features

hiss in any DSP mode, even at moderate volumes

I am reviewing this product again after switching my supposedly defective unit for another (actually, this time it was a STR-DB940). Like the DB840 I recieved, this one also has considerable hiss in ANY DSP mode, even at moderate volumes. I am positive it is a problem with the design of the DSP board, because if I used the 5.1 inputs,
which bipass the board, the unit is very quiet. Since this has happened on two units, I would consider it a design defective rather than myself being unlucky. Again, the 5.1 inputs are whisper quiet, meaning that my set-up (speakers, cables, power conditioner) are not the origin of the noise.
Very, very dissappointed. Seeing the good reviews, I now wonder how discerning other people are about this sort of thing. I must admit, if you are watching a movie and not listening for it, it isn't that noticeable, but in a quiet testing situation it is really quite significant.

Similar Products Used:

STR-DB940, STR-DB840

Price, quality, features, sound and easy to integate with existing components.

FM/AM Tuner is subpar.

Overall, The STR DB840 is solid, 'ES'-like and a nice first step into home theater. It integrated nicely with my current DVD player, CD Player, DSS system, TV and VCR.
Beyond reading the manuals a few times and understanding how these components integrated like a 'system', the issues about the remote where not seen here. I am able to control ALL these components from the SOny remote with the exception of minor DSS functions.

As for the sound, its impressive and clean within my setup.

The only part of the STR DB840, Sony obviously skimped on, is the Tuner. With an outside antenna hooked up to it, many 'fringe' stations that I can pickup with my car radio where non-existent on the Sony.

Over all I am pleased with this unit and can recommend it to others.

Similar Products Used:

Sansui

IT HAS A GREAT LOOK, THE DTS SOUND IS EXCRLLENT, LOVE THE SOUND FIELDS, PLUS YOU CAN RENAME THE FUNCTIONS

THE REMOTE HAS SOME POSSIBLITIES BUT THAT STUPID DOOR ON THAT THING SUCKS NO DIGITAL INPUT FOR CD!!!!! HAS DIGITAL INPUTS FOR ALL MY OTHER EQUIPMENT BUT NONE FOR CD!!!

THE UNIT HAS SOME POWER BUT THE SOUND FIELDS AND DTS SOUND IS EXCELLENT. YOU CAN ADJUST EACH SPEAKER FOR HI, MID, AND BASS. MY SANSUI 15" FOUR WAY SPEAKERS AND CENTER CHANNEL JUST SOUND AWSOME. THOSE SPEAKERS NEVER SOUNDED SO GOOD. IT'S THE BEST UNIT I HAD OWNED SO FAR. I FILLED ALL THE IN AND OUT ON THAT MACHINE. BUT WHY DON'T IT HAVE AN OPTICAL INPUT FOR CD!!

Similar Products Used:

SONY STRD600Z, PIONEER PRO LOGIC AND BEFORE THAT SANSUI PRE AMP AND AMP

Parametric EQ, Build Quality, Power, Display

Remote

The best thing about this receiver is the build quality. The styling and faceplate components are quite similiar to the ES line of receivers. I think the display is better than similiarly priced Denon, Onkyo and Yamaha receivers. Using lighted graphical symbols allows one to tell which function is active much easier than having a single LED under a printed component name. The power is excellent. I have AR9s as my mains with an AR2C center and AR17s for surrounds. I can't turn it up past 4 without feeling uncomfortable. The highest I've had it up while listening to CDs is 6. My wife is still mad at me for that one. Pretty good for no subwoofer.
The audio quality is about what you'd expect from a $400 unit. It does hiss when you crank up the volume with no inputs but I have tested the unit for several hours to see if I could notice any hiss while listening to movies, CDs etc. I must say that while watching the Sixth Sense DVD at high volume it produced no hiss whatsoever. I have noticed, however that there is some bleedover when an analog input is muxed to a digital input i.e. the unit has the ability to mix normal audio sources with video audio sources. It's confusing and I don't know why you'd want to use this. Maybe for listening to CDs while watching a movie? I have the analog output of my cable box connected to the TV input. If I set this input to mix with any digital component, I get a very faint bleedover onto the DVD channel. I think this is a design flaw since It does the same thing on two receivers I've tested. I don't need this feature so I reset the unit and have not set it up again. Bad Andy!

This unit has a great EQ. Each speaker subsystem has it's own EQ setting for each sound field. Wow. That's over one hundred individual EQ settings. The EQ is of a parametric type. You adjust the mid point of the bass, mid and treble and the level at that mid point. It's much better than a bass and treble knob. But in reality I find that my AR speakers have great tonal qualities so I leave the EQ off most of the time.

The remote is very good quality but it functions poorly. If you want to control one component while listening to another it switches to the selected input. How dumb. The flip door to control advanced funtions is also ridiculous. I did the smart thing and bought the learning VL900 remote from Sony for $50 and am very happy. They should not include a non universal remote with this receiver and cut the price or include the VL900 instead.

This unit has more features than the top of the line receivers from Yamaha, Denon, etc. It may not be even close to audiophile quality but couple the strengths of this unit with a TWO year warranty and that's why I gave this receiver a perfect score. It is definitely best of class.

Similar Products Used:

none