Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I didn't buy this on Amazon, so I can't comment on whether or not Amazon is delivering the right product as the other review did. But I can say with absolute certainty that this is a real good receiver for the price.
The reason I got it was that it has Anchor Bay's 2nd Gen ABT-2010 video processor, just like the $500 Anchor Bay Edge DVDO (which is not a receiver but just a simple upconversion box.) This processor upconverts all video signal (cable, satellite, VCR, DVD, etc and from either digital or analog inputs) into high definition 1080p video, and is the best at it aside from the HQV Reon, which will set you back a couple thousand of dollars. Panasonic has the Anchor Bay chipset in some of their newer introductory receivers, but it is the 1st gen one with less capabilities. Denon has Anchor Bay ABT-2010 chipset in their receievers, but they deactivate the Progressive Reprocessing (Prep) function to save money while Sherwood didn't. With Yamaha you have to spend at least $1000 to get a receiver with the ABT-2010 in it. This video upconversion capability was important to me because HD cable TV channels will only come in 720p or 1080i definition, and this receiver will make them 1080p.
I also enjoy the bi-amp capability (you can go into the menus and specify that you are using the back surround outputs to bi-amp your front speakers) since my front speakers are bi-wirable and I only wanted 5.1 sound. The HDMI repeater function is nice, as is the dynamic volume for blunting the sudden volume increases of commercials. The ability to specify speaker distances and set volume levels for each speaker is pretty nice too since my surround speakers were a little too low on volume and my speakers aren't all equidistant to each other. It's a pretty heavy duty receiver too. I haven't weighed it but I've read it's about 25 lbs.
The only drawbacks are that Sherwood doesn't say what Digital to Analog Converters (DAC's) they are using other than to say that they are 192 kHz/24 bit, while many other receivers are using the latest Brown Burr DACs but they are also 192 kHz/24 bit. Also, I haven't gotten the auto setup working yet. I think I may have gotten a faulty microphone but it may be that I just haven't figured it out yet. Other than that it is working flawlessly- it's not getting hot or having any other problems.
UPDATE: I finally did get the Auto Setup working. It turned out I had the front speakers wired wrong. Although I followed the diagrams, the high frequency was going to the woofers and middle frequency was going to the tweeters, which is upside down. Auto setup did make a very noticeable difference, every speaker now sounds exactly the same. And it opened up two new features: "Subwoofer Plus" and "Room EQ." Room EQ takes out any emphasis on the high and low notes that your speakers naturally add. The sound gets much flatter, which is the purpose. It also looses the character (some call it "warmth") that your speakers might add to it though. Subwoofer plus is a real treat, it allows low frequencies to be played by both your front speakers and subwoofer at the same time without adding "doubling" of sound or extra volume. My front tower speakers are rated to go down to 42 hz, so from about 45hz to 80 hz I get both the fidelity of the front speakers (with 5.25" woofers) and oomph of the subwoofer (with a 10" woofer.)
Click Here to see more reviews about: Sherwood RD-8504 7.1-Channel Dual-Zone Receiver (Black)
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