I do a lot of research , like most of you will do , and determine that this be the best I could do with my budget . my primary concern be sound quality and get enough power for a large room -lrb- 19 ' x 20 ' -rrb- this do well in those regard , while you sacrifice in other area . for this price you can not have everything ! pro : the component seem quality build . the receiver be heavy and well ventilate . the speaker be heavy and wooden . everything be just sturdy . it ship well pack in a heavy box . the amplifier itself be the same circuitry and power rating you 'll find in more expensive denon receiver , like the 591 and 1611 . from what I gather it be THD and power compare well with more expensive model . it certainly do a good job with the include speaker . it will get ridiculous house party loud , no worry . the hdmus input give no problem . Denon be sometimes note for handshake problem , but I do not encounter any . I have a Motorola DVR , a Sony bdp-s570 blu-ray and a Samsung pnc50c450 and they all sync up perfectly . I do the latest firmware update on each device prior to the Denon arrive . the sound be pretty tweak-able , if you have the patience . more on that later . the include speaker wire be long . con : set this thing up be tedious . there be no surround auto setup . you need to measure you speaker distance manually . you need to tweak the loudness of each speaker to you liking . they should all be equal . you need to specify the type of each speaker . . etc. . the menu be not very intuitive . the include speaker wire be pretty thin 22 gauge . I suppose this be ok , but it seem fragile and I prefer some more durable , less resistive 16 gauge wire for the long run in my room . you may want to play with the crossover frequency also . let the sub handle everything below 200hz provide the best result in my case . at first I think the sound be muddy . I then do some research on room acoustic and speaker positioning . most real expert -lrb- the one that work in the field and\/or adhere to the scientific method -rrb- agree that the room it be acoustic and the position of you and you speaker be the single most important variable in sound quality . I completely agree after re-position my speaker three time . the most significant change be move the sub-woofer out of the corner and into the open . I also get some quality mount . in conclusion , do some research , put you speaker in the right spot , work with the setup for 3 or 4 day until you get the sound you want and crank it up . after all that , holy cow ! crank it up !