From all I see and hear, this is the unit to get. But, I have never owned a surround sound receiver, and to be honest, 90% of the use may be stereo CD and tuner. I will have high quality in-wall speakers ( 4- BIC VI-38 + a good center........still not sure what to do about a sixth speaker) and a sub, a DVD/CD player, a VCR and that's it for now. Is the 1050 the wrong unit for me? Should I go get a Sony or XYZ instead? Honest opinions appreciated

I only bought my 1050 earlier this year, but I have been extremely happy with it. It performs beautifully for everything I've used it for. I've got my dvd, cd, vcr, and satellite tv all hooked up with no problems. The 1050 puts out enough power w/o an external amp that it's more than my wife is willing to let me use. So I reserve my real audio fun for when she's gone! In my opinion, you won't find a better unit in this price range.

Also, I didn't have my 1050 long 'til I just HAD to have a rear center channel... just warning ya, once you CAN use it, you'll WANT to use it!

Good luck with your decision!

Edit:
Oh yea, I have read that some people have had trouble with getting a good signal using the 1050's tuner. I have not had any problems with it and use it every morning before I go to work.

[This message has been edited by Owl's_Warder (edited October 22, 2001).]

My 1050 gets a lot of use with CD's (stereo only), and does an excellent job of it; these days I listen to CD's more than I watch DVD's or TV. Build quality is better than receivers I've seen from Sony, Pioneer, and Yamaha (although I still think pretty highly of my old Yamaha receiver). It's tough to beat the 1050 in the price range. Have you poked around www.audioreview.com to see reviews of other receivers?

I'd say the general concensus around here is pretty much "heck yeah, get one!" because most people I've heard from are generally very satisfied with the 1050. As with Owl's_Warder, I've had no problems with the tuner (or the receiver in general, for that matter). There may be some low-end Yamaha receivers sitting at Best Buy that could satisfy your needs for ~$300, but I don't have much experience with them. If you're looking at or near the 1050's price range, the 1050 becomes very very tempting.

I use the 1050 with Klipschorns and LaScalas - both very revealing speakers usually used with tube amps ... the 1050 does an excellent job ... I liked it so much that I bought a second one for use with my THX Home Theater System. I originally learned of the 1050 through the Klipsch website where a user reported that they found the 1050 to be "the closest thing they found to a tube amp sound". I know that it certainly beat the 100 watt/ channel SONY receivers I had before by a long shot.