Sherwood Newcastle R-965 Quick start guide

Brand: Sherwood

Model: Newcastle R-965

Category: Audio equalizers

Type: Quick start guide

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basic design but throws in some

attention-getting new features.

Existing units are upgradeable with

the new auto-setup and lip-sync

functions at no extra charge; adding

room equalization costs $100.

The new feature most likely to

bridge the chasm between the old

model and surround newbies is

automatic setup and channel cali-

bration. As with several compet-

ing models, you can plug a small

microphone into the back of the

new model, listen to the receiver

spit out test tones, then marvel as

it adjusts itself.

The setup routine includes

seven-band parametric room

equalization that precisely sets both

center frequency and width. And

it provides lip-sync correction

for that awkward moment when

you realize that the fancy video

chips in your new projector are

causing the dialogue to be off.

The Gray Lady Is Beautiful

It would be hard to overstate the

attractiveness of the gray matte-

aluminum faceplate. Elegant and

understated, it puts black boxes

and excessively mirror-finished

products to shame.

Front panel controls include two

large knobs, one for volume, the

other for selecting surround

modes.You can adjust input selec-

tion and most other chores for

mundane daily use via the main

exposed buttons—which are

metallic, pointy, and fun to touch.

Sherwood felt that their Pure Audio

mode was worth emphasizing with

one of these more prominent but-

tons. It provides a pure analog

stereo sound with all video and dig-

ital audio circuits shut down.

Flip down a door, and you’ll see

that a bunch more advanced fea-

tures are adjustable, including

cinema EQ and the full range of

Dolby Pro Logic IIx controls.

You’ll want to adjust them right

away because the unit ships with

center width and dimension at

their minimum settings; I prefer

middle settings for both.

The rear panel is well organized.

Seven amp channels serve nine

pairs of speaker jacks. The dual

side-surround jacks let you place

one set of speakers at the sides of

the room for movie listening and

another set closer to the rear for

music listening.You can reassign the

BY MARK FLEISCHMANN

Cordero Studios

The great gray lady.

Consumer expectations are a

pointed stick.You can almost hear

manufacturers of surround receivers

going, “Ow, ow, ow! Do you really

expect us to provide seven amp

channels and a silicon forest of sur-

round modes—and make it all easy

to set up?” Yes, yes, and yes.

Most manufacturers keep up

with the ever-expanding wish list

by regularly turning over models,

introducing new ones as often as

once a year. Sherwood takes a

slightly different route with the

new R-965, and, by the way, I call it

that to distinguish it from the old

R-965.The old one had some qual-

ities and performance parameters

worth preserving. So, the new one

keeps the old model number and its

MIDRANGE $$–$$$

from the

test bench

Sherwood Newcastle R-965 A/V Receiver

Home Theater / April 2006 > www.hometheatermag.com

single set of rear-surround jacks for

second-zone use.

One new back-panel option is a

USB jack to accept input from a

portable music player. Conspicu-

ous in their absence are HDMI,

DVI, and FireWire jacks, so, if your

video display uses these newer-

generation interfaces, it’ll have to

connect directly to signal sources.

Sherwood is wary of the constantly

evolving HDMI standard and did

not want to ship a product that

consumers might regard as

“broken.” However, for $300, you

can add the HDMI-Link, a separate

component-to-HDMI transcoding

switcher with component in, two

HDMI ins, and one HDMI out.

The remote control is Sherwood’s

RNC-510, which bears an amazing

resemblance to a Universal Remote

Control product. It has a black-

and-white LCD, pleasantly rounded

bubble buttons, and a very logical

layout.The center navigation wheel

is one piece, which makes hitting

enter in the middle a bit tricky.

Power is rated at 140 watts

into one channel and 120 into

two channels.

The Gray Lady Is Amiable

Next, it was auto-setup time. I

mounted the supplied microphone

to a tripod in the prime listening

position and let ’er rip. She ripped

rather loudly—I literally ran for

my Howard Leight ear protectors.

The manual says to evacuate small

children from the room before

activating the launch sequence. If I

were you, I’d also grab the pets

and run for it.

Each channel got two pink-

noise tones, one with strong

high-frequency content—which

made it correspondingly more

painful—and a second duller one.

After the initial tones made the

rounds, a second set ping-ponged

back and forth between the front

left and right, then between the

rear left and right speakers.

Apparently, loud tones produce

good results. This was the first

receiver that measured my speaker

distances and sizes accurately and

consistently. My speakers are dif-

ferent distances from the side

walls, and that usually puts most

auto-setup receivers out of whack

in at least one channel, but the

Sherwood aced this tricky situa-

tion. It correctly identiﬁed my full-

frequency speakers as large by

comparing their low-frequency

response to the crossover:Anything

under the crossover is labeled

large, and anything over it is small.

You can set the crossover before or

> Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm

loads:

0.1% distortion at 128.3 watts

1% distortion at 155.7 watts

> All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:

0.1% distortion at 109.6 watts

1% distortion at 126.0 watts

> Analog frequency response in Pure Audio mode:

–0.75 dB at 10 Hz; –0.29 dB at 20 Hz

–0.07 dB at 20 kHz; –0.51 dB at 50 kHz

> Analog frequency response with signal processing:

–1.82 dB at 10 Hz; –0.65 dB at 20 Hz

–0.62 dB at 20 kHz; –59.01 dB at 50 kHz

This graph shows that the R-965’s left channel, from

CD input to speaker output with two channels driving

8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 134.0 watts

and 1 percent distortion at 167.1 watts. Into 4 ohms, the

amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 229.7 watts

and 1 percent distortion at 261.8 watts.

Response from the multichannel input to the speaker

output measures –0.59 dB at 10 Hz, –0.23 dB at 20 Hz,

–0.08 dB at 20 kHz, and –0.52 dB at 50 kHz. THD+N

from the amplifier was less than 0.013% at 1 kHz when

driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load. Crosstalk at 1 kHz

driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load was –92.89 dB left

to right and –86.76 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise

ratio with 2.83 volts driving an 8-ohm load from 10 Hz

to 24 kHz with “A” weighting was –98.31 dBrA.

From the Dolby Digital input to the loudspeaker

output, the left channel measures –0.48 dB at 20 Hz

and –0.62 dB at 20 kHz. The center channel measures

–0.35 dB at 20 Hz and –0.65 dB at 20 kHz, and the left

surround channel measures –2.03 dB at 20 Hz and

–0.81 dB at 20 kHz. From the Dolby Digital input to the

line-level output, the LFE channel is –0.14 dB at 20 Hz

when referenced to the level at 40 Hz and reaches the

upper 3-dB down point at 97 Hz and the upper 6-dB

down point at 107 Hz.—MJP

HT Labs Measures: Sherwood Newcastle R-965 A/V Receiver

SHERWOOD NEWCASTLE R-965 A/V RECEIVER

AT A GLANCE

> CONNECTIONS

Inputs:

Video: component video (3), S-video

(6), composite video (6)

Audio: USB (1), coaxial digital (2),

optical digital (4), 7.1-channel

analog (1), stereo analog (8),

phono + ground (1)

Outputs:

Video: component (1), S-video (3),

composite (3)

Audio: coaxial digital (1), optical

digital (1), stereo analog (4),

7.2 preamp (10)

Additional:

RS-232 (1), 12-volt trigger (2),

IR jack (2)

These listings are based on the manufacturer’s

stated specs; the HT Labs box below indicates the

gear’s performance on our test bench.

> FEATURES

Processing Modes: Dolby: Digital 5.1, EX, Pro Logic IIx,

Virtual Speaker; DTS: DTS, ES,

96/24, Neo:6; Other: 12 DSP

modes, four-channel stereo, matrix

THX Certiﬁcation: No

Audio D/A Converter: 24-bit/192-kilohertz

Number of Amp Channels: 7

Power Rating (watts per channel): 120, into 8 ohms, 2 channels driven

Frequency Response: –3 dB from 10 Hz to 100,000 kHz

Dimensions (H x W x D, inches): 7.75 x 17.4 x 17.75

Weight (pounds): 51.8

Price $2,000

differ from mine, and the auto EQ

might respond in an entirely differ-

ent way. Of course, you always

have the option to do what I did—

run the auto setup, listen to the

EQ, and then decide whether you

want to live with it.

Without EQ, the receiver

achieved a ﬁne balance between the

leading edge of its midrange and

ﬂeshing out the inner detail.Treble

was well developed but not hyped.

The lower midrange and upper bass

were clean, natural, and unsweet-

ened. This receiver doesn’t need

any fancy tricks to perform well in

a decent-sounding room.

The Gray Lady Is Sensible

In an industry infected with the

deadly featuritis virus, Sherwood has

made judicious choices, updating a

good chassis with features that make

a difference.The new and improved

R-965 delivers reliably strong sound

matched by superb looks. Its easy

setup should help this receiver play

with a broad audience, including

both surround neophytes and more

critical high-end users.

the overall volume level was sub-

jectively louder, although, with

EQ, it was more likely that just

some frequencies were louder.

Eminem’s movie vehicle 8 Mile

includes several electrifying crowd

scenes in which aspiring fictional

rappers put themselves on the line.

With the EQ off, I felt as though I

were listening to a recording of a

crowd scene. With the EQ back

on, I was in the thick of it, and each

heckling voice seemed to be just a

few feet away. Here there was no

downside—the EQ heightened the

emotion of every scene, including

both music and dialogue.

Moving to the opposite musical

extreme, The Chorus is a French

melodrama starring a squadron of

boy sopranos. The high voices

achieved better separation with EQ

but also took on a sharper edge,

which led me to drop the volume.

I achieved a more melliﬂuous and

unified choral sound and higher

volumes with the EQ off.

What would happen if the auto

EQ worked in tandem with

cinema EQ? Cinema EQ did soften

the edge, but not as much as leav-

ing the auto EQ off.

On the whole, I felt that the auto

EQ made my system sound more

vivid but also made it trickier to

use; changing volume as I changed

material took greater forethought.

Anyhow, my experiments may

not be entirely germane.After all,

your room acoustics are likely to

after auto setup, and, if you’re curi-

ous, you might even use the setup

routine to roughly gauge your

speakers’ in-room bass response.

Once the process is complete,

the R-965 stores the channel

levels, and the menu lists all of

them at zero. So, if you make fur-

ther manual adjustments, the auto-

set levels are your reference points,

not the factory-set levels.There is

no way to tell what the auto-set

levels are.You cannot inspect the

EQ settings, either. It may be pos-

sible to hear them being set by the

second round of test tones, but I

wouldn’t advise taking the risk.

The Gray Lady Is Up-Front

Since I could only gauge the EQ by

listening, I started my primary test

disc with the menu in front of me

so that I could switch the EQ in

and out.The ﬁrst thing I listen to is

always a six-voice a cappella

chorus—“Stars in My Crown”

from Waterson:Carthy’s Common

Tongue.When I switched the EQ in,

all six voices seemed to take a step

toward me. I could differentiate

each one of the voices more easily.

The sound was brighter. Evi-

dently, Sherwood’s EQ circuit felt

that my heavily damped room

needed a little more emphasis in

the upper region. I could more

easily hear the faint tape hiss sur-

rounding Bill Morrissey’s vocal in

the first few seconds of “Time to

Go Home” from Night Train. And

[

HIGHLIGHTS



Old ﬂagship sets sail with new

features



Now has auto setup, seven-band

room EQ, and lip sync



Sounds as impressive as it looks

98 Home Theater / June 2005 > www.hometheatermag.com

95 88 92 95 90

General information

R-965 A/V Receiver, $2,000 > Sherwood America, (800) 962-3203

www.sherwoodusa.com > Dealer Locator Code SHR

Sherwood updates thier top-line

R-965 with automatic setup and

equalization. Even without EQ, it

has a natural sound that should

appeal to listeners with high stan-

dards. While it lacks HDMI, in

every other respect, it’s every-

thing a great receiver should be.

> That gray matte-

metal finish gets me

every time

> Warning: Heavy con-

struction ahead!

> There’s auto setup,

and then there’s auto

setup that really works

> HDMI support is an

added-cost option

> Seven-band EQ with

adjustable Q and center

frequency

> Auto setup, supplied

mike

> Natural midrange

> Clean, unhyped treble

> Auto setup makes it

much easier to set up

> Remote’s joypad

enter button takes

some practice

SHERWOOD NEWCASTLE R-965 A/V RECEIVER

OVERALL RATING

Build Quality Value Features Performance Ergonomics

Sherwood’s RNC-510

remote (above) has an LCD

and bubble buttons. The

R-965 also comes with a

separate remote for a sec-

ond audio zone.

NUVISION NVX32HDU LCD HD MONITOR

from the test bench

SHERWOOD NEWCASTLE R-965 A/V RECEIVER

Posted with permission from the April 2006 issue of

Home Theater

For more information about reprints from

Home Theater

, contact Wright’s Reprints at 877-652-5295

Sherwood Newcastle R-965 Quick start guide

Brand: Sherwood

Model: Newcastle R-965

Category: Audio equalizers

Type: Quick start guide

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Sherwood Newcastle R-965 Quick start guide

Sherwood Newcastle R-965 Quick start guide

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