I purchased this as the centerpiece for a dedicated system for my turntable, the Audio Technica AT-LP60X, paired with two Sony SS-CS3 floor-standing tower speakers. Got it at an excellent price during the holiday sales at Best Buy.\n\nMy main attraction to this receiver, aside from being at a price that fit my budget, was the dedicated phono input. Overall the sound of the system is clear, and certainly loud enough, but it does lack a certain "UMPH!," for lack of better words. It sounds/feels very "safe." Almost too clean. But it's still a vast improvement to what I was using a before.\n\nI do like the very clean and minimal look of the front, but I feel some of the user interface could be better. I like the very large volume knob, but it could feel tighter; more confident. There's another knob right next to it that's about half the size for switching between the various inputs. It makes no sense for input selection to be determined by twisting a knob, except that it reduces the buttons needed on the front of the device. It would make much more sense if this knob was, instead, used for tuning the FM channels. But instead tuning through the channels and FM presets is done by small buttons on the front panel. This is cumbersome and slow.\n\nWhen cycling through FM channels you can't just hold the button down to speed through the frequencies (on either the receiver or the included remote). You have to press the button again each time it lands on a station. So, you switch to a station, it takes a second for it to load, THEN you press the button again and it finds the next available station. Again, this would be much easier with a dial. \n\nThe remote does everything that's on the front panel, and even more, and it does it better than the front panel. In fact, if you get this DON'T LOSE THE REMOTE! \n\nThe sound quality is very good with the speakers, but as I mentioned earlier it lacks "UMPH!" It feels "safe." However that could be just the speakers, or my turntable, or both. I've also heard of stereos needing to "break in," so maybe I just haven't owned or listened to it long enough. \n\nDespite the weird interface issues and the lack of character in the sound, this is still a great piece, especially for the price. Be aware that I am NOT an audiophile, nor do I have any experience with hi-fi systems or nice home theater systems or anything like that. This stereo, and the speakers, are perfect for someone starting out on a limited budget, but want to do better than an all-in-one type of system or a soundbar or something like that. \n\nOverall I recommend this product.