Joined on 08/20/02
Great quality speaker for the money
Pros: Sound quality, high wife approval factor, size, driver quality and materials. Great bang for the buck! Fills an 18x18x12 room just fine. Can be driven hard and respectably loud - thanks Energy!
Cons: Only 89 db ... could be a bit more efficient. High gloss materials might be a con for some (I fine with this and was aware they show all going in). Not related to the speakers ... but New Egg's promo codes are way too close to each other - so careful when you buy - New Egg won't even honor it's own sales prices within 2 weeks of purchase - I really you New Egg but - you should have a 30 day price promise honoring at a minimum your own sales!
Overall Review: Good quality materials used the drivers - should provide good sound for years to come. Sound quality is good. Since frequency range starts at 115 Hz low bass is of course not there (as one would expect from a 3" woofer). Mids are just OK - takes a little tuning to get the sub volume just right. I'm using an AR PS SW12 - a 150 watt w/ 12" driver, have it set to 120 Hz and 1/2 volume, receiver set to 120 hz crossover too. Overall, as others have said this is a nice 5.1 system and a great overall value. Also, not going to bash Bose, but for the money, these paired with a good powered sub have better realism, sound quality, and control - prefer them over my old AM-5's - no question - but this is just a personal preference.
Avoid with MSI 785GM MB
Pros: Runs cool, looks good - seemed like a good value.
Cons: Extremely unstable on MSI 785GM-P45 MB. BIOS defaults at 1.5 volts (memory should be at 1.65 V), increased manually to 1.65 volts and 7-7-7-20, still unstable. Regardless of drivers, BIOS version, running at 1066, 1333, random reboots occur. Interesting, the reboots only occur after the installation or use of the ATI video driver (tried that with and without the CCC software - no improvement). Had to rebuild OS 3x to attempt a stable environment, still - no go. Tried some other memory settings/tweaks per OCZ, when those didn't work they quickly blamed MSI. The OCZ rep had little to say when I told him I had already replaced the mainboard once (as I honestly had initially thought it was an onboard video issue ). Think both are to blame, since onboard video uses system memory, my theory, whether right or wrong is this OCZ memory and the MSI 785 w/ Radeon 4200 ATI simply don't play well together. Would be interesting to know if other MSI 785 MB owners have suffered- hope not!
Overall Review: Probably decent memory for some builds - probably depends on your hardware. For me, Antec case, MSI 785GM-P45, AMD X4 640 3 Ghz processor, not a winning combo - hardware isn't playing well together and this is a basic build! Works for quite a few folks but do check the OCZ forums (seems like a lot of folks are having issues similar to mine). Random reboots don't do much for productivity or much to build faith in newly build systems/hardware. Very disappointed and expected more.
Great value - Good stuff
Pros: Many HDMI connections. Good power, multi-zone. Remote works on Comcast cable box and many, many other devices. Mid-night mode, lots of surround modes, HDMI, USB on the receiver front. Metal front panel (not cheap plastic like Pioneer and others).
Cons: Runs pretty hot/warm compared to Dennon it replaced. Must leave entertainment center door open to keep from getting Hot (plenty of room above receiver for breathing room - around a foot and still gets pretty hot). Remote is confusing for my wife due to 3 power buttons (one for tv, one for receiver an one for devices). Gets somewhat confusing b/c you need to tell the remove/receiver what mode or action to take (I'm fine with this - less technical folks may struggle a bit - just a learning curve and getting used to it).
Overall Review: Really a very good receiver and great value. For the money, can't go wrong with this unit. I did research and have seen some complaints with HDMI going out/failing but am not having any issues at all. Compared to the Dennon it replaces, this is light years ahead (10 years newer). I'm using it with an LG Blue Ray (the upscaling improves the picture on none HD sources - like netflix or standard videos). Lots of hookups, good power - instantly noticed the bass management was greatly improved over my old receiver. Using this with Energy Take 5 Classic and a AR 12" Powered sub - sounds fantastic. You won't be disappointed with this receiver - just let it breath as she runs pretty warm - hot to touch at times.
Great value, nice cable
Pros: Great cable at a great price. Newegg shipped quick and no complaints.
Cons: None
Overall Review: Rosewill - good stuff, odd name.
Great value, nice cable
Pros: Great cable, good value. Much, much better price/value than the local stores. The "Egg" ships quick and is always a pleasure.
Cons: None
Overall Review: Rosewill name is Odd, I have purchased quite a few items from them (nice computer cases, thermal grease, cables, etc, but the name, just doesn't do it). :)