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From the Fall 2003 Issue:
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NAD L70 DVD Receiver
"This new receiver is striking right out of the box because it abandons the traditional and conservative NAD style that has changed little over the years, 30 in all. According to a white paper issued by the company, "Because the L70 is a DVD receiver, some people might be tempted to try to squeeze it into the rather crowded `Home-Theatre-in-a- Box' category. While we do consider the L70 to be a convenience oriented, or `lifestyle' product, we emphatically declare that it has very little to do with the HTIB found at the electronics superstore..." More...
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Sunfire Ultimate Receiver
"A look at the back panel of the Ultimate receiver immediately tells you that this is a serious piece of audio/video gear; I've never seen a space so crammed with inputs and outputs. To run briefly through its main features, the 200-wpc unit offers 7 channels of amplification, Dolby Digital EX and Pro Logic II, DTS ES and NEO 6, capped with Bob Carver's proprietary Sonic Holography in a new DSP-based version. The digital signal processing supports rates up to 96 kHz..." More...
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From the Fall 2002 Issue:
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Pioneer Elite VSX-49TX Home Theatre Receiver
"According to the manual, the VSX-49TX is "the first receiver in the world to be THX Ultra2 certified". Among the new technologies embodied in this are "ASA (Advanced Speaker Array [in case you thought it might be something for a headache]), which can process any 5.1 channel source for 7.1 channel playback (THX Ultra2 Cinema and THX MusicMode), or 6.1 channel playback (THX Surround EX)..." More...
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Sony STR-DA4ES 7 Channel Receiver
"This is yet another complex A/V receiver that tries to make operation simple while introducing new features and maintaining those that have become standard. It's a 7-channel design, with 110 wpc all around (8 0hms), with the new DTS 96/24, ES, and NEO:6 formats added to Dolby Digital EX and Pro Logic II. Though there are 7 Cinema and 10 music sound field programs, there are no THX ones, which is a blessing..." More...
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From the Spring 2002 Issue:
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Marantz SR-8200 Home Theater Receiver
"The SR8200 multichannel receiver is a 7-channel model featuring full THX certification, including a THX and Dolby Digital EX centre rear channel. It also features DTS-ES, and Dolby Pro Logic II, and is the first device in my experience to include SRS CS-5.1 Circle Surround. I'll say more about all these technologies as we get into the performance aspects of the SR8200..." More...
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From the Almanac 2002 Issue:
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TEAC Reference DV-H550 DVD Player & AG-H550 Receiver
"The newest additions to the small and cute TEAC Reference Series, the DV-H550 and AG-H550 bring compactness to full-featured home theatre. The former plays DVD, CD, CD-R/RW, Video CD, and MP3 discs, and has 96/24 stereo DACs, as well as outputting Dolby Digital and DTS. It uses 10-bit, 27 MHz video DACs, and has a digital picture zoom function, and has composite, S, and component video outputs..." More...
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| From
the Fall 2001 Issue: |
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PSB Alpha/NAD Home Theatre System 
"Here's a system designed and assembled in Canada, though the origins of the components lie far to the east. Since being bought by Lenbrook Industries, NAD has done all product development at its international headquarters in Pickering, Ontario, while PSB loudspeakers are designed by founder Paul Barton and his team in the same facility. But manufacturing, as with so many products these days, is done in Taiwan and China, respectively, though more expensive PSB speakers are made here, the flagship Stratus series hand-built in Pickering...."
More....
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From the Spring 2001 Issue:
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Arcam AVR 100 A/V Receiver
"Things get complicated. Especially home theatre receivers. I recently gave up in frustration on an HT receiver review because I simply could not make it work! And I'm the guy who takes pride in never having to read the manual...hey, I'm a reviewer, I know how these things work, trust me. But sometimes you have to read the manual just to find out how to wade your way through the levels of menus and other onscreen trivia. Finding the way to a phantom centre channel can become the phantom menace..." More....
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From the Summer/Fall 2000 Issue:
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Yamaha RX-V1 Home
Theatre Receiver
"Yamaha's statement receiver, the RX-V1 has in it just about everything you could imagine for a home theatre system, and a few more things you might never have thought about at all. As such, it is a very complex component that should be installed and set up by a professional. Once that is done, and the parameters relating to room size and shape with respect to multichannel operation are optimized, it is quite simple to operate...." More....
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Marantz SR-7000 Home
Theatre Receiver
"There are now Dolby Digital/DTS receivers at almost all price points above about $700, and the Marantz SR-7000, while not the least expensive, appears to be one of the most attractive in its mix of features and user convenience. Its look is substantial without being massive like the Yamaha RX-V1, and it does not ring the DSP chimes, but provides features for practical use, including "multiple DC triggers for custom installations", according to the Marantz brochure...." More....
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From the Winter/Spring 2000 Issue:
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Denon AVR-3300 Home
Theatre Receiver
" According to Phil Bryant of Denon
Canada, the AVR-3300 is Denon's most successful receiver under $2,000
in recent years and has constantly oversold in Canada and the United
States since October. It sits third from the top in Denon's line;
above it are the AVR-4800 which is similar but with THX(ex) certification
at $3,400, and the mammoth AVR-5700 at $4,800. It has to be among
the most feature-packed receivers in its price range if not the most
packed....." More....
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TEAC AG-D9320 Dolby Digital/DTS A/V Receiver
"Receivers with Dolby Digital decoding have come down in price below $1000 recently, and the new AG-D9320 almost gets to the $500 threshold. Rated at 130 watts per channel in stereo and 100 x 5, it claims "high instantaneous current capability." The AG-D9320 contains massive capacitors within the all-discrete amplifier circuits that maintain the current through even the harshest demands......" More....
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| From
the Almanac 2000 Issue: |
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NAD L 40 CD Player/Stereo
Receiver
" If the reviews in this issue are
any indication, the CD/receiver is the hottest new category in electronics,
at least for stereo systems (in home theatre it seems to be multidisc
DVD players). The NAD L40 comes without speakers, so I thought a good
coupling would be with the wonderful Paradigm Reference Studio 40,
though Paul Barton, designer for NAD sibling company PSB might not
agree. Oh well, Paul, we'll get to one of your new models in our next
issue......" More....
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| From
the Summer 99 Issue: |
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NAD T770 Dolby Digital Receiver
"The T770 is a complete A/V receiver
with an unusually full complement of features. Though the brochure
barely mentions it, and the manual ignores specs altogether, power
output is rated at 80 watts each for the front channels, and 70 for
surrounds (the brochure also says 70 x 5, but why quibble?). More
important is the claim of "up to 40 amps of peak current", along with
NAD's traditional Soft Clipping circuit. Power should be "adequate",
as they say at Rolls Royce about horsepower......" More....
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| From
the Spring 97 Issue: |
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Denon AVR-3600
"A company that has generally occupied
the upper end of the middle of the market, Denon is in just that territory
with their new AVR-3600, which is a fully featured home theatre heart.
It handles Dolby Digital in both its forms (RF-modulated from laserdisc
and direct from DVD) with configurable coaxial and optical inputs,
and provides Pro Logic, as well as the usual complement of dubious
DSP surround modes. Has anyone ever wanted to listen to music in a
gymnasium? After surviving high school? ......" More....
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Pioneer VSX-D906S Dolby
Digital A/V Receiver
"A whole new generation of digital
receivers is coming into the market, typified by this Dolby Digital
one from Pioneer, able to play DVD discs (and laserdiscs in this case)
directly from the digital output of a player or transport. The VSX-
D906S will automatically select the correct input/mode, favouring
digital when such a signal is present, and defaulting to Pro Logic
when one isn't. This receiver also has an internal RF demodulator
to handle the bitstream from laserdiscs, thus also able to decode
LD stereo digital audio......." More....
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