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I have now had the pleasure of having this receiver/decoder/amplifier for about a week and would like to share my experiences with it. The receiver has built-in MPEG Multichannel, DTS and Dolby Digital decoding, as well as an AM/FM tuner with RDS.
It has 7 inputs (VCR1, VCR2, DVD/LD, TV/SAT, CD, MD, VIDEO) 2 of which also has outputs (VCR1 & VCR2). It also has a seperate TV output (without sound).
Five of the inputs (VCR1, VCR2, DVD/LD, TV/SAT, VIDEO) has a corresponding video input as well, which is switched along with the audio input.
All of the video input/outputs have both S-Video and normal RCA (composite) jacks.
There are four digitial inputs, one Coax and three optical. It also has a digital coax output. Each input is "movable" to a user-defined input item (ie. when I select DVD/LD, I have selected to use the COAX digital input, when I select CD, I have selected to use the OPTICAL digital input, but I could just as easily have done it vice versa).
The MD audio has both analog input and output (so you can record via the
receiver), and there is a Tape 2 Monitor Input/Output, of which it says in
the manual (p. 47):
"If you connect a cassette deck (etc.) with a record monitor function to
the TAPE 2 MONITOR jacks, you can listen to the sound of the recording as
it is being recorded."
The tuner has a 30-channel capability to store frequencies for easy access, and supports RDS (Radio Data System), with support for PTY (used for searching among RDS stations for a specific style of program, ie. "Jazz", "Classical", "News"), EON (which is used to interrupt whatever you are listening to if you want traffic reports or news, even while listening to CD, MD or other inputs), and RT (Radio Text), which is used to display the singer, title etc. during a number.
There is a 5.1ch analog input option as well for connecting an external decoder or for DVDs with built-in decoders.
The receiver has built-in amplification for 5 channels, so you need an active subwoofer (one with built-in amplifier). You also have the option of outputting the center channel to a seperate amplifier.
Amplification:
Stereo mode: Front 2 x 100W
Surround mode: Front 2 x 60W, Center 60W, Rear 60W
Miscellaneous:
Power requirement: 220-230V AC, 50/60 Hz
Power consumption: 220W (2W in standby)
Dimensions: 42x15.8x40.1 cm (WxHxD)
Weight: 9.8 kg
Finally a receiver with all three (currently) existing surround decoders built-in. No matter if what you play is DD, DTS or MPEG, the receiver will pick it up and decode it in glorious 5(.1) channel sound. The (.1) is because the receiver doesn't contain an amplifier for the subwoofer channel.
I LOVE the fact that it switches video inputs along with audio when you select an input. The only catch in this setup is if you have a mixed environment (ie. both S-VHS and VHS VCRs), since there is no conversion done in the receiver. If you select an input which is connected to a standard VHS, you'd better have a VHS output somewhere, otherwise you won't be able to see anything. The same goes for the other way around. Likewise with analog and digital sound input/output. So remember to connect both the analog and digital output from your audio units, and both S-VHS and VHS from your VCRs.
The decoder sounds to me to be excellent. There is a definite improvement in frequency range when I switch from the Analog input of my DVD (which then only carries Dolby Prologic) and the Digital input (which then carries the full 5.1ch signal). This is to be expected, and so it came as no real surprise (end-quote). I had a standard Dolby ProLogic receiver previously, and the jump from PL to DD is even bigger than the jump from Stereo to PL.
The remote control (pictured above) is a multi-brand controller, which can control 7 other units with basic functions (DVD/LD, TV/SAT, CD, VCR1, TV/CABLE, VCR2, MD/DAT). It's a bit on the thick side and the buttons are just a tad too small, but I have a programmable remote, so I won't use it anyway. The basic functions I have transferred to my programmable remote is Input Selector (toggles between the various inputs), Analog/Digital input selector (switches between Analog and Digital inputs in the rare cases, where I would want to enforce one or the other), Power, Vol+, Vol- and Mute. These are all the options I use all the time. For a person who want to use the FM tuner more extensively than I do (I usually only listen to one station, and the FM tuner remembers which station it was last set to, so that is the station I get when I toggle my way around to the tuner with the Input Selector), might want to transfer the Station Up and perhaps Down.
The unit is BIG, and it says in the manual that it needs at least 20 cm (two thirds of a foot) of space above it for heat dispersal, so make sure you have a place in the open for it, or it will overheat.