I have finally received my receiver after 8 days of wait from JandR through the UPS ground service!!! Anyway, it was worth it...
I have a long story to tell:

I first got Yamaha 5140 (Dolby Pro Logic + Digital) receiver from Crutchfield for $399 and boy I was excited until after 2 weeks or so I found that Crutchfield is selling Yamaha 5150 for $499, which has the much needed S-Video in/outputs + 10W extra power. While I did the switch between Yamahas I came to this site for their reviews and found out about OneCall.com and JandR people. After making 100,000 calls what I end doing is to order this receiver from JandR (STR-DB830 is also a good choice but 930 does worth "few" extra $$$). I hesitated so much before ordering this receiver that I can't even explain. All I heard from Sony was the STR-DExxx junk, and I really mean it - those units do not even have above average sound quality!

Then I heard STR-DA555es (value about $1,000) and compared it with the Yamahas - The difference was day and night... While Yamaha sound was very good I found that it was holding back something in the mid range area, on the other hand STR-DA555es was just absolutely clear. It felt amazingly accurate, which basically means "natural" (Yamaha calls it line of receiver Natural Sound or something...)
Since this unit is not carried by any shop that I know, I gave up and order it on the basis of the reviews here and after talking with Sony 1-800-222-Sony.

When I finally received my STR-DB930, I felt as if I was really listening to STR-DA555es. Of course, I was not able to do A/B on these two but I can tell you that they are really similar. As you probably read from the reviews, the construction is solid (Alum. front, beam construction, gold plate in/outputs and so on...)

Let me tell you another thing, this receiver is highly configurable!!! (speaker size/distance/hight/power adjustments, every A/V source can have different settings and all you need to do is just set them once, tone settings (bass, treble and mid) are very very very very adjustable to various degrees) To be honest with you, I think it would be extremely tough to find someone who can distinguish between those really really really really minute changes in the frequency levels that you can configure on this receiver.

There are just tons of ins/outs on this receiver and a long list of features, which you can read from these reviews here or can get them from the Sony worldwide sites (not the US site). What I would now like to talk about is...

Things missing that are from this receiver:

1- Digital input for the CD - I think no matter what kind of work around you do (like use the DVD on coax and use CD on DVD optical) Sony should have provided this.

2- Hiss coming out of speakers - esta no bueno! Yamaha receiver did not have that at all. It's not that noticeable until you actually turn the volume pretty hight or just take your ear close to tweeter.

3- Receiver runs hot - I just don't like this one in the sense that it makes me wonder what will happen after six months of use or so?

4- Universal remote lacks features for the A/V units it can handle (like PinP feature on TV etc)

Summary:

5 speakers for construction
4.5 for inputs
5 for outputs
5 for sound quality
5 for price
4 for configuration and setup
4 misc

Overall = 5

Bottom line:

If you want the ES quality system and do not want to pay the price, STR-DB930 is the answer.

I have had the STR-DB930 for about 2 weeks now. I bought it to replace my 15 year-old Luxman receiver, which by the way still looks new and sounds great. Not having kept up much with audio technology, I really wasn't very informed when I went out and bought a Technics Dolby Digital-ready receiver from Circuit City a few weeks ago. It looked pretty cool, but sounded tinny and hollow, got so hot I could make breakfast on it, and was pretty limited in terms of expandability and acoustic adjustment. So, I returned it and ordered an STR-DE835. I thank God that Circuit City was backordered 2 weeks on this model as in the meantime I took a crash course update in home audio and in my WEB meanderings I was lucky enough to run across this website. Here I found all the bad reviews on the DE835 and DE935 and was glad it was not too late to find a better model. Here I also discovered the STR-DB930 and shortly thereafter called Onecall and ordered one. The person I dealt with at Onecall (Chris) was very helpful and knowledgeable and was not at all like your typical salesperson. I got my receiver 3 days later and I am quite satisfied with my decision. The overall quality of the Sony is on a par with my Luxman (which is saying alot), but the Sony sounds much cleaner, and I was blown away when I listened to the X-Files movie through Pro-Logic (I do not have DVD yet). This is all the more amazing considering I currently only have two speakers (old Design Acoustics) and used the Sony Cinema mode to create virtual rear speakers. The Sony seems infinitely adjustable, able to create sound environments to suit any listener. So far the receiver has stayed cool (nowhere near as hot as the Technics). My only whine about this receiver is that it would have been nice to have simple bass and treble controls that could bypass the equalizer function when you want to make quick and dirty adjustments. Otherwise, I think the DB930 will be with me as long as my Luxman. BTW, does anyone know how this receiver differs from those in the ES line besides the shorter warranty? They look almost identical.

Due to the overwhelming number of e-mails I received as a result of my review of the Sony STR-DB930, I have thrown together a web page that includes pictures of the receiver and scanned images of the specifications from the owners manual. Visit http://www.acsysinc.com/db930.htm (Shhh Don't tell anyone I snuck this on our corporate web server)

Kudos to for a very well written and reasoned review of the DB930. BTW, the reason the Sony ES and the DB830/930 sound better than the STR-DE835/935 are in the specs. Look at the power rating numbers for the surround (not stereo) output, the DE935 for instance is rated at 110 watts per channel X 5, BUT, at 1khz @ .8% distortion! If it were rated the same as the ES or DB series (20-20khz @ .08% distortion)the power would probably be more like 60 watts per channel or less. Basically, Sony is playing games with the numbers for the cheaper units. I guess if they rated those units at an even lower spec, say 1khz @ 20% distortion, they could claim those units are 500 watts per channel! So the DB930 pumps out a lot more power (i.e. current)and it sounds great.

Ooooooooh Myyyyy........
Is it ever sweet. I was about to purchase another reciever when a friend refered me to here. And was I glad. After reading these pages, I was pretty much sold on the DB930. I still spent the next weekend shopping around (After having already ordered the 930 from onecall) and listened to several other recievers. (Including the Yamaha 795a, some HKs, ...) And, Oh My.... . This soooo blows almost everything else outta the water. Especially when you start using the Digital Sony Cinema Surround modes. They take 5.1 and DTS to a new level. I used "The Hunt for Red October" as my sound test case for DD5.1 on all systems, and wow. The extra virtual speaker mode blew me away...

As a recommendation though, look at the STR-DB830 when purchasing. It would have meet all my needs at 100$ less. And hey 100 bucks is 100 bucks.

Depending on your needs I would rate this (along w/the 830) as the best buy for your money. (Sound wise) The only systems I found that even compaired were 2 to 4 times as much. And I would say that it was still pretty close.

After looking at STR-DB935, Sony 333ES, JVC 888, Onkyo 575, entry level Pioneer Elite... STR-DB930 stands out in the pack.
Great receiver.

After having used this unit for a few weeks now, I could not be more impressed. The two way remote takes some getting used to, but once mastered, it is actually a pleasure to use. It will run most components no matter what brand, however, you will only really get full features from other Sony products.
This is one of the quietest units I have heard. Absolutely no noise or cracking at any volume. The unit is solidly constructed and has power to spare. Great features. The Sony Virtual Theater settings have to be heard to be believed. They have developed a technique that simulates multiple speakers around you without any noticeable distortion to your signal. These sound settings are available on the 835 and 935, but, the sound quality on the 930 is lightyears better.

I compared the 930 side by side with the Onkyo 575, Denon AV3300, Sony 555ES, Sony 333ES and Harmon Kardon. The 930 sounded better than all units with the exception of the Denon. For pure music, the Denon gets the edge for a lot more money. The difference, however, is not much. The 930 actually has more of an open sound. For surround effects, however, the 930 beats the Denon.

Why this unit sounds better than the ES units is beyond me, but definitely do your own sound comparisson before spending extra money for an ES. The power advantage of the 930 over the 333ES is very noticeable. The 930 blew the doors off of all the HK receivers I heard. The Onkyo sounds great, but the 930 had a fuller sound. Its amazing that a company that makes crappy sounding mass market receivers actually made this unit!

I don't know what MacPherson below is talking about. He can't be talking about the 930. He is more than likely refering to the DE-935 by mistake, in which case, you will see that his comments are right in line with many other audiophiles. For one thing, the 930 is only available from ES dealers. I don't believe that Circuit City is one so it would be impossible for him to get one from Circuit City as he claims. Even more evidence that he is referring to the 935.

This is a great looking unit that works amazingly well. This has to be, hands down, the best sub $500 receiver ever produced (based on my comparisons maybe the best sub $1,000)! If you are in the market for a new full featured receiver, you will not be dissapointed with this unit. Buy them while they last.

A GREAT Receiver!!! Virtually no noise coming out of the surround speakers even though I got some cheap ones. I'll get some new set of speakers when I move to a new house and hopefully will appreciate this receiver better. I'll rate this 6star even though you can only get to 5.

Wow!
I got this receiver from onecall yesterday afternoon and couldn't wait to get it hooked up. I spent about 45 minutes doing the basic connections and rearranging my equipment (this thing is quite a bit bigger than the Aiwa pro-logic it replaced)... I turned it on and was totally amazed! I spend another hour reading the manual(s) and customizing the settings (distance from speakers, height, etc)... Then I couldn't resist any longer so I put 'Air Force One' in my Toshiba 2109, quickly realized it defaulted to a non-5.1 mix, remedied that situation, and was totally blown away.

When shopping I considered the following models for at least some time:
Denon 3300
Pioneer VSX-24
Onkyo 575
Sony 333ES
Pioneer 608

That's basically in order of preference while I was looking. The Denon and Pioneer both sound amazing and will run about $700. The Sony DB930 is easily $200 less than the best prices on those receivers and for to my ears was definitely comprable. I didn't think the 333ES offered enough to justify the cost and had mostly discounted Sony receivers until I stumbled across a post referring to this "new" (in the US) model from Sony. I couldn't believe all the reviews here, but researched it for awhile and decided to buy (not having heard it yet)... No local dealers had it (only one even had the ES line), but I trusted you all and was not disappointed.

It's features have been well explained, so I'll just talk about a few I really like (and dislike):

First, my system:
JVC 32" TV
Toshiba 2109 DVD (coax out)
Pioneer 25 disc CD (digital out)
Magnavox VCR (not even hi-fi, couldn't bear replacing my old hi-fi once I had a DVD player)
Mains: Ancient but incredible Coral floor-standing 5 way mains
Center: JBL CL505
Surrounds: Radioshack Optimus LX7
Sub: Audiosource SW15

Likes:
+Inputs / Outputs for (almost) everything imaginable

+Ability to label radio stations or input modes (I have to use the MD player input for my CD (see dislikes) but you can rename that whole setting "CD(Digital)" on the display.

+Remote: It's a 2-way remote with a small back-lit LCD screen. It's a lot of fun and relatively easy to use. It's universal, and you program it by choosing from a list on the screen (no codes or books). It controls my JVC TV, Toshiba 2109 DVD, Pioneer cd changer, and Magnavox VCR flawlessly, though doesn't access a lot of "special" features on the TV or DVD.
+Power. This thing has a clean, honestly rated 110 watts x 5. No hiss at any volume when playing source material. Some hiss at very high volumes with an empty input selected. Check the specs on this, Sony fudges some of their other numbers but this one deserves it's power rating.

+Sound quality -- This is what it's all about and the 930 sounds phenomenal. As you can see from the equipment list I have very poorly matc hed speakers. I won't pretend the speaker setup sounds as good as a matched setup, but after some tweaking the system sounds great and actually quite well balanced in Video Essentials walk around the room. Note that the Sony has tons of parameters for speaker locations, sizes, settings, etc.. along with customizable equalizer settings for each speaker set. Playing regular CDs through my mains (and sub) sounds great and the 930 has leaps and bounds more clean power at it's disposal than the Aiwa it replaced.

+Second source output -- I haven't run the wires all the way upstairs, but one feature the 930 has over the 830 (and if you don't need it consider the 830 for $100 less) is second source output. You hook up another set of mains upstairs and can listen to a completely seperate source in that room while something else plays on the main speakers. It works and sounds just fine. It also lets me sell off my old receiver and get more use out of my CD changer.

+Night theater mode -- This DSP mode lets you watch 5.1 movies without disturbing others (too much). It quiets the louder parts of action scenes or scores and also cuts output to the sub down. It probably kept my girlfriend from being extraordinarily pissed last night when I had a movie marathon with the new receiver (: I haven't played with other modes (I have been leaving it on Auto Format Decode which picks the signal) but some people have spoken highly of the modes that create extra surround speakers.

Dislikes:
+No Digital in for the CD Player (using the MD player input instead)

+Remote. Yes, it's in both columns. I really do like it but it's hard to use in the dark for much more than changing volumes or play/stop/rewind/pause/ff on the DVD. You access special features of components by pressing the "sub" button and scrolling to the command, so you have to watch closely.

I highly reccomend this receiver. If you're looking for a cheaper way to get into DD/DTS without going with problem plagued receivers such as the Pioneer 608 or Sony's 835/935 line (check the reviews before you bash this) you can't go wrong here. Onecall was also very nice and had the 930 in my hands exactly when they said (2 days after I ordered it).

5 stars, easily.

This receiver is awesome. The sound quality is exceptional. If anyone was even considering the STR-DE 935 forget it. Get a hold of this one. The receiver is totally customizable. The inputs are well laid out. Easy to set up and use. The 2 way remote is enjoyable to ues if you are connected to other sony products that take advantage of it. I have it connected to a Sony 200 Disk changer and it downloads all your disk labels to the remote which is a great feature. The only gripe I have is that it does not have a optical input for the CD. Other wise this one is perfect.