Lot's of features, build & it's a sony!

none

First I would like to say the 545 is great. It has served me well. Now for all you guys out there who say all you hear hissing. Stop being so damn cheap replace all of conects with real one's, speaker wire also. All I run is Monster Cable, all I hear is...............get my point. You will never know the true potenial of your equipment unless you replace the blood lines. There is a BIG Defference between the cheap stuff & the real. I have to say once more the 545 is a great a/v reciever, lesson over.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer,Sony

No hiss in 5.1 mode

Hiss in every other mode

I also had the receiver for a weekend before I gave up.

If you don't mind hiss, then it's a nice bargain with all
the features you can want.

Hiss in all channels even at the lowest volume.
The green on white buttons on the remote control
must be a joke, they are impossible to read!!
Was it a blind guy testing the remote ?

graet price, great features, very functional (albeit hard to see) remote control

HISSSSSSS

Well, you can read my review down below about 5 spaces, but I ended up returning it and getting the Sony STR-DE845 instead. I have yet to hook that up, but I went to BestBuy to listen for a Hiss and I didn't hear one.

Read my review of the STR-DE845 later this evening or tomorrow.

enjoy...
rich

Similar Products Used:

older Sony receivers

Easy to hookup cables and fix settings. Good sound and ease of use.

I can't complain for $169.00

I bought this receiver to set up a HT system for my mother. This is a good receiver. I haven't noticed the dreaded hiss yet. Both music cds and dvd audio sound good for both DD and DTS. Even though I think my Pioneer kicks in a little more bass to my sub. Does anyone know where I could find a remote for this unit, without having to buy it from Sony for $80.00.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX608

Power, optical inputs, intuitive front panel controls, inputs o' plenty, dolby digital and dts,and it was very affordable compared to the other equipment i looked at.

I dont see the flip top remote lasting very long in my clumsy hands. Also, those friggin white buttons with the green letters will hurt your eyes trying to read them in the light, and are completly illegible in the dark. I have also noticed this "hiss" everyone has made a big deal about, but it is barely audible almost all of the time.

All in all i am very pleased with this reciever. It has very loud clear bass and pristine highs and mids. Its price and features would make it a great deal for anyone who needs surround sound. I Believe that this hissing is because of my old, crappy RCA cables because i dont here it with my cd or dvd, both of witch are connected via optical. I campared with the equivilent Kenwood, yamaha, onkyo, pioneer, and aiwa. I decided upon this sony partky because of the reliability ive found with my sony gear.

My system includes:
sony str de545 reciever
sony slv 720hf vcr
sony cdp 225 cd changer
sony ps2
jvc 27' tv
polk audio center channel
klh surround speakers
Optimus front towers, and sub

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I also have an older technics amp,and a jvc KABOOM box.

Easy learning curve

Slight background hiss

I've seen the other reviews and agree there is some amplifier hiss in the background, usually audible when no other sound source is playing. I use quality cables and plug the power cord into a good quality power strip probably like most of this product's users. Although I'm somewhat bothered by amp noise, like I said earlier, I can't say I notice it when listening to music, video or dvd's. I used a Moster Cable optical connector for the DvD connection btw... All in all, quite happy with this reciever's performance.

Everything else

light-green on light-green buttons on remote.

I've got my Sony STR-545 connected to a set of Infinity HTS-10's and have been running them for about 6 months now.
I'm also connected to a Panasonic A110 DVD via the optical AC-3 jack, and a Panasonic 4 Head Stereo VCR.

I do not hear this "hiss" that people are talking about; certainly not when listening to a digital source. (My DVD player doubles as my CD player) You *can* hear the noise-floor if you turn the volume all the way down, then place your head RIGHT next to a speaker. But you can do that with any amp/receiver.

The only complaint I have is with the remote. Specifically the input selector buttons. They picked a kelly-green color for the label-text, but the button itself is glow-in-the-dark whitish/green. So unless you're in a pretty bright light it is hard to read. But... in a few weeks you have the button positions memorized anyway so I guess it's not that big of a deal...

For the price, it *is* the best on the market. I feel bad for the people out there that are talking about hiss; but I just don't hear it with my components.

Similar Products Used:

Sherwoods, Onkyo's, Dennons, Kenwoods, Yamaha

Good sound, Great options and plenty of wattage for the price.

Horrible Remote Control. Lack of enough video inputs. CD Player could have digital audio input.

I have to admit that I picked up the reciever and then read the reviews on internet. So I was scared that I would run
into the same hiss problem as anybody else. I connected this
amplifier to Sony SAV-E315 HT speaker package. There was NO
hiss. My friend bought one too and connected to his BOSE
AM-7 speaker package and he can hear the HISS. Looks like
the speakers really matters. Ofcourse I used some real good
quality cable from Monster and Cambridge Soundworks and I
have a small apartment. The sound and bass on this system
rocks. I am impressed by the features on this amp. The
manual is pure 100% sh*t. You get a vague idea about what
a feature is from the manual. And trust me ...I am a
Electronic Engineer. There is a separate manual for the
Remote Control which also does a really bad job of the
documentation. From the country that I come from such
document writers would be publicly lynched but thats
another story. The designer of this remote should also
get 100 lashes as punishment. Whats with the thing that
you have to open in the middle. Thats utter crap. You can't
cover this remote with a plastic cover to keep the dirt out.
Every button on this remote is where it should NOT be. Maybe
this is Sony's idea about a user interface but its crap.

But I am a sony lover. Everything in my house is Sony
except the digital cameras. They are reliable and they
can charge me a few extra bucks I don't mind.

Otherwise the features on these reciever are cool. The
sound is good. The bass is cool on this system and this
system in general delivers.

Don't throw away ur remotes for TV, VCR and DVD. One look
at this remote and you will know that you are going to
need them. When will I achieve the Remote Nirvana of
having just one remote?

At this price this is most bang for the buck. For Home
Theater sony is the way to go.

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Cambridge Soundworks HT.

not too expensive,dolby decoders...

hisssssss !!!!

it's realy a nice product.But... I just bought it and I must say that this is the first sony product that dissapointed me !!!
Can someone please tell me how to fix that hiss?

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only sony

Ease of use and set up, great sound, conectivity, NO MORE HISS, great for DVD and VHS. wonderful cinema sound fields.

Remote is not backlit, could use more "s" video inputs.

I have had this unit since November last year, and although I noticed the "Hiss", I thought it was quite normal for an amp to hiss - well a little anyway. At first I thought the problem was poor speaker cables, so I replaced all mine with new "Straight Wire" cables ($ 400.00 later!). The Hiss remained, and some how seemed to have gotten a little louder. Nothing I did seemed to make any difference, including playing with all the settings, and removing the receiver away from the TV set (I did wonder if it wasn't electrical interference). I took the receiver back to the Sony service centre along with a copy of a few of the reviews that I found on this site (After I finally clicked that I was not alone with this problem). The good people at Sony told me they had to order the part from Europe, which took about 7 weeks. The part replaced is an "IC", which was replaced under the warranty (Good on ya Sony!), although the part was only worth about $ 75.00 N.Z dollars - ($ 20.00 US?) it has made a huge difference, and the Hiss problem is solved. I am now totally happy with this wonderful receiver, which does every thing it said it would in the brochure. Thanks to Sony NZ for finding and solving the problem, my faith has been restored, and I am now enjoying movies, TV, and CD's at low volume levels without that damn Hiss. I have also now purchased a "One for all 6" remote, which has some backlit buttons, and this has worked really well with the receiver.
I can recommend this great unit as a first receiver/amp...so long as your Sony dealer is up to scratch in the customer service department

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None, but looked around a lot first.