Check The Reviews & Research Repair History Carefully

My husband and I bought this unit as part of our family Christmas gift 2 years ago. Overall, I'd say we are happy with our purchase — the sound is great, it looks great, could display a little more information (like the time), but overall a good unit. We went with the Panasonic SA-HT740 because Consumer Reports said it was the best value for your money. However, a little over a year after we bought it (out of warranty) the fan started making noises and amazingly lived until the end of this year. During the holidays we turned it on, the door opened half way and the unit died, showing error 61 (error to clean fan or replace). After much research online to find this fan to replace it, I've discovered that this is an extremely common problem and a LOT of people have had the cooling fan go out on several of the Panasonic models. I still haven't found the fan, but haven't given up yet. Just Beware!