AV Receiver Reviews

In many respects, AV receivers haven't changed much in recent years. There have been no major breakthroughs in amplifier design. 7.1-channels aren't that new. Multichannel analog inputs have been a fixture for some time. Dolby Digital and DTS have been with us since the Jurassic Age&mdash;or at least since <I>Jurassic Park</I>. And FM and AM sections are about as exciting as <I>Halloween 14</I>.

Ah, technology. Too bad automobiles can't keep up with home theater electronics, or we'd all be driving around in Hummers that get 200 miles to the gallon, emit pure oxygen and absorb all that heat coming off Al Gore. Sony's new receiver is the latest example of more for less. The STR-DA5200ES is feature packed, though perhaps not to the gills. And since we've segued from cars to fish, you should know now that, for the price, this receiver is better than a fair catch.

Used to be even the most basic receiver came with two accessories: a cheap wire dipole FM antenna and a plastic-loop AM job (which most often seemed to degrade reception). You still get the antennae, even if nobody except dental-office denizens listens to much terrestrial radio anymore. But you get a lot more with your receiver today.

"The new phone book is kinda' slim. Everyone must be switching to cellular," Gina remarked seeing what I was holding.

Most popular AV receivers come from companies based in Japan, Korea, and China. Most of these are huge companies with the resources to develop products quickly and promote them widely.

In a career spanning four decades, Sunfire's founder and chief designer Bob Carver has morphed from bushy to bald, young Turk to elder (or at least older) statesman, and iconoclast to anointed icon. Throughout, one thing neither he nor his designs has ever been is dull, and Sunfire's latest "Theater Grand" A/V receiver is no exception.