Cost

Piercing shrill treble noticeable with better speakers

Can't believe I led anyone down the wrong path with this piece of crap receiver.

I returned it to Crutchfield after about a month or two because of the HORRIBLE audio quality.

Didn't notice until I got some good speakers, and then all the flaws came through.

MUCH happier with my Denon receiver, and would recommend Denon in an INSTANT over any Sony STR line.

I have heard good things about Sony's ES line, but have not tested.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR3600

Hopefully some of you have experience with this amp/receiver as well.I was put off initially by the comparitively low price $579 but I was pretty much impressed by the sound. Warm and LOUD. Good on funk-jazz, etc, and impressive on the apollo13 launch. I have yet to audition other moviees on it yet, but I'm looking forward to it.

yharr@msn.com

For the price, Sony sure could have provided lower THD. The manual rates surround mode THD at .8% and it becomes readily audible at the 4-5/10 volume setting; forget going higher than that, the hiss becomes extreme. If you want loud music featuring silent interludes (or even a movie track), this could be a real problem. The direct pass switch does reduce the THD to .09%, but that forces stereo mode only. The same model of 1990 had a THD of .03%, even with surround enabled.
To be fair, I don't find much reason to press this amp above 1/4 volume on music sources and I especially like the optical inputs. There are lots of other all-in-one type features (AC-3) that make this receiver worth a look and it should be easy to find since Sony is marketed through so many resellers.

Recent retail - $579.

Four stars for function/versatility, but I can't convince myself to go above three with that hiss in my ears.

i had bought the str-de915 as it was on sale awhile ago, i wanted a digital receiver and it had the best features for the price at the time... was fairly happy with the sound, I didn't have huge expectations... hooking up my sony dvp-s500 however made me raise it up a notch. soon as i hooked up the optical cable, i was like whoa... was nothing short of remarkable. probably more of a testament to dvd, but still amazing... next receiver I'm going to be more picky, but as a getting-me-by dolby digital receiver, i think I'll remain happy with this one.

I've lived with my Sony Dolby Pro Logic amp for about 2 years, and only about 1 month after getting my Sony DVD DVPS-300 ... I got the SONY 915. I was very impressed. I'm only 19, but I've always had something for home theatres. I love sound, and movie, and quality, and I must say, I was wowed by the sound I recieved from this amp. I was truely impressed. 110%/100%Thats 10% extra!