Great Deal for the money

Remote

This receiver is a great deal for the money. Excellent sound. Remote needs work, but replace with a pronto and what a fabulouse system

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood receivers

Great overall high current sound, ES 5 year warranty, 5.1 channel input, DD/DTS

The remote takes the seriousness out of this receiver and makes it gimmicky thus distancing itself from serious audiophiles.

I upgraded recently from a 30ES to the 555ES. The setup was fairly easy as Sony has laid out everything in an organized form in the back of the unit. Since I had the 30ES, setting up the 555's remote was fairly simple.
This is a solid receiver made by Sony weighing almost 35.5 lbs. The sound quality in CD reproduction was very good. I also once owned the Denon AVR3000, and beleive me the Sony sounds great. The bass was exceptional on my Energy XL10 Sub. You can feel the high current punch in this receiver's sound. Dolby digital was phenomenal and the DVD was the movie Mummy. The equalizer function if set correctly to your listening pleasure can add to the overall listening enjoyment. Try the virtual settings for music sorround, I liked it but nothing beats the pure sound of 2 channel Stereo.
Sony's Cinema A,B,C work great in Dolby Digital movies, give ot a try, movies sound even better. This is truly a great receiver that Sony has put out to compete with the Denons etc. I had originally bought the Onkyo 777 but hated the DD reproduction especially in the rear. Thanks to Barry at Soundcity, he took good care of me and exchanged it for the Sony. Go for this unit guys, this IS the real Deal. (By the way, I had a old learning remote which learnt most every important command from the sony remote.)

Similar Products Used:

DenonAVR300, 30ES.

Great power, numerous Optical inputs, low noise floor.

Hate the remote, cannot see anything on it. I tossed it somewhere becasue it is absolutely useless. Not the biggest deal because I use an RC2000 Mk2.
No sub crossover frequency choices and absolutely no control over the satelite crossover. It's not even listed in the owners manual.

Excellent Receiver

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Sony STR-D925

s-video support for many products.

Lack of support for 480p and 1080i.

This receiver does not support component switching for 480p and 1080i, only 480i. Those of you who will try and run HDTV receivers and progressive scan DVD players through this unit will be quite surprised. Other than this minor detail, this is quite a receiver for the price. I believe the next ES models that will be coming out in the fall, will support 480p and 1080i.

Clear natural sound

lack of digital coax input for digital cable

I have had this unit for just over a year. It did have to go back for repair once as the sound would cut out, but I give Sony credit, they got it back to me in three weeks.

As a novice, I am amazed at the quality of the sound from this well priced unit. I had a Yamaha before this and hesitated switching after so many years of problem free service. It has brought life back to my CD colection and shown me a whole new way of watching (and hearing)movies at home. With so many different sound fields and the ease with which you can tailor the sound to the room, I could not be happier.

As for those with complaints about the remote, I am baffled. I have yet to change the batteries and I found it easy to use.

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Yamaha

Seems pretty reliable compared to the reviews i've seen. I haven't had a single glitch, overheat, or any problem.

Well, the remote's display is horrible, but everyone's saying that.

I'm not sure if the thing really has a "bypass" or "analog direct". I'd like it better if it did - though turning Sound Field off may accomplish this.

It has a bass boost button.

Well, you got your home audio folks and your audiophiles and everyone in between.

I'd like to consider myself somewhere between "enthusiast" and "audiophile", but a lot of people will tell you that you can't consider yourself anything but a know-nothing if you own a single piece of Sony equipment.

Well, I'm using this thing as my 'gateway' for my SCD-333ES SACD player and JVC DVD-Audio player.

I'm not going to rave about it and I'm not going to put it down. The sound from it is solid, unlike Sony's non-ES line. I definitely noticed more detail and contrast in the music, replacing the old Non-ES model that I had.

However, I do tend to prefer the SCD-333ES's direct headphone out versus the DA555ES's headphone out when listening to SACD (Senn HD600 phones, Audioquest interconnects.) . This may be because the thing -is- resampling the sound that comes out of the SACD player. I'm not sure, and I haven't been able to get a straight answer yet. If anyone does know, please let me know.

However, I haven't heard any hissing, buzzing, dropouts, or anything like anyone's been describing. And trust me, I'm problem-prone with these sort of things. If something isn't going to work, I tend to get the one that's broken. The DA555ES has survived *FOUR* cross-country moves, lighting storms, drops, power outages, and speaker shorts without being any worse for the wear.

Some of us want to be audiophiles, but can barely afford the $1000 components that we -do- buy. I'd say rest assured that having this ES line reciever will get you -above average sound quality- from your system. (The guys at Best Buy will have nothing on you.)

What would have made this reciever a bit more serious? Well, an "ANALOG DIRECT" button like they have on their current ES line, and they had on the previous STR-D965! (Non-ES, $400!) Also, Anything with a "BASS BOOST" button makes me suspicious.

But most folks reviewing this rec seem to be referencing "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan" - which tells me we don't have a crowd of audiophiles here, likely just Joe Bob Publics who think 'bass is exciting'. In this case, I think the 555ES is *MORE* than folks like this need.

I do wish I auditioned some similarly priced Rotels or Adcoms before settling on the 555ES, though. But I could have done worse. If an Adcom is a 100, and a Rotel is a 90, i'd say this is at least a 75 or 80, where your top of the line Best Buy special is maybe a 45-50.

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STR-DA965

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Lately I've been getting a lot of requests for, "How to do the Mods". The mods to the unit are not just yanking parts and replacing with new ones. It took years of experience of listening to tube and mosfet equipment and applying the right mix of parts to extract the detail and nuances buried in the music. It's like taking the veil off to let the music through. I do not recommend tinkering with the receiver unless you are qualified. Trust me, SMD circuit boards are not cheap.

Well, enough said. The modification is heard by both Carlos and Roan - Thanks for the good word.

The ratings are based on the modified unit.

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Flexible, price,

Runs hot, remote, sound

Have used this receiver for some time now. On the plus side, it's pretty to look at, and when you first see it, you can't help but be impressed by all the options and gadgets that this receiver is packed with. The receiver runs hot but it does not seem to influence the performance of the Sony, which is good. Used the DAC of the Receiver, used it for DVD's, everything it was built to do, and it always worked. After a days I realized that all the settings and gadgets that the Sony is packed with, I never use....
The amp does not drive my Magnepan MMG's very well(even with the 4-8 ohm switch set to "4".
The remote is too complicated and clumsy to use.
So in my case, a lot of the money I paid goes into things that I don't use, instead of in quality parts that will give me quality sound......Which is what I am after.
However, for somebody using speakers that are easier to drive, and who likes all the sound settings, and options, this would be a a nice, low cost receiver.
But for me, in retrospect, I would have looked for another receiver with less emphasis on electronic gadgets, and more on the 5 power amps inside.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha receiver

Great for DVD and SACD. Ability to taylor the sound to any room. Very good clearity and definition

Remote is not great, but if you buy a receiver for the remote you have too much money or too little smarts

I have owned Yamaha receivers for about 10 years and they have all been wonderful. About 3 months ago, I bought SOny's 9000ES DVD/SACD player and was just blown away by the sound and picture quality. It's a product that I highly recommend.

Now with 6.1 and 7.1 signals needing to be decoded, I decided to get something that would complement the DVD player, so I looked to SOny's ES line. The 555ES is their top of the line model (at least still being produced and available), but it won't decode the 6th channel. Having done some research, decided that I could get 555ES 6 and use its rear preamp outs to connect to my Yamaha and use the Prol-Logic decoder in the Yamaha to get the discrete 6th channel out of the rear signal. The sound watching X-Men, The Matrix or any other DD-ES DVD is incredable. Its really surrounds you with an experience. The EQ allows you to set up the system to your comfort level something that was hard to do with the Yamaha. You had treble, bass, and some channel setting, but nothing like the Sony.

I have read the opinions on this reciever and wonder if half of the people are reviewing the right receiver. There is a Sony STR-V555ES which is crap, but the DA55Es is different. Plus, I love the people who give it 1 or 2 stars because they can't see the remote at night or understand howto work it. Did you buy it because its touch screen and you won't have to get off your ass or did you by it because it a very very good home theater receiver.

Yes, the remote is not great, but the sound is incredable.

My Home Theater consists

Sony STR-DA55ES Reciever
Sony 9000ES DVD player
Sony XBR 400 HD TV
Yamaha 995 Reciever for the 6th channel
Klipsch KLF-20 Front Speaker
Klipsch KLF-C7 Cener Channel
Klipsch Quintet Rear L and R Surround
Klipsch KLF-C3 Rear surround.

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Yamaha RX-995

Excellent sound and construction(with modifications); high versatility in soundfield programs and connections.

Pain-in-the-ass remote.

Before 6 internal modifications were installed, the Sony ES receiver's sound quality was good: natural but with slight boominess in bass region.

Once power supply was increased, audiophile-grade capacitors and op-amps were installed and 3 other modifications were added, the sound quality of receiver changed dramatically. Bass become more fuller but tight, with more openess and detail in the midrange and treble regions. Dialogue from movies (DVD's and VHS tapes) and vocals from CD's are much more clearer. Soundstage expanded, with more delineation of individual instruments and vocals. Overall, the improved sound is powerful and fuller but effortless.

I highly recommend these cost-effective modifications (by Patrick S.; see his 2/19/01 review) as an alternative to buying more expensive A/V receivers (Marantz, B&K, Sunfire, etc.) or spending big bucks to upgrade to costly high-end separate component systems (e.g. Conrad-Johnson, Krell).

Without these modifications, I would give value and overall ratings of 4 (instead of 5's).

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None.