New Sherwood (1 Viewer)

[Bradford_M]

Just got a new Sherwood RD-8108. Wanted the DD and DTS decoding. The specs looked great with 6.1, DD EX and DTS ES, etc, etc. I have owned a Sherwood RV-5030 prologic receiver for the last 7+ years. I'm concerned because the 8108 has very little bass response. Tried all the settings I could find from the manual, but my old Prologic still sounds a lot better.

I have floorstanding Klipsch KG 3.5's and a matching center speaker. Planning to add rear surrounds after the recevier issue is resolved. Never needed a subwoofer because I always got plenty of "thump" from my setup. I will say that I was able to set a loudness switch on the ProLogic receiver to boost the bass and it has separate controls for treble and bass.

Is this inability to set and contol treble and bass to the same degree common on all new receivers today? Or did I just buy the wrong one?

Do the manufacturers all assume you will have a subwoofer?

What do you think my best options are?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm just really frustrated right now. Thanks in adavance.


Brad

 

[Philip Hamm]

Make sure your front speakers are set to "Large", your center and surrounds to "Small" and your subwoofer to "Off". You have probably gotten used to overemphasized bass from many years of listening with the "Loudness" on and the bass cranked. Your receiver should have bass and treble controls somewhere to make you happy. You may want to spend some time getting used to normal bass levels and see how you like it. Most people run their controls flat for the most part, I know I do. Enjoy your new receiver, Sherwood makes good stuff.

 

[Bradford_M]

Thanks Phil for the words of encouragement. To test, I set my old ProLogic to "flat" and used that as the baseline. The 8108 was still not as full and "life like". I don't have a sub-woofer yet, so this is just testing across the fronts and the center. Kinda hoped I wouldn't need a sub-woofer, but that is what I trying to find out....if the new crop of receivers are set up with the assumption you will have one and so the fronts don't need to carry the bass.

Thanks again.


Brad

 

[Jeff Hipps]

Please check the "Bass Management" settings on the receiver. Press the "Speaker Setup" button on the front panel. The receiver will display the current speaker settings. You would like to see FL-CS-RS and Sub-No. If you don't see those settings, hold the "Speaker Setup" button down for several seconds until the speaker display starts to flash. Repeatedly push that button until the display reads, FL-CS-RS, then press the "Memo/Enter" button. This will save the main speaker settings and bring up the "Subwoofer" settings. Press the Speaker Setup button until it says, "Sub-No", then press the Memo-Enter button to save that setting.

This should solve your bass complaint.

Jeff Hipps
Sherwood America

 

[Philip Hamm]

There you have it right from the source.

I know that 5.0 can provide great bass. That's how I run my bedroom system. However, that system has an ancient Pioneer receiver only.

 

[Bradford_M]

Thanks Jeff. Was going to try Eugene in tech support later today after you guys in CA finally got up...
I'll re-check the settings tonight and let you know how it comes out.
Brad

 

[Chris Shelly]

Hello Bradford,

I recently picked up a Panasonic SA-HE200 receiver. I am growing very unhappy with it because it is not very flexable and does not offer the ability to run regular DPL. I am seriously considering sending it back.

I own a Sherwood RD-7106 receiver that I was very happy with. It still works fine but to get it to run Digital I have manually select it unlike before. It got a little old so I replaced it with the Panasonic. I wished I did not because the Sherwood was pretty good for the price and was much much more flexible and easy to use.

I found the Sherwood RD-8108 on sale for $222 on the Internet. Thinking about picking it up.

Could you please tell me if it offers the ability to run regular Dolby Pro Logic? In the Dolby Pro Logic 2 settings it should have something labeled Emulation or just Pro Logic instead of Pro Logic 2.

Thanks
Chris

 

[David G Greene]

I own a Sherwood RD-6108. It does PL & PL2.
I like PL2 better though.

 

[Bradford_M]

Chris,

It does PL or PLII plus a lot more. I got everything re-set the way Jeff instructed and much, much, better bass. As Jeff suspected, it was operator error. Still not as adjustable or as easy as my old receiver, but acceptable. Got some more tweaking to do with volume levels at each speaker. If you are looking at bang for the buck, the RD-8108 is very good. I will be doing more "hands-on" during the next few days, before I decide if I need to spend a couple of hundred more to move to the next class of features and have more tweakability or keep this one.


Brad

 

[Philip Hamm]

Great I'm glad that it worked out for you. Sherwood is one of the few manufacturers who have an active presence on this board, and it is appreciated.

 

[Bill Will]

Jeff or Bradford, Any idea what website might have the "Full" specs. on this Sherwood? Looking for things like can the volume levels & tone controls be set for each source, does it have a phono input & etc. Also a close-up picture of the front, back & remote would be nice & even better the owner's manual. Thanks

 

[Bradford_M]

Bill,

Not sure where you'll be able to get detailed specs. It's a new model, so may take awhile for the info to filter out.

I bought mine because I was happy with the Sherwood Prologic model I had for 7 years AND it was $75 cheaper than the Pioneer VSX-D811 which is a similar unit. As with most things the devil is in the details. I've only had mine a couple of days. With the help of Jeff from Sherwood (on this forum), I have been able to get a 5.0 setup (no subwoofer) to sound better than my ProLogic. Not a lot better in terms of musical and sound effects quality, but the digital stuff really gives a lot more detail and separation.

Back to your question...I don't have enough experience with it yet to be able to answer your questions about volume levels and controls. The manual is very basic. I would suggest that maybe the best course of action would be to buy the Sherwood and maybe the Pioneer from dealers with 30 day return policies. Test them on your setup and decide from that which one is the best fit. I'm thinking of doing that myself, just to be sure.

Brad

 

[Jeff Hipps]

The owner's manual for our RD-6108 is available on our web site: www.sherwoodusa.com We'll post the RD-7108 and RD-8108 as soon as we get the PDF files from the factory. (Incidentally, Danny Kumin reviews the RD-7108 in the January, 2003 Sound and Vision)
As to specs and photos, I can e-mail the catalog sheet for any of the new models. Just drop me a note at: [email protected] to let me know which model you need.
Jeff Hipps

 

[Bill Will]

Thanks Jeff will do & Bradford after you get it set up let us know what you think of the receiver. I have been telling people who want low-cost receivers to look at the Panasonic 100 but the RD-8108 might just replace the Panny 100. I have always liked Sherwood over any low-priced receivers & way, way back when Sherwood was the first? company to come up with a HTB, that was what I told all my friends who were looking for low-cost systems to buy. If I remember right the old Video Mag. loved the Sherwood HTB for it's sound & price & I myself have always liked the sound of Sherwood's compared to Panasonic (Technics).

 

[Bradford_M]

Bill and all,

Here's my amateur eval on the Sherwood RD-8108 versus Pioneer VSX-D811S....

It seems to be all about price versus features. They are both good units. My situation (and my ear) swings me to the Pioneer for the following reasons...

#1 - I prefer to listen at low volume levels. Not into high db's. BUT, I want to be able to have a realistic sound from HT and music. When listening to the movie "Cast Away" I want the rain to sound like it is dropping "in the speaker". It does with the Pioneer. The ability to adjust the bass and treble to a greater degree and a "loudness" switch tipped the scales to the Pioneer. The bass is much stronger with the Pioneer.

#2 - The Pioneer is easier to setup. Speaker setup is easier, has a bass crossover setting, no need to calculate speaker distance from the "listening position". Just a simple measurement. I like the speaker wire attachment with support for banana plug or twist-on. Also the "smallish" holes on the Sherwood speaker connections make using 12 guage speaker wire a difficult fit.

#3 - Pioneer has a more detailed and easy to understand manual. Actually explains the various surround modes for HT and music. Sherwood assumes you already know what each are.

#4 - Pioneer has a slight edge in "futures". Supports 2 back surrround speakers instead of just 1 center back. Pre-amp connections for all channels, never could figure out how many on Sherwood. That could just be my problem though. Future expandability is important to me, because I tend to keep a receiver for more than 5 years.

#5 - Pioneer has a less confusing layout on the remote, at least for me.


To review....my preference is for clean accurate sound, not loud booming stuff. I use Klipsch KG series speakers for fronts, center, and surrounds. Good balanced sound across the Htz spectrum is what is pleasing to my ear.

I'm sure I have missed some things and it IS NOT my intent to down the Sherwood. Remember, I have been very happy with a Sherwood ProLogic model for 7+ years. I think the Sherwood is a very good unit and is priced about $75.00 less than the Pioneer. It just that for me the $75.00 was worth it for the better sound adjustments and added features.

For those of you that already have a sub-woofer and are on a budget give the Sherwood a strong look. Because I do not have a sub-woofer and am not ready to fork out $400-$600 for a decent SVS, the Sherwood was not a good match for me.

Thanks to all that helped with this thread and especially to Jeff at Sherwood.

Brad

 

[Robert_Gaither]

The other thing to point out is the Sherwood manual is also incorrect on the 6108 as it claims to have pre-outs on all channels on the last spec page but in reality does not (this is a warning for those of you who might consider this for a pre-amp). Though the one thing I really love about the 6108 is that it has a built-in sleep timer (this to me beats out the useless DSP modes found in most AVRs though an all channel stereo mode would of been nice touch for those that want this as a main system) plus that Circuit City ran this for $99 on their after Thanksgiving sale.

I would also bet the Sherwood would sound better with a sub due to the fact it manages bass at 80 hz (Pioneer if I'm correct does 100/150/200 hz) and should allow the sub to be more discrete after both setup is calibrated and the sats are capable of reaching the 80 hz range (so the smaller systems should be better with the Pioneer while the larger systems most likely will be better with the Sherwood).

 

[Bill Will]

Nice Report Bradford & I hate to say it but for a lower-priced receiver I still don't think you can beat the Panasonic SA-HE100 unless you want to move up to the Pioneer 811. The only thing I wished the Pioneer had was a phono input. Yes I know you can get phono pre amps but it's still nice to have them on the receiver for some people. That's one of my big beef's with HK & there's no excuse, at least to me, why their higher priced receiver's don't have them. I can understand Pioneer, Sherwood & etc when your trying to keep the costs down on a lower-priced receiver but as far as I'm concerned "ALL" higher priced receiver's should have phono inputs. Just my 2 cents. Jeff thanks for all the info you sent me.

 

[Bradford_M]

Bill,
Just one last comment. I forgot to mention that I picked up the Pioneer at Best Buy this weekend for $299. My dollar amount comments were based on this price and the price I paid for the Sherwood ($225).
And Bill, what's a phono?
Just kiddding, of course....
Brad

 

[Bill Will]

Also check umder "DEALS" Best Buy has the Pioneer for $299.99 with "FREE SHIPPING"

 

[SeanDM]

You can do even better on the 811 with a Best Buy pricematch at Circuit City. Combine the price match with a CC $30 gift card and a MSN dollars rebate and you can effectively get the price closer to $199. While the gift card and MSN dollars are not cash per se, it's better than a sharp stick in the eye ...Check it out HERE
I've been looking to set up a budget HT and this fit the bill quite well. I picked it up a few days ago and did the online CC order and price match without a problem.
BTW, I discovered this forum through the Anandtech link above and I've become obsessed. I've been wanting an HT setup for a couple of years, but it seemed there was always some other gadget to buy. This deal on the Pioneer put me over the edge. Now I'm looking for speakers and may go with the entry level Axioms I discovered on this forum. I hope to have everything set up in a week or two and I can't wait.