Брошюра для Sherwood R-965
differ from mine, and the auto EQ
might respond in an entirely differ-
ent way. Of course, you always
have the option to do what I did—
run the auto setup, listen to the
EQ, and then decide whether you
want to live with it.
might respond in an entirely differ-
ent way. Of course, you always
have the option to do what I did—
run the auto setup, listen to the
EQ, and then decide whether you
want to live with it.
Without EQ, the receiver
achieved a fine balance between the
leading edge of its midrange and
fleshing out the inner detail.Treble
was well developed but not hyped.
The lower midrange and upper bass
were clean, natural, and unsweet-
ened. This receiver doesn’t need
any fancy tricks to perform well in
a decent-sounding room.
leading edge of its midrange and
fleshing out the inner detail.Treble
was well developed but not hyped.
The lower midrange and upper bass
were clean, natural, and unsweet-
ened. This receiver doesn’t need
any fancy tricks to perform well in
a decent-sounding room.
The Gray Lady Is Sensible
In an industry infected with the
deadly featuritis virus, Sherwood has
made judicious choices, updating a
good chassis with features that make
a difference.The new and improved
R-965 delivers reliably strong sound
matched by superb looks. Its easy
setup should help this receiver play
with a broad audience, including
both surround neophytes and more
critical high-end users.
deadly featuritis virus, Sherwood has
made judicious choices, updating a
good chassis with features that make
a difference.The new and improved
R-965 delivers reliably strong sound
matched by superb looks. Its easy
setup should help this receiver play
with a broad audience, including
both surround neophytes and more
critical high-end users.
the overall volume level was sub-
jectively louder, although, with
EQ, it was more likely that just
some frequencies were louder.
jectively louder, although, with
EQ, it was more likely that just
some frequencies were louder.
Eminem’s movie vehicle 8 Mile
includes several electrifying crowd
scenes in which aspiring fictional
rappers put themselves on the line.
With the EQ off, I felt as though I
were listening to a recording of a
crowd scene. With the EQ back
on, I was in the thick of it, and each
heckling voice seemed to be just a
few feet away. Here there was no
downside—the EQ heightened the
emotion of every scene, including
both music and dialogue.
scenes in which aspiring fictional
rappers put themselves on the line.
With the EQ off, I felt as though I
were listening to a recording of a
crowd scene. With the EQ back
on, I was in the thick of it, and each
heckling voice seemed to be just a
few feet away. Here there was no
downside—the EQ heightened the
emotion of every scene, including
both music and dialogue.
Moving to the opposite musical
extreme, The Chorus is a French
melodrama starring a squadron of
boy sopranos. The high voices
achieved better separation with EQ
but also took on a sharper edge,
which led me to drop the volume.
I achieved a more mellifluous and
unified choral sound and higher
volumes with the EQ off.
melodrama starring a squadron of
boy sopranos. The high voices
achieved better separation with EQ
but also took on a sharper edge,
which led me to drop the volume.
I achieved a more mellifluous and
unified choral sound and higher
volumes with the EQ off.
What would happen if the auto
EQ worked in tandem with
cinema EQ? Cinema EQ did soften
the edge, but not as much as leav-
ing the auto EQ off.
cinema EQ? Cinema EQ did soften
the edge, but not as much as leav-
ing the auto EQ off.
On the whole, I felt that the auto
EQ made my system sound more
vivid but also made it trickier to
use; changing volume as I changed
material took greater forethought.
Anyhow, my experiments may
not be entirely germane. After all,
your room acoustics are likely to
vivid but also made it trickier to
use; changing volume as I changed
material took greater forethought.
Anyhow, my experiments may
not be entirely germane. After all,
your room acoustics are likely to
after auto setup, and, if you’re curi-
ous, you might even use the setup
routine to roughly gauge your
speakers’ in-room bass response.
ous, you might even use the setup
routine to roughly gauge your
speakers’ in-room bass response.
Once the process is complete,
the R-965 stores the channel
levels, and the menu lists all of
them at zero. So, if you make fur-
ther manual adjustments, the auto-
set levels are your reference points,
not the factory-set levels. There is
no way to tell what the auto-set
levels are.You cannot inspect the
EQ settings, either. It may be pos-
sible to hear them being set by the
second round of test tones, but I
wouldn’t advise taking the risk.
levels, and the menu lists all of
them at zero. So, if you make fur-
ther manual adjustments, the auto-
set levels are your reference points,
not the factory-set levels. There is
no way to tell what the auto-set
levels are.You cannot inspect the
EQ settings, either. It may be pos-
sible to hear them being set by the
second round of test tones, but I
wouldn’t advise taking the risk.
The Gray Lady Is Up-Front
Since I could only gauge the EQ by
listening, I started my primary test
disc with the menu in front of me
so that I could switch the EQ in
and out.The first thing I listen to is
always a six-voice a cappella
chorus—“Stars in My Crown”
from Waterson:Carthy’s Common
Tongue.When I switched the EQ in,
all six voices seemed to take a step
toward me. I could differentiate
each one of the voices more easily.
listening, I started my primary test
disc with the menu in front of me
so that I could switch the EQ in
and out.The first thing I listen to is
always a six-voice a cappella
chorus—“Stars in My Crown”
from Waterson:Carthy’s Common
Tongue.When I switched the EQ in,
all six voices seemed to take a step
toward me. I could differentiate
each one of the voices more easily.
The sound was brighter. Evi-
dently, Sherwood’s EQ circuit felt
that my heavily damped room
needed a little more emphasis in
the upper region. I could more
easily hear the faint tape hiss sur-
rounding Bill Morrissey’s vocal in
the first few seconds of “Time to
Go Home” from Night Train. And
that my heavily damped room
needed a little more emphasis in
the upper region. I could more
easily hear the faint tape hiss sur-
rounding Bill Morrissey’s vocal in
the first few seconds of “Time to
Go Home” from Night Train. And
[
H I G H L I G H T S
Old flagship sets sail with new
features
features
Now has auto setup, seven-band
room EQ, and lip sync
room EQ, and lip sync
Sounds as impressive as it looks
98
Home Theater / June 2005
>
www.hometheatermag.com
95
88
92
95
90
General information
R-965 A/V Receiver, $2,000
>
Sherwood America, (800) 962-3203
www.sherwoodusa.com
>
Dealer Locator Code SHR
Sherwood updates thier top-line
R-965 with automatic setup and
equalization. Even without EQ, it
has a natural sound that should
appeal to listeners with high stan-
dards. While it lacks HDMI, in
every other respect, it’s every-
thing a great receiver should be.
R-965 with automatic setup and
equalization. Even without EQ, it
has a natural sound that should
appeal to listeners with high stan-
dards. While it lacks HDMI, in
every other respect, it’s every-
thing a great receiver should be.
>
That gray matte-
metal finish gets me
every time
every time
>
Warning: Heavy con-
struction ahead!
>
There’s auto setup,
and then there’s auto
setup that really works
setup that really works
>
HDMI support is an
added-cost option
>
Seven-band EQ with
adjustable Q and center
frequency
frequency
>
Auto setup, supplied
mike
>
Natural midrange
>
Clean, unhyped treble
>
Auto setup makes it
much easier to set up
>
Remote’s joypad
enter button takes
some practice
some practice
SHERWOOD NEWCASTLE R-965 A/V RECEIVER
OVERALL RATING
Build Quality
Value
Features
Performance
Ergonomics
92
92
Sherwood’s RNC-510
remote (above) has an LCD
and bubble buttons. The
R-965 also comes with a
separate remote for a sec-
ond audio zone.
and bubble buttons. The
R-965 also comes with a
separate remote for a sec-
ond audio zone.
^
NUVISION NVX32HDU LCD HD MONITOR
from the
test bench
SHERWOOD NEWCASTLE R-965 A/V RECEIVER
Posted with permission from the April 2006 issue of
Home Theater ® www.hometheatermag.com. Copyright 2006, PRIMEDIA Inc. All rights reserved.
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