Great music, dvd excellence (dd AND dts), lots of audio/video in/outs!

Remote bites, and i hate soundfields!heh.

Have to admit this sucker really does put out the sound in my 5.1 setup... Does not sound like a unit at this pricerange, it really doesn't.. Wish I had that extra money to grab the ES series however, but this will be good for quite a while. My Infinity's/NHT's love em!!!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo

Power, number of inputs/outputs, build quality, (something metal for a change.)

Hissing in rear speakers in pro-logic mode.

I decided to test this receiver for a few months before posting a review.
First off, I really like this receiver, I only hear the hissing in the rear speakers if I sit 1-2ft. away from them!
Maybe some of these other people posting reviews here have it much worse. All I can say about it, is when I have the
speakers positioned in the rear, and I am sitting about 5ft.
away from them, I do not hear the hissing.

VHS,Pro logic- If I sit close to the rear speakers, or
If I put my ears right up to the tweeters, yeah, theres a
hiss.

DVD,Dolby digital/DTS- Very spacious sound. Great seperation.
I dont have the same hiss thats in pro-logic mode when watching a vhs recording, hence the "discrete" 5 channels.

Tuner- Who the hell cares?!

Cd- Plenty of power to play my sony cd changer. Music can
be played pretty loud without any fuzz or distortion.
It sounds very clean.

Tv- Similar to watching a video tape, there is a slight hissing if I put my ears right up to the rear speakers.
Other than that, it brings a really big sound to the living
room, wich is great for watching music videos.

Overall, I have to rate it a 4, just because I know higher end receivers dont have that hissing problem in the rear speakers. (even if mine isnt really bad at all.)
Its strongest points are its sturdy build, because of the metal frame, and its power. Other receivers out there, such
as ahem, JVC!!!!, claim to have 100 watts by 5 channels, and yet they overload at medium-high volumes. (thats another story though.)

This receiver is a keeper.
I'm sure I'll enjoy it for years.

Similar Products Used:

JCV digital ready receiver

This receiver does many things well. The best of which is the logic it uses to properly determine the proper inputs (coaxial, optical, or analog) for the souce of listening (and viewing)pleasure. It has very much control over the various soundstages which are programmed into this unit. I was told that this unit is the bridge between the higher priced ES components, and the the STR-DA items. It has the best of both worlds. The looks, functionality, power and weight of the ES series with the price of the STR-DA class

It has a long learning curve while discovering the many offerings included with this model. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

For the money paid, it delivers far more than ever expected with no flaws, noise, or trouble. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to get into home theater without cashing in your 401K. It's great even without three seperate amps.

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I have been a separate component person for many years. My system was just getting too out of hand for space with separate Dolby decoder, tuner, equalizer, preamp and 3 power amps. I have rid myself of the burden of so many individual pieces that made listening impossible to all but me in the house (not necessarily a bad thing either). I still kept and connected (due to Sony's insightful inclusion of preamp-out for all five channels) my three wonderful power amps (2 Carver, 1 Harmon-Kardon)and have a marvelous sounding home theater. I have not had a reciever since the Pioneer SX-424 that I bought in 11th grade (1972). As simple as it was (a "thumping" 12 watts RMS per channel) and expensive ($199.00)it did everything correctly. If I could have foretold the future, to get this kind of power and versatility for $599.00 of today's money, no one would have believed me.

Nice looking, impressive features, sounds excellent for home theater and music (and that's with just two speakers)

Steep learning curve for the remote, navigation of my DVD player using the remote is hard (I haven't figured that out yet)

So far I like this receiver. I have noticed the hissing problem that some have reported, but it sounds like every other receiver that I've ever heard. If you put your head right up to the speaker (damn near in the speaker), you'll hear it....BARELY! Maybe I'm just not picky enough. Here is my system setup so far:

Sony STR-DB930
Sony DVP-C660 DVD changer
Sony SLV-778 VCR
2 Paradigm Titans

Just recently, my family and I watched Three Kings on my newly acquired system and it sounded great....even with just two speakers. If you're an anime fan, I also watched Neon Genesis Evangelion Volume 1....and it too sounded fantastic. I can only imagine what this thing could do with a center video channel and a nice powered sub.

The only thing I want to gripe about is the remote....and it's not that severe. The buttons aren't bright enough in a dark room. However, once you learn you're way around the remote you won't need the backlit buttons. The remote response is a little slow to carry out commands, but if you're watching a movie you're not in a rush anyway. And I still haven't learned how to navigate the DVD menus with the receiver's remote. Please email me if you know how to do this. I payed $350 + $30(shipping) for the 930 and I think I got a really good deal. This receiver has done everything I have asked it to do with major ease. As for the hiss in the speakers, I will continue to listen for that. I'm thinking that either some people got bad units or they're too damn picky. Who knows...I say go get the 930. Since the 940 is out, you can probably get it for under $400. Most of you in the market for a receiver like this probably don't pretend to be audiophiles (which is smart) and this also means what is an annoying hiss to others will be non-existent to you and me. Go get it....it's an excellent receiver.

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Old Sansui, Pioneer

This is one kick arse unit, i have been comparing the sound quality of this unit to units amost twice its price, and i stand to be amazed at its quality.Maybe in stereo its a bit lacking but as far as cinema sound is concerned it absolutely kicks arse, not to mention the price your paying for a unit that has soooo many features including sony's own digital cinema sound, which makes the pro logic sound output sound like crap. just watch the first 15min of saving private ryan on DCS full belt and youll know what iam talking about.

I decided it was time to upgrade from my 6-year-old STR-DE290. I got this model as a close-out at Best Buy for $240. I bought the 5-year service contract, and I took it in once and they re-soldered some connections, but otherwise I really didn't have any problems.
Anyways, I started looking for a new receiver about two months ago. I went with the STR-DB930 because I gave up waiting for the STR-DE935 to be in stock, and for only $16 more (!?!?!) I got gold speaker connectors and an extra S-video port for satellite. Yes, you lose the S-link capabilities that the 935 has, but you still get the LCD remote... At first, I thought that the 930 did not have front A/V hookups, but it turns out they are just hidden behind a panel. Sony must have realized how many people wanted a receiver NOW and not when they get around to building more 935's, so they decided to offer the 930 as a substitute.

Here's the features of the 930:
Dolby Digital (AC3), DTS, and Dolby ProLogic Decoding
24-bit + 32-bit DSP Processing
Digital Cinema Sound with Virtural 3D Processing
Digital Cinema Sound EX Modes
5.1 Multichannel Inputs
A/B Speaker Switching
2nd Room Audio Output with Independent Source Selection
2-Way LCD Remote Control
Preamplifier Outputs
4 S-Video In / 1 S-Video Out
Aluminum Front Panel
Frame and Beam Construction Casis
Slanted PCB Circuit Board Design
Large Power Supply
Discrete Amplifier Circuit Design
2-Way, Pre-Pogrammed LCD Remote Control
4 or 8 ohm Speaker Compatibility
3 Optical Digital Inputs
1 Optical Digital Output
1 Coax Digital Inputs
5.1 Channel Analog Inputs
6 Channel Preamp Outputs
2 Year Warranty

How can you go wrong here? I got mine through J and R (jandr.com) for $425 plus shipping because I told them that Onecall.com had it for $425. It turned out that Onecall.com raised their price to $445, but I was unaware of that price change, and apparently so was J and R! How can you beat that for a receiver that is probably as good or better than an ES model?

For another picture of this unit, go to Onecall.com:
http://www.onecall.com/ProductDisplay.mpt?ProductID=2009&Strict=0

Just received my STR-DB930 and am very impressed not only with the unit but with onecall.com where I purchased it for approximately $475 delivered. Replaced Sony 800ES (used as rear amps and preamp), B&K ST-202 (fronts), Carver Mono (center)and this receiver sounds as good or better on all sources. Additionally, it has all the bells and whistle you should need for the near future. This is a far cry from the standard Sony offerings and can easily compete with the ES equipment. I highly recommend it but doubt it will be around long as the quality and sound go toe to toe with the ES receiver line for a lot less $. A great speaker match for a medium size room with this receiver are the Infinity Overature Ones. Also currently being discontinued and a terrific buy between $500 - $600 a pair.

Just ordered this unit from onecall.com for $447 based on the reviews I've seen here. It will arrive Friday 8/25. I will review it here later. Two months ago I purchased the STR-DE925 then returned it after a month because I thought the STR-DE935 was going to be a better unit. Although the 935 had a few more features it did not sound nearly as good as the 925. I called Sony who faxed the specs for the DB930 model and confirmed it was a European offering changed for the US market.
No rating yet, will give 5 stars so I don't taint the average.

Add me to the list! A Very impressive receiver, well made. Great upgradablity......has 5.1 inputs and preouts too. paid 425 shipped fedex from JandR (pricematched from Soundcity).
People have complained about the remote.....i personally like it a lot. It works great if your other components r sony (you dont have to play around with codes etc.). I guess you have to get used to it.

Great home theater sound, good looks, solid construction

Remote control: delay takes getting used to, powerful capabilities means lots of work understanding it

I've used Yamaha, Pioneer and Sony receivers in the past. Convenience is more important to me than ultimate performance, so when I wanted to go from Dolby Pro-Logic to DD and DTS, I searched for a receiver. Thought about the Pioneer VSX-D608 and the Onkyo TX-DS575, finally decided on the Sony STR-DE935. I ran by this sight to check the reviews on that model, and found a review that mentioned the Sony STR-DB930. I tried to find more information, and finally managed to track down some on Crutchfield's website, and the reviews here. Boy, am I glad I did!

I ordered the receiver using www.buyingedge.com for $389+$14 shipping. I quickly swapped out my old Sony STR-G3 and turned on the STR-DB930. After a few quick adjustments, I fired up the DVD player and OMIGOD. The sound was just amazingly better. DD sounds amazing, sound quality is excellent, clean and strong, no distortion. I would recommend this receiver to anyone short of an audiophile purist.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-G3, Sony STR-D705