Great value AV receiver
Pros:
Great features, low price. Fantastic surround sound, good controls.
Cons:
Could have more display options; function knob sometimes awkward.
The Bottom Line:
Excellent value for money. Sounds great, great feature set, solid unit. Not for video/audiophiles, but more than enough for 95% of people.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I bought the AV-D58 at Best Buy on their after Thanksgiving special. Out the door price with tax (Chicago): $150. Hooked it up with surround speakers; no problems, very easy. Got digital in from DVD hooked up; no sweat getting both DTS + Dolby Digital working. Both digital surround types and Dolby Pro Logic work great. Very adjustable surround (delay, dynamic range); I can't believe I didn't go out and buy a new receiver the minute my DVD was plugged in.
This receiver was just as easy to set up as a simple stereo one, absolutely NO drama. I fired it up and did a little reading in the book to finish setting up the details. Balancing the speakers was a little bit tricky, you have to do it from the remote and adjusting up + down volume is done with a shift+key press; could be easier. You can do it on the unit, but then you're not sitting where the speakers are, or you have to have someone else do it while you direct. Also, the remote is small- bigger would help. It's also laid out in the usual Aiwa style, i.e. awkward; most others are better.
I hooked things up so everything goes through the receiver: VCR and DVD, and am using VCR for channel control, so TV is basically just a monitor, I'm not using volume on it anymore. This thing sounds great. Stereo from CD+FM+MP3, surround on CDs, DVDs, digital surround, everything. I now run everything in surround instead of just stereo. I got a free DVD from Best Buy that has setup programs for home theater, so I ran through it, and I had to tweak very little.
LOVE: The surround sound. Also the surround control setup- just like the high-end A/V systems.
HATE: Nothing.
Would IMPROVE: I'd like names for radio station presets; better layout on remote (I'm using a universal anyway, so not major); more tone controls than just treble + bass, but DSP settings compensate nicely.
If you want a low-priced receiver that does A/V quite nicely, and has 2 digital inputs and 3 video ins, this is it. There's nothing for under $200 that approaches the features + quality.
