Sherwood Newcastle A 965 7-channel power amp and R 965 7-channel receiver (power amp section only)
Manufacturer: Sherwood America, 13101 Moore Street, Cerritos, CA 90703; 800/962-3203; www.sherwoodusa.com
Price: A-965 Power Amp, $1,500; R-965 AV Receiver, $2,000
Source: Manufacturer loan Reviewer: David Arthur Rich
A-965 7-channel Power Amp
•All-Channels-Driven Power 20 Hz-20 kHz: 10
Watts |
per |
channel |
(x |
|
2) |
into |
|
8 ohms |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
•All-Channels-Driven Power |
20 Hz-20 kHz: |
||||||
100 |
Watts |
per |
channel |
|
(x |
7) |
into |
8 ohms |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
•All-Channels-Driven Power |
20 Hz-20 kHz: |
||||||
160 |
Watts |
per |
channel |
|
(x |
7) |
into |
4 ohms
•THD for all test conditions above: Less than 0.02%
•Signal to noise ratio: 115 dB (18.7 bits digital equivalent)
•Dimensions (H x W x D): 7 5/8” x 17 3/8” x
18”
•Weight: 80 lbs.
A 965 AV Receiver (power amp section)
•Two-Channels-Driven Power 20 Hz-20 kHz:
120 Watts per channel (x 2) into
8 ohms
•THD: Less than 0.02%
•Dimensions (H x W x D): 7 5/8” x 17 3/8” x
18”
•Weight: 46 lbs.
The Sherwood brand has a lengthy history, but the original management is long gone. Korean Etronics Corp. now has the rights to the brand. Korean Etronics manufactures for a wide variety of well known names in the business and capitalizes on its economies of scale. More impressive is the lean nature of the US operation. Eugene Chavez juggles customer support, technical support, and the service center. Jeff Hipps and Gary Graning handle sales, marketing, and press relations. I almost ran past the CES booth, which had little relation to the size of this company. All these overworked employees are keeping costs down, allowing the savings to pass through to the consumer.
I am currently testing the Sherwood Newcastle R-965 receiver (review to come in a future issue), but the A-965 power amp, which is related to the power amp in the R-965, is the subject of this review. The A-965 is a significant product in its own right and deserves to have the spotlight shone upon it. The front end of the R-965 is a complex piece of electronics that I have reviewed in a separate review. The A-965 sells for $1,500. The R-965 with the complete AV front end is $2,000. The standalone front-end of the R-965 is available for $1,500 as the P-965 AV controller. Sherwood expects most A-965 power amps will ship with P-965 AV controllers ($3,000 for the two units), but I expect the A-965 to have a wider audience.
The A-965 weighs 80 pounds, with the power supply and the heat sinks providing the center of gravity. Two giant transformers take up most of the space in the unit and the rest is the heat sinks. With all the metal, the unit will pass FTC with seven channels driven into a 4-ohm load.
The power into 4 ohms is 160 watts. That is just about the maximum power that can be expected from a s e v e n - c h a n n e l amplifier designed to be meet the ULdeveloped safety standards. (Things are not as simple as
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