Aiwa AV-D57 5.1 Channels Receiver

The Aiwa AV-D57 is certainly not the greatest receiver out there but it is the best you can get for $180. It has a total power handling of 350 watts, which with decent speakers was able to make my house shake. The surround features are very good, for whatever or how many speakers you have. If you have only 3 speakers, you can select the 3 speaker stereo option, if you have 4 speakers you can select the PHANTOM surround, and if you have 5 you can select the DOLBY DIGITAL surround.The surround worked very well for both audio and video components (CD player, VCR). The receiver is a completely versatile machine. It has an uncountable amount of features where you can modify your sound and surround options. The only problem with the machine and all these options is that it makes it quite difficult to operate.It took me a lot of playing around with the buttons, knobs, and reading the instructional booklet to fully understand and tweak my settings to where I wanted them.The remote was also difficult and confusing to work; it didn't have all the options the receiver had on it, forcing me get off the couch and manually adjust the settings
If you want a decent receiver for listening to CD's, watching movies, etc. and you only have under $200, here's your best buy.It will make your house rumble and the sound quality is very good. But, if you have over $200 and you don't feel like getting off your couch to play with the settings, go for something better.And if you do get the Aiwa receiver, please read the instructional booklet THOROUGHLY.