Sherwood 210 Watt Stereo Receiver RX 4105
Unlike the budget stereo receivers now flooding the entry-level price points at dealers across the country, the Sherwood RX-4109 is designed and built in-house with the same quality and attention to detail the company has been bringing to its audio gear for the last 50 years.With 105 Watts RMS per channel, phono section, binding posts, a versatile remote control and switching for two pairs of loudspeakers, the only thing that bespeaks the word “budget” about the RX-4109 is its modest cost.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Sherwood Receiver
I needed a receiver with a phono/turntable input. This works well with my Sony turntable for digitizing my vinyl records. A lot of product for the money. It was delivered promply.
1 Star Made in china…
The receiver lacks flexibility if you want to connect speakers with less than 8 ohms. The remote control was a joke, almost like a toy and it didn’t work at all with the unit. The manual doesn’t explain very much either. It had some humming once turned on. The volume knob would jump from levels so I had to turn it very gently to get the volume that I wanted. I regret buying this brand. Next time I will save more and buy something (hopefully) not made in china if I can.
4 Stars An Inexpensive Surprise – Sherwood RX-4109
I’m an old audiophile, dating back to when “MacIntosh” was not the name of a computer. It was the company name of the most prestigious of hi-fi components. What dismays me is that today’s manufacturers of audio equipment (some of them well known brands) rely on the ignorance of the consumer when it comes to audio specifications; and they can get away with it because there no longer seems to be any standards for those specifications. For example, a manufacturer can claim that an inexpensive 15 watt amplifier puts out 500 watts, and that amplifier actually can accomplish that feat at “peak” output at one frequency with very high distortion. Match that amplifier up with very efficient speakers; and voila…you have harmonic cacophony now called a “boom box.”
Enough of that….I was looking for an inexpensive, basic, but decent stereo receiver for one large room. Surround sound annoys me. (When you attend a live orchestral concert, the orchestra is in front of you.) After comparing many (some for almost twice the price), I decided on this Sherwood for less than $100. I was apprehensive that its low price might reflect its quality. I was wrong. It is solidly built. I am running acoustic suspension sealed cabinet speakers (no need for a separate bass woofer) that require 20 very clean watts each just to get any response out of them. This amplifier, turned up one third, drives them more than adequately with no discernable distortion…almost as good as my old top-of the line Marantz. What’s more you can use this as a base amp by pressing a button on the front (”TON DIRECT”…somewhat cryptic) and disabling the tone controls so that the amp runs flat, allowing for a separate equalizer. (The manual isn’t very good about explaining this. In fact, the manual isn’t very good about explaining anything.)
Another thing…with 8 ohm speakers, this amp doesn’t even get warm, so you can pile stuff on top of it (with a little space in between) without worry.
The FM tuner is fine enough. The AM tuner (at least at my location) is above average, which is unusual in even $400 receivers.
This receiver has a phono input for those who still listen to the pops, the static, and the warp distortion of vinyl. All the other inputs are at the same impedance, so you can hook up anything else to any input regardless of its label, i.e. your dvd player can be plugged into the “tape” input. Unfortunately, if you do so, “TAPE” will be displayed on the front fluorescent panel when you play your dvd.
Don’t expect a lot of toots and whistles; but you can expect a good solid product with performance factor that far exceeds its modest cost.
Would I recommend this receiver to a friend? …yes and no. Most of my friends do not know a thing about audio and believe everything they read…which doesn’t say much about me and my choice of friends.
4 Stars I wish it had mono
Great product for the price but wish it had a mono selection because I am using it with two-way in ceiling speakers, one per room. I will have to create mono files with itunes so that the music sounds ok using only one speaker.
5 Stars Great sound and construction on a budget
This receiver is one of the bangs for the buck for any hi-fi enthusiast. For such a low price, you can get sound quality that rivals most home theater systems that cost much more money. Less is definitely more in this case. The discrete amplification really helped improve the sound quality of well mastered music media, and the radio signals are decent on stations that do not use lots of compression. The option to add 2 pairs of speakers is a plus so that you can use it in a smaller room or a larger room and the sound still feels like it surrounds you with the dynamics fully intact. The phono input is a must for me as I have a huge vintage vinyl collection, so that was a selling point for me. Since the sound quality and the build quality are both excellent, I don’t end up having to upgrade to anything else.
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