[armstrg3]

Considering purchasing either the not yet released Panasonic SA XR70 or the Sony AVD C500es.  Any suggestions/Comments to help me decide?

[RussKon]

after helping a friend shop for a second system for his bedroom...

i would recommend the panasonic.... much better speaker cable connectors.... plus the XR70 will be panasonic's second generation digital receiver.... they've had a chance to work out any bugs that may have been in the first player....

 

[RussKon]

double post - sorry...

[Carlman]

The Sony connections must be almost unuseable if the Panasonic is easier.

I need fingers shaped like tweezers to use the surrounds and needle-nose pliers for the left and right.

I'd highly recommend using banana plugs for the L&R on the Panny and some type of pin on the surrounds.

-C

[RussKon]

The Sony connections must be almost unuseable if the Panasonic is easier.

-C

you're right about that.... on the sony, you might be able to use 18 gauge on the sony phoenix style clips.....if that.... and those clips are proprietary to sony so you cannot get anything larger....

[jswallac]

I think you may be confusing the Sony "Dream Systems" with the AVD C700ES.  I own the AVD S50ES.  It is the prior year model of the single tray unit.  The speaker connectors are all (for the 5 speakers) full size that accept banana plugs.  The Panny will only accept banana plugs on the fronts.  The Sony and the Panny are not really apples to apples.  The only similarity is that both use digital amps and are of similar wattage.  The Sony has a built in DVD player that also plays SACD.  That is its real selling point.  SACD without any cables!  It truly sounds wonderful with the Hi Rez.  Of course you will not find DVD-A supported nor can you connect a separate DVD-A player.  I also have owned the Panny SAXR45.  I prefer the 45 for Redbook over the Sony (as long as you use the digital in).  The Sony wins for SACD and HT.  The Sony is also very nice if you are concerned about cable management.  I eliminated one box (DVD player) and 10 cables between the receiver and DVD (optical, 3 component video, and 6 for SACD).

[JoshK]

How about the video performance of the Sony?  Is it really good or mediocre?

[jswallac]

Hard for me to really say since I have never owned a high-end DVD such as the Denon 5900.  It certainly is not as good as the HD from my set-top box, but then again it should not be since it is only 480p.  Cannot say I have any complaints though.  It looks quite good to me on my Grand Wega widescreen TV.  My main reason for selecting the Sony AVD S50ES was sound and simplicity.  In addition, I like the fact that it runs very cool.  I have the unit in an enclosed cabinet with very little ventilation and it still is cool to the touch.

Be careful, however, on the 2000ES-5000ES Sony receivers.  These digital receivers seem to have a lot of issues and have been recently recalled by Sony.

[TheeeChosenOne]

The video performance of the Sony unit is very good.  I have absolutely no qualms with it.  I don't even have issues with the connectors.  I use bananas on the Sony side.  

I have the multi-disc version of this Sony in a bedroom and works great.  It offers a very good sound, picture, it's quiet, and the one box simplicity is a great selling point for me.

It can even drive my VMPS RM40's.

I wish it had more gain as I like my music LOUD.  Other than that, no real complaints.  A truly amazing bargain IMHO.

Just offering a guess here, but I think the new Sony's with a mod would be an even more menacing giant killer.

[armstrg3]

I suspect that the new Sony AVD 500es or 700es is as good  IF not better than the Panasonic SA XR70, with the possible exception of the HDMI that the Panasonic Xr70 will be offering.  I wonder if the picture quality is that much better with the HDMI than with component output??