Why no love for the Panasonic XR25/XR45 HT receivers here?? (1 Viewer)

[Danny Tse]

There is one. I don't remember whether it was the XR25 or XR45, but Sound & Vision compared a Panasonic digital-amped receiver against a Yamaha and an Onkyo (501??). The report is either in the current issue or the previous 2 issues. The Panasonic outmuscled the Yamaha and was camparable to the Onkyo.

 

[LanceJ]

Thanks Danny for the headsup.

Edit: found it!

LJ

 

[Tom Tubbiola]

Well I just ordered an XR45 and JBL S-Center and S38s earlier tonight. I can't wait until it all gets here.

 

[Angelo.M]

Finally, someone else joins my club. It was getting very lonely. :frowning:

 

[Jonty Rees]

I'd still be a little leery after a bad experience with a Tecnics Pro Logic/DD ready receiver. It hissed like a snake, had lousy power, and finally quit altogether when my 8 yr old ran it too hard into a 4ohm load. Hopefully, Panasonic have improved their product, but, once bitten, twice shy.

 

[Danny Tse]

Lance,

Thanks for the link! Wow, the Panasonic actually outmuscled both the Yamaha and the Onkyo when driven all channels!!

And this is the XR25. On one of the extrememly long threads at audiocircle.com owners of the XR25/XR45 said that the XR45 has better quality parts than the XR25 after the top was taken off. Not to mention, I believe, an extra transformer??

So what's going on at Panasonic? Two years ago, they give us car stereo with tubes. And now, HT receivers with digital amps, by most accounts, that sounds good. What's next? mp3 players with tubes??

 

[Chu Gai]

I see you've met my sister in law.

 

[LanceJ]

No excuses here--when I sold Technics stuff at a mass-retailer back in the mid 90s the surround receivers did seem to have a hiss problem. Before I bought my Technics SA-DA8 receiver (2001 model) I made sure it didn't have this problem. The only time it hisses is when it is at 3/4 full volume and you're a foot from the speaker--in other words, it's no longer a problem.

As far as the 4 ohm load thing & shutting down, I would have to ask: how large the speakers were; what volume level they were being played at and for how long; and was it in stereo mode or surround mode? Even a Denon 5803 or Yamaha Z1 has limits to its performance.

To me Panasonic has always been a company with a funky personality, and I mean that in a good way. Maybe that's why they don't get as much attention from audio people as more "normal" brands do.

LJ

 

[Chris PC]

Ok. This has my curiosity. Here come the same questions I ask about every receiver:

Does the XR45 experience dropouts?
What is the crossover setting?
Does the subwoofer out work in any "source direct" type mode that might exist for this receiver?

What is the sound of this receiver like compared to my SR6200?

I like the idea of less expensive and more efficient.

Anybody tested it for dropouts using DVD or CD players with digital connections? (TOSLINK or COAX)

thanx

 

[EricKH]

I have mixed feelings about this. There always seems to be 2 movements afoot in audio.

One is the idea that expensive always means better. The other is the idea that you can get the cream of the crop for nothing. It seems that every 3 to 4 months we get a new product that makes one of the above claims. It is either super expensive and gets rave reviews so people take out 2nd mortages to buy it, or it is cheap, and a few early adopters pronounce it better than expensive pieces of gear, so folks sell thier stuff and rush to buy. In both cases, several months later you see a bunch of units come available on AG because people find out they were not all that was claimed. I guess we'll just have to wait and see

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

The panasonic recievers are no joke, and the only complain i have about them is that they have not yet released a higher end version, with simple imporvements like better speaker terminals.

 

[Felix_F]

I have a XR25 that I use in my HT. I have auditioned it in my main system (Kuzma Stabi/ Kuzma Stogi Reference /Transfiguration Spirit /Ayre K-1/ Aragon 8008BB/ Dunlavy SC-V) and it certainly didn't help to get the best sound out of the rig. While it didn't sound bad at all, it had some definite sonic limitations. Granted, the SC-V's aren't as easy a load for an amp to handle as they appear on paper, so it's really not surprising that the Aragon did a lot better.

HT-wise, I have some issues with the product: it's fairly high x-over and the fact that it outputs quite a bit of HF hiss through its LFE output. I never noticed it before I built a ~100dB sensitive sub, so the odds are that it's not a valid concern for most folks. I was able to reduce the hiss to almost nothing by dialing-in a couple of HF filters into my BFD.

Felix

 

[DorianBryant]

I have the SA-XR50 that i use to push JBL's in a 7.1 config. Surround back speakers are wired in series. It has an excellent sound. I can compare it to a Pioneer "Elite" VSX-41 and a yamaha HTR-5590. Beats them both...hands down. The Yamaha was a little closer but the Pioneer is left in the dust.

Plenty of power. My speakers are fairly sensitive and all stable at 8 ohms. For 240 dollars delivered, how can you go wrong?

I watched Lord of the Rings this past weekend and could not turn it up past 25 for my wife's sake. With a cathedral ceiling, my living room has some definate cubic feet to fill.

I have been steering people to consider these especially if they are looking for under the $500 dollar mark. These will eat up any other receiver in their price range...IMHO.

 

[StephenHa]

the only thing I have complained about with panasonics is the speaker connectors they bug me, but I can make them work

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

yep, the speaker terminals are the only ture flaw.

I would love to see some blind tests with these units....

 

[Nick_S]

Too bad Etronics is sold out:frowning: I settled on a silver SA-XR25 because that's all I could find at all the local Circuit City's, but now I'm considering jumping up to the 50 and returning the 25.

I'm very happy with the sound of the reciever, but I was wondering about something about the display. I can't get the back center light to come on during enhanced surround mode even when the speaker is working. It came on once or twice, but not again in a while. I guess that will make me feel a little better about returning a receiver that I dislike only because of the color

Nick

 

[DorianBryant]

J&R will match the price for E-tronics.

XR50 is a great receiver. I have zero complaints regarding sound and performance. I do wish it had OSD.

 

[Nick_S]

Is Etronics an authorized dealer? I didn't think J&R would match unless the other place was authorized.

Nick

Edit: I just found out that Etronics must have the receiver in stock in order for J&R to match the price. Oh well...I can wait I guess.

 

[DorianBryant]

I called J&R last week and asked the sales rep. Specifically mentioned E-tronics and they said they would match their (Etronics) price of $224 even though they have it listed for (J&R) $299.

I think you could get some of the other on-line e-tailers to match prices as well. I have bought all of my present equipment from either J&R or E-tronics and have done very well with both.

I bought a refurbed SA-XR25 for $150 for a co-worker from J&R, still waiting to get it hooked up to compare the two.

 

[DorianBryant]

Some are really not happy with the lack of binding posts.

That hasn't really bothered me. I would like to see and OSD, higher power, possibly Dolby PLIIX on the 50, and a better remote.

I would pay more for those features. Some complain about the build quality but it weighs less than my DVD player. The lack of weight contributes to the "cheap" feel. Hey, it puts out great power though.