low Level Detail...24-Bit/ 96 kHz Digital Audio Capability...Touchscreen 2-Way LCD Remote Controlshows Operating status, CD Titles and more. Controls all components including DSS Guide and DVD Menu...11-Function Input Selector accommodates your audio and video sources...5 Audio In/2 Out...6 Video In/3 Out with 6 S-Video In/3 Out...Digital In/Out - Optical 5 In/3 Out, RF In, 3 Coaxial In...Digital i volume...RS-232c Port (An Interface Port I've Never Seen On A Consumer Piece Of Gear)... Specifications: Analog Audio Inputs: 11 Digital Audio Inputs: 5 With Coaxial Connection: 3 With RF Digital Input for LD Players: 1 Video Inputs (All with S-Video): 6 Digital Volume: 1" volume, 20 bit resolution S/N Ration, Network A: Phono - 82 dB Line - 94 dB Digitial In - 100dB Input Sensitivity and Impedance: Phono - 5mV, Rec Output Line (CD) - 250mV, 50kohm Line (Others) - 250mV, 50kohm Output Voltage and Impedance: Record Output - 250 mV, 50 kohm Pre out (Front) - 1.0 V, 1 kohm Center Out - 1.0 V, 1 kohm Surround Out - 1.0 V, 1 kohm Subwoofer Out - 1.0 V, 1 kohm Frequency Response: Phono - 20-20,000 Hz, +0.5 dB Line - 20-20,000 Hz, +0/-0.2.5 dB Tone Controls: Bass: + 10 dB Treble:+ 10 dB Equalization: Bass: + 10 dB (99-1,000 Hz) Mid: + 10 dB (99-8,600 Hz) Treble: + 10 dB (1 - 8.6 kHz) Composite Video Input: 1 Vp-p, 75 ohms Composite Video Output: 1 Vp-p, 75 ohms Power Consumption: 72 watts Dimensions: (W) 17 x (H) 6 x (D) 15 1/4 " Weight: 28 obs, 3 oz.

I have been reserching, seeing, and listening to every separates combination for 6 months. This included Legacy, Meridian, and Parasound. Even auditioned super high end with Krell, McIntosh, Theta, and Carver's Sunfire combo. And even still the new combined separates of B&K and Denon. With all that said the Sony 9000ES pre/pro (coupled with the 9000ES Amplifier) is just astonishing! It is truly a reference system and for the money, absolutely the best value out there. I could'nt be happier.

I have heard every processor at every price, and compared side by side with the best, including the theta casa nova, the sony 32 bit processor with its 32 bit dsp modes will bring theater sound as good if not better than everything on the market. The bass is full and rock solid, and the detail is clear and concise, bringing theater sound not only from all directions, but above with full dimensionality, keeping the purity of the original signal. Its great theater sound just like sonys mastering studios, where most sound tracks are now mastered in SDDS. If someone tells you right off bat that there are better processors, I can guarantee you, they have not heard the sony ta-e9000es.

I have this at work. It does the job okay, but people sometimes have a hard time hearing what I say, even though I have the speaking volume turned all the way up. The other drawback is that you can't switch out headsets with it - you only can use the monoaural headset that comes with it, which isn't so good for noisy environments.

Other than that, I have been using it for over 6 months now and it has been working well enough to keep.

I first wanted to respond to a concern about terrible screeching when used in office multi-phone conditions. I can't speak to multiple S10's in the same office but did have a screech on first try to another extension. The amplifier, however, has 7 configuration settings. I found several settings worked for outgoing calls but only two worked for both in office and outgoing use. So if a second headset is bought in my office I'll respond to whether we could find a configuration setting for both headsets that worked. I supposed that just confuses the concern.

The earhook setup is light and I find that I forget I'm wearing it until I run into the cord turning my chair or standing up. It is nice that nothing actually sits inside my ear but rather it rests gently on the outside.

Volume wise: In addition to adjusting the volume and tone of incoming signal it really has power available to broadcast your voice out. There are two ranges available for output as well as a volume in each range. The highest range is too much but it is good to know its there if I ever get someone complaining they can barely hear me (as happened all the time with a previous headset system).

Easy to set up, great volume controls, and very comfortable. Recommend highly!

The sound quality of this amp is much cleaner than any of the "consumer grade" stuff I own. The amp is a little short on power but an excellent piece of equipment for the price.

very flat sounding. i'm tired of people comparing other amps and thinking they are better for one reason or another.. but thats consumer audio for you... the goal should be to have flat sound that is as true to the origional recording as possible.

at any rate, this amp doesnt stray much in frequency response across the spectrum, has practically no noise (most notably, you can turn it up all the way with no audible hiss at all) and very low harmonic distorion.

the only real downside to this amp (for this price.. or mabye even a much higher price) is that it would have a pretty hard time driving some of the bigger floorstanding speakers.. but if you have a good subwoofer, who cares, right?

I bought 2 AudioSource Amp One/A's and am running them as monoblocks to drive my front L/R speakers. The difference in sound quality over my Marantz SR-5300 (brand new) is quite stunning. The sound stage sounds much wider and deeper, and even the most delicate note can be clearly heard. I'm using the Marantz as a preamp to drive the AudioSource amps, BTW. With the AS's taking the load of the front speakers, the Marantz's dynamics and clarity have also improved dramatically with multi-channel recordings since it's now only handling the center and surround speakers.

I'd recommend buying a pair of these to anyone who has a low-mid priced home theater receiver with preamp outs. The difference is quite extraordinary. I now understand why people spend thousands of $ on monoblock amps.

I also tried running the AS's stereo mode, driving Front L/R, Center and Center Surround speakers. The sound was not as dynamic or clear using them this way, though movie soundtracks sounded dramatically better (the Marantz was now doing even less). I'm more of a 2 channel music buff who happens to love multi-channel movies, so I'm sticking with the 2 monoblock approach. Eventually, I may purchase additional AS Amp ones to drive my other speakers...

OK - I guess it's obvious I'm really happy with this product. Try it for yourself, you won't be disappointed. It's the cheapest way to get a monoblock amp without spending alot more, or dealing with equipment with noisy cooling fans!

It would be nice if I could decode the latest digital video standards, but that's about it on complaints. Considering the extremely reasonable price, this is simply the best receiver I've ever had.

It offers astonishingly clear sound (with my 5 ohm Magneplaners and a/d/s/ sub), plus plenty of inputs and outputs, and all around versatility. Simply superb. Even more importantly, whenever I want to do something, I just reach for the analogue buttons and dials and it happens. No perusing the manual. Try that with a Yamaha or Denon.

Note: this receiver is no longer produced. However, the current Nakamichi AV-7 is almost identical (but with more video inputs), and the AV-8 and AV-10 combine extra features (like a built-in crossover and DTS decoding) with the same amazing usability.

The best receiver-family going. Get one, even if you already have a McIntosh or a Mark Levinson. You may be very surprised by which one you actually use.

I purchased this receiver from Amazon.com at the very reasonable price offered, and have since enjoyed its class of quality and performance. I can confirm other reviewers' opinion of its very clear sound quality and nice looking built. Beyond that I want to say that it's very discriminating to the nature of its source material: good recordings sound fabulous while poorly mixed ones sound intolerably muddy. Several shortcomings nevertheless are present: limited A/V connectivity with only 2 video inputs; a merely moderate current output--perhaps not enough to drive large speakers or low-impedence ones well; somewhat flimsy connectors on back panel requiring careful pluggings and unpluggings. But these reservations are secondary for me given its nice balance of costs and benefits. If you want quality more than newest technology (DTS etc.) this is definitely worthy a try.

Wonderful price and quality sound. I was concerned about low price and non-digital. Price reflects a great value NOT a cheap budget line of Nakamichi, super suprise. Power is more than enough, pushing (2)200w Technics & (2)150w Advents. IT MOVES YOU! Super clarity for surround set-up with solid power for all music styles.

The HK AVR35 is my first home theater system, which I combined with Yamaha surrounds, custom built front and centre speakers, and a Pioneer DV414 DVD player.

The whole system intergrates nicely and DVD's sound great, although after a couple of months and many DVD's and CD's later I have picked up a couple of short comings of this receiver. The main downfall of the AVR35, is the serious lack of power. Many reviews say that the HK produces more power than one would expect from it's rated power output, put this is not the case. I feel that power is one of the most important factors to consider when chosing an AC-3 receiver or amplifier. With the HK what should be solid bass is actually more like a pat on the back!. Another quibble I have is the harsh tops that this unit produces. This unit is a very poor performer when it comes to musical reproduction. The HK does not produce a clean reproduction of the original source material. This is normally the case with low end equipment, but unlike many other systems the HK seems to take away alot of the musical information in an attempt to some how filter the frequency bands. This results in a loss of low frequency response, and clinical sounding tops. I have found that adding a subwoofer improves the low end some what, but there is still a lack of response above 100Hz. Even the head phone jack lacks sufficient output, and there is not even enough range in the bass and treble controls to compensate for this. Adding bass with the bass control knob only adds boom anyway!.

On the positive side, this unit is very well built, and there are plenty enough adjustments for all speakers, even from the remote. The tuner section is good, and all fuctions are easy to operate once you get the hang of it!. The remote works with all my other components which I have found very useful.

Although this is a negative review, I must admit that the HK does a good job with DVD's. You cannot even compare stereo or dolby pro logic to dolby digital, the AVR35 only comes to life with DVD's, and if the only reason you want this unit is to watch DVD's, then I would give it the thumbs up!.

I had a look at a review from a gentalman from JHB South Sfrica
I have a AVR35 and it has a lot of punch good all round sound and excilent head room. The lows or low and the highs are crisp and clean. The system does need high end speakers though cheep custem home made setup will not work well with this system. I have a set of ecco kefs front center and siround and bileav me it does sound good.

After owning two very average Pioneer receivers, I decided that I wanted to step up to a better brand to best complement the new JVC DVD deck that I had just bought. Wow! I really missed the boat by not going this route a long time ago. The salesman at Circuit City steered me away from more expensive units that had too many bells and whistles, and I couldn't be happier with my choice. This is an awesome unit with plenty of power and versatility. I especially enjoy the incredible fiber optic audio that can be used eith the purchase of an interlink cable. Great sound. I would recommend this unit to all that like ease of use and functionality in a mid priced receiver.

This reciever has been great for the apartment that I'm currently in. Since I can't play it too loud at certain times its prefect. I choosed JVC cause most (JVC recievers) have nice crisp sound thats not destorted and very clear, compared to others. The 100X2 when listening to music sounds like studio quality and 100X5 surround sound is also great, a JVC DVD player onscreen control. Very easy is to operate was/is a plus. As far as speakers I have Klispch quintet which are nice also. I would reference this reciever to someone starting out that wants to have a great sounding system thats not to beefy, sounds crisp, a nice look.

The JVC RX-778VBK is an excellent sounding receiver, with a great digital surround sound section. With a DVD player & good speakers, it sounds terrific. No noticible distortion and plenty of power. Easy to use & set-up, very good FM reception, as well. Certainly not the equivalent of top-of-the-line receivers like the Denon 5700, it does share a number of the features of the most expensive units. I compared this to the equivalent receivers from Technics, Sony, and Onkyo, and thought the JVC offered better sound quality, more features, and greater value for the money.

I purchased this reciever in a package along with the Cambridge Soundworks Movie Works II Home Theater Speaker system and i must say that I am pleasantly surprised. Because it came in a set, i assumed that it would be under-powered, and have sub-par sound quality. When i took it home, i was very surprised. It not only exeeded all of my expectations, but i have not come upon a better reciever for the money. DTS? Who needs it? Instead of shelling out all that extra money so that you can play the select few DTS dvd's, buy this little guy and save that extra money for purchasing a Cambridge Soundworks Movie Works II (which i am also extremely satisfied with). This reciever has 110 watts for the front speakers, and 100 everywhere else. Not only that, it also has outputs for TWO SETS of main speakers. I have another set hooked up in my living room which i use for music. I have them shut off for movies so that i may take full advantage of this recievers spectacular dolby digital decoder. It even has TWO optical digital inputs! One slight misfortune- the remote can only control JVC dvd players, which i remedied by purchasing a Sony LCD Touchscreen Remote commander. (sounds as good as it is!) This reciever fits right in with the best of systems-mine.

This is a very nice subwoofer. It certainly has added an extra dimension to what was already a nice home theater system I have. Really great with DVD movies. That first big shoot-out scene in Predator really kicks when Ventura opens up with the min-gun :-) Sounds equally as good with music input. Was easy to connect, though I had to add some speaker wire and since I did I just replaced all the old wires anyway. My only misapprehension came while watching the movie The Haunting. Not sure what it was but some noises came out that sounded like the subwoofer was rattling a little bit! Or maybe it was just part of the sound effects, who knows? Not to worry, this sub works just great. (By the way I hardly ever give 5 stars on anything, he he)

I PURCHASED THIS POWERED SUBWOOFER ABOUT 8 MONTHS AGO AND HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO TURN IT OFF SINCE. THE AUDIOSORCE SUB IS PROBABLY THE BEST PURCHASE I HAVE MADE IN MY HOME THEATER SYSTEM. I DONT HAVE $1,000 TO GO OUT AND SPEND ON ONE COMPONENT OF MY SYSTEM SO I GAVE THIS SUB A TRY. I WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE GAIN AND LEVEL CONTROLS THAT GAVE ME FULL CONTROL OVER HOW MY SUB WILL SOUND. I READ A REVIEW OF SOMEONE SAYING THEY HEARD A RATTLE COMING FROM THE SUB DURING A CERTAIN MOVIE, BELIEVE ME IT WAS MOST LIKELY JUST DOORS, WINDOWS, OR HIS TEETH RATTLING FROM THE TREMENOUS BASS COMING FROM THIS MASSIVE 10", 100 WATT, AMPLIFIED SUBWOOFER.

Warning this is a high end unit 105 watts per channel, 6.1 channel but does not have speaker switching.A/B I have an extra pair of speakers in my patio and this unit has only has 1 main front speaker unit hook. Now I have to figure out how I can use my outdoor speakers!

Also, no phono hook up.

Ralph DeVito

I replaced my old sony and aiwa surround systems with this sherwood and it's like I never had surround before. My old systems cost 5 times as much as this sherwood but don't even compare.

Before you buy any home theater receiver be sure to compare the specifications and features of this Sherwood. I hve to tell you that if you were able to do side by side comparisons with the Sony, Pioneer, Yamaha, Denon and Harman Kardon as I have using the same speakers and room you would ask yourself why pay for anything else.