One can throw it and kick it for great distances without a worry! Also makes a good speed hump for heavy semi trailers EG: KENWORTH,MACK,FORD,SCANIA.

High pitched sounds when volume at 11.oklock upwards, also high amounts of hiss at as above volume level, at wich time a cigarette can be lit from the excesive amounts of heat pouring out of this unit and the remote is best described as a joke in anyones language,top line es series my ars!!!!!

WHY DID I LET THE DEALER CON ME INTO THIS PILE OF JUNK I SHALL NEVER KNOW, I JUST WAS UNDER THE IMPRESSION THAT SONY WAS THE BEST, BUT STUPID ME SHOULD OF KNOWN BETTER! EVEN WHEN I LISTENED TO THE YAMAHA'S SUPPERIOR RXV-2095 AND THE NEXT IN LINE MARANTZ's SR-14,SR-18,SR-19, AND EVEN THE ONKYO AND DENON LINE,I ENDED UP WITH STICKING WITH TRADITION AND BUYING THIS HEAP OF GARBAGE, IM IN THE PROCESS OF A MONEY BACK FROM SONY AND NEVER AGAIN WILL I GET A SONY PRODUCT AND 80% OF WRITTERS HERE ARE TELLING YOU TO STAY CLEAR OF THE ES SERIES AND THEY HAVE ME TO BACK THEM UP, IF I HAD OF READ THESE REVIEWS BEFORE PURCHASING I WOULDNT BE IN THIS MESS.THE ES SERIES ARE WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BOTTOM OF THE LINE IN AV RECIEVERS, AND NOW I WILL GO WITH MY EARS AND NOT A SALESMAN AND PURCHASE THE SUPPERIOUR YAMAHA PRODUCT AND NEVER LOOK BACK.
PS: TO SONY! LIFT YOUR GAME AND DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR ES SERIES LIKE PUT THEM IN A GARBAGE COMPACTOR!!!!!!!!!
1 STAR FOR SONY BEING THE BEST CON ARTIST, AND ONE STAR FOR GIVING ME MY GOD DAMN MONEY BACK!

Similar Products Used:

Sony DTS SERIES.

Looks, Sound, Power

Remote, no on screen display (on TV)

I replaced this unit from STR-DA50ES because I thought Sony would correct remote problem. They did not, battery runs out rapidly, very difficult to read remote screen. Remote is so bad that it's frustrating to use & over shadows its otherwise a good receiver. If remote had on screen display on TV, it might have been less frustrating. I do not understand if Sony new the remote problem on STR-DA50ES, why didn't they correct it before releasing the new model which is almost identical. That is irresponsible of Sony.

Similar Products Used:

STR-DA50ES

Totally boss! The rca cables totally fit gooder than any other receiver! Also, the power button has a nice "feel" to it.

I just got mine all hooked up with my M&Ks and I am as pleased as a pig in the filth juice. The features are a little overwelming, but it will give me a lot to do while I learn how to operate it. The remote is also fine, I guess. It is a lot different than any others I have used in the past, and I think it will just take some time getting used to it. Soundwise and performance are outstanding both on movies and music. Ordered from Oade.com for 650 delivered. highly recommend the Oade brothers AND the receiver.

I just received my 555es from Onecall yesterady. So far, so good. The remote has changed model numbers (it is now the RM-TP502, rather than the TP501). I do not know what has changed in the remote, but Sony claims that it will go 3 months with a fresh set of batteries. I like the remote so far, and it controls all of my equipment just fine.
The DTS decoding is excellent (try the DTS demo DVD's), and some of the Digital Cinema processing makes a big difference. The 3 Sony studio soundfields are great for DVDs.

I don't like the fact that the S-Video and RCAs are on a seperate bus, which requries you to have your VCR on a seperate input to the TV than all of the S-Video sources, but I rarely watch VHS, so I am not too upset.

5 stars for now, but if the remote becomes I problem, I might change my mind.

As a follow up to the review I posted before.
Since then

1) I have watched a DTS DVD (Dances with Wolves)
2) Listened to regular Music
3) Checked out the soundfields..

The DTS sound definitely rocked, CD music was great.
However, I have a major issue with the amount of noise induced by the soundfield processing. If you have nothing playing with the soundfield on, and crank the volume on the receiver all the way up, the amount of noise that I hear is too much. However, when you turn the soundfield off and repeat the test, there is 0 noise..

I am curious to know if anyone has checked out how other units ie. Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer Elite etc.. compare in noise with the DSP turned on vs off.

That has been my only disappointment so far but then I don't use the soundfields that much.

I would like to give it a 4.75 but since there is not, I will give it a 5

I purchased A Yamaha RX-V995, thought the sound was amazing, clean and dynamic. I was not impressed with the controls so I took it back to get the Sony STR-DA555ES after reading the reviews here.After setting up my new Sony, I noticed that the EQ adds a lot of noise (hiss) and the bass boost also adds noise not to mention the noise from the sound fields on.
The receiver was no where near as dynamic as the Yamaha, also the sound was really lacking after having just listened to the Yamaha in my home with the same speakers. The guys at the Audio store tried to talk me out of purchasing the "cool looking" Sony, but I had to have thatneat looking receiver instead, wow did I make a mistake. I wish I would have kept that Yamaha, the Sony is nicer looking, but the sound it reproduces is lacking compared to a receiver for the same price.
I can do without the digital EQ controls and the nice display (and fun remote) for better sound. 3 stars for a great looking product, wish I could add 2 more stars for sound quality but I honestly cannot after hearing the Yamaha just before.

I'm going to start right off giving the 555 overall rating of 4.
I would rate it a bit lower, but for the price, it's above average.

I've had a chance to listen to some CD's, watch a few movies, and put the unit through the general paces. It's sounds every bit as good as the last unit I had, (which was an onkyo), but definately with better surround effects thanks to dolby digital. I'm not enough of an audiophile to destinguish the real differences between this unit and the Marantz SR-18 or the latest greatest Onkyo Integra, so I'll just point out some of the things I liked and didn't like.

I am impressed with the maitenance of the input/output connectors. Those things are a mess no matter how you look at it, but Sony has done a notable job making it relatively easy move around behind the unit. Secondly, I like the aesthetics of the 555. I've always steered away from Yamaha because they're ugly. I know that doesn't effect quality, but this thing does have to sit in my living room. The remote is okay, but I think it'd be better if it sat on a recharger like a cell phone or something to prevent the continual changing of batteries. (although I hear this remote is far better than its predecessor). Finally, I was impressed by the setup. It seemed a bit cumbersome at first, but didn't take long to figure out. I'd much rather tell the unit my rear speakers are 3 feet from me than try to figure out what a 45 second millisecond delay is.

On the other side of the fence...I was extremely dissapointed to find that my equalizer can not be hooked up to this unit unless I want to only equalize one device. It's great to have pre-out for everything, but where are the main-ins, or tape/monitor? I realize surround sound effects would not be effected by the EQ, but it made a big difference for my last setup, especially since I have no subwoofer. Next, it is unfortunate that my VCR hooked up via composite, will not output on the s-video line to the television. (although this complaint may point out my own lack of understanding about how the switching works). The last thing that bothers me slightly is that you can do certain things with the remote you cannot do on the base unit and vice versa ie. Bass Boost, test tone. That seems to be a common problem on many units however.

So it all comes done to bang for the buck, and while there are some features I'd like to see, I won't get them on another unit with a five year warrentee for the same price.

ps. if you know how to slice an EQ into this mix, let me know...

I have had the Sony STR-DA555ES for a week and I think the unit is great. The setup can be a bit tedious but that is probably the same with all receivers of this quality and functionality that support Dolby Digital 5.1. I checked into the Pioneer Elite 21 and 24. The 21 was missing a few features and the 24 was too expensive, at least more than I paid for the Sony. The Pioneer 24 THX certification was downplayed very much by the dealer (he doesn't sell Sony ES) to be only a marketing gimmick and provided no benefit to the sound. I watched Titanic DVD last night and the THX entry screen sounded just like the theater. (Only a little less volume since the kids were in bed.) I have just received the Eagles DTS Cd but I have not listened to DTS yet so I have no comment. But everyone else seems to think DTS is great. Can't wait to try it.
The sound is great. Listening to CDs, tuner or DVD is an experience. Upgrading from a 6-year-old Kenwood Pro-Logic to Dolby Digital is something that has to be heard to appreciate.

The features are rich, the sound is great and the remote... Well it is OK but the display blanks out way too fast and the backlight is very dim. I use the supplied remote, the TP502, for setup but for day to day use I use my Sony RM-AV2000. It is much easier to use, has a bright blue backlight and stays lit for a long time. The nice thing about the TP502 is the two-way communication. You can select radio stations by name from the list as well as CDs in a mega changer by name. A lot easier than remembering what location a CD is in.

Overall the receiver is fantastic. The remote could be updated to be better and more like the RM-AV2000. I'll bet in the coming months Sony has a replacement for the RM-AV2000 that would replace both and be great.

5 stars for the receiver, 3.5 for the remote. But the receiver is the heart of the system so 5 overall.

I received my 555ES last Friday, and since then I've had a problem with sleep, or too little sleep I should say. The receiver is what I had hoped it to be. The sound is just amazing. I can hear all the detail in movies and CDs that I missed before.Setup of the unit was "interesting", but like most men, the last thing that I looked at was the manual. After reading the directions, things went better. The remote is fine in my opinion. During the day w/o the backlight it’s a bit hard to read, but not bad. With the backlight it's fine.
Since the unit is good, I'll only mention a few bad points... The remote is NOT programmable, but is pre-programmed from Sony. That's fine if you have a bunch of Sony gear. But with some of my Panasonic stuff, all functions are not supported. There also seems to be a problem with the auto audio decode setting. After playing a CD, the ES failed to turn over to Dolby pro logic when playing a VHS movie, but that could be a procedure error on my part.
All in all, lots of gadgets to play with - pisses off the girlfriend when I'm mucking with the remote all the time...
I like it!!!