lcpadua said:Now Chi Lam has me doing it! I am prowling the threads of the various forums trying to get more information on the BA7120. Of course, it is identical--as best anyone can tell--to the Sherwood Newcastle R965. But here is an interesing twist posted on the the home theater forum a few days ago. It should be noted that Jeff Hipps is the a Senior VP at Sherwood America (see second quote below) In a way, he is just touting his own product, but I thought it was an interesting post nonetheless.

Jeff Hipps
Cerritos, CA USA
Member

Member Since:
February 3rd, 1999

With the Boston Acoustics 7120 on close-out, there is no question as to what's the best receiver available for under $1000.

http://www.OneCall.com/ProductDetai...u=true&id=26575

Jeff

An extension of the Automatic Speaker Setup routine that was added to these models late in 2004 as part of Newcastle’s Field Upgrade program, SNAP first measures the frequency response of each of the 7.1 channels using sophisticated 1/12 octave amplitude mapping. According to Jeffrey Hipps, Sherwood's Sr. VP for Marketing and Product Planning, "1/12 octave measurements allow us to concentrate the highest accuracy on the frequency bands that can most benefit from equalization.” For example, there are 24 measurement points in the bass area between 20 and 80 Hz. SNAP then uses up to 7 bands of parametric EQ per channel with both adjustable center frequency and “Q” to improve in-room system response.

“The results”, according to Hipps, “are outstanding. My personal system, with its mix of di-pole and direct radiating speakers has never sounded better. Dialogue intelligibility is improved and surround effects, no matter where they are panned, sound realistic.”


Jsut so I'm clear, Is this saying that the BA 7120 doesn't have this finer level of automated calibration?

anyone successfully upgrade to fw5.1 or 5.2?
what's your finding?
Ths,
JT

Did someone mention something about skidmarks?

marks70 said:So for those that purchased either one of these units, do you have any comments and/or regrets? For those that bought the AVR-7100, do you wish you would have spent the extra $300 and purchased the AVR-7120?

I have the 7120, and highly recommend it.

marks70 said:So for those that purchased either one of these units, do you have any comments and/or regrets? For those that bought the AVR-7100, do you wish you would have spent the extra $300 and purchased the AVR-7120?

I bought the 7120 and am very happy with it. I have some comments earlier in the thread that I stand by. At this point, after a month, I would emphasize the following:

1. Sonically, this unit is top notch in every way. No complaints anywhere.

2. Build quality appears to be good, but time will tell on the quality of the parts. I definitely don't want to get involved in repairs of this and hope it lasts for years.

3. The manual is marginal at best. Download the Sherwood R965 manual and compare the two before you throw up your hands in despair. Once you know how to do something, you will see that the manual does say that, but the manual is so poorly written that it is often hard to figure out.

4. BA firmware 1.0 appears to be equal to Sherwood firmware 4.1...make sure the manuals are consistent if you try suggestion 3. I understand Sherwood may be making a firmware mod that includes SNAP, and that will make the manuals diverge in the future.

5. Be sure you have pretty good access to your back panel, or else you are sure you know how the hookups work. I have made plenty of mistakes and have had to re-do hookups. Fortunately, my access is pretty easy, though not perfect.

5a. The unit weighs more than 50 pounds, so you definitely don't want it hanging off a shelf dangling from the cables...

6. Flexibility is excellent; if you have optical, coax-digital, analog, composite, component, or s-video, you can deal with it though it may take a little effort. Some people will be bummed that there is no DVI nor HDMI. If that's a show stopper, well, that's a show stopper.

7. It goes without saying, but you will want to ensure adequate cooling. This is cooled convectively and needs plenty of space and ventilation. It's easy to leave it on and if the enclosure is closed up...well...that can't be good for things.

8. After more than a month, I am still learning operational things about the unit...some of the video modes are not necessarily intuitive, unless you are thinking just like the designer of the firmware was. It's not bad; it just needs to be figured out.

9. Some people don't like that the on screen display does not work on component video outputs. That seems like something that coulda been fixed, but I don't know the technical problems involved. You definitely need the OSD to do many of the operations.

10. The room 2 setup is like having a separate amp and program source. I suppose there are others brands just like this, but the lack of cross-talk amazed me...I couldn't hear any.

11. Again, I emphasize, sonically this is first rate. I can't imagine anything better.

12. I am listening to Lou Reed, Metal Machine Music right now. It's great! (that statement should call into question any of my previous comments by those who know MMM...)

SoundTribeSeeker said:dacoroman said:I just wanted to update this thread and let everyone now that until April 17 you can save $25 on both of these models by using code SPRING06 at checkout.

Add something for a couple of dollars and you can save $50

STS

Everyone's a Winner
Save $25 on total purchases $500-$1000; $50 on $1001-$1500; $75 on $1501-$2500; $125 on $2501-$3000; $200 on $3001-$4500; $300 on $4501-$6000; $400 on $6001-$8000 and save $500 when you spend $8000 or more. Enter coupon code SPRING06 during check out or redeem by phone. Coupons are valid for purchases made March 21 to April 17, 2006, at 4 p.m. Pacific. Unless otherwise stated, instant coupons are not applicable to sales of Bose, Boston Acoustics, Niles, Polk Audio, Velodyne, Sonos, KEF, digital SLR cameras (over $2999), camera lenses and competition price matches.

Expires: Monday, April 17, 2006 at 11:59:00 PM

Yamaha RX-V2600 got the very good review in England. It's the best mutichannel receiver in 2005 according to What Hi-Fi magazine.
http://www.yamaha-uk.com/av_amps_receivers/?product_id=121
http://www.yamaha-uk.com/pdf/RXV2600_WhatHifi.pdf


RX-V2600 equips with HDMI and cheaper than BA 7120.
It also beats Denon¡¦s AVR 3806¡K.
An RX-V2600 is only $870 online.
Any advice ? Should I spend over $1000 on BA 7120 ?

my piece does not put out audio in digital mode using coaxial or optical -- analog mode works fine. I have 3 front speakers and 2 back surround connected. Any suggestion??
Thank you for your quick response.
JT

joetran said:my piece does not put out audio in digital mode using coaxial or optical -- analog mode works fine. I have 3 front speakers and 2 back surround connected. Any suggestion??
Thank you for your quick response.
JT

Sent you a PM