clean sound, quiet when desired, very strong on power and competitively priced considering it includes all the necessary ingredients and number of inputs/outputs most people are ever going to need.

ditto the comments here on the remote. You shouldn't have to but you'll learn to overcome its faults/limitations as you become accustomed to it. The five second wait for the remote to respond to an initial command is annoying. The display is a good idea but too small. Sony could have borrowed a page from exisisting cellular phone technology and provided a bigger LCD display easily in the same package.
This receiver and most others, regardless of manufacturer or price point all suffer the same problem.
The all black designs often accompanied with tiny unlit nomenclature make them nearly impossible to operate at the unit itself in dim light without a flashlight . Just watch a salesperson try to demo one in low light and know this. Dumb.
If styling (read public) dictates receivers be black (bizarre) then look at McIntosh as one example on how this should be done and how McIntosh considers ERGONOMICS in their designs.

One could easily end up with over seventy connections to this unit if all of its ins and outs are employed making for a complex, consuming and frustrating task to set up, not to mention take down if something goes wrong. Fortunately mine ran flawlessly right from the box but did so in an accessible position during a three week "burn in" period before being "shelved" just in case. It does not run hot like some I know you could fry bacon on but I nevertheless incorporate a very quiet running cooling fan behind it on the cabinet wall to maintain good ventilation.
Nearest competitor would be Onkyo's 575, Denon's AVR 1800 etc. etc. quite possibly the better buys owing to their lineage but this Sony chosen because it is a "DB series" receiver and integrates well with several other Sony products in my HT system. I would not have purchased it otherwise. Sony continues to shoot itself in the foot with the "DE" line.

Decent build quality, great sound, weak on the remote, poor ergonomics as mentioned above therefore a 4.0 rating.
That becomes a 5 and a steal too if you get one at a good price.
You people Stateside get a better deal than us Canucks if you can mailorder one in at 400(US)or roughly 600(CDN).
This means we pay about 2-300(CDN) more. A rub.
Mailorder is possible from yourside but not an option if one desires Sony Canada warrant the thing. Serial numbers speak of where they come from.
Currently running;
Dayton-Wright LCM-1's(front)
Mirage's FRx series (center and surrounds)
Mirage's FRx-s12 (subwoofer)

plenty of power, cool features, great looking

none yet

I've only had this receiver for a few days, but I'm very impressed so far. The remote takes some getting used too, but it is pretty cool. Surround sound is great, DD and DTS are awesome.

Similar Products Used:

onkyo

ES quality for under $500, DD, DTS

I have just recently purchased the DB930 from one call for $450 shipped. It really sounds great and has tons of features: soundfields, inputs, etc. This is a great receiver with not having the heavy price tag.

Similar Products Used:

Older Sony receiver

pirce

slow remote, defective unit, unable to demo locally, took a chance but was worth it

The first unit received did not work in the sound fields, had a loud hum. The second unit does great. A nice piece for the money. Bought at one call for $389 plus shipping. Paid $16 shipping for a total of $405 delivered. You must shop around and quote price from other authorized dealers and they will meet or beat the price. Don't pay to many $$$ for shipping. Second day Fedex...$16.....Can't beat the deal if this is what you want.
Infinity sm150 front
Infinity cc-2 center
Infinity qps rear
Velodyne Fx1800r sub

I'm happy..Bajabndt@mcia.com

Similar Products Used:

none

great value

remote

I bought this receiver from Oade based on its good reviews and ES construction. Unfortunately, I am slowly building a system and only have 2 channel stereo and no DVD source. Hopefully, I will grow into it and it will last a while.

I agree with the other reviewers, this is a great receiver with many in/outs. It sounds good so far. Great value.

Great features

average sound quality

I like this home theater receiver very much. Purchased 5 years ago for the value of its many features. Radio is diffucult to use and sound quality is poor.

solid,sound,aesthetics

This receiver is not for the so called audiophiles ( I do not believe in this term ,because up to date I have not met an audiophile who can recognize a given frequency as for example many musicians do ). Audiophiles have an ego problem i.e. failure in personal life etc., so they adopt this title to seem more pompous.They spend a house mortgage on a piece of electronics thinking that this is gonna bring them fame and the envy of their friends,neighbors,etc.But anyway...
The str db 930 is for smart people.With taste and self-confidence.Class is all I can say. Does it perform? Relax, and be amazed. Hear how the sound was meant to be heard.Feast your ears and eyes. And when you purchase this jewel you will feel a little guilty as if you have just stolen it. Unbelievable price for the features,quality, and looks.5 all the way!

great sound, lots of connectivity options, well built

no digital input for CD (use MD instead)

A little over 3 months ago I purchased the STR-DB930 to replace my older Sony STR-D1011 (yep, just D, before there was DA/DB/DE), which was a great surround sound receiver itself.

My main reason for upgrading was to get Dolby Digital and DTS decoding capability. I ordered this receiver based on the comments from others in this forum, and soon found out what all the raves were about. For under $500, this unit simply can't be beat (and even at twice the price). My original intent was to get the DE935, but I quickly canceled my order after finding out about the DB930, and I'm glad I did. This receiver has the same frame/beam construction featured on the Sony ES receivers, powerful and clean sound, and tons of connectivity options. It's practically a Sony ES without the ES price tag, mainly due to the fact that it has a 2 year warranty instead of 5 years. That wasn't much of an issue for me, though, since I paid for it with my platinum card, which automatically doubles the manufacturer's warranty.

About the only gripe I have about this receiver, is that it doesn't have an optical digital input for the CD, but I worked around that limitation by plugging it into the MD/DAT optical input instead.

I'm driving quite a mix of speakers with this unit, namely Advent Maestro's for the 2 front mains, a JBL subwoofer, a Paradigm center channel and Technics 3-ways for the surrounds. It sounds very good, with a great frequency response across the whole spectrum, good tight bass, accurate midrange, and crisp high end. I've had several people comment that my setup sounds much better than the digital theaters at the local cineplex.

Music performance is equally impressive, and the sound fields even come in handy in some instances. When playing classical music, I find the opera house setting really enhances the listening experience. I also like to use the small hall setting for some of live concert recordings I have.

Overall, I highly recommend this receiver to anyone looking to get a really good sounding home theater receiver. At around $450 via the Internet, this baby is a steal! (I paid $465 delivered, from Oade Brothers Audio, others have found it for less)

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-D1011

Excellent DD/DTS, Enough Power (110W) and overall a great package

None

All in all the best bang for the buck receiver out there today. Simply brilliant.

Great cost (got it for $424 incl. shipping from Onecall.com), plenty of power and features, crisp, clean sound, professional look and feel. This receiver should last me for years to come!

Needing S-Link to really exploit some of the receivers features, but hey...what're ya gonna do? Also, no CD Digital In (no prob, use MD), Remote Commander's screen is smaller than the one you get with the CX-350, no composite in/out (can't complain for the money).

Great f*cking receiver. Plenty of power (high-current, unlike the distortion heavy piece of plastic crap that is the DE935 or DE925) for my space (I live in an apartment). Surround sound is great, DD and DTS are FANTASTIC! Great separation, no distortion (that I can hear, I keep it under 5 so I don't get evicted). I like playing around with the soundfields, but I probably only use 4 or 5 of them. Chicks dig the drop-down face. :)

My system:
Sony STR-DB930
Cerwin-Vega LS-12 fronts
Cerwin-Vega LS-8 surrounds
Cerwin-Vega LS-6C center
Sony DVP-650D DVD/CD Player
Sony 36" KV36-FV1 Flat-Screen Television.
14kt Monster Video 2 S-Video from DVD to Receiver and Receiver to Television.
Monster Video 2 Optical from DVD to Receiver.
Generic Radioshack gold plated RCA cables throughout.
Type 6 AudioQuest speaker wire with 14kt bananas and spades, professionally attached and crimped.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DE935