Panasonic XR55 7.1 Digital Receiver

[Buckeyefan 1]

Official thread. There is a "cult" for this little powerhouse over at AVS. Who here owns this unit, and what can they tell us about it? 39 pages, 82,000 views, and almost 1200 replies must mean something, right?

This sub $299 unit is talked about exceeding the performance of receivers costing 4-5x as much.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6347852#post6347852

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/vModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=93546&catGroupId=25013&modelNo=SA-XR55S&surfModel=SA-XR55S&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702

 

[j_garcia]

That isn't the only forum that has a lot of good stuff to say about it. I read some user comments though that said it really isn't exactly a powerhouse (if you have demanding speakers), but in the price range, it is very solid and more than up to the task. So how come I don't hear about the XR-75 as much?

 

[jcPanny]

From panasonic site:
"Sound quality is also improved by eliminating the digital to analog conversion necessary when connecting a digital source device, such as a DVD player, to an analog amplifier"

Their implications are a little deceiving. I don't know of any receivers in the $300 price range that don't have optical and digital coax inputs for connecting DVD and CD players.
Having analog amplification only requires that the D/A conversion be done by the pre-amp stage rather than the amplifier stage. This type of digital receiver will also require an extra A/D and D/A conversion with any analog source. Most analog receivers have a pure direct option that would negate this step.

Looks like if might be a decent low end offering where WAF is a major factor.

 

[Mayhem]

I'll admit that when I saw this last night and all the positive comments on the AVS forum, it shook my confidence in my upcoming Yamaha RX-V2500/RX-V2600 purchase. < $250 shipped? That compares favorably to the likely $650 for the RX-V2500 or likely $1,200 or so I'd likely pay for the RX-V2600.

When I have the cold hard cash next week, I'm gonna have a tough decision on my hands. At less than $250, I could almost afford to buy the Panasonic and ditch it if I don't like it.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Amazon has it now for $229 with free shipping. One guy at AVS opened up a Amazon CC and got another $30 off. $199 - how bad can this little unit be? Pick one up locally at Circuit City, see how it works, and see if they'll match Amazon. If not, return it and order from Amazon. I'm hearing it's actually a 7 channel receiver, and not 6 as posted. As for the SA-XR75, it's not out as far as I can tell. The SA-XR70 is an older model.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009E1YPM/dealtime-ce-feed-20/ref=nosim/104-9433338-1864735

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Panasonic-Surround-Sound-Receiver-SA-XR55-/sem/rpsm/oid/131941/catOid/-12949/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

 

[j_garcia]

$229 at J&R too

I there was a lot of discussion about the 55 and 75 a while back, but I haven't heard anything about the 75 lately, so perhaps there is no replacement for the 70 or maybe it just hasn't come out yet? One of the things I didn't like on the older models was the use of of spring clips for all channels for speaker outputs.

 

[jcPanny]

I'll admit that when I saw this last night and all the positive comments on the AVS forum, it shook my confidence in my upcoming Yamaha RX-V2500/RX-V2600 purchase. < $250 shipped? That compares favorably to the likely $650 for the RX-V2500 or likely $1,200 or so I'd likely pay for the RX-V2600.

When I have the cold hard cash next week, I'm gonna have a tough decision on my hands. At less than $250, I could almost afford to buy the Panasonic and ditch it if I don't like it.

Sure, it might be a good value for about $200 and might outperform most HTIB receivers, but I wouldn't put it in the same ballpark is the Yamaha 2500 and 2600. The yamahas have 140 watts, clean pre-amps, tons of A/V inputs, component video switching, HDMI switching (2600), auto setup and PEQ, etc.
If you plan to build a real HT with quality speakers and components, then go with the Yamaha. If you can only afford an entry level HT then the Panasonic will do.

 

[Tomorrow]

LOL, Buckeyefan...it comes a might short of that 33 lb. magical weight (9.9 lbs!). I think Panasonic is flying just under the radar with some pretty decent equipment.

I have a Panny SA-HE200 (from 2004) and really like it. It has power to burn and features that exceed its price! Heck, it almost makes weight, too. The only thing that would make me upgrade is HDMI interfacing...and that's not a very big deal.

http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/SA-HE200.pdf

Sorry I can't provide any graphs or data beyond the above reference, but I'm sticking with this guy for the duration.

 

[Mayhem]

I just received my Panny XR55, all I can say is wow for the price. No it probably wont rival the feature set of the mid range Denons, Yamaha's, or NADs but for $250 I am extremely pleased. So pleased that I am plowing the $900 or so I saved on the receiver into new mains.

 

[popm8]

I own one;
I'm very pleased with it ; I keep listening 'Nightwish' albums over and over again;it's incredible how clean is the sound

I use it on my Abit NF7-S 2.0 nVidia (Dolby Digital )Soundstorm optical output .


I'll never go back to analogue again