Many A/V inputs. Looks good. Sound great for a sony.

Remote take time to get used to. Instructions book useless.

I read many reviews on many different A/V amp here. It was really hard to find one that was standing out of the ceowd for that amount of money. So i went out shopping for a good deal. that's where i got this strdb840. I just got it. So i really cant tell you guys much about it. I know that many peoples complained about Hiss. Yet it does. Like all other amps. Just dont go crazy about the lilte background noise you hear. This is normal due to all the eq stuff built in.

Im really happy with the receiver and im gonna keep it.

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Yamaha 5240, sony strde-945

Good sound, Ease of use

Remote has bad colors.

I use Yamaha 105 center, Tannoy MX3 as front speakers, and Sony 315 as rear speaker (no sub yet).
It gives very nice results when watching DVD (as for the surround). Music sounds clear and nice, but still - this is not a pure music reciever...
After 3 months - I gotta say I really like this reciever, and althought it isn't purly musical reciever - I'm gonan stick with this one.

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None

Vast array of surround fields, useful remote, number of connections and overall value

Poor logic of use. You can't just pick up the remote and use the damn machine unlike my saweeet Nakamichi

I bought this amplifier because I wanted Dolby Digital and DTS at a reasonable price. Unfortunately my Nakamichi is only a ProLoogic unit but sounds so saweeet playing music.

The big thing that people have been having a hissyfit about with this Amp is the hiss. THERE IS NO HISS. The hiss can only be heard at 100% volume which every Amp does anyway. If you do hear hiss at low or reasonable volume levels it is because you are using CHEAP CABLES (there is a reason that the cable in the box is FREE, it is a piece of #*&! cable.) Most people do not understand or want to believe that you should spend 20-30% of your AV budget on your cables.

Once a signal leaves a source (i.e. CD) or amp, there are allot of places for it to pick up interference (hiss). If you use good quality video cables like Monster Cable Video 2 or Video 3, you are going to see a vast inprovement in picture quality as well as have improved sound because your video cables give off a great deal of interference themselves. You should also use a good quality audio interconnect to get the sound signals from your sources to the amp. But the biggest hiss eliminator is to separate the power cables from all the other cables in your system. The AC power cables should be run as far as possible from your speaker and interconnect cables as possible. Also use a good powerbar/line conditioner.

If you people with HISS adhere to these instructions, I can guarantee that your hiss will be gone.

By the way I love the Macro feature of the amp. This amp is the perfect unit for someone that wants good quality but reasonable price.

SYSTEM

STRDB-840 / Nakamichi AV-?
Technic 110 disk changer
Panasonic 310 DVD
Panasonic S-Video VCR
Klipsh RF-3 speakers
Klipsh RF surrounds and Center
Magnat 10" sub
Toshiba 32" TV
Cable Box
Playstation 2
Lots of MONSTER CABLE

Nothing too great but all blended together sounds great

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi AV-?

Quality control

Unit was "dead on arrival". All that would happen is that "protector" would flash on the display. I use bannana plugs, so the speakers didn't short, unit would not reset. I followed the manual exactly during installation and sony customer service was of no help and said return the unit. I have not bought a piece of electronic gear that was DOA in 15 years. The fact that sony allowed this unit to be sent tells me that there was or is no quality control on at least some of their receivers. I extensively researched receivers in this price range and felt this unit offered the most bang for the buck. Another unit is on the way, hopefully I'll have better luck this time. I would be quite interested in hearing stories of any quality control issues on sony receivers, email me.

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Sony DE and Pioneer VSX series

Great sound, plenty of power,stylish

remote

An overall excellent reciver. Sound is very good almost too powerful for my Paradigms. The remote could use some work. The door is annoying and it does not have a tuning feature for the radio.
My system:
Sony 32 flat screen Wega
Sony str-db 840 surround receiver
Sony dvp-c660 DVD player
Sony slv-n70 VCR
Paradigm CC-170 center, Paradigm Titan mains, Paradigm ADP-70 surrounds, Paradigm PDR-10 sub
I would recommend this system to anyone. It sounds great and the price is amazing.

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first surround receiver

Sound

Remote

I really like this reciver so far. However I regret having bought it from Uncle's Stereo in NY City. I have been having problems with my remote. From time to time, the LCD panel on the remote keeps shutting off eventhough the light stays on. It's impossible to see the selections made. The only way to get it to work is by taking off the batteries and wait a couple of minutes before I put them back on. The sales person at Uncle's Stereo is so useless. Don't ever buy from that place. I certainly won't.

Almost everything. This is a beast.

Remote. Speaker connections are a bit too close.

Well, like I said. This one is a beast. It's QS (Quality Series) build in Europe. They used aluminium for the case. It just looks sexy! :)

It sounds great even on lame speakers, but when you hook it up to a real home cinema system, then you better warn the neighbours :). I can only get to level 4 @ Master Volume, because my Mission speakers can't handle it. 'nuff said :). Oh, and the 32-bit DSP is just great!

Power, connections.

stereo performance, not MM/MC phono selector, only one coaxial digital input.

I'm quite satisfied with this receiver, with plenty of power and very user friendly. It manages movies very well, but I think that stereo music is a bit down the standard: imaging could be better. Also a lot of bass around the room...

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none

+ Superb range of inputs and outputs.
+ 5.1 Surround.
+ Love the sound. Amazing
+ Lots of fetaures,
+ nice design

- price?
- space between speakers connectors

I bought this for my first home cinema, and I haven't regretted.
It is very easy to use, except for the remote controll, which is harsh. Why did they use that green colour on the buttons???

Since my speakers only give me 80W, I don't have the opportunity of using the reciever at maximum, but I think the sound is great anyway...

It's not easy for me to compare, but as I considered buying a surround reciever, I noticed that this one had most features, best effect (5X100W) and was at a reasonable price.

BUY THIS!

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None. My first reciever.

Very good selection of soundfields for non Dolby Digital
DTS sources.Pre-amp outs,very articulate sound in digital
surround modes.Outstanding construction.Decent sound in
2 channel stereo mode.Remote is very easy to use once you
get used to it.Good selection of digital and analog inputs.
2 subwoofer outputs.

Remote control is hard to work at first.Speaker connectors
need more space between them.

For what I paid for the receiver it is an excellant value.
It sounds great,is built well,and has plenty of inputs for
future components.It sounds great in DTSDolby Digital modes.And I love the fact that you can hook up another amps
to the unit.Also love the A,B.A+b speaker selectors.I have
a pair of outdoor speakers on my deck and I have them
connected to the B speaker inputs.So no need to have a
separate receiver for the deck speakers!
Great product!

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None-1st dolby digitaldts recevier.