If the appearance of Panasonic's
SA-BX500 AV receiver had you scratching your head, you're not alone -- we were doing pretty much the same here at EHD. Panny dropped the Technics name for CE gear seven years ago, and since that time we've seen Panasonic move its audio offerings to the
HTIB and mini-system markets. But according to the linked article, Panasonic feels that a return to the receiver game is "long overdue," and we agree. A quick look at the specs on the SA-BX500 shows that a CE giant like Panasonic can combine support for the latest technologies with economies of scale that keep things affordable -- if picture and audio quality can keep up with the likes of Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha, we'd welcome Panasonic's return to the fold.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
TJ @ Oct 2nd 2008 9:58PM
If their Blu-ray HTIB is any indication, this could actually be a pretty good receiver. I usually hate HTIBs, but the Panasonic one was pretty decent.
I have a BD30, so this may be just the ticket when I finally pull the trigger on a new receiver.
Vhato @ Oct 3rd 2008 8:53AM
Their SA-XR700 was an outstanding receiver, but not marketed in the US by Panasonic so most people didn't know about this gem. The BX500 has all the features as well as the big useless size of most competing receivers. When will we Americans learn bigger isn't always better.
squiggleslash @ Oct 3rd 2008 11:13AM
I was kind of surprised to see how few players there are in the receiver market these days when I started shopping around for something that supported HDMI (and no, I don't mean pass-thru switching...) and the newer codecs.
I have an ancient Kenwood that, despite online reviews saying it's awful, has always impressed everyone who's come to my household and heard it. Kenwood, apparently, doesn't make them any more. When I go to Best Buy it's all Sony and Yamaha, and usually the choice is abysmal. CC does more, but the brands are mostly the above or obscure, over-priced, brands of the $500 for an analog 5.1 unit.
I think the industry needs more players. Good luck to Panasonic if they're going to enter the market.
Money Mike @ Oct 3rd 2008 3:21PM
I'm somewhat in the market for a new receiver and whenever I go to the big chains, I can't really find much. At this point in time, I don't want anything special. I would like HDMI inputs and DTS decoding and that's really all I think I need. I don't want to spend more than $200 and, to be honest, I'd really like to find something much closer to $100. I really don't even need anything brand new. Can you suggest any websites to look at? Obviously, eBay is an option for something used, but what about finding something new?
Also, what do you mean by "no, I don't mean pass-thru switching" when you talk about HDMI support? Sorry to sound ignorant, but what other type of support is there?
squiggleslash @ Oct 3rd 2008 3:57PM
There are two types of way to "support" HDMI in receivers. One is to just add an HDMI switch. There is no logic in it, it literally just switches the source from one of three HDMI inputs to a single HDMI output. Nothing else. The audio is not extracted from the HDMI feed (so you still have to hook up an optical or coax SPDIF connection to get digital audio), the analog inputs are not upconverted into digital so you can run your TV off of a single HDMI setting and let the receiver do the switching, it's just a switch.
The other way is the way you'd expect a receiver to work. In this model:
- Your receiver receives inputs via HDMI, component, and composite connections, with audio coming in via the HDMI input for the HDMI connection, or coax/optical SPDIF and/or analog RCA plugs for the analog connections
- Your receiver outputs everything via the single HDMI output on the back of the receiver. The analog video sources are upconverted.
The first is simple but a gimmick and means you have to play the whole "I want to watch a DVD, so let me set the TV input to X, the receiver to mode Y, and... {etc}; ok I'm done, now I want to watch satellite TV, so let me set the TV input to Z, the receiver to mode Q; ok, done with that, now let's play with the Wii. That means..." game. The other mode allows you to let the receiver do all the work.
Apart from convenience, the other point is that the latter type of receiver can extract the audio out of the HDMI inputs, which simplifies wiring and means you don't have to worry about buying a receiver that has 15 coax connections and one optical, when you have 15 A/V devices that output optical, and one coax.
It's a "just works" vs "I can get this to work but it's going to drive me nuts" thing.