Sherwood's New $439 Bluetooth AV Receiver - Can It Do It All?
- By: HomeTheaterReview.com,
Sherwood America just introduced a new high-performance A/V receiver, the RD-7503. At an MSRP of $439.95, this 100 watt x7 receiver offers an extraordinary range of performance features for the dollar, including Bluetooth audio streaming, HDMI 1.3 audio repeater capability, and lossless audio decoding.
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Bluetooth audio streaming has rapidly become the preferred method of wireless audio transmission for portable devices, and the RD-7503 is one of a handful of audio/video receivers capable of processing those signals. The 7503 can receive streaming MP3 stereo audio from any Bluetooth A2DP source device, when an optional Sherwood BT-R7 receiver is plugged into the 7503's front panel. Future Sherwood receivers will also have this capability.
"With a Bluetooth-enabled 7503, I can walk into my home, press play on my cell phone, and have Miles Davis streaming over my audio system with the phone still in my pocket," said Jeffrey Hipps, Sherwood's Sr. VP for Marketing and Product Development. "Music lovers with large libraries on their portable devices are used to listening anywhere at any time, and providing them with a seamless connection to their primary home audio system is a logical progression."
This means that every Bluetooth audio-enabled product is a potential source component - and with today's portable music lifestyle, there are a wide variety of devices that allow audiophiles to organize and store their favorite music: iPods, Portable Music Players, Smart Cell Phones, Personal Data Assistants, Laptop Computers, Notebook Computers and Desktop Computers.
Using the listener's primary audio/video system for wireless playback means not only eliminating an iPod dock or cables, but also provides the highest quality sound, because playback is over the primary system's speakers rather than the ones found in a tiny iPod dock or portable device.
The RD-7503 also one of the few products in its price category with repeater circuitry on its three HDMI 1.3 inputs. Unlike receivers that simply hand off the audio component of an HDMI input signal to an HDMI output, the RD-7503 can also receive and process the HDMI audio from the source component, eliminating the need for separate audio cables from the source component to the receiver. One HDMI output is provided.
Lossless audio decoding for both Dolby TruHD and DTS Master Audio HD delivers high-resolution audio for Blu-ray playback. Other advanced audio options include the DTS 96/24, ES, and Neo6 formats, as well as Dolby ProLogic IIx, Virtual Speaker, and Dolby Headphone. For playback of SACD and DVD-Audio source components, 7.1 channel direct inputs are provided.
Read much more on Page 2
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Comment on this article
Am I missing anything, or does this Sherwoood receiver have everything you need to start a home theater, and then some at $439.95! What an incredible bargain this receiver is. Sure, if your room is big, and you need more than one HDMI inpt, then this Sherwood is not for you.
But, for a small to medium size room, you have ample power and flexibility for days.
I saw this @ CES and to me it was one of the biggest things of the show. To my knowledge, only Chord has a DAC that does this but costs a small fortune. The ability to wirelessly stream music from your iPhone to your main system is really cool. I suspect we will see this feature in many more components in the near future.
Taking orders now.
I used to be a high end dealer back in the 80's so I think I have "some" credibility. In simple, layman's terms, Sherwoods receivers are the best kept secret in audio/hi-fi. One of best ISO 9000 manufacturing facilities for electronics is in Korea, called "Inkel" and on the web www.inkel.com. They are owned by Sherwood and they manufacture many brands of hi-fi equipment. The big difference here is two-fold: 1) Sherwood buys direct; all the others have to pay Sherwood to make their products AND 2) Sherwoods equipment is designed by American EE's (engineers) not foreign engineers. Look at all the exceptionally high end electronic products and you see almost exclusively American and English engineers designing product...and that's it! So, with Sherwood you get up front 1) a superbly "built" product from a top notch factory, 2) you get a lot more for the dollar because there's no "middle" manufacturer, and 3) you get great audio engineering/circuit design. I've had (in my retirement) one of their units and knock on wood not one, single problem of any kind in perhaps five years. Sherwood's dealer base isn't what it should be because it is, in fact, one of the best kept secrets in Audio.
Hopefully, once the word gets out, that will change! But you can still get product and at a good discount. Happy Hunting!
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