Do you guys like the Sherwood Newcastle AVP-9080? (1 Viewer)

[Andrew_Ballew]

Picked one of these up the other day- LOVE the sound- but it has a lot of quirks. Remote to me is useless- very difficulty and un-user friendly. The display screen is dead, so admittedly my only experience setting up the player has been with the On-screen display- which is difficult to navigate. I still cannot figure out how to setup speaker levels from the remote using the OSD. The manual is no help, either- it just plain stinks. You have to manually select the digital source mode- there should be auto-detect on this level of equipment. I have not figured out yet how to select the analog 6 channel inputs from the remote- have to get up to do that. Dolby Digital decoding is sluggish- very slow to begin playing the stream- very annoying. Sometimes during chapter changes, the Dolby Digital stream is not picked up at all- just total silence. There is also a LOT of poping and cracking during menu functions, etc. in dolby digital. DTS decoding exhibits none of the above traits- it is superior. And I cannot figure out how to turn the thing off with the remote! That is really annoying.

Well- all that being said- you would think I hate this product. Well, its sound is breathtaking. I also only paid $450 for it- so with this level of sound at that price it only seems normal that there are some tradeoffs.

Does anyone else have similar experiences with this unit? Workarounds, etc?

Do share!

Thanks

Andrew Ballew

 

[Rich Stone]

Have to run to class right now, I'll try to answer as many questions as I can tomarrow. You can email me at [email protected] if you'd like.
Quick hint (if you haven't already tried it) input the setup code "002" on the remote (its' hidden in the manual). That should get you started.
...and the sound is great!
Regards,
Rich Stone

 

[Philip Hamm]

Make sure the display is really not just turned off. You can turn it off using a button somewhere.
I echo Rich's recommendation - make sure you've set the remote up.
I have had this piece for about 2 months now.
The remote is awful. The ergonomics are fairly poor (yes, you have to get up to do a lot of functions - a mucho bucks remote will help due to some remote condes that are not on the OEM remote but are described on the little piece of paper in your manual. The lack of auto detect is a minor PITA.
The sound quality is absoluitely first rate! I love it!!!!!
I would recommend a OneForAll Cinema 7+ remote control which can be had at Sears for $25.

 

[Andrew_Ballew]

I wish the display was just turned off- unfortunately I have found the button that turns the display on and off- no luck.

I will try to pay closer attention to the manual on remote setup- its just so tedious to read.

But all in all- as has been echoed- the sound of this unit is awesome! Unbelieveable, almost. I went from a Pioneer Elite VSX-33TX to seperates for the very first time- and the difference is nothing short of miraculous IMO.

Andrew

 

[Jeff]

You might be able to contact Jeff Hipps of Sherwood and get your AVP-9080 repaired. He hangs around here every now and then. Maybe someone has his email.

Jeff

 

[Philip Hamm]

Any comments on the sound in 2 channel?

Damn sweet. And it has a great analog stereo pass-through mode that is great for things like stereo DVD-A or SACD. I use it for high resolution PCM from DVD, whether from DADs, DVD-V or DVD-A. A high quality phono preamp is built in, this is a feature that the 950 lacks. In addition, there are more ins/outs than the 950 including a handy front panel A/V input. Do a search on "9080" here and at other places like Audio Asylum for more information.

If you're not interested in DTS-ES, Dolby-EX, and Cirrus 7 channel mode, this is a comparable piece to the 950. The DACs are only 20 bit but they sound great for CD audio. I let my DVD-Audio player (with a very high quality audio section) handle all DVD PCM Audio chores. The DSP modes are dreadful but pure 5.1 and stereo both sound very good on this unit.

The remote is awful. Jeff, you should get that display fixed. The onscreen display is terrible on this unit, there are a lot of things that are much easier to do with the panel and FL display. Poor ergonomics, incredible sound. Easily worth the trouble.

 

[Tom-K]

where are you getting this piece for $450?

 

[Andrew_Ballew]

I thought for some reason that there was analog bypass on the Newcastle

There is a 5.1 bypass.

Andrew Ballew

 

[Philip Hamm]

Philip, I thought for some reason that there was analog bypass on the Newcastle (other than just the 5.1 inputs). Since I have an expensive CD source (Sony 9000) with great DACS, having to use the DACs on the Newcastle might be a deal killer.

I believe that the "Tone Direct" mode with analog sources is a digital bypass. You may want to ask Sherwood, I'm sure they have good tech support.

 

[Philip Hamm]

From Sherwood's web site:

a full function pre-amp with a Tone Direct analog signal path, free of digital processing, for maximum reference sound reproduction

This tells me that the AVP-9080 in "Tone Direct" mode is a clean stereo analog preamp. I've emailed for confirmation.

 

[Brent_S]

If any Sherwood people are listening, I'd love to know the answer. Is the direct mode completely non-digitized at any point?

I'm not a Sherwood person, but bought a 9080 something over 3 years ago. I asked a similar question of Sherwood customer service way back then. The answer is *all* analog inputs stay in the analog domain unless surround or DSP processing is applied. From their answer, I would assume the tone controls are implemented in the analog domain as well...the tone direct then simply bypasses them, leaving nothing but the volume stage in the path.

On a similar note, if anyone's curious, the subwoofer crossover is also implemented as analog.

Hope this helps.

wbs

 

[Brian Schucher]

This pice can sometimes be found new for that kinda money as well. A few people picked them up on Ubid for under 4 bills if i remember correctly..

 

[Jeff]

If anyone is looking for a new one you could try www.unclestereo.com. I got mine from them a year and a half ago with no hassel and dirt cheap for a new one. These guys are not authorized though. They might still have some. (Ask for Carlos if he is still there)
Or, you could try www.sonic.net/soundscape/product.html
Jeff Hipps of Sherwood recommended this place for me when I was looking for one. They wanted full price at the time however and being that Sherwood wasn't making them anymore it seem excessive to pay that much.
Jeff

 

[Jeff Hipps]

As the "official" Sherwood guy, I'd like to confirm that Brent_S is correct regarding the fundamental "analogness" of the Newcastle AVP-9080 pre/pro.

Jeff

 

[Rich Stone]

Man I have to apologize for not responding as promised earlier. Got a KILLER biostats midterm that is commanding all my attention. Sorry folks:b
Glad Jeff H. chimed in - nice to hear from you.
By the way I didn't know that the AVP-9080R wasn't being made anymore....making way for the new? Between school, work, and home I've been out of it for a while. Anyone care to update me?
Regards,
Rich
BTW, after owning one from the get go I still am amazed by the AVP-9080. Sound quality is fantastic and besides a wierd episode where the AVP seemed to "reset" itself it has worked flawlessly. Kudos to Sherwood for such a great product

 

[Samuel Des]

By the way I didn't know that the AVP-9080R wasn't being made anymore....making way for the new?

I wanted to second that question regarding the "lower end" line. The 7106 is not available anywhere, but the 7103 is at my Circuit City. Is it the end of the product cycle?

 

[Jeff Hipps]

Samuel:

Nearly.

Jeff

 

[Andrew_Ballew]

Update on my 9080 report-

I reprogrammed the remote with the Sherwood code "002" and now I can actually power down the unit from the remote! Should have read the manual closer on that one.

And get this- today I powered it up, and the front display has miraculously fixed itself! It can be turned on and off now with the remote. I swear it did not work at all before- this is strange- but I am very, very happy with the unit now. It is SO much easier to use with the display working. Forget the oncreen stuff.

Cheers

Andrew Ballew

 

[Rich Stone]

Andrew,
Glad to hear it, I think you'll find that you like it even better with repeated listening. You got a good deal to. I paid, well let's just say, a lot more! I wouldn't hesitate to do it again though - it's that good. Not to mention the great customer service. Thanks Jeff .
Keep us posted...
Rich