Sherwood Newcastle R-965 - Manual

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 UL-
developed safety
standards. (Things
are not as simple as