Worth looking : Panasonic XR55 7.1 Digital Receiver

Hey guys,

I was just googling, found this to be interesting. Anyone here auditioned it or using it. Any contacts where it could be available in India ?


Check out the comments by an audio enthusiasist -

"...actually a lot more than I expected!

Tonight I finally got a chance to spend about 2 hours with it, sheesh I feel stupid to have paid for 2-day shipping when it ended up sitting in the box for almost a whole week afterwards while I was away and then after returning have been inundated with work so too busy to really listen.

But here are a few preliminary impressions:

1. I'd be lying if I said the Panny were as warm as my Marantz or NAD, but on the other hand I didn't find it "harsh," "cold," "flat," "lifelessly analytical" etc. as many anti-pure-digital audio folk have claimed. "Precise" and "neutral" would be how I'd describe it.

2. Yes, the pure-digital fans are correct about the amazing lack of noise/distortion and the jaw-dropping detail of the mids and highs. Yes, I noticed many more subtle background sounds and textures than I ever did with analog equipment.

I haven't hooked up my DVD player to it since I bought it strictly for 2-channel music but this kind of meticulous detail should be ideal for HT, one would think.

3. On the other hand I am in no hurry to run out and eBay my NAD separates...not yet at least. Supposedly these pure digitals need something like 100 hours of burn-in time before they really sound good...don't know if this has any technical basis or if it falls into the "cable burn-in" category of audio folklore.

4. The Panny made me doubly appreciate the intuitive ease of use I enjoyed with my old Onkyo and current Marantz. Both setup and manual are rather convoluted. You cannot use the remote to change the setup, for one thing...argh!

5. The Panny certainly has no shortage of power...its volume goes from silent at -79 and maxes out at 0, I was easily hitting 80db at -40 and not the slightest hint of distortion. I am very curious to hear how it sounds when I get some extra speaker cable and bi-amp my Ascends, a very handy feature that I had only seen on the Pioneer Elite series in the $700 and up range.

6. The Panny doesn't provide quite the same muscular bass of the NADs, nor the aggressive fullness that the NAD achieves at high volumes (+80db)...it seems to have more of an intricate and laid-back personality best suited to moderately loud volumes of around 70db.

7. Cosmetics. I wasn't crazy about the small, crude-looking LED display which reminded me of my $65 Panasonic DVD player's display but oh well this is a $228 receiver after all. Otherwise the simple black faceplate is pretty tasteful. Should score some WAF brownie points for any guy who decides to keep it. The remote is indeed a cheap POS but still a pretty minor gripe at this price.

PERFORMANCE

I didn't have the kind of euphoric reaction to it that I had when I first got my NAD separates. On the other hand, those separates have probably spoiled me quite a bit, along with the recent addition of the Marantz CDP.

But it was fascinating to listen to the music unfold in a very different way with the Panny. It does indeed have a very airy, wide open soundstage that works very well with certain types of music and less well with others. That "veil lifted" cliche also applies here...made me realize that maybe what people enjoy about a "warm" sound is PRECISELY the layer of hidden noise and fuzziness that acts like a cushion of sorts. I definitely would not pair this receiver with speakers that already have an exaggerated high end though! Oh well, compromises compromises.

More in a few days, still have to get out from under this mountain of work I've come back to...

Right now I'd say that all the hoopla is not unfounded. This Panny is definitely a bargain, and I'd happily take it over most AVRs costing 3-4 times more especially if HT was my primary application, hands down.

It certainly was worth paying shipping fees for an in-home audition, that's for sure!

Next week I'll try to have Marc come over and listen to it, he hated the Onkyo 552 all digital but I think this Panny is a whole other ballgame. He's agreed to take a blindfold test so it'll be interesting to see what a trained musician's ears can or cannot truly pick up.

Would love to have more seasoned folk like Jan, Tawaun, and Art home audition this little baby too...what say you, guys? "