Sherwood RX-4109 Receiver

johnda -

Thanks for your initial review and continued discussion of the Sherwood RX-4109. I have a question - I am considering purchasing an RX-4109 to use in my music room with a pair of Realistic Nova 8b speakers. I was wondering about your experience because you have used the Sherwood with your Nova 8's.

I have had two other receivers hooked up to my Nova 8b's since I got them last month - a 1996 Pioneer VSX-305 (60 watts), and a vintage Technics SA-300 (35 watts). I have been impressed with the Nova 8b's with both of those receivers, but I was thinking about trying a new receiver with a little more power.

How do your Nova 8's sound with the Sherwood compered to your vintage Pioneer receiver?
 
Hi,

Sorry for the late response. I was out of action due to medical problems and am still catching up on things. The Nova 8's sounded just great with the Sherwood. Due to some major revamps around my home, the Nova 8's are not assigned right now and I'm using the Best Buy Insignia NS-B2111 speakers in the study. The new arrangement just leaves no room for them in the study and the listening room has been eliminated. Wow, it's already late October! Did you get the Sherwood?
 
Greetings all.
I just got this receiver, but I don't have any speakers or components yet to test it. I was wonder if there was any difference between the AUX and TAPE in/Ouputs. If I plugged a MP3 player in the Tape port will it sound different than the AUX port?
Thanks!
 
How do you all like the neutral sound of this this RX-4109 receiver?
I normally don't like Tone or EQing a whole lot, but with this one I have to bump of treble and bass a bit.
I suppose its better this way, than to be hard coded in and not being able to change it.
 
I DID finally get a Sherwood RX-4109, but months after I originally considered it. I spent a couple of months with a Sony GA8ES from the 90's, and after that I tried out a vintage Technics SA-5370.

The Sony GA8ES was very powerful (120 wpc), but the phono stage was just a little too dull sounding for me. The Technics (60 wpc, I think) was bright and punchy, but I'm pretty sure it needed some caps replaced because the midrange was very harsh. I finally decided to give the Sherwood RX-4109 a try. I also considered a new Onkyo TX-8255, but decided on the Sherwood mostly out of curiousity.

I've only had the Sherwood for one day, but I have to tell you - it sounds REALLY good. VERY clean and powerful sound, with a lot of definition. I'm using heavy gauge Monster Cable and Realistic Nova 8B speakers. My turntable is a late 1970's Technics direct drive with an Ortofon Red cartridge. I've turned it up plenty loud and I've yet to have the protection kick in. Some reviewers of this receiver have mentioned that it lacks bass response, but that is not the case with mine - it delivers as much bass as I would expect a receiver of that power rating to deliver. I've also read that at least one person couldn't use heavy gauge speaker wire because that would cause it to shut down, but I've not had that problem either. The FM tuner does the best job pulling in stations of any receiver I've used recently.

It's probably too early to be sure, but so far my Sherwood RX-4109 is a keeper. I found it interesting that the clerk at Radio Shack warned me that some online reviewers have experienced these things shutting down. He used that info to talk me into the replacement plan, but since it was only $10.99 for one year, I went ahead and got it.
 
Interesting comment from the Rat Shack guy. It's almost sounds like selling service plans takes precedence over selling units.

And, there's no logical reason that heavy wire would shut a receiver down, unless it's shorted.
 
Yeah, that thing about the heavy wire shutting the receiver down didn't make any sense to me either. It just proves how much unreliable information you can get from Amazon reviews!

I usually NEVER purchase service plans on audio gear, but this one was so cheap that I thought it might save me some future aggravation.

If there wasn't a Rat Shack about a mile from my house, I would have bought the unit at hhgregg. I'm not a big fan of "The Shack." I worked there in 2002, for a half a day - but that's a topic for another thread!
 
I now own both of them, but for non-critical listening.

The Sherwood is set up with my computer and the Onkyo is part of a bedroom system (TV, radio and cd's.) Not exactly the most challenging of situations but I've been pleased with both of them.

One thing I have noticed is that Onkyo volume pot gets a little scratchey every so often.
 
I've only had the Sherwood for one day, but I have to tell you - it sounds REALLY good. VERY clean and powerful sound, with a lot of definition.
I've been a big proponent of the Sherwood receiver since I first got ahold of the Insignia NS-R2000 (identical to an RX-4109). I now have a few different units, including the multi-zone RX-5502, RX-4109 and RX-4105 (no phono stage).

I've driven multiple speakers with each one, and the NS-R2000 has been matched with some Sony SS-B1000 speakers for a long time now. I like the sound and have had no complaints with the performance of the phono stage or tuner.

Sherwood's quality control does seem to be a little hit-or-miss. Some people get a good unit, and others have problems. There is little in-between ground. That said, I have repaired an RX-5502 with good results (and no service manual).

You might be interested in my write-ups on the NS-R2000 and RX-4109 teardown.
 
uxwbill - I'm VERY familiar with your RX-4109 teardown write-up! I can really appreciate when someone takes the time to review a piece of mid-fi gear.

Thanks!
 
Update - I ended up returning the Sherwood RX-4109 receiver to Radio Shack. I decided that I wanted my main listening space to have something a little higher end that has more room for expansion and iPod compatibility. I ended up getting a Sony STR-DH820, which is Sony's second from the top receiver (just below the ES series). The Sony receivers have improved over the last few years. I remember not liking them in the 1990's, but my new one puts out really great, super clean sound.

The RX-4109 did sound very good for a budget receiver. It did shut off on me once - when I was listening to the tuner at a moderately low volume. When I turned the volume down at the receiver, the protection kicked in. I'm wondering if maybe the protection in that receiver is just over-sensitive. Maybe it was static electricity or something.
 
I've been a big proponent of the Sherwood receiver since I first got ahold of the Insignia NS-R2000 (identical to an RX-4109). I now have a few different units, including the multi-zone RX-5502, RX-4109 and RX-4105 (no phono stage).

I've driven multiple speakers with each one, and the NS-R2000 has been matched with some Sony SS-B1000 speakers for a long time now. I like the sound and have had no complaints with the performance of the phono stage or tuner.

Sherwood's quality control does seem to be a little hit-or-miss. Some people get a good unit, and others have problems. There is little in-between ground. That said, I have repaired an RX-5502 with good results (and no service manual).

You might be interested in my write-ups on the NS-R2000 and RX-4109 teardown.

UXWbill,

I am now using three Sherwoods two RX4109's and the RX 4503, which has a sub woofer out but no phono in. Right now I'm using it with my Denon DP-300f turntable and I am using the built-in phono preamp on the Denon.

Do you have any feelings about the 4503's amplifier section? It's rated at 100 watts/channel. I could move the Sherwood RX 4109 to the study and allow the Denon to use the phono input directly. If you know, do you think I would be giving anything up sonically by going from the 4503 to the 4109? I am not using a sub-woofer any longer due to my wife's request, so the sub out isn't needed.

Update: I decided to stay with the RX4503, using the phono preamp built into the turntable. I may add an external preamp sometime in the future, but for now the DP 300F's unit is satisfactory. It is at least the equal of lower cost preamps, say in the 30 dollar range. My second 4109 will be used in the basement. I still feel that the 4109 represents an excellent choice for a simple low cost receiver that can also use a turntable.

Update 3/8/12: I decided to stop fooling around with trying to find a phono preamp and just run my equipment the way God intended. I moved my
RX-4109 into my study and used the phono input. I switched my DP 300F over to the non-amp position. The 4503 replaced it in the living room where there are various audio feeds but no turntable. All is well and I am a happy vinyl user again.
 
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I am seriously thinking of buying a RX-4109 and I'm wondering if it can power my old JBL L-166. What do you think?
 
I found that the 4109 just was not a good sonic match with my Bic America FH-65bs.
I settled on a Onkyo TX-8050.
 
Great Tip ! Got Me one !!

:banana:Thanx for the tip- I just picked up one one eBay for $19.00 with $19.00 shipping (next door state). I was watching a LXI with a nice colorful dial get bid away on, knowing it wasn't worth the cabbage anymore. Rock On....:music:
 
Update:
One of my RX-4109's and my RX-4503 with the a Polk Monitor 30's and PSW sub-woofer are now with my son-in-law after we converted the listening room to a bedroom. My RX-4109 in my living room has been replaced by the Yamaha RS-201. The tuner section on my RX-4109 was so good that I am now using it as a tuner for my Yamaha AS500 amp. It is still going strong, after quite a few years! best $100 I ever spent! I may get a dedicated tuner like the Yamaha TS500 at some point and then the RX-4109 will return to duty driving my RS Nova 8 speakers, where it did a great job.
 
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Uxwbill, I just came across your YouTube video on the RX4109 and the three receivers. great stuff! When I have a chance I'll see if you have any more. Nice work!
 
Another RX-4109 Experience

I have an old GE 15 wpc baby receiver that has always been good to me, but I've always felt that I must be missing out on something with the low wattage. I have decent enough JBLs, but never really crank the volume to avoid damaging them with a low-wattage receiver. Enter the RX-4109, still at the local Rat Shack for $99 list. I have been keeping an eye out for a bargain on a vintage monster, but when seeing this for sale, and noting that (unlike its bargain 100 wpc bretheren from Yamaha and Sony) it had a Phono Amp, I picked one up.

Overall, I think its a pretty good receiver, with only one major design flaw. After connecting all my components and trying a record, I found the sound to be a little flat and reached for the graphic equalizer. It then dawned on me that the equalizer wasn't working (aside from the spectrum analyzer) because there's no tape monitor! The funny thing is that I usually bypass my equalizer and just use it for the spectrum display because I like the sound of my GE as-is. Just sounds a bit fuller than the Sherwood. I will say that the Sherwood definitely got loud. If I didn't have the equalizer I probably would have kept it, but because of that, and because it didn't bring anything new to the table to my usual listening experience, I decided I really didn't need it, so back to the Shack it goes.

For $100, you really can't beat it. If you need a full-featured receiver to connect to multiple components, this is good. If I had another room in my house that could use a Stereo, I would have kept it (well, there would be a stereo and big speakers if every room if my wife would get on board with that, but our philosophies on appropriate speaker size differ).
 
The RX-4109 was my first stereo receiver. I bought it based on a very positive review on YouTube, and I liked that it was described as a very neutral sound. But I think it isn't neutral enough, the sound is so dull and boring that I refused to believe an engineer intended for his music to come across this way, there's just no way a record producer would let recordings like this out the door! But the biggest clue was when my 60 year old Mom described it as very dull and lacking power. The Tone controls did work well either. The bass controls just muddied the sound without any real low frequency boost.
So I returned it within the week and tried a couple of other receivers until I discovered the Onkyo TX-8050 which sounds great.
 
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