I have had this receiver for about 10 days, and so far it is great. I had a jvc 1028 which was ok...but had a lot of 'hiss' at mid-high volume when using dolby surround. I returned it to the dealer and got the sony.. no hiss at any level. I also looked at the marantz 880 mark 2 (at almost twice the price) Yes the marantz was better, but at $1200 compaired to $640 it was not that musch better and the sony had the needed outputs for my 2 vcrs (marantz only has 1 vcrout) Now the remote... if all owners write to sony we just might get them to ship us a normal remote. it is bulky, hard to use, goes dark too soon, otherwise
I love the receiver. I don't use their remote. I rate this unit 5 for sound and features. just don't look at the remote.

I received a call this week from my friend who works at The Sony store here in Laval. He had just got 2 boxes of the 555ES. JoY! :) After doing all the math$, went and picked it up yesterday. Made sure the unit wasnt DOA at the store and took it home. I read the manuals then went to sleep for 4 hrs (I work nites). When I awoke, I installed the unit and immediately ran across a problem with the remote (or the receiver). The receiver is hooked up to my speakers, plugged in and powered on. I tapped on the remote screen, adjusted it, and got to the INITIAL setup phase where the 2way remote communicated with the receiver. No matter what I tried, I got the errors beeps. I was somewhat disapointed to say the least. Is there anyone who can help me with this?
Anyways. I finished the setup of the unit, and watched The Matrix on it. WhOllY UnDerWear batman! This thing is amazing. (Compared to my old Onkyo). This is the setup so far:

1 pair of dbx soundfield 1000 spkrs
1 pair of Yamaha NS-10M spkrs for effects
Sony KV32S40 Tv
Creative Dxr2 DVD Card with Pioneer 303S scsi 6x dvdrom drive hooked up with coax and svhs.

I'm already planning addons... of course! :]

PS: Thanks to this site, I learned all about this unit before making the move. You guys make great reviews!

HELLO SONY FANS IS WHITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT I INTRUDUCE TO YOU THE NEW TOP OF THE LINE SONY STR-DA777ES SAVE YOUR MONEY CAUSE THIS ONE IS A WINER THIS RECEIVER HAS ALL OF THE NEW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY WELL ILL BE BACK AS SOON AS I GET MORE INFO ON THIS PRODUCT.

I am on my FOURTH STR-DA555ES receiver today.
I got my first one about a month ago, after I got it all hook up, I try to
turn the unit on and the display just keep saying 'FAN', so I returned it
back to the store. They told me it's DOA.

When I open the packaging of my second unit, I found that it's a USED??
There is even a partial video tape packaging from Target inside!!!??!
So I returned that one also.

The third one was working fine for about a month, I usually only use it on
weekends, then on Saturday, the receiver refused to work. So, it was also
returned to the store and they had verified that it's dead.

I am really concerned about Sony reliability, and this is supposed to
be their 'ES' line. I have no complaint about its sonic quality, but
this is the first electronics anything that I had to exhibit such
short life time. The store did offered me to get another manufacturer's
receiver, but they didn't have it in stock, and I don't want to wait
2 weeks. So I will see how long this one will last.

In light of my experience, I can only give Sony 1 star for this
receiver.

Solid Build--Lots of inputs

The front door is a little cheap.

I don't think this reciever is getting fair reviews latety. You have to remember that this reciever can be bought for less than $600 new. This is not a high-end reciever. People are acting like they payed $3000 for it or something. This thing does exactly what it is suppossed to do--good sound ,good features, and good price.
For the people with the humming problem , try an AC-line conditioner, it's probably your power source. Ive owned mine for over a year and I really got a lot of miles out of it. Yes--it runs warm ,but switching it to 4-OHM really helps. This thing about the sound hesitation in DTS, mine does it too but it is just a minor inconvienence.
I don't understand about the sound quality complaints either. I think mine sounds very good for a $520 reciever. I don't experience any cross-talk or any other major problems. If you think the bass is too boomy it may be your speaker-sub. combo. I do wish the sub. output freq. was adjustable but Ive got my sub. positioned and tweeked just right. The placement of my sub. in my room drastically changes the sound.
The EQ. adjustments are a little difficult to adjust. Try switching the EQ. off then back on after you make changes, this helps you here the difference.
I saved the best for last--The remote.
I have found that if you use S-link cables between your equiptment, it can give you some trouble. I don't care for S-link anyway. Also it is not very strong if you reciever is behind glass. The light-going-out-too-fast problem can be solved by clicking the jog-dial knob every few seconds with your thumb while your using it. Once you learn it, this remote becomes very useful. Its not for du du dummies.
I don't doubt that some units out there are faulty, maybe I got lucky. But I think if some of you would work with it, you could be satisfied with it. Audiophiles should'nt be buying this kind of reciever anyway. My setup works very well for me and I am satisfied with my reciever, until I can afford that B-K AVR-307!

This is a list of my components;

STR-DA-555-ES
MDS-JA-333-ES
CDP-CA-80-ES
DVP-S7700
SLV-789HF
INT-W200 (web-tv)
PANAMAX-500-DBS (surge/line-cond.)
KV-32-S-66

INFINITY RS-5 (front)
INFINITY RS-4 (rear)
INFINITY CC-3 (center)
POLK AUDIO PSW-650 (sub.)

Solid Build--Lots of inputs

The front door is a little cheap.

I don't think this reciever is getting fair reviews latety. You have to remember that this reciever can be bought for less than $600 new. This is not a high-end reciever. People are acting like they payed $3000 for it or something. This thing does exactly what it is suppossed to do--good sound ,good features, and good price.
For the people with the humming problem , try an AC-line conditioner, it's probably your power source. Ive owned mine for over a year and I really got a lot of miles out of it. Yes--it runs warm ,but switching it to 4-OHM really helps. This thing about the sound hesitation in DTS, mine does it too but it is just a minor inconvienence.
I don't understand about the sound quality complaints either. I think mine sounds very good for a $520 reciever. I don't experience any cross-talk or any other major problems. If you think the bass is too boomy it may be your speaker-sub. combo. I do wish the sub. output freq. was adjustable but Ive got my sub. positioned and tweeked just right. The placement of my sub. in my room drastically changes the sound.
The EQ. adjustments are a little difficult to adjust. Try switching the EQ. off then back on after you make changes, this helps you here the difference.
I saved the best for last--The remote.
I have found that if you use S-link cables between your equiptment, it can give you some trouble. I don't care for S-link anyway. Also it is not very strong if you reciever is behind glass. The light-going-out-too-fast problem can be solved by clicking the jog-dial knob every few seconds with your thumb while your using it. Once you learn it, this remote becomes very useful. Its not for du du dummies.
I don't doubt that some units out there are faulty, maybe I got lucky. But I think if some of you would work with it, you could be satisfied with it. Audiophiles should'nt be buying this kind of reciever anyway. My setup works very well for me and I am satisfied with my reciever, until I can afford that B-K AVR-307!

This is a list of my components;

STR-DA-555-ES
MDS-JA-333-ES
CDP-CA-80-ES
DVP-S7700
SLV-789HF
INT-W200 (web-tv)
PANAMAX-500-DBS (surge/line-cond.)
KV-32-S-66

INFINITY RS-5 (front)
INFINITY RS-4 (rear)
INFINITY CC-3 (center)
POLK AUDIO PSW-650 (sub.)

After about 3 months of using the 555ES remote, I finally gave up and bought a Marantz RC5000 (a higher end Pronto-RC5000 comes with a 3 year warrenty and rechargable battery pack and charger---no more AA Batteries!!) Universal Remote. Don't get me wrong, the actual reciever is wonderful. Excellent Power, Sound, componentry and design. However, the standard remote has started to make feel like throwing it over the balcony. The RC5000 offers unbelievable control over every aspect of your A/V system. Unlike the standard 555ES remote, the 555ES, can be programmed to learn full functionality of each separate component. You can also switch components with out effecting the source on the reciever (i.e. Listening to a CD but wanting to rewind a VHS tape without the CD music being interupted.) The best part of the remote is the screen and backlight. Clear and bright as day. More importantly, you can config the amount of time the remote touch screen stays on, the touch screen back light, and the backlight for the regular buttons. Also, the remote has an adjustable light sensor that will automatically turn the backlight on in dim lighting. Lastly, to make your life easier, the RC5000 allows the user to create Macros that could contain up to 255 separate steps each!!! Furthermore, there is no predefined limit to the number of Macro's, buttons, screens, or devices that the user can program. The unit comes with a 1MB memory.

Of course the only thing you give up is the 2-way communication. No sweat, it made the 555ES remote slow, and often caused errors (beeps) if the remote was not pointed directly at the reciever.

For those interested, check out www.remotecentral.com for more info on this remote and others similar. Paid $750 CDN.
With this new remote, I am now enjoying all aspects of my A/V System with 1 remote....

L8r

VALUE FOR MONEY, FINISH, VIRTUAL MATRIX DECODING, 2 CHANNEL AUDIO QUALITY, REMOTE CONTROL.

REMOTE CAN BE A LITTLE COMPLEX AT TIMES

THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE ONE OF THE BEST THINGS PRODUCED BY SONY. THE GOLD FINISH IS SUPERB, THE REMOTE IS ONE OF THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS AND FOR A CINEMA RECIEVER, THE 2 CHANNEL AUDIO QUALITY IS EXCEPTIONAL. THE REMOTE CONTROL CAN BE TRICKY BUT IF LEFT TO DEFAULT SETTINGS IS IS AN ABSOLUTE GEM. CINEMA PROCESSING IS OF THE QUALITY YOU'D EXPECT FROM AN ES SONY PRODUCT WITH SUPERB POWER HANDLING AND ADJUSTABILITY ON ALL CHANNELS. WELL DONE!

Similar Products Used:

YAMAHA RXV700, SONY STRDE525

Great sound for the money.

Runs a tad warm. I've felt other brands that are like space heaters also. If it puts out a lot of power it's going to run warm.

Another review from me. I really like this reciever. It isn't an audiophile grade component, but you can't expect one for less than $3000. I have been looking and feeling other brands that put out about 120 watts and they all run warm so I'm not worried about heat. Just keep it in a well ventilated area. My remote isn't a battery hog either. I've been using it for over 6 months and no battery death yet. Hey Bert! Try a Monster coaxial digital cable. Go into the DVD's audio menu and pick the 5.1 track if it has one. Otherwise take that unit back if it doesn't put out 5.1. After 5.1 digital and DTS tracks you can't go back to pro-logic.

Your guess is as good as mine....

It has to do with.....

For those of you who got a great e-deal on your 555ES, how about sharing your source with me. I don't want to pay more than $650 (without shipping) for this big bad boy. Can anyone give give little ole' me some help??????? Thanks..........

Similar Products Used:

Harmon Kardon AVR500