Great features for the price. Plenty of inputs. Very good power + digitial DTS makes it a great value. Sony reliability.

No front A/V inputs. "Glow" buttons on remote don't "Glow" at all! Remote needs to be more standardized w/other Sony products.

Folks - the hiss is due two things: poor cabling (speaker wire&RCA) and poor speaker selection. If you're using Sony speakers you're going to have hiss. Sony is known for making A/V equipment - not speakers. Ever notice how Sony speakers are always a lot cheaper than their JBL, Polk, Advent, even Yamaha equivalents? There's a reason for that - they are cheap! I do notice hiss - but in processing the analog signal from my TV - a very poor source in a number of ways. Buy better speakers! Buy better speaker and RCA cabling! Don't listen to those who tell you wiring doesn't make a difference! They're Philistines! For the price - there is nothing else out there on the market that matches the features, reliability and overall build quality of the Sony. What are you going to do? Spend $300 on a Pioneer? Please. The only way you're going match the overall experiece you can get from this system is to spend a lot more on a high end product. If you're that picky spend $600-1200 on high Sony, Denon gear.

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pioneer, technics, jvc

Nice sound, good bass, good highs, nice layout

a very slight hiss and a very very very poor remote

I got this reciver in January and I very pleased with it. With my JBL s26 speakers it had nice bass and good highs and I saw no problems. The only time I even heard the hiss was when I read that there was one on this site so I listened for it. It was there but was not a big problem at all. The remote is terrible, I can hardly read the buttons.

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Very loud, great bass output, nice features

HISS, HISS, HISS!, Remote Buttons difficult to read, sound is muddy (lacks high pitch sounds), Volume cannot be turned up over halfway without distortion.

I'll begin by saying that I was looking to buy my first home stereo system ever. I am very knowledgeable in the car stereo arena, but not the home stereo. I'm an avid country music fan and consider myself to have an ear for good sound. After pricing about everything and going to multiple stores to listen to various components, I decided I would like to find a good receiver for under $350. The STR-DE545 was the one that I chose over all. I looked at Onkyo, Pioneer, Sony etc. (Onkyo was too expensive, it was definitely my first choice)

Good Stuff
I was pretty satisfied with the Sony unit for a while anyway. It's got tons of power and it is pretty clear in stereo mode…unless you try to turn it up over halfway...lots of bass…a good receiver for the price I guess.…I've got it powering my DCM KX-10 Series 2 tower speakers and some Sony surround speakers too.

Bad Stuff

As far as the bad points, the green on green remote colors definitely are annoying. Anyway, as far as the HISS, unfortunately, there is some, actually, a lot of HISS. Anything over the MIN volume setting, produces a constant level hiss from the speakers, no matter what mode you are in. I was concerned after reading some of the previous reviews that mine might have more hiss that it should, so I returned it to Sears to get another one. Same level of hiss on the next unit, so I guess it's typical. As long as there is loud music coming through the speakers, you won't notice it at all. But it began to bother me…slowly but surely.

I later noticed that the highs weren't really crisp…kind of a muddy sounding, not what I was use to in good car stereos.. Power and Bass…the Sony has it. But the treble and mids just weren't clear. The hiss started to annoy me, so after one month of owning the second unit, I took it back to Sears..and luckily I got my money back. I went out and forked over another $200 for a Onkyo TX-DS575X… The best move I could have ever made. The sound is so sweet and crisp, incredible. It lacks some of the Sony bass…but that's ok. If you don't have the cash, the Sony is ok. But I would suggest not buying the Sony 545.

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Onkyo TX-DS575X

Affordable, Great Quality Reciever. Love the remote, NO HISS! Cannot find any reason to dislike the sound quality

Not enough inputs

Reccommended. Great buy. Apparently the hiss is now fixed, because I just bought mine in feburary of 2001, and I have listened for it, and I cannot hear it.

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Sony STR-D615

Sounds good, WHEN IT IS NOT EMITTING AN EAR SPLITTING STATIC HOWL THROUGH MY SPEAKERS.

I have had this reciever since early december and have been overall very pleased until the damn thing started making this horrible piercing howl when i go to switch sources (ie: radio to dvd etc.). It is amazing how it started doing this only days after i could no longer take it back. Now i will have to send it back to sony which will no doubt take weeks to get back. I will never NEVER buy another sony. I would not recommend this reciever to anybody. Do yourself a favor and get any other reciever but this one.

DO NOT PAY ANY AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR THIS WORTHLESS PAPERWEIGHT!!

great product for the money,inexpensive way to go.

none that i can see

i am a sales counselor at circuit city and i will say this that the noise is a definite possibilty because i had the same thing happen in my 990 prologic model. i dont seem to have a problem with the unit at this time. i am about to purchase a pair of infinity rs8's and infinity center chanel and use my bose 401's and velodyne sub connected to sony dvpc560d (dvd w/digital decoder single disc)using high grade fiber optic cables about $80 . using all monster cable connects, hooked up also is my old faithful laser disc i bought back in the late 80's (pioneer 1010)still running but paid about $1300 for it back in the day. the best thing is to get an extended warranty on all your products so you won't have that headache!it is always later that you say you should have spend the extra money and do it right or don't do it at all! go to circuit city their people can help/bye!

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sony strd990

not many but what do you expect for a below $300 receiver

hissing and "Protect" function

Along with the hissing, have any of you guys experienced the "Protect" default. I haven't read through the manual yet, but every time i watch a great sounding dvd and the volume goes up abruptly in the film, the receiver automatically shuts off and displays "Protect". Does this happen to anyone else? Is it that my speakers are too weak? or that the receiver can't handle the input? I know that it is only trying to prevent a short circuit but really now, how weak can this piece of **** be? If anyone knows how to remedy this, please post. If it's an easy fix, then i apologize to all those who like this machine. (I regret buying this receiver and will upgrade soon). Look for me on ebay!!!

Hard to configure

This receiver was difficult for me to configure with my speakers. Other than that, it is excellent. It had lots of ports so I had no trouble hooking up anything. The remote is excellent and has everything that you could want. The top flips up and has controls for a TV.

There is a audible hiss, no enough outputs and inputs to hook up my home system, and that's probably about it.

I've had the Sony DE-545 for quite a while now. Everyone been mentioning about the audible hiss, and I can hear it myself. However, I have sony speakers throughout the whole room of mine, with the Sony CN-490 as the center channel, the Sony MB-105 bookshelf speakers as the front speakers, and the Sony CR-490 surround speakers for the rears. I also have a Acoustic Research PS112 Powered sub to add a low end impact to both music and home theather. Surprisingly, with the sony speakers, the hiss that used to drive me crazy is now down to a minimum. Not saying it's not there anymore, but the hissing sound is definitely lowered. In the near future, I plan on upgrading to the DE-845, but for now, with my current income, I have to stick with this receiver for now. As I said earlier, if you are just starting a home theather system, but don't have a lot of money to spend on a $400 or higher receiver, this receiver is a good starter. However, be cautious of the hissing sound, and buy with discreption. BTW, the Acoustic Research PS112 definitely ROCKS, and helps with making a very moving experience with video games, movies, music and so on.

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Old Technics Speakers and a Technics, Kenwood receiver.

Hiss SOLVED!!!!

none, (now!)

Hiss solved by SONY repair service!
A microproc was replaced and now it's all ok.
So bring the receiver to the repair service, only sony, and they will replace the microproc.

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