is sherwood still worthless?

[parkerbender]

i remember there was a time when you might be better off with the built-in speakers in your tv, than to spend money on a sherwood product. is that still the case? i'm looking for a new reciever for my family room, currently i have a rx-v2500 in there, but i kindof want something with hdmi compatibility, as i just got a display with hdmi, and i also want to move the yamaha to the basement, where i can turn it up a little more...

if anyone has any recent experience with the new sherwood products, or some other lesser/off-brand-ish stuff, that they were actually suprised with, for the money, i'm interested in your opinions.

thanks!


-parker

 

[mike c]

if you're happy with your yamaha, why not get something like the yamaha rx-v861 or rx-v661 depending on your budget.

other choices are:
Yamaha rx-v3800, 1800
Denon AVR 2307, 2807, 2808, 3808
onkyo hdmi receivers which I'm sure somebody here will give the model numbers.

 

[parkerbender]

well, i am really happy with the yamaha stuff, i was jsut considering trying something cheaper, maybe, in the 200-300 range preferably, though, after a little digging, i don't know if sherwood's hdmi reciever is that cheap, either...

but no, i ldo ove my yamaha.

 

[mike c]

when these guys wake up, they'll probably post some links on some cheap 861 or 661 receivers that can be had online.

 

[Joe Schmoe]

I never thought that Sherwood's entry level products were worthless. They are OK for the price, but not what I would choose if I planned to spend more.

 

[Seth=L]

The less expensive Sherwood models that do feature HDMI only do switching, no audio processing, no upconverting, or scalers. I would look at the Onkyo TX-SR605. It is packed with features like HDMI 1.3 with audio processing, upconversion, and upscaling. It also has a powered zone 2 output and the most up to date Audyssey auto setup program.

If I was to go Sherwood, I would look at their Newcastle products. They have released their slew of HDMI 1.3 receivers as well has Yamaha, Onkyo/Integra, Denon, and Pioneer Elite.

 

[nova]

An interesting side note,... Sherwood is actually the OEM for about 30% of the high performance receivers worldwide and is owned by the Korean Co. "Etronics". So there is a fair chance that no matter what brand you buy, it was built by Sherwood anyway (Etronics) Some companies such as Outlaw Audio are very open about who manufactures their stuff, others not so much. Rumor has it that many others such as Adcom, Denon, Harmon Kardon, Kenwood, Marantz, Yamaha and others have all used Sherwood (Etronics) as an OEM .

Long story short,... I wouldn't worry about brand name, as long as it has the features you want, at a price you are willing to pay.

 

[zumbo]

Onkyo is going to be the bang for the buck for HT.

 

[markw]

I've never considered Sherwood worthless.

Granted, there was a time (the 80's and such) where it's audio offerings slipped into the BPC (or SPC) category, but, then again, so did virtually every other mass market manufacturer.

But, on the whole, it's offerings were competitive with the other products out there but as of late they seem to have taken a line on value/dollar, as evidenced by the recent thread on their RX-4105 receiver.

Likewise, I bought my step-son an inexpensive Sherwood HT receiver (6105?) a few years ago for about $130 and it does all that's expected of it.

I'd expect that, dollar for dollar, and construction quality for construction quality. it'll give any mass market brand a good run for the money.

As for more features, look at their more "upscale" offerings, such as those in the Newcastle series. You gets what you pays for when features are concerned and, sometimes, features are all your extra money buys. Not necessarially significantly superior performance.

 

[skriefal]

There's nothing wrong with Sherwood's mass market line of receivers. They market to the budget segment, and I'd buy one of them before I'd buy a similarly priced Sony, Kenwood, etc. And their Newcastle line is great -- at least as good as Pioneer Elite, Sony ES, etc.