CES 2009

Budget A/V receivers can be a touchy subject for home theater enthusiasts. Is it possible for quality performance to be achieved at a price tag less than $500? Sherwood wants to add its own argument to the debate with its newest A/V receiver addition. The RD-7503 is priced at a mere $440, but it comes with some standard and not-so-standard features that place it in a unique category.

Sherwood’s RD-7503 includes three HDMI inputs and delivers 100 watts per channel for all of its seven channels. Some of its high-end capabilities include decoding for both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio lossless audio formats. The budget A/V receiver even provides Sherwood’s 12-band automatic parametric room EQ, known as SNAP. This lets you set up the system automatically with an included microphone. Additionally, the RD-7503’s Bluetooth capabilities let you wirelessly stream MP3s. Sherwood might have made high-end technology much more accessible.