Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)(The following is from my review on the ecoustics.com forum but you can also do a search for this model at the much bigger avsforum.com to read the massively positive feedback this receiver has won.)
Initial impressions:
1. I'd be lying if I said the Panny were as warm as my Marantz 5400 or NAD separates, but on the other hand I didn't find it "harsh," "cold," "flat," "lifelessly analytical" etc. as many anti-pure-digital audio folk have claimed. "Precise" and "neutral" would be how I'd describe it.
2. Yes, the pure-digital fans are correct about the amazing lack of noise/distortion and the jaw-dropping detail of the mids and highs. Yes, I noticed many more subtle background sounds and textures than I ever did with analog equipment.
I haven't hooked up my DVD player to it since I bought it strictly for 2-channel music but this kind of meticulous detail should be ideal for HT, one would think.
3. The Panny made me doubly appreciate the intuitive ease of use I enjoyed with my old Onkyo and current Marantz. Both setup and manual are rather convoluted. You cannot use the remote to change the setup, for one thing...argh!
4. The Panny certainly has no shortage of power...its volume goes from silent at -79 and maxes out at 0, I was easily hitting 80db at -40 and not the slightest hint of distortion. I am very curious to hear how it sounds when I get some extra speaker cable and bi-amp my Ascends, a very handy feature that I had only seen on the Pioneer Elite series in the $700 and up range.
5. The Panny doesn't provide quite the same muscular bass of the NAD, nor the aggressive fullness that the NAD achieves at high volumes (+80db)...it seems to have more of an intricate and laid-back personality best suited to moderately loud volumes of around 70db.
7. Cosmetics. I wasn't crazy about the small, crude-looking LED display which reminded me of my $65 Panasonic DVD player's display but oh well this is a $228 receiver after all. Otherwise the simple black faceplate is pretty tasteful. Should score some WAF (Wife Approval Factor) brownie points for any guy who decides to keep it. The remote is indeed a cheap POS but still a pretty minor gripe at this price.
****
After several days of listening only to the Panny, today I finally started doing some A/B listening with the Panny vs. my beloved NAD...and the "aha" moments are coming in spades right now.
Started with some Bach: a solo piano piece ("Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring") and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G Major (Allegro). The piano piece had both receivers pretty close at moderate volumes, though I could already hear a clarity advantage in favor of the Panny, which simply sounded more open and natural.
However at high volumes (90-95db) and particularly on the violin concerto, the Panny simply WIPED THE FLOOR with the NAD, which started to get thin on the highs and weak on the mids during musical peaks, with a layer of fuzz settling in around the edges. The Panny on the other hand calmly delivered the goods with perfect aplomb, didn't even get hot to the touch, stayed the same warmish temperature to the touch throughout.
Moved on to Norah Jones, "Don't Know Why" and "Seven Years"---didn't crank the volume above 80db this time, but again the Panny held a clear advantage. Wow, the midrange was just tremendous...Norah's voice seemed much fuller, her breaths more audible, when she held a note for a couple of seconds it all came through clear and effortlessly. In comparison the NAD seemd to favor certain parts of the frequency range over others, Norah's voice while still very pleasing did not have the same range.
Van Morrison, "Moondance"---a mediocre recording, but again the Panny did it with a bit more life and verve than the NAD.
Santana, "Put Your Lights On," "Maria Maria," and "Corazon Espinado." This is one of my favorite demo CDs because the songs have a variety of tempos and both simple and complex passages. There is also a lot of treble and midrange happening at the same time, all driven by a strong beat.
Once again, during complex passages (by which I mean lots of instruments, voices, percussion all happening at the same time) the Panny pulled ahead and never looked back. Separation of musical inputs was outstanding, bringing out many details that were muted on the NAD.
The NAD clearly does deliver more bass (I had my speakers set on large on the Panny, with the sub turned off) and on simpler compositions did have more of a laid back, warmish sound. However at about six times the price (an equivalent NAD amp + pre-pro today would run about $1300 compared to the Panny's $230) that's a lot of dough just for a particular sound characteristic with a particular type of musical compositions. In fact if I were buying my system from scratch today, I would choose the Panny without a second thought over both the NAD and the Marantz and spend the extra money on the speakers and sub...complete no-brainer.
What particularly surprised me was the fact that the slim featherweight Panny actually seems far more powerful than the behemoth NAD in both SPL and maintaining SQ at high SPL. It is rated at 100wpc at 6 ohms, but after today I would guesstimate that they could easily list it at 150wpc at 8ohms if they wanted to and they'd still be far more honest than 90% of their competition. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this receiver even as a party appliance.
Wow, wow, wow..a 230 lousy bucks suddenly goes a VERY long way, indeed!
This Panny is far from perfect in terms of componentry, features, remote, and ease of use no doubt---but the performance it delivers at this ridiculously low pricepoint is simply staggering. If Panny adds another say $200 to the price tag to give it higher grade features and components, it will be extremely hard to beat.
Simply put, I cannot imagine there being too many solid-state analog receivers around 10 years from now, other than the real high end die-hard audiophile niche.
SOLD!
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Panasonic SA-XR55S Home Theater Receiver (Silver)The Panasonic SA-XR55S Home Theater Receiver delivers clear, powerful sound through outstanding digital amplification. With this sleek silver receiver Panasonic has coupled the benefits of digital technology with a high-quality amplifier. Digital amplifiers are much more efficient than traditional analog amplifiers, generating less heat and taking up less space while delivering an even larger amount of clean output power. Sound quality improves with the elimination of digital-to-analog conversion when connecting a digital source device (such as a DVD player) to an analog amplifier. With the SA-XR55K, all the processing and amplification is done in the digital domain, resulting in low distortion and extremely low background noise.
With the crisp, clear sound amplification of the SA-XR55S, you will be able to experience the latest in surround sound formats. The amazing image quality of DVD is only half the movie-watching experience. Most DVD movies have high-impact, theater-quality Dolby Digital or DTS soundtracks that require a powerful audio system for faithful reproduction. This receiver can process these technologically advanced soundtracks so you can get the most out of your viewing experience.When MP3s and movie soundtracks are created, higher frequencies are lost due to the limited frequency response of compressed digital audio. Most of these frequencies can't be heard by human ears, but their presence conveys subtle nuances. When they're missing in a digital recording, the sound and music just doesn't sound quite the same as in a live performance. This receiver answers the call for better sound with Panasonic's multi-remaster feature that examines the audio signal and compensates for those lost frequencies. The end result is an improved sound quality that is much closer to the original performance.
The amplifier built into this receiver pumps out high power levels for head-bobbing, satisfying volume levels with remarkably low distortion. You'll feel like you're in the front row of a multiplex cinema as the Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks surround you. The SA-XR55K has plenty of audio/video inputs to handle all your source devices (five video inputs, four digital inputs, seven audio inputs, and three S-video inputs). It even functions as a source selector, allowing you to connect multiple video sources to the receiver and then run a single audio/video connection to just one of your TV's audio/video inputs--no more flipping through multiple video inputs on your TV with this receiver.
Last, but not least, Panasonic knows that fumbling through a pile of remotes is the last thing you want to do. Clean up the mess on your coffee table and take control of your system with the included universal remote control. You can command many different brands and types of components after some simple programming--and the remote even lights up so you can see the buttons in the dark.
What's in the Box Receiver, deluxe universal remote control, and user's manual.
Click here for more information about Panasonic SA-XR55S Home Theater Receiver (Silver)
