[Wayne1]

Zybar,

I have been using it in MY HT system for a few weeks now. It replaced my Lexicon DC-1 with the latest processor upgrades to DTS and THX EX. I went through and modded the Lex's power supply and changed out all the analog coupling caps and analog op-amps. It was connected to a 6 channel Parasound power amp with NITO cables. My speakers are VMPS 626Rs with Auricaps and FST for L & R, VMPS LRC center, 626Rs with Auricaps and spiral tweeter for rears. I also have a VMPS Larger Sub for bass.

I used to run 7.1 with the Lex when I was using NHT speakers. After changing to five VMPS speakers, I do not miss the extra two channel at all.

The Panny does a far better job of processing DTS and Dolby Digital than the Lexicon. I can hear greater separation between channels. On some movies, I can hear more sounds outside the speaker boundaries than I could with the Lex. It does have Dolby Pro Logic II so the old Anime that my kids and I like so much is clearer and better presented.

My son plugs his GameCube into the system now and again and was really impressed with the front and rear separation using the Panny in DPL II on some of his games.

The biggest drawback to the Panny in HT is that the lowest setting for the sub crossover is 100 HZ. I run alll of the speakers in the Large or full range setting and then have to change the crossover on the sub amp to 80 HZ.

There are not as many features on the Panny for adjusting the different HT settings as is in the Lex, but I really think I can live with that. When I pulled all the gear out to put the Panny in, I ended up with a stack almost waist high and weighing a few hundred pounds. The Panny is so small, but sounds SO big. The WAF is also VERY large.

I have not worked on the video section of the Panny yet, but there are some things to change out to improve picture quality. That may be an option for the mods.

As I stated in an earlier psot I do think the modded Panny will work great in a DVD based HT. It will allow you to process any pure digital signal including Dolby Digital Surround EX, DTS-ES or DTS 94/24, PCM with sampling frequencies up to 192 khz.

Oh yeah, the tuner section of the Panny is REALLY nice

sunshinedawg,

I suggest you e-mail or PM Tyson to see if he is willing to invite you along next weekend to take a listen to his systems and the Panny.

[ez-v]

Wow, if your mods really put the SA-XR45 on a whole other level that can compare across a number of different metrics with the high-end big boys, wonder what your mods can do to Panny's newer introductions....

http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=18868399

http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_electronics/pressroom/cont2.asp?Filter=12&cont_id=562

The SA-XR70 looks like a sweet unit.  Still 100W x 6 digital amp, but now includes HDMI connection for wide-band transfer of video/signal signal from an HDMI compatible DVD player.  Also sounds like it has some rudimentary form of time alignment (sounds kind of sketchy though).  Once you've got the mods down, Wayne, wouldn't mind having you perhaps mod one of these new units for me!

Victor

[ABEX]

Those units will not hit the shelves till August so you have a long wait.As for myself I will be having the mods done shortly using the 45!

Getting good performance from the stock unit is good.getting it modded will put it into the higher league of seperates I am sure. It is still the only receiver I have heard I can live with. All the receiver I have heard with the exception of the Rotels and B&K's add to much in the way of veiling and grain for me to listen to longer than 1 min..

When I was at CC I had to go into their main listening room to be certain of what I was hearing. They had a HK with Atlantic speakers I think which made me almost puke!

Best deal in audio right now and with it being modded it makes the unit even sweeter!

[J. Wright]

Does anyone have a schematic for this receiver?  If we're going to come up with some meaningful upgrades it would be a good place to start.

[randog]

Also, all the equipment was plugged into a BPT BP-2.5 Ultra running on a 20A dedicated circuit. We used one of Wayne's NITRO power cords on the Panny. The Outlaw and Denon both have captive cords. The ditital IC was a Bolder Silver Bullet NITRO.

mg

Mike, did the Panny get hot at all plugged into the BPT?

Randog

[vpolineni]

But the Mono's did point up a few areas where $3k in amps can still excel, namely smoothness, musicality, and image depth. For a dedicated 2 channel music system, the vastly more expensive Mono's would be my choice for long term listening.

Tyson, when you heard this at your house, you said you liked it more than your ava gear.  Wayne, did you make any changes to the panny before you took it over to tyson's?

[Tyson]

Yep, the only thing that was different was BYBEE's.  Make for a smoother, more livable sound.

[mgalusha]

Also, all the equipment was plugged into a BPT BP-2.5 Ultra running on a 20A dedicated circuit. We used one of Wayne's NITRO power cords on the Panny. The Outlaw and Denon both have captive cords. The ditital IC was a Bolder Silver Bullet NITRO.

mg

Mike, did the Panny get hot at all plugged into the BPT?

Randog

Randog,

Nope it was nearly room temperature. My wall voltage runs about 123 volts. The Panny got very slightly warm after playing it loudly for a while but it was still far from hot. My pre/pro runs much warmer than the little Panny did and I wouldn't consider it's temerature hot either. Since the '45 uses a switching power supply it may be regulated and if so the input voltage wouldn't cause much change in the voltage going to the amp modules.

Mike

[mgalusha]

But the Mono's did point up a few areas where $3k in amps can still excel, namely smoothness, musicality, and image depth. For a dedicated 2 channel music system, the vastly more expensive Mono's would be my choice for long term listening.

Tyson, when you heard this at your house, you said you liked it more than your ava gear.  Wayne, did you make any changes to the panny before you took it over to tyson's?

One other thing that we didn't realize at the time was that my sacd player in the 2 channel system was dying and may have had less dynamics than normal. One of these days I'll con Wayne into bringing the Panny by again so I can try it with my 2ch rig with a working digital source.

Mike G.