Price Paid:  $200.00

Summary:

I purchased off eBay for $200.00. Perhaps it could be found cheaper. I am however very satisfied. This reciever puts out amazing sound! I've used it for gaming, movies and music, and so far I can't complain. I did actually hear some feedback on my center channel, but I then noticed I had the size set to large when it was a small speaker. I changed it, and it's perfect.

This is definately a reciever for people getting into high end home audio. Hence the Newcastle brand. These are rare to find, and a pure treasure in my opinion. How many people can say they know someone that owns a Sherwood Newcastle.

Strengths:
More than enough power for a medium sized living room.
Easy to program remote.
Assign macros to one button (setup source, screen, reciever on one button)
Superb sound.

Weaknesses:
Only 5.1 surround.
Doesn't support component inputs (no good by todays standards)
Either it needs a new battery or it has to stay plugged in to save speaker settings.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Yamaha high end home theatre equipment.

Price Paid:  $250.00 from ubid

Summary:
Another UBID purchase.
Nice receiver overall. Excellent 2 channel stereo and Dolby digital reproduction. Have set up with:
Polk RT55i & CS400
Dalhquist XII sub
Klipsch quintet surrounds
Newcastle 5-disc changer
Panasonic RV31 DVD player & VCR

At the $250 price range nothing can touch this receiver -period. Mine shipped with a THD of 0.03% measured at the factory. I've been really pleased with the sound reproduction of this unit. Only after listening to a Denon 3801 (yes I know it's $1200) did I realize I could do better.

One thing that bugs me on this receiver is lack of 5-channel stereo. Purists may kill me for saying that, but I would take good 5 channel music reproduction over those stupid "church," "hall," etc. surround modes that just sound like your speakers got dumped in a bucket of water.

Final conclusion....if you h/t novice or an audio enthusiat just starting out and would like to save around $500 on a very good receiver this is for you. Buy it, use it for 2 years then sell it on ebay and trade up. If you are looking for the best possible commercial h/w now it's past it's prime.
5 on the value - nothing can touch it.
4 on the overall there are better receivers. (but at a huge $$$ increase)

Strengths:
Great 2 channel stereo and Dolby Digital Reproduction. Nice build quality. Lots of headroom.

Weaknesses:
Stupid "surround" modes. No on screen display, no s-video.

Similar Products Used:
H/K, Denon, Sony

Price Paid:  $32400.00 from Ubid.com

Summary:
This is an outstanding receiver, unfortunately I had to send it back due to distortion coming from the left front channel. When playing the reciever in pro-logic, it sounded extremely good, even with the distortion present. However, when playing in two channel stereo the distortion over powered the music. After discovering that the unit was defective, I reluctantly returned it to Ubid who, by the way were really good people to work with. I have a problem with having to return anything that I purchase by mail because it just seems to be so difficult, but Ubid made it easy and quick. I then purchased a Sherwood R-7106 from a dealer out here in California will review it when it gets here. If my unit did not have the defect, I would have given it 5 stars, no question. But because of the defect, I give it 5 stars for being a great value, and 4 stars overall.

Strengths:
Solid construction, good remote, great sound with music.

Weaknesses:
Loud distortion in front left channel.

Similar Products Used:
Harman Kardon AVR-20

Price Paid:  $400.00

Summary:
This is my first AV receiver, and it's a fine unit. I had spent years listening to "audiophile" 2-channel music, and so I was surprised that anything this cheap could sound musical. Surround sound still can't touch a good stereo setup, due to various limitations at this time, but dollar-for-dollar, mass-fi is the way to go. Among big-name receivers I have heard, the only one which I would say is comparable or better than the Newcastle is the equivalent Nakamichi. But thanks to Ubid, the Newcastle is much cheaper, hence a better deal. I've tried the 925 with Dynaudios in stereo mode, and it was a competent performer. My current AV setup includes some modified Linaeums and sub. The sound is very warm and liquid, especially for movies, which often have skewed tonality. I would still have to say a used NAD integrated is a better deal for 2-channel-only systems. But for AV, the 925 is hard to beat. I give 5 stars based on cost (and I paid much more than what people are paying these days on Ubid). My gripes include a remote which doesn't seem to be integrated that well with the system. There are things which I cannot figure out how to do through the remote. Also, the digital input scheme is confusing. There have been many times when I couldn't figure out why no sound was coming out. But since I am a closet audiophile, I have to say that these gripes are not substantial with respect to the fine sound.

Strengths:
Great sound, modest cost

Weaknesses:
Non-Sherwood remote, some questionable ergonomics

Similar Products Used:
Harman-Kardon, Yamaha, Sony

Price Paid:  $189.00 from UBID

Summary:
Great two-channel sound. The 100W/channel amps really have the headroom to kick the bass out. This receiver makes the mids and highs very clean on a pair of Dahlquist DQ-28s (which is VERY hard to do). The soundstage and dynamics were surprising. The AC-3 sound was also very good.

I would recommend this receiver to anyone.

Now the down side, which has nothing to do with the manufacturer. I bought this product from UBID as a refurb. UBID advertised it with a 3 year warranty from Newcastle.

About a month ago the audio started cutting out while watching a DVD. Apparently any voltage spike in the household electricity caused this to happen.

I contacted UBID about this. (Call 888-900-8243 for help.) They realized they made a mistake with the warranty. It was really 3 months through them. They offered to refund my purchase price and shipping costs, including the return shipping. Unfortunately, I'm sending it back. Too bad.

Strengths:
Great stereo sound, very good multi-channel

Weaknesses:
no dts, no s-video inputs

Similar Products Used:
Yamaha 5230