Finally broke...someone decided to set the projector on top of the receiver and it over heated....probably melted. It lasted 7 years...a good run.

never had a problem for the first 7 years. I bought this with a dvd player, speakers and tv stand. Back in 2001 dvd players were $$$. good sound and options.

---Great sound
---Looks good
---Great brand

Well i am a big SONY fan and i must say this recever blew my mind.
The recever was givin to me by my girolfrends dad because he got the next best model of the SONY recever. It has been 22 days now since i have hade it i know all the littel things about it. This recever has great sound depth in sound and bass. Recently i was in a flood 8/18/07 and my recever was under water what a B$@# but i took it apart and clend it out 2 days strait and i replaced the 120 volt fews and is wirks agean i was amased that it did not fry and my sub still got power some how and just needed to be dryed out. Saying this if the STR-DE445 recever still works after beind complietly under water just needing a fews than you know that you got a good prodouct. jut thought this was pritty cool i have a 32 inch SONY wide screen tv that is 18 years ols and it got 3 to 4 inchis under watter and after drying out it still worked so yah GO SONY!

---Great sound
---Looks good
---Great brand

Well i am a big SONY fan and i must say this recever blew my mind.
The recever was givin to me by my girolfrends dad because he got the next best model of the SONY recever. It has been 22 days now since i have hade it i know all the littel things about it. This recever has great sound depth in sound and bass. Recently i was in a flood 8/18/07 and my recever was under water what a B$@# but i took it apart and clend it out 2 days strait and i replaced the 120 volt fews and is wirks agean i was amased that it did not fry and my sub still got power some how and just needed to be dryed out. Saying this if the STR-DE445 recever still works after beind complietly under water just needing a fews than you know that you got a good prodouct. jut thought this was pritty cool i have a 32 inch SONY wide screen tv that is 18 years ols and it got 3 to 4 inchis under watter and after drying out it still worked so yah GO SONY!

Fairly clean amplification without DSP intervention. Decent layout with good cosmetics. Fairly decent build quality. Discrete transistorized output section. Inexpensive.

Very noisy DSP and digital process modes. Amplification not as powerful as claimed. Limited component connection options. Spring-clip speaker connections. Somewhat unintuitive receiver controls. Horrible ergonomics on remote.

First, let's put things into perspective. This is a Sony STR-DE445 receiver. The Sony DE line is the regular consumer line that you can find just about anywhere, and the 445 was the lowest of the low end of Sony receivers that featured Dolby Digital and DTS decoding facilities. For anyone wanting really good high fidelity sound from a Sony receiver that has conservatively rated wattage, then you really shouldn't consider the DE line. Sony receivers with believable wattage ratings, excellent sound quality, and extremely good build quality are mainstays of the Sony DB line and Sony Elevated Standard (ES) series. But, the DB and ES models are available only at Sony authorized hi-fi dealers. You will not find something like the STR-DA7ES at any "Best Buy" or "Circuit City" store. Anyways, people lambasting this receiver about the lack of sound quality should not have had such high expectations for this model to begin with. It was designed to work well enough for the entry level of home theatre, but I do agree that there were much better choices for that niche, particularly entry-level receivers from Harman/Kardon. It is also important to remember that home theatre and hi-fi is a rather interesting marriage that doesn't mix too well unless you essentially spend a little bit more, if not a lot, on better equipment. With that set aside, let's get down to the main course. First off, you will notice that the receiver is rated rather liberally with about 80Wx5. Realistically, it pulls off about 60 watts into 5 channels. Sony is, unfortunately, notorious for exaggerating their watt ratings for their lower end lines. For this receiver, it will be best to use fairly efficient drivers that don't require that much power to generate sound, and you will want to use speakers with a nominal impedance of 8 ohms. Lower ohm speakers and/or inefficient speakers may cause too much of a strain on the output sections and could risk clipping at moderate-to-higher volumes. One good choice may be the KLH T-5 towers and matching KLH HT-300W surround/center speakers, which are fairly decent sounding and efficient speakers. (A surprise for KLH) A basic active subwoofer from KLH can also work for the LFE channel. Amplification without intervention from any of the digital process circuits is fairly clean for a receiver of this class, pretty much sounding more or less like other receivers of the exact same class. It's not as clean as a Pioneer or a JVC of equal value, though. But, the receiver does look fairly stylish, especially with that blue indicator light that tells the user that the receiver is decoding a multi-channel digital surround signal. The hissing noise that this model is famous for occurs whenever the receiver's DSP functions are used, including surround sound decoding for Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic. Generally, noise is always going to be an artifact with digital process circuits, even with the best receivers. But, with the best receivers, the extra noise is not distracting and hardly anyone would give concern about it. The STR-DE445 is notable for being one of the noisiest and most distracting with background hiss when any of the DSP modes are used. When you have all the DSP modes and surround modes disabled, the hiss will not be present. So, amplification with any of the DSP modes will have a notable coloration in the sound due to the noisiness of the the DSP sections. This receiver uses discrete transistors on the output section and are right on the top inside the receiver, which can simplify service and allows a heatsink that completely relies on convection to cool things down, so this receiver doesn't require a ventilation fan which is a plus. Some competitors, like Pioneer and Technics/Panasonic, have used IC amplifier modules, which can be expensive and fairly difficult to replace in the event of a failure. There aren't very many components that you can hook this up to. You can only connect a CD player, a tape deck, TV/VCR source, a DVD player, and an antenna. There are no extra inputs and no phono input. But, again, this is an entry level receiver geared more towards home theatre. The usability of the receiver takes some getting used to, considering that it's not the most ergonomic piece. The universal remote is a big drawback, using buttons that are shaped alike and closely clustered with poor tactile response. All in all, the ergonomics are reliatively poor and certainly will take some getting used to before operation becomes second-nature. However, the ergonomics were not as bad as JVC, but Technics receivers were much simpler to use. Overall, this isn't a bad choice for someone just getting into home theatre and doesn't mind some of the sonic warts in the sound quality when using DSP modes. It's fairly decent when running stereo-only. There are better choices, but this model is inexpensive to own since it's discontinued.

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Sony STR-DA4ES Technics SA-DA10

blue light

everything else

Just passing through looking for a new reciever this hasn't been posted on in a few years. But this sony is a peice of junk. Had it about four years now and its done video pass through is fried and the audio clicks in and out if anyone see this post and has the option of picking one of these up cheap don't run away. Sony sucks have a dvd player from the same time need to replace that too.

Good surround modes, Easy to use

Bad clarity with music, Remote stopped working, Not enough tone controlments

Great for the begginer in home theater. That''s exactly what its best use is. This is not the unit you want if you want to listen to music, but good for one that wants a digital unit for a good price. If it''s more music you want and less movies head on over to the Yamaha or Denon rack!!!!

Value, sound quality, Dolby digital & DTS decoder

Could by more powerful, but cannot be beat for the price

I''ve had this receiver for over a year and have been very happy with it. After reading all the reviews that mentioned the hissing sound, I went back and listened very closely and I can''t hear anything! I''m not an audiophile but I can hear good quality sound and this receiver sounds incredible to my ears. My main speakers are Mirage FRX-7''s, center channel is a 4 year-old Sharp center speaker from my old 3-disc CD changer/all-in-one "surround sound" system, complete with the cheap 24-gauge speaker wire permanently attached. Rears are KLH micro speakers that Best Buy gave away with the receiver. Recently I ordered the Mirage FRX-Center speaker and Klipsch SS-1 rears, so this system is about to get a major upgrade! Bottom line, I listen to everything from classical to hard rock CD''s, and lots of DVD''s -- Dolby 5.1 and DTS -- and it all sounds great. Some day maybe I will upgrade to a more powerful Denon/Onkyo/Yamaha, but right now I''m very happy with this unit.

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None

good price point lots of features

no s-video inputs

for the money a good choice. no hiss here.
little tough to get used to for the average person.
nice look and easy remote. wattage is overrated in all brands anyway so this is ok.

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vsxd409 pioneer vr407 kenwood

First, is price for the DTS quality,Fiber optical input,and
shuts down when overheated.

The remote control is to simple, also the unit does not have S-Jack input/output.

First, I have not experienced the hissing sound that many others have written about. Perhaps improper cable connections could be the problem, or your not useing the right compatible speakers with the right wattage. I use Technics SB-T200s and they work fine. They sound Great! If you are comparing Denon or Carver with this unit your making a mistake. Its like comparing apples to oranges, try the price range for what your getting. In others words you get what you pay for. If you are looking for non-default units then spend the money and get higher end quality.

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Aiwa dts, Harmen Karden non DTS

5.1 multi channel decoding, Pro Logic, good stereo mode. Plenty of options to tink with. nice remote, glows in dark.

cheap speaker wire connectors, minor hiss from speakers, doesn't have Dolby 3 channel stereo

I'ts funny reading all these reviews on my reciever. Misled and happy go lucky sony haters. (I don't like Sony either) but, that doesn't change the fact that I've had this reciever for 6 months and it has impressed me. I got rid of the KLH bookshelf speakers and the sub and upgraded. One guy was complaining about wattage shortage at the 10-15 volume level. He was complaining about how they didn't have the 100w per channel that the other sony's have. Fool. your getting at most 40w per channel at half volume. People live or die about wattage for some reason and fail to realize that it's all about sound and effiecency which this unit happens to deliver very well. The DD and DTS in one is very nice. It has Pro Logic and Stereo and some other useless Jazz on hall environments. (you can turn the effect all the way down on those to return them to stereo sound. The 3 Sony Cinema Modes are ok. C Studio B being the one I use for DVD's. If you do buy this reciever, throw away the initial speaker wire they give you, it's garbage. Get 16 awg at least (anything thicker might not fit in the cheap connectors in the back). Take my advice and don't worry about the hiss. The sound the reciever puts out will easily cover up the hiss. Try optical TOS-Link instead of RCA style for the sound transfer, that'll cut down on the hiss. Always remember, i'ts not about watts, it's about sound and effiecency. If you don't get this reciever, go for it's Kenwood equivelent, it's good too. It also has Dolby 3 channel stereo which is good for music.

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old vintage marantz stereophonics