Sherwood

Sherwood RX5502 100 Watt RMS Dual-Zone Stereo Receiver (Black)
$261.25
I just purchased 3 of these on Amazon for about $160 delivered and am using them to run 11 sets of speakers, mostly in wall and in ceiling speakers. I am thrilled with the sound and the 2 extra sets of speakers these can handle. In my setup, I run Audio out on my main Yamaha 1065 to the location that all of my in home speaker cables are terminated. I run Audio In to a RCA distribution Amp that I got on Amazon for under $70 and then out to each of the 3 receivers and out to the 11 sets of speakers I have inside and outside. I also picked up a Harmony IR remote and set it up so that I can control each receiver individually or as a group from anywhere in my home.

These are certainly no frills receivers, but for sheer audio output they are more than enough to handle my mostly JBL in wall and ceiling speakers. I can turn on my Yamaha, select CD, IPOD or Windows Media Center off my Xbox, pick up the Harmony Remote, press Power and 11 sets of speakers come on with whatever my Yamaha is playing, I love it. I looked into "whole home audio systems" and all I saw was $$$ I'm in to this for about $600 (not counting speakers) and I'm thrilled with it. Drawbacks - I cannot contol each set of speakers volume individually, but I set them up in a away that they are grouped so having the same volume to each set of speakers on each receiver is almost always what you would do anyway, plus you can carry that harmony remote in your pocket and adjust at will. Playing multiple sources in multiple locations may be a drawback for some, but I pretty much want the same thing playing where ever I am anyway, plus I can select different inputs on each receiver so this is not a big deal either.

I think the sound is crisp and bright, the receivers don't seem to get too hot after a full day of piping music around my house and they have so few options that it's not like you need a degree to turn on ABCD or any combination of speakers on each receiver.

If you have a audio only need to get speakers hooked up in multiple locations this is one of the best bargains I've run across.

A Different Light
$11.98
Sherwood's newest album is full of great songs that retain their playablility over hundreds and hundred of plays. Great album.

Sherwood RX4109 2-Channel 100 Watts Stereo Receiver (Black)
$179.95
The Sherwood 4109 receiver is not for the 'Home Theater', 'Audiophile' (although I consider myself one...) or 'Multi-channel' crowd. It is designed for those who want a good stereo receiver, for basic/moderate use, at a very low price. I can vouch for the performance of these units - I own three of them - all used for 'second/bedroom/office' systems. With one or two sets of small floor-standing or bookshelf speakers (only 6 - 8 ohms, no 4 ohm), this unit performs very well. Frequency response can be tailored to suit your speakers and taste - via tone controls. Good number of input options - decent remote - sleep timer, and a few other goodies... Overall, I can't say anything bad about these receivers. Compare them to my 'main' system, which cost me more than a really nice used Lexus...no...of course not..but for the money you can't buy a better budget stereo receiver. I have recommended, or given, several of these to friends, with no reports of any problems. Just use them as they are intended, and they will be just fine. A 'great buy' for the right application, in my opinion.

Sherwood RX4105 2-Channel 100 Watts Stereo Receiver (Black)
$119.99
With the brick-and-mortar stores pretty much void of anything but high-end 5.1 receivers, it is gratifying to have a site like Amazon offer an affordable alternative for those not needing any thing fancy in their home entertainment system. The Sherwood RX-4105 is just such an alternative; a simple two-channel sound system, with five different audio sources including am-fm radio. For those simply needing to navigate between the audio inputs of their separate components and not interested in a fancy 5.1 speaker system, this is the way to go.