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| Model: | SA-XR55 |
| Category: | Receiver |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $300 |
| Description: | 100 watts times 6 channels CLASS-D home theater reciever |
| Manufacturer URL: | Panasonic |
| Model Picture: | View |
| Review by budget minded (A) on October 13, 2005 at 07:40:39 IP Address: 4.156.3.101 | Add Your Review for the SA-XR55 |
my system sounds much more relaxed yet at the same time detailed with the panasonic. every time i play a disc, i'm hearing things i've never heard before. sudden dynamic sounds have ALOT more impact. tracks that i'm familiar with surprise me now. *kaboom*!not only that, the panasonic has a nice digital system. when listening to 2 channel music in surround mode, the panny sounds alot better than my onkyo does doing pro logic. the panny D/A converters are less digital sounding. they also image much wider than the onkyo which tends to push images towards the center where i've finally heard sounds extend past my speakers with the panny.
the ONE thing that i'm still trying to get a grip on is that everything sounds more like it was recorded in a well damped room. i think it might be that i'm comparing the sound to my old system. the new sound is very much like the sound on the "planet drum" disc by mickey hart. it's considered to be a state of the art demo disc, but i always thought it was a little polite. maybe i'm just not used to a "just the facts" sound and need to adjust.
i'm loving the speed and detail retrieval (and wider center spread in the image) along with near planar vocals but am coming to grips with what seems like a less ambient sound. planet drum isn't that ambient either. maybe i'm hearing what i'm supposed to hear and am just not used to it. regardless... when i hear a sexy feamale vocal or a nice bass drum thwak under a cowbell... i'm a happy camper. i'm guessing that what i'm hearing is ironfisted control of my speakers for the first time.
i'm not a big fan of the "i hope you have banana plugs or REALLY small fingers if you want to use pins" speaker connectors or lack of a switched power outlet for subwoofing and my RF converter, but those are minor gripes. it's the sound that matters. the display that looks like a mirror (silver model) when powered down is realy cool too.
the bottom line is this reciever has killer bang for the buck. i thought my onkyo did, but it's been spanked by panasonic.
| Product Weakness: | terrible closely spaced "2 way" binding posts which won't accept spades, no power outlets, front AV jacks ruin looks a little, no phono preamp and "multi mode" switch takes some getting used to. |
| Product Strengths: | speed, detail retrieval, bass extension, image width, runs cool, low power consumtion, price, slim profile, and the silver model looks very classy |
| Associated Equipment for this Review: | |
| Amplifier: | onkyo 55wpc for 12 |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | none |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | onkyo DVD player via coax |
| Speakers: | NHT superzero |
| Cables/Interconnects: | monter cable 10 guage |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | acoustic to electronic & films |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 17' x 9.5' x 8 |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | egg crate foam on front side walls |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | 5 days |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Follow Ups:
I've been driving my MMGs for almost 2 years with the Panny XR50. The XR50 is the older model that preceeded the XR55. These units have a quality of sound that is astounding for the price. The reason for this is: 1. the digital amplifier technology (switching amp), and 2. digital input signals stay digital and never get converted to analog. The data in the signal activates the amp directly. It's pure! 3. analog signals get converted to 96/24 digital.I also like the long list of features, too numerous to list here.
Originally, I bought the Panny as a temporary solution until I learned more and could upgrade intelligently. I still haven't upgraded.
Does the SA-XR55 support "3 channel mode" -- ie: L, C, R only (no surrounds)
i'm pretty sure it does.there's actually TWO different ways to set your reciever's channels, one of them is a set of about half a dozen different combinations by scrolling the "menu" with the multi wheel, but there's another section where the reciever asks you "yes/no" for center, surround and back speakers.
actually, instead of LCR... i'd be inclined to set the speakers up LR back. for more depth. i know that my back (not left right surround) options include 1 or 2 speakers.
i can't give you a definate answer, but in setting my unit up, i found it to be pretty flexible and the customer service at panasonic was pretty on the ball with the tech questions i had before i ordered my unit.
unlike my onkyo reciever, the panasonic will still funtion when it has speakers defined as on, but not in the circuit. i had my center turned on at first without one being hooked up and the unit still functioned whereas my onkyo won't do anything until a speaker is connected to every out configured.
I have one of these, have had it for the past 3 weeks, and pretty much agree with your assesment... only the XR-55 is a seven channel "amp", not six. L C R, SR, SL, RSR, RSL (or in the abscence of those 2 rear surrounds, SC) for a total of seven amplified channels, plus the .1 LFE output for a powered sub.This may sound heretical, but the little Panny compares quite favorably against my Audio Research SP6A / D70 Mk II combo. You're spot-on with the 'dry' aspect of the sound -- iron-fisted control over the speakers, particularly woofers. No (or very little) bass slop.
I'm running my 55 through a Klipsch Synergy 5.1 system (SF2, SB2, SC1). The sound through those is better than what I got out of my old Dynaco Stereo 70. I've yet to put my Klipsch Fortés on the Panny.. this mean ole hurricane came and put a crimp on my fun-time.
For the 230 bucks I paid, the Panny's an eye-opener.. especially when one realizes it doesn't have an amplifier. More like a really fast switching power supply, or think of it as a DAC which can swing big current to drive speakers.
It is the first piece of solid-state I've had which hasn't felt like I was running a file through my ears. Honest. I was thinking of creating a five-channel tube system for the theater, but after using this panny for a few weeks, well.. those plans are shelved until such time where I can do it just because I can.. not because it was the only way to get good sound on a reasonable budget.
Can you suggest some speakers ( within 1K ) which will match well with the Panny SA-XR55/XR70. Primary purpose will be for stereo listening but later on I will expanding the system for HT also.How about Infinity Primus 360 speakers ? If XR55 match well with them it
will be great budget system !Thanks in Advance.
I'm a horn guy, so I'll reccomend Klipsch Synergies with a good sub. They seem to get along well with my 55. The sound will be above 'budget' by a good bit. Clear, huge, very dynamic, punchy, open, transparent.Great for both music and movies.
Thanks for the suggestion !
i bought my panny specifically with the intention of using it to power magnepan MMGs that i intended to upgrade to. planars are awesome refined speakers. at $550 a pair, MMGs are an absolute steal.i was turned on to planars when i heard MG12s. i was floored by the top to bottom speed of maggies. to my ears, they sound better than ANY subwoofer in the bass. they don't play as deep or loud in the gut massage area, but what is there is so much faster and more detailed it isn't even funny. i'd trade my 12" sub for a maggie with a blown tweeter panel any day.
it isn't the bass that kicks the most butt though, it's the midrange. vocals and piano sound so much more realistic than box speakers do to me. i like the sound of $1200 maggies on similarly priced amplification than $20,000 B&Ws on equally expensive mc intosh gear.
the maggies are so much tighter sounding with no box sound at all.
had i known that my SA-XR55 (which was intended to eventually biamplify MMGs via analogue) would breathe so much life into my NHT superzeros (which i was blaming as the weak link in my system) to the point that i no longer lust after MMGs, i would have sprung the extra $50 for the SA-XR70 instead for it's high rez multichannel HDMI input.
just upgrading to the SA-XR55 has allowed my superzeros to bridge 1/2 of the previous gap to magnepan speed, detail and neutrality. for a cheapskate like me, that's good enough for now.
read up on MMGs in this review for starters, then if you're curiousity is piqued, visit the planar asylum for hardcore info and heated debates. i'm all about bang for my buck. some day, i still might get MMGs, but for now, my SA-XR55/superzero combo is making me happy.
MMG review
http://www.goodsound.com/equipment/magnepan_mmg.htmp.s. the MMGs are actually rated for 2k more treble extension than other maggies until you get to the $4000 models with true ribbon tweeters. there are a couple of reviews for MMGs & panasonic out there.
high end on a low budget is possible.
i didn't even realize my review was posted in this forum. i only found it by accident as i stopped in to create a DVD R thread. i thought it was just in the reviews forum. now that i know it's here... i'll keep my eye open.
Thanks for a very comprehensive reply !
My Panny SA-XR55S should arrive today via UPS.I've read the on-line manual, but I still can't figure this out.
In biamp/biwire mode, am I able to set the crossover point for the top speaker AND the bottom speaker, or just the top speaker?
In "dual amp" mode, which amplification channels should be unconnected (so only doing 5.1 not 7.1) in order to shunt additional power to the front 2 speakers.
For your first question, I dunno -- I don't bi-wire.For the second question, you don't need to unhook anything to put the "amp" in dual-amp mode. All you need to do is press the "OFF" button on the remote (the Surround off, not power off..;o) At that time, you'll hear a relay click off, and a red LED will light up on the front panel. Now all the "amps" are tied into two channels, your left front and right front. Dual Amp only works in 2-ch stereo.. not in any surround mode.
from what i understand, it is really the same thing as dual stereo. it isn't true biamplification, it's more like biwiring. your speakers will still split the same signals only you'll be wasting treble power on your woofers and vice versus.if you want true biamplification, you'll need an external crossover such as the behringer DCX2496. i bought my SA-XR55 planning on using it to biamplify maggies down the road with a DCX2496.
i don't believe that an extra channel of full range to a speaker would make that much difference. you'd still be feeding the exact same signal to each driver. true biamping lets you dedicate all of an amp's power to each driver instead of wasting 1/2 of it in the spaker's x-over.
from what i can tell, the panasonic "biamp" mode is no different than the "all speaker" mode on my onkyo.
if i were motivated to unhook my biamp input mission M71s up from my PC, struggle with their hideous posts designed for spades only and then run another pair of cables to them from my panny, i could A/B biamp mode, but i'm not too keen on the M71 sound anyways. they do sound alot better on the panny in regular stereo mode than they do on my onkyo though. they have cheesy 1/2" MDF cabinets. my zeros are way less resonant.
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