Panasonic SA-HE100S Home Theater Receiver (Silver)

Rating:
Summary: great value for the price
Review: Despite what some other reviewers have said, I found this amp extremely easy to install and operate. I'm using it with a 6.1 speaker system, and the sound is wonderful. Great definition and accuracy across the frequency range, lots of 'punch'. For the price, I am very impressed with how many options there are for tailoring the sound. Being an avid LP listener, as well as CDs, I appreciate a modern amp that still has phono inputs!

Rating:
Summary: Not sure what the problem is
Review: I bought this based on Consumer Reports "Best Buy" recomendation despite what some people said in reviews on Amazon. I'm not real sure why there were complaints about setting this thing up. If you have ever had to set a stereo receiver up, this one works just like every other receiver I've ever setup, even easier actually. I had no problems with the manual and am very impressed with the sound and ease of use. I highly recomend this for the price.

Rating:
Summary: Works fine, but a nightmare to set up
Review: I bought this receiver on the strength of Consumer Reports' "Best Buy" ratings and various reviews here and elsewhere on line. Now that the receiver is set up and running, I can tell that it works just fine, as advertised. While it is not a high-end product, it does an excellent job holding up its end of the sound reproduction process.

BUT it was absolute hell to set up. I was prepared for the awful manual, which is absurdly terse and crowded with confusing diagrams.

I was not prepared for the insanely inadequate clips for hooking up surround speakers and the nightmare of trying to use these clips. Each is controlled by a single lever that serves for both + and - leads. The wires fit into extremely small holes, so thick speaker wire won't work, nor do standard pins. I think what's inside the mechanism is a kind of blunt guillotine on a spring that lowers onto the wires when the lever is depressed. What happens is that the guillotine lands on the top (+) wire before it has squeezed the lower (-) sufficiently to hold it in place. After many attempts, I figured out that putting some solder on the lower wire could thicken it sufficiently to be squeezed and held in place. But too much solder and the wire won't fit into the hole. Worse yet, the banks of clips for the surround speakers are so close to each other that it is virtually impossible to work with the wires for one speaker without jiggling the wires for the adjacent speaker. If the adjacent speaker's wires are not completely tight, they fall out. More than once, I got one speaker working, only to lose the connection while working on the next speaker. It's also quite tough to get both + and - leads for the same speaker hooked up, because they too are incredibly close. It took me 4 1/2 hours before I had three working surround speakers hooked up. That's 4 1/2 hours to get six wires secured in their holes. One connection is still loose, however, and I anticipate with dread having to repeat the process some day.

This is RIDICULOUS. Panasonic should be ashamed of themselves. What would it have taken to provide a reasonable mechanism for connecting speakers to the unit?

At last, I have sound from the unit. But both my hands hurt, and I am both exhausted and extremely irritated.

Rating:
Summary: Works fine, but a nightmare to set up
Review: I bought this receiver on the strength of Consumer Reports' "Best Buy" ratings and various reviews here and elsewhere on line. Now that the receiver is set up and running, I can tell that it works just fine, as advertised. While it is not a high-end product, it does an excellent job holding up its end of the sound reproduction process.

BUT it was absolute hell to set up. I was prepared for the awful manual, which is absurdly terse and crowded with confusing diagrams.

I was not prepared for the insanely inadequate clips for hooking up surround speakers and the nightmare of trying to use these clips. Each is controlled by a single lever that serves for both + and - leads. The wires fit into extremely small holes, so thick speaker wire won't work, nor do standard pins. I think what's inside the mechanism is a kind of blunt guillotine on a spring that lowers onto the wires when the lever is depressed. What happens is that the guillotine lands on the top (+) wire before it has squeezed the lower (-) sufficiently to hold it in place. After many attempts, I figured out that putting some solder on the lower wire could thicken it sufficiently to be squeezed and held in place. But too much solder and the wire won't fit into the hole. Worse yet, the banks of clips for the surround speakers are so close to each other that it is virtually impossible to work with the wires for one speaker without jiggling the wires for the adjacent speaker. If the adjacent speaker's wires are not completely tight, they fall out. More than once, I got one speaker working, only to lose the connection while working on the next speaker. It's also quite tough to get both + and - leads for the same speaker hooked up, because they too are incredibly close. It took me 4 1/2 hours before I had three working surround speakers hooked up. That's 4 1/2 hours to get six wires secured in their holes. One connection is still loose, however, and I anticipate with dread having to repeat the process some day.

This is RIDICULOUS. Panasonic should be ashamed of themselves. What would it have taken to provide a reasonable mechanism for connecting speakers to the unit?

At last, I have sound from the unit. But both my hands hurt, and I am both exhausted and extremely irritated.

Rating:
Summary: Works fine, but a nightmare to set up
Review: I bought this receiver on the strength of Consumer Reports' "Best Buy" ratings and various reviews here and elsewhere on line. Now that the receiver is set up and running, I can tell that it works just fine, as advertised. While it is not a high-end product, it does an excellent job holding up its end of the sound reproduction process.

BUT it was absolute hell to set up. I was prepared for the awful manual, which is absurdly terse and crowded with confusing diagrams.

I was not prepared for the insanely inadequate clips for hooking up surround speakers and the nightmare of trying to use these clips. Each is controlled by a single lever that serves for both + and - leads. The wires fit into extremely small holes, so thick speaker wire won't work, nor do standard pins. I think what's inside the mechanism is a kind of blunt guillotine on a spring that lowers onto the wires when the lever is depressed. What happens is that the guillotine lands on the top (+) wire before it has squeezed the lower (-) sufficiently to hold it in place. After many attempts, I figured out that putting some solder on the lower wire could thicken it sufficiently to be squeezed and held in place. But too much solder and the wire won't fit into the hole. Worse yet, the banks of clips for the surround speakers are so close to each other that it is virtually impossible to work with the wires for one speaker without jiggling the wires for the adjacent speaker. If the adjacent speaker's wires are not completely tight, they fall out. More than once, I got one speaker working, only to lose the connection while working on the next speaker. It's also quite tough to get both + and - leads for the same speaker hooked up, because they too are incredibly close. It took me 4 1/2 hours before I had three working surround speakers hooked up. That's 4 1/2 hours to get six wires secured in their holes. One connection is still loose, however, and I anticipate with dread having to repeat the process some day.

This is RIDICULOUS. Panasonic should be ashamed of themselves. What would it have taken to provide a reasonable mechanism for connecting speakers to the unit?

At last, I have sound from the unit. But both my hands hurt, and I am both exhausted and extremely irritated.

Rating:
Summary: The Remote Works Fine..... All else are pilot errors!
Review: I just got my Panasonic SA HE100 Home Theater Receiver today. I was able to set it up in about a half hour. I remembered reading the complaints about the remote on/off control. I seemed to have the same problem until I figured out what was going on. The on/off for the tuner works fine but you have to be in the "Tuner/Band" mode for it to operate on the Tuner a.k.a. Home Theater Receiver. If any of the other modes....
TV, DVD, CD, Tape etc are selected you can only turn off or on that item. If you are pointing the remote at the Tuner and it happens to be in the TV mode you can not turn off the Tuner.

I will write a more complete review in the future after I get to use my system for awhile. --This text refers to an alternate option.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty good unit
Review: I just wanted to quickly say that I had the same problem with the on/off button on the remote. After unplugging the unit and plugging it back in, I went through each remote setting and hit the power button...nothing happened with TV, VCR, DVD, and Audio....however, when I hit the "Tuner/Band" setting, the on/off function began to work from the remote. I don't know why it does that, but at least it now works (I did this a few times to verify that it was the Tuner/Band button that seemed to fix things).....so, hopefully the other reviewer with the problem will read this and maybe fix their remote.
In regard to the receiver, the sound is great...like others stated, it would be nice if it had more SFC settings ("stadium" sound setting for example)....also, you cannot switch from digital to analog using the remote....besides that, it's great for the price and is able to go as loud as I have needed....I actually bought this one because my old one would always have an overload...no more overloads with the SA-HE100 so far. After buying this, I upgraded my speaker system and I am a very happy man. Now I need to save for that new 51" TV....LOL.

Rating:
Summary: Defective Product
Review: I ordered this receiver a month or so ago, set it up and was happy with the video and sound. However, after about a week, the Power On/Off button on the remote would no longer work. So I contacted Amazon and exchanged the whole unit (had to do it this way) for a new one.

Two days ago, I unpackaged it and set it up. Worked fine.

Guess what? Today, the Power On/Off button on this remote no longers works! I'm sure this is otherwise a great, functioning receiver but I wouldn't have bought this if I knew part of it was defective. --This text refers to an alternate option.

Rating:
Summary: Great mix of features and price
Review: I purchased this item based on it being top rated by Consumer Reports magazine. I have been very pleased with the ease in which it could be set up, and the thought that went into its design. The controls are easy to use and the sound is fine. --This text refers to an alternate option.

Rating:
Summary: Lacks good bass
Review: I recently purchased Panasonic receiver model SA HE100K mainly because it was top rated by Consumer Reports and listed as a BestBuy. I am using it strictly for audio (tapes, CDs, vinyl). I was disappointed in its lack of bass reserve even with the bass control turned all the way up. My very old cheap Technics receiver, which I thought I was going to improve upon, actually produces a richer sound with more bass. I was told by Panasonic that these receivers are now made mainly for home theatre systems and possibly the regular stero sound is sacrificed because of this. Too bad Consumer Reports didn't make any mention of this. The problem was solved by buying an equalizer, which really does improve the fullness of the sound, but resulted in making the operation of the controls somewhat more confusing. I feel I should have gotten the sound I was expecting with such a top rated product without having to make this additional investment. --This text refers to an alternate option.