Sound, interface, inputs and not ultimatley the looks

Laks a CD optical, remote lagging response

The receiver is loaded with features, strating from the configuration of the speakers and type of walls and ending up to the sound tunning and number of sound fields.
It is a real bargain at this price it runs, and probably now you'll get it even cheaper, since the new series has hit the shelves.

I moved up to this model from the 915 and noticed and improved sound. The DTS seems to bring DVD's alive.

Does anyone have a copy of the manuals for both the Amp and the two way remote they could email me. My wife "Cleaned up" and now I can't find them.

Thanks in advance

Chris

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STR-DB915

This Sony home theater receiver from the DB series incorporates many of the high end features of Sony's legendary ES series. QS Range Dolby Digital and DTS decoding provide 5.1 surround sound, recreating the theater audio experience that the directors intended. For VHS movies and TV shows, Dolby Pro Logic will create a simulated surround sound experience. This receiver also boasts Digital Cinema Sound Virtual 3D processing and Studio EX modes. It also has an on-screen graphic user interface and pre-programmed LCD remote control.

tons of effects, accurate sound reproduction, excellent ground separation (no hum @ sources)

no jog dial for tuner, tuner got but not excellent, gets damn hot.

i've carefully read what people wrote before and was a bit afraid of getting one of these hissy receivers. i was lucky: there is no hiss. in not a single mode. okay, if you turn it up to 6, where it would blow away your houese, you could hear some white, linear noise (no strange crackling etc.), which is normal for integrated amplifiers.

i am really surprised by the good ground separation. you know the effect: everything's fine until you connect your PC soundcard or some other dirty source to your amplifier, and it starts humming. this one does not. good job, sony. okay, i admit, i have an additional LF-separator an my antenna cable and i never tried without it but my previous receiver hummed with no respect to that.

talking of the radio: my old hi end sony tuner was excellent, and for my ears which were used to it, this tuner is not: i'd rate it only "almost very good". it's not an argument really.

many people complained abound about the general sound quality. that's rubbish. they should rather trash their ears instead of the STR-DB940. its sound reproduction is clear and accurate. middle frequencies are NOT absent (hey folks, take your time, read the manual, so you'll learn how to set up the sound fields, EQ, etc.).

that brings us to the negative parts: it's complicated. not because the knobs and buttons would be strangely placed (sony really learnt its lesson, well done), but because there are so many things you can (and have to! don't complain if you don't!) set up.

and it gets quite hot. it's really not a good idea to place another component directly on top of it. either put the receiver on top of everything else or use a piece of wood or other non temperature conductive material to increase the space between the receiver and the next component on top of it.

you'll like this one.

Low noise, clean, excellent DSP (when tweaked correctly in conjuction with the speaker setup), best performance I've heard this side of $500

Remote

I initially bought this to use in my bedroom. I hooked up my cheap KLH speakers to it and to my surprise the speakers sounded a whole lot better. I then played some CDs and began to notice more transparency, warmth, and noise free sound coming from my KLHs. I decided the receiver was performing better than I thought so I moved it to my living room and brought the STRDB930 to the bedroom. I connected the 5.1 speakers (4 Klipsch RF-3s, 1 RC3, KSW15) to the DB940 and suffice it to say the Klipsch really liked this receiver. My brother noticed the difference right away. Even his MP3s sounded better. The db930 was a good receiver had a habit of making the Klipsch sound a bit aggressive and grainy at times. This receiver was producing the same level of output but was easier on the ears (although I still can't turn the volume up to 2 because my parents till complain about the loudness). Those on hear who have been complaining about hissing must have really insensitive speakers. I definitely don't hear any hiss unless there is no sound with the volume level at 6. If you use a sensitive speaker you will not have any problems (I highly recommend the Klipsch Reference for use with this receiver)- no need to use the EQ settings even (I didn't even need the EQ with the KLHs). Turning on the bass boost also adds more warmth to the sound.

My only complaint is about the remote. The two-way communication is just a little slow for me. Other than that, the receiver definitely rocks! I consider it to be my the best purchase this year. Find it if you can. It is discontinued and I was lucky enough to get this one from Crutchfield- their very last one. Had I waited a week later I probably would have had to spend more money than I wanted to.


Home Theater/Music Setup
TV- Samsung TXF2899 27+1
DVD/DVD-Audio- JVC XV-SA90BK 7-Disc
VCR/SAT- JVC HM-DSR100U D-VHS
Receiver- Sony STR-DB940
Klipsch Reference Speaker System

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Sony STRDB930

I've already posted a brief review of this magnificent amplifier a few months ago... but still there is only one minor problem I have ...

So, to all you experts ... Is there any way to ommit functions on the remote that have nothing attached to it ? By this I mean, is it possible to, for example, ommit the VIDEO 2 & 3 entry's in the scrollmenu OF THE REMOTE ?

I have only 3 things attached to my system ... one VCR, one DVD and one Playstation. So, while this lasts, I have no reason to scroll down all the other modules (except the receiver of course)

Thanks for any thoughts ...


Wim

Powerful, low noise, Good DSP effects, remote is fully programmable + master volume, OSD menu

only 1 digital coaxial input

Value for Money
The Sony STR-DB940 is truly value for money!.. This receiver truly comes with all the bells and whistles. It features an On Screen Display that allows you to setup and configure the receiver to match the room, so much so that you can choose the type of wall in your room.. ie. wood, cement.. etc.
On other receivers of this price range where you need to enter delays according to your position from the speakers, on the STR-DB940 you simply enter in meters the distance from your listening position to the speakers and the receiver calculates the appropriate delays... (*magic). The On Screen Display makes life so much easier.. just select the setting you want to change and that's it..

Power
No lack of Power here either.. in a practical sense lets say that I can get to about 55-60% power on the dial and you can no longer be in the same room.. its that loud!, and yet crystal clear without noise.

The Remote
The remote control is a whole new toy altogether.. fully programmable, backlit dot matrix display and two-way communication with the receiver. You can program the remote to control anything that uses an InfraRed remote control. As a bonus the remote has a 'master volume' control that allows you to adjust the volume on the receiver no matter what device you are using at the time.

The wrap
I could write two full pages on each of the features and goodies on this Receiver, but in short.. I shopped and compared prices and features with many other brands prior to purchasing this little beauty.. but for true value for money you can't get better than this.

Get it if you’re thinking about it.. you will not be disappointed.

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Yamaha, Kenwood

For the Price I paid a very nice receiver. Has Digital connections for optical, co-axial, 5.1 output for DVD player, sub-out for pre-amp, and woofer. Remote is programmable w/ macros; test tones and speaker placement effects a plus.

Vast difference between audio and video power; receiver is ok, not great; cannot name your remotes macros; runs very hot!

I got a very good discount on this reciever (which is why i bought it) paid $375 w/ tax and shipping included. I set it up with my Sony xbr 27" tv, a cheap samsung DVD player, a sony vcr, and dtv cable box.

It took me a while to figure out how to get the dts to work when using a DVD. I finally had to get off my butt and open the front panel and hit the set up buttom and manually select digital coaxial so it would accept my coaxial cable hook up. The difference is incredible! When you have all 5 speakers and sub working w/ the dts decoding the sound is great. I watched Snatch recently and the background sounds of an ambulance going by was quite realistic. It's a great receiver when it comes to watching DVD's.
It's also great for watching VHS movies on too. I connected the stereo vcr to the reciever and got a good clear sound from this sony. Although you don't get the full surround sound aspect. it was fine.

The receiver is not too good. I live in a first floor apt. in nyc so it's hard to get a good signal for radio. I bought a teak antenna and it did nothing to inmprove my reception (might be teak's fault not receiver, dunno)
The sound fields on the receiver are not very good and too gimmicky. I prefer to leave the sound mode on auto detect and go w/ the natural sound of the recording.

The remote allegedly has a onscreen display that I have yet to figure out how to work. I dunno if anyone knows how to get the onscreen mode to work if you do please post it. The remote is slow even though it has some nice features like turning off the backlight to preserve battery. But the remote doesn't allow you to name the buttons so you have to memorize which button you programmed for what which is annoying if you have 5 different devices your using w/ the remote. Most remotes are pretty bad so i would say this one is better then the worst.

As far as the hissing sound I didn't have that problem at all but it does run hot. I had to buy a small fan to attach to the rear of the receiver and plugged it into the extra plug. This keep the temperature down.

Since I'm on a budget and want a digital receiver this was perfect for me. If I had the money I would probably go w/ a Marantz or Onkyo, but this is good if your starting off especially for under $400.

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older sony es a/v receiver

How much electronic noise does your amp put out from the cabinet?? Is it very audioable ?

Sound blows me away. Awesome in silver with all my other components.

My only gripe would be the remote. Sometimes I have to press the function key pretty hard for it to work. Regarding the hissing problem others are having I noticed a very faint hissing sound over level 5.5 when I pause but its so faint its not worth worrying about. Normally I don’t go above level 4. Oh and a few more newbie tips in the manual would be cool

I was a total home threater newbie when I bought the STR-DB940 a few weeks ago. After doing a lot of research on the web about home threater systems and speaker positioning and spending the last week tweaking the thing I have to say I’m blown away by the sound. Best advice was the guy who told me to get a big ass sub.

There was a bit involved in setting it up and I changed my configuration a few times and its been a good learning experience. All my other components are Sony and it was all just within my budget after spending $1200 on speakers. Other bits DVD DVPS336 VCR EZ715

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none, always broke