J
John Morris
Hi All,
As a response to a question I sent him back on Aug 28th, he sent me the following press release, asking me not to release any info on it until the 5th. Since that is today, here is the press release he sent me.
-----------------------------
FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
Contacts:
Jeffrey Hipps
Sherwood America
[email protected]
(714) 870-5100, ext. 103
SHERWOOD NEWCASTLE ADDS TWO
DIGITAL RECEIVERS TO AUDIO LINE
R-963 Has “Edge of the Art” Design
with Improved Performance in Every Area
R-863 Does Almost All at a Budget Price
INDIANAPOLIS, IN ., September 5, 2001 – Sherwood America Inc., a leading manufacturer of high performance audio equipment, is now shipping its two newest digital A/V receivers. The Newcastle R-963 is an “Edge of the Art” receiver designed to compete with the very finest available. It’s sibling, the R-863, has nearly every performance and convenience feature of the R-963, but costs 40% less.
The top-of-the-line Sherwood Newcastle R-963 offers stellar performance in virtually every significant area:
Multi-Channel Audio Performance—Rated at 120 Watts RMS with no more than 0.05% THD into 8 ohms for each of its 7 channels, the R-963 maybe the first receiver on the market that can be truly called DVD-A and SACD ready. Not only does the R-963 offer 100 kHz audio bandwidth and 192 kHz, 24-bit DAC’s for all 8 of its operating channels, it may also be the word’s first receiver with complete bass management for it’s 7.1 channel direct input. “Now,” according to Jeffrey Hipps, Sherwood’s Sr. Vice President for Marketing and Product Development, “consumers can finally hear these advanced audio formats with their proper tonal balance.”
Two Channel Audio Performance—Not to be outdone by its multi-channel capability, the R-963 is also the world’s first receiver to offer complete “Digital Re-Mastering” for the PCM sound track of any CD to the levels available from DVD-Audio. Using Analog Devices new AD-1896 Sample Rate Converter, the R-963 allows the user to “Re-Master” (convert) their conventional 44.1 kHz, 16-bit sound to 192 kHz Sampling Frequency and 24-Bit Word Depth. According to Hipps, “With the R-963, we are finally bringing CD sound into the 21st Century.” For those with strong ties to the 20th, the R-963 retains a phono input for LP record playback.
Video Ready—With 4 rear panel A/V inputs and 1 more on the front panel, all with S-Video and composite video capability, the R-963 offers impressive connectability. But the two component video inputs (and single component video output) are where the video really shines. Their 54 MHz bandwidth is fully capable of switching even HDTV’s highest frequency signals.
Home Theater Capable—The Newcastle R-963’s digital decoding capability includes: Dolby Digital and DTS; Dolby Pro Logic 2; DTS-ES both Matrix and Discrete; and DTS Neo. The R-963 will even decode Dolby Digital Surround EX material using Crystal Semiconductor’s New Crystal EX algorithm.
The Home Theater capability doesn’t end with decoding, the R-963 has 6 rear panel “assignable” digital inputs (four Toslink and two coaxial) and an additional “Play Station 2” compatible Toslink input on the front panel.. Additional theater features include: Cinema EQ; Video Input Custom Labeling; Optical Digital Output; dedicated rear panel 12-Volt trigger; and a rear panel Infrared Control input to operate the entire system from a remote location.
Remote Control—In today’s market, the user’s typical operating interface is no longer the receiver’s front panel. It is now the remote control. For the R-963, Sherwood Newcastle has chosen to use a custom version of Universal Remote Controls’ Theatermaster MX-500. This remarkable remote control uses hard buttons and customizable LCD screens to provide virtually complete control of up to 10 separate components.
Multi-room capability—With many of today’s finest receivers now used as the centerpiece in a custom-installed home theater, single room operation in a receiver of this class is no longer sufficient. To claim it’s rightful place in the Custom portion of the business, the R-963 has advanced multi-room capability. Its independent Room 2 Audio Video feed can be operated with fixed or variable audio level, has both composite and S-Video capability and features a separate, dedicated Room 2 Infrared remote control. The R-963 can also be reconfigured to use the two rear-center amplifiers to drive the audio for Room 2. This allows R-963 owners to have 5.1 sound in their main theater and stereo in the balance of their home--all from this single receiver.
“The most remarkable thing about our Sherwood Newcastle R-963 is not it’s performance,” quipped Hipps, “It’s the price.” The Suggested Retail Price for the R-963 is $1,999.95.
The Sherwood Newcastle R-863
For those who can survive with only a little less, Sherwood Newcastle has also begun shipping the R-863 receiver. Rated at 100 Watts RMS with no more than 0.05% THD at 8 ohms into each of its 7 channels, the Newcastle R-863 offers every impressive feature of its big brother except:
The R-863 does has neither the “Digital Re-Mastering” nor the phono circuitry of the R-963.
The Room 2 Video Feed is composite only. The rear center amplifiers cannot be reconfigured. There is no 12-Volt trigger and there is no Room 2 Dedicated remote.
The preprogrammed/learning remote will only operate 8 separate devices and has no LCD window.
“But,” says Hipps, “these small sacrifices result in big savings.” The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail price for the Sherwood Newcastle R-863 is $1199.95.
As a final addition, both the R-963 and the R-863 will be available in Newcastle’s traditional “Titanium” finish and in Black. Said Hipps, “We wanted to reinforce the universality of these receivers. We think they do everything a consumer could want. Having them in black assures that no one will pass one up due to its color.”
Sherwood Newcastle is a high-performance brand name in the field of audio and audio/video. Sherwood Newcastle is a division of Sherwood America, Inc., now part of
Etronics, one of the world's leading multimedia, auto sound, and home electronics manufacturers.
Since 1953, Sherwood has designed and manufactured high-performance, cost effective audio gear. Newcastle is our best. Refined, musical and distinctive, each Newcastle component reflects our simple philosophy: Use the best parts and get the basics right.
---------------------------------
Man, what else could you want in a receiver??? With the usual dealer discounting that can occur for SN stuff, a bring it home price of around $1200 sure would make the R-963 a real tempting upgrade to almost anybody's HT system.
Jeff also told me that their new pre/pro would debut at the January CE show.
------------------
Take Care,
merc
----------------
DFAST, 5C, DVI, HDCP, SafeAudio, Macrovision and Lewinski!!!
[Edited last by John Morris on September 05, 2001 at 05:14 AM]
As a response to a question I sent him back on Aug 28th, he sent me the following press release, asking me not to release any info on it until the 5th. Since that is today, here is the press release he sent me.
-----------------------------
FOR RELEASE SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
Contacts:
Jeffrey Hipps
Sherwood America
[email protected]
(714) 870-5100, ext. 103
SHERWOOD NEWCASTLE ADDS TWO
DIGITAL RECEIVERS TO AUDIO LINE
R-963 Has “Edge of the Art” Design
with Improved Performance in Every Area
R-863 Does Almost All at a Budget Price
INDIANAPOLIS, IN ., September 5, 2001 – Sherwood America Inc., a leading manufacturer of high performance audio equipment, is now shipping its two newest digital A/V receivers. The Newcastle R-963 is an “Edge of the Art” receiver designed to compete with the very finest available. It’s sibling, the R-863, has nearly every performance and convenience feature of the R-963, but costs 40% less.
The top-of-the-line Sherwood Newcastle R-963 offers stellar performance in virtually every significant area:
Multi-Channel Audio Performance—Rated at 120 Watts RMS with no more than 0.05% THD into 8 ohms for each of its 7 channels, the R-963 maybe the first receiver on the market that can be truly called DVD-A and SACD ready. Not only does the R-963 offer 100 kHz audio bandwidth and 192 kHz, 24-bit DAC’s for all 8 of its operating channels, it may also be the word’s first receiver with complete bass management for it’s 7.1 channel direct input. “Now,” according to Jeffrey Hipps, Sherwood’s Sr. Vice President for Marketing and Product Development, “consumers can finally hear these advanced audio formats with their proper tonal balance.”
Two Channel Audio Performance—Not to be outdone by its multi-channel capability, the R-963 is also the world’s first receiver to offer complete “Digital Re-Mastering” for the PCM sound track of any CD to the levels available from DVD-Audio. Using Analog Devices new AD-1896 Sample Rate Converter, the R-963 allows the user to “Re-Master” (convert) their conventional 44.1 kHz, 16-bit sound to 192 kHz Sampling Frequency and 24-Bit Word Depth. According to Hipps, “With the R-963, we are finally bringing CD sound into the 21st Century.” For those with strong ties to the 20th, the R-963 retains a phono input for LP record playback.
Video Ready—With 4 rear panel A/V inputs and 1 more on the front panel, all with S-Video and composite video capability, the R-963 offers impressive connectability. But the two component video inputs (and single component video output) are where the video really shines. Their 54 MHz bandwidth is fully capable of switching even HDTV’s highest frequency signals.
Home Theater Capable—The Newcastle R-963’s digital decoding capability includes: Dolby Digital and DTS; Dolby Pro Logic 2; DTS-ES both Matrix and Discrete; and DTS Neo. The R-963 will even decode Dolby Digital Surround EX material using Crystal Semiconductor’s New Crystal EX algorithm.
The Home Theater capability doesn’t end with decoding, the R-963 has 6 rear panel “assignable” digital inputs (four Toslink and two coaxial) and an additional “Play Station 2” compatible Toslink input on the front panel.. Additional theater features include: Cinema EQ; Video Input Custom Labeling; Optical Digital Output; dedicated rear panel 12-Volt trigger; and a rear panel Infrared Control input to operate the entire system from a remote location.
Remote Control—In today’s market, the user’s typical operating interface is no longer the receiver’s front panel. It is now the remote control. For the R-963, Sherwood Newcastle has chosen to use a custom version of Universal Remote Controls’ Theatermaster MX-500. This remarkable remote control uses hard buttons and customizable LCD screens to provide virtually complete control of up to 10 separate components.
Multi-room capability—With many of today’s finest receivers now used as the centerpiece in a custom-installed home theater, single room operation in a receiver of this class is no longer sufficient. To claim it’s rightful place in the Custom portion of the business, the R-963 has advanced multi-room capability. Its independent Room 2 Audio Video feed can be operated with fixed or variable audio level, has both composite and S-Video capability and features a separate, dedicated Room 2 Infrared remote control. The R-963 can also be reconfigured to use the two rear-center amplifiers to drive the audio for Room 2. This allows R-963 owners to have 5.1 sound in their main theater and stereo in the balance of their home--all from this single receiver.
“The most remarkable thing about our Sherwood Newcastle R-963 is not it’s performance,” quipped Hipps, “It’s the price.” The Suggested Retail Price for the R-963 is $1,999.95.
The Sherwood Newcastle R-863
For those who can survive with only a little less, Sherwood Newcastle has also begun shipping the R-863 receiver. Rated at 100 Watts RMS with no more than 0.05% THD at 8 ohms into each of its 7 channels, the Newcastle R-863 offers every impressive feature of its big brother except:
The R-863 does has neither the “Digital Re-Mastering” nor the phono circuitry of the R-963.
The Room 2 Video Feed is composite only. The rear center amplifiers cannot be reconfigured. There is no 12-Volt trigger and there is no Room 2 Dedicated remote.
The preprogrammed/learning remote will only operate 8 separate devices and has no LCD window.
“But,” says Hipps, “these small sacrifices result in big savings.” The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail price for the Sherwood Newcastle R-863 is $1199.95.
As a final addition, both the R-963 and the R-863 will be available in Newcastle’s traditional “Titanium” finish and in Black. Said Hipps, “We wanted to reinforce the universality of these receivers. We think they do everything a consumer could want. Having them in black assures that no one will pass one up due to its color.”
Sherwood Newcastle is a high-performance brand name in the field of audio and audio/video. Sherwood Newcastle is a division of Sherwood America, Inc., now part of
Etronics, one of the world's leading multimedia, auto sound, and home electronics manufacturers.
Since 1953, Sherwood has designed and manufactured high-performance, cost effective audio gear. Newcastle is our best. Refined, musical and distinctive, each Newcastle component reflects our simple philosophy: Use the best parts and get the basics right.
---------------------------------
Man, what else could you want in a receiver??? With the usual dealer discounting that can occur for SN stuff, a bring it home price of around $1200 sure would make the R-963 a real tempting upgrade to almost anybody's HT system.
Jeff also told me that their new pre/pro would debut at the January CE show.
------------------
Take Care,
merc
----------------
DFAST, 5C, DVI, HDCP, SafeAudio, Macrovision and Lewinski!!!
[Edited last by John Morris on September 05, 2001 at 05:14 AM]
