got my Panasonic SA-HE200 (1 Viewer)

Today I got my Panasonic SA-HE200. Removing my old receiver (Sherwood RD-7106)and installing the new one took some time. Everything went smoothly. I must say setting up this receiver was not the easiest thing to do. It took about 1 hour for me to get the speakers configured correctly and balanced. The hard part was actually learning the interface on the front panel. Hopefully I can access these same modes using the on-screen menu system. Another hang up was trying to get the COAX input selected for the DVD input. I finely figured it out but again not the easiest thing to do. I personally think my Sherwood RD-7106 was much easier to set up.

I decided to put in Behind Enemy Lines. The quality is nothing short of amazing. I have no problem running at reference level without so much as a hint of any distortion. The amp seems very strong. Much stronger then my RD-7106. My Sherwood would always put a lot of stress on my speakers playing at reference level. Especially action scenes. The same scenes using the SA-HE200 come in nice and crisp. The SA-HE200 definitely has a stronger amp section.

Just in case you are wondering I have a JBL NSP1 speaker package with a PB-12 subwoofer. I have replaced the N-Center speaker with another N24 and now using another N24 for EX/ES applications. Right now my subwoofer is turned to OFF because I need to buy a longer cable. Even with the weak bass response of the N24 speakers I still get enough to feel.

So far I am very satisfied with this low cost amplifier. Much better then my RD-7106.

Chris

Yeah,

I noticed after I posted this that it does not have an on-screen menu system. I am not sure if this is typical or not. My Sherwood RD-7106 had an on-screen menu system so I naturally thought they all did.

As for the sound quality I am really impressed. The only problem I have noticed is with DPL II. I am not a fan of it and as far as I can tell you can't disable it and run regular DPL on this receiver. This is very odd because it is part of the DPL II specs and it cost nothing for a manufacture to have.

I stopped by BEST BUY and played with several brands and most I was able to select regular DPL with ease. The Yamaha's toggle between all the DPL II modes and then you can select regular DPL.

If you know how to disable DPL II on this receiver it would be great if you let me know.

Chris

Chris, congrats on the purchase. If you are happy with the sound of your receiver then quite frankly, ignore the DPl thing because although you may find other receivers do what you like, you'll end up not liking the sound (I went thru 6 units as a prepro). DPL-II comes in two flavors, Music and Movies. Make sure you are in the right mode when listening to appropriate sources. Also your receiver should let you play with certain parameters for DPL-II Music, try that as it will make a difference.

I have a Panasonic SA-HE200 also. Where did you guys plug your s-video in from your DVD player. Is there anything i need to switch to run s-video? I am hooking it up where i think i should be under the DVD section on the back where it says in. Alsi i couldn't get the s-video from the reciever to the tv working. I connected it from tv/monitor out on the reciever to the tv. By any chance do you have to run both s-video (from the dvd player to reciever and reciever to tv) to get them to work?

Brian

Yes, you have to run the S-Video "OUT" from the dvd player to the S-Video "IN" on the receiver & then you have to run the S-Video "OUT" (Monitor) to the S-Video "IN" on the tv. Also on most tv's you can't have the Composite (Yellow) video & the S-Video hooked up to the same inputs on the tv it's one or the other on most tv's. But to get the BEST PICTURE most people hook the Video outputs on their dvd players directly to the tv. If your set only has one video input & you have another video product, like a vcr, then you will have to hook "ALL" the video outputs to your receiver & then to the tv & if your vcr doesn't have an S-Video "OUTPUT" it means you can't use the S-Video "OUTPUT" from the dvd player only the Composite "OUTPUTS" because you can't mix & match video outputs they "ALL" have to be the same type of VIDEO OUTPUT on your Panasonic. Hope I din't confuse you more It would help if you told us how many "VIDEO INPUTS" your tv has (1 set, 2 sets, 3 sets?) & how many video products you are trying to hookup.

Yeah i understand you. I have A sattilite reciever and also a vcr and neither one of them have s-video. So it looks like i will have to stick with the video cable i have now. The tv has only one s-video input and 2 other videio inputs.

Thanks
Brian