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Panasonic has this to say on their new Digital Amps:
Backstory:
I've been going through a rather nasty case of upgraditis this year. Having an older based Onkyo system was starting to take its toll as well. When DVD first came out, 97, I picked up this Ds-tx838 receiver for an embarrassing large amount of money. This reciever, although awesome for its time, was just getting a little too long in the tooth. For instance, it suffered from audio dropouts all over, and since Spielberg was late getting his DTS standard to the DVD forums, it didn't have that capability. It was only around 85w in front and 50 in the rears. And every time the fan came on the power spiked up 5 dBs.
So it finally came the time to change it over. Rotel would have been my first choice, but since the wife is still out of work, i figured I'd need an Interim solution until i can achieve the 1068/1075 combo i want. This years Cedia show brought up a new addition to Rotel's line that really peaked my interest - the digital amp. After looking through some of the usual forums i found a write up on this Panasonic component - the SA-XR50. I read through about 9 or 10 pages before i really got hooked.
Fast forward:
to Friday afternoon, i was able to get rid of both my 838, and an aging Onkyo bedroom system i had. FutureShop had a sale on the RX50's so i went and picked one up.
Well whaddya know?!
This little guy is remarkable.
I haven't heard this kind of clarity in a while. Some will say its bright. But i think this is more on the side of detail. and Lots of it.
It fits my s-video based system perfectly, the sound coming through DVD is simple awesome.
I can't believe what this little thing can do. My previous sibilance issues have been drastically reduced, there's a lot of action in the rears now (could be a by-product of DPL-II), the base is tighter, no more dropouts/volume spikes/fan clicks, hey i FINALLY have DTS! The Rears are now getting a lot more power, and they're sounding twice as good. FM tuning sounds about the same at this point. I really only played around enough to set up some local stations. I had to switch a couple of bananas over to Pins (the bindings on the new pannie could do with some work). On the power side of things, it's not the beast i was hoping for. Indeed, it's only rated for 100w @ 6ohms, but someone did some measurements and it came out to around 82w/channel @ 8 ohms.
I think its probably just under what I need to drive Paradigm Ref's. Don't get me wrong. Its a LOT better than the onkyo.
For instance, my old system used to break up in the rears and distort at moderate levels (50 w doesn't go far). The new one handles surrounds a LOT better.
Its still not what i need as far as power goes, but i'm getting closer. I'm actually afraid to push it the way i'd like to.
Now the Audio from satellite doesn't sound quite as robust as it did from the Onkyo. Maybe it was losing the 24k gold contacts on the back of the onkyo, maybe it had a better power supply. It could be because the upper/lower ends are so pronounced, i'm missing out on the mid-ranges that the Onkyo offered. CD, surprisingly enough, sounds about the same from what i've seen. I'm using the analog outs from my old Onkyo 5-Disk. I need to test this further as I'm sure the audio buffs out there would like to know how it does for 2 channel. The HT buffs, on the other hand, will love this thing. DD sounds incredible now and the added bonus of having DTS is really a long awaited reward. The DTS in Dardevil last night was amazingly clear as was T2 this afternoon.
Pro's:
Decodes Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, NEO:6, DTS 96/24, Pro Logic II
Large Speaker Terminals Yes (Speaker A only)
6-Ch Discrete Inputs Yes
Amplifier Type High Efficiency Digital Amplifier
Subwoofer Output Yes
Output Power - Stereo Mode 100W per channel (20Hz - 20kHz, 6 ohms, 0.09% THD)
Output Power - Home Theater Mode 100W per channel (6 channels, 1kHz, 6 ohms, 0.9% THD)
Dimensions (H x W x D) 39/32'' x 1615/16'' x 1413/16''
Weight 9.3 lbs
Cons:
Terrible Instruction manual
Spring Clip Bindings for LS, RS, SB
Could use a little more power (wish they could've gotten this to 100w @ 8 ohms!)
In the end though, not too bad for $350Cdn bucks huh? I can honestly say that this little guys sounds "as good/if not better" then my Onkyo did. Its quite amazing what 7 years can do to a technology. And it was 10% of the price, too. I'll still upgrade to Rotel. It's still in my boiling away in my blood. But this has seemed to satisfy me for a bit. I was hoping it would. There's just too much going on in A/V for me to plunk money down on rotel QUITE yet.
Digital amps are coming in strong, the DVI/HDMI war needs to finish and the 1394/hdmi link conflict needs to end. I realized this week how hard it is to get rid of outdated audio electronics. and believe me, i'll think twice about the next rig i get set up.
For now, I'm set. This technology is definitely here to stay. Again, it still amazes me that stuff of such calibre can be had for so little.
Wish i had this 7 years ago. Woulda saved me $2500.
Bummed yet elated,
Mikey
P.S. My system so far includes:
Paradigm Studio Ref 40v3
Paradigm Studio Ref 20v3
Paradigm Studio Ref CC470v3
JBL PW-1200 Sub
LG- DV7832
Onkyo 5-Disk Carousel
Panasonic SA-XR50
Clear, Powerful Sound Via Digital Amplification
The benefits of digital technology are now available in a high-quality amplifier. Digital amplifiers are much more efficient than traditional analog amplifiers, generating less heat and taking up less space while still generating large amounts of clean output power. Sound quality is also improved by eliminating the digital to analog conversion necessary when connecting a digital source device, such as a DVD player, to an analog amplifier. All processing and amplification are done in the digital domain, resulting in low distortion and extremely low background noise.
The benefits of digital technology are now available in a high-quality amplifier. Digital amplifiers are much more efficient than traditional analog amplifiers, generating less heat and taking up less space while still generating large amounts of clean output power. Sound quality is also improved by eliminating the digital to analog conversion necessary when connecting a digital source device, such as a DVD player, to an analog amplifier. All processing and amplification are done in the digital domain, resulting in low distortion and extremely low background noise.
I've been going through a rather nasty case of upgraditis this year. Having an older based Onkyo system was starting to take its toll as well. When DVD first came out, 97, I picked up this Ds-tx838 receiver for an embarrassing large amount of money. This reciever, although awesome for its time, was just getting a little too long in the tooth. For instance, it suffered from audio dropouts all over, and since Spielberg was late getting his DTS standard to the DVD forums, it didn't have that capability. It was only around 85w in front and 50 in the rears. And every time the fan came on the power spiked up 5 dBs.
So it finally came the time to change it over. Rotel would have been my first choice, but since the wife is still out of work, i figured I'd need an Interim solution until i can achieve the 1068/1075 combo i want. This years Cedia show brought up a new addition to Rotel's line that really peaked my interest - the digital amp. After looking through some of the usual forums i found a write up on this Panasonic component - the SA-XR50. I read through about 9 or 10 pages before i really got hooked.
Fast forward:
to Friday afternoon, i was able to get rid of both my 838, and an aging Onkyo bedroom system i had. FutureShop had a sale on the RX50's so i went and picked one up.
Well whaddya know?!
This little guy is remarkable.
I haven't heard this kind of clarity in a while. Some will say its bright. But i think this is more on the side of detail. and Lots of it.
It fits my s-video based system perfectly, the sound coming through DVD is simple awesome.
I can't believe what this little thing can do. My previous sibilance issues have been drastically reduced, there's a lot of action in the rears now (could be a by-product of DPL-II), the base is tighter, no more dropouts/volume spikes/fan clicks, hey i FINALLY have DTS! The Rears are now getting a lot more power, and they're sounding twice as good. FM tuning sounds about the same at this point. I really only played around enough to set up some local stations. I had to switch a couple of bananas over to Pins (the bindings on the new pannie could do with some work). On the power side of things, it's not the beast i was hoping for. Indeed, it's only rated for 100w @ 6ohms, but someone did some measurements and it came out to around 82w/channel @ 8 ohms.
I think its probably just under what I need to drive Paradigm Ref's. Don't get me wrong. Its a LOT better than the onkyo.
For instance, my old system used to break up in the rears and distort at moderate levels (50 w doesn't go far). The new one handles surrounds a LOT better.
Its still not what i need as far as power goes, but i'm getting closer. I'm actually afraid to push it the way i'd like to.
Now the Audio from satellite doesn't sound quite as robust as it did from the Onkyo. Maybe it was losing the 24k gold contacts on the back of the onkyo, maybe it had a better power supply. It could be because the upper/lower ends are so pronounced, i'm missing out on the mid-ranges that the Onkyo offered. CD, surprisingly enough, sounds about the same from what i've seen. I'm using the analog outs from my old Onkyo 5-Disk. I need to test this further as I'm sure the audio buffs out there would like to know how it does for 2 channel. The HT buffs, on the other hand, will love this thing. DD sounds incredible now and the added bonus of having DTS is really a long awaited reward. The DTS in Dardevil last night was amazingly clear as was T2 this afternoon.
Pro's:
Decodes Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, NEO:6, DTS 96/24, Pro Logic II
Large Speaker Terminals Yes (Speaker A only)
6-Ch Discrete Inputs Yes
Amplifier Type High Efficiency Digital Amplifier
Subwoofer Output Yes
Output Power - Stereo Mode 100W per channel (20Hz - 20kHz, 6 ohms, 0.09% THD)
Output Power - Home Theater Mode 100W per channel (6 channels, 1kHz, 6 ohms, 0.9% THD)
Dimensions (H x W x D) 39/32'' x 1615/16'' x 1413/16''
Weight 9.3 lbs
Cons:
Terrible Instruction manual
Spring Clip Bindings for LS, RS, SB
Could use a little more power (wish they could've gotten this to 100w @ 8 ohms!)
In the end though, not too bad for $350Cdn bucks huh? I can honestly say that this little guys sounds "as good/if not better" then my Onkyo did. Its quite amazing what 7 years can do to a technology. And it was 10% of the price, too. I'll still upgrade to Rotel. It's still in my boiling away in my blood. But this has seemed to satisfy me for a bit. I was hoping it would. There's just too much going on in A/V for me to plunk money down on rotel QUITE yet.
Digital amps are coming in strong, the DVI/HDMI war needs to finish and the 1394/hdmi link conflict needs to end. I realized this week how hard it is to get rid of outdated audio electronics. and believe me, i'll think twice about the next rig i get set up.
For now, I'm set. This technology is definitely here to stay. Again, it still amazes me that stuff of such calibre can be had for so little.
Wish i had this 7 years ago. Woulda saved me $2500.
Bummed yet elated,
Mikey
P.S. My system so far includes:
Paradigm Studio Ref 40v3
Paradigm Studio Ref 20v3
Paradigm Studio Ref CC470v3
JBL PW-1200 Sub
LG- DV7832
Onkyo 5-Disk Carousel
Panasonic SA-XR50
Attached Files
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