Finding a budget A/V receiver is always a tough challenge. You inevitably wind up compromising to keep within the budget market. For those looking for a truly low-priced A/V receiver, you must be willing to decide which company has made the compromises that best fit what you value in a product. In the case of the Sherwood RD-6500, the biggest compromise has been in the video end of the receiver. While the price is definitely within the budget category, we found this model just did not meet the basic requirements for a good A/V receiver.

When operated in stereo mode, it offers 100 watts to both front channels with less than 0.9% total harmonic distortion. In surround modes, it offers 100 watts into each of the five channels. A subwoofer pre-out allows for adding a powered subwoofer to help with LFE. For music lovers, it offers multi-channel audio inputs for DVD-Audio and SACD sources. We were impressed with the tone direct option for two-channel purists, which allows you to bypass all the RD-6500's processing and tone circuitry to provide the cleanest audio signal possible to your speakers. The receiver has inputs for three video sources, CD player, and an auxiliary input. The tuner section includes 30 presets for selecting your favorite FM/AM radio stations. However, it does not offer any input options specifically for MP3 players or satellite radio.

The built-in Dolby Digital decoder offers access to the great surround sound effects of all the latest movies, but there is no DTS processor included, which is somewhat out of the norm. Dolby Pro Logic II (with modes for music, movie, matrix, and custom) and Dolby Pro Logic (with for matrix, theater, hall stadium and church modes) offers surround sound options for 2-channel sources.

Video capabilities are almost utilitarian in nature. Only composite video inputs are offered for all three (two rear panel, one front panel) of the video inputs, and there is only one composite video output. Given the rate the market is moving into higher definition video formats, having only composite inputs makes this nearly obsolete to anyone who intends to do anything but feed video directly to their display. At the very best, composite video input/outputs will seriously limit the size of video display you will want to use. Thankfully, audio connections are not as limited, and we found rear panel connections for two coaxial digital and one optical digital input.

The video inputs are identified simply as Video 1 and Video 2 (front panel input is third video input). There is no ability to label these inputs, so you will have to remember which input is your DVD player and which is your cable or satellite television. While not a big deal for the person who sets up the receiver, this limitation will impact the unit's ease of use for anyone else that picks up the remote.

While the price tag is attractive, we found the RD-6500 did not offer enough balance to be a good value. While it is certainly a low cost option for audio power and features, having only composite video connectivity and no DTS support limits you to only one-half of what home theater is all about.

Pros: Plenty of power, low price
Cons: limited to composite video switching, no DTS decoder

Warranty
2 years, parts and labor