everything but...

...THAT GOD DAMN HISSING!!!!

I LOVED this product in Every way you can possibly think of - Awesome quality sound - brilliant remote control (Works on my Sony VCR and Sony CD Player), GREAT looks, and it also has an RDS tuner in it!!

EXCEPT - When I turned it on - it HISSED!!!

Now, being in a relatively small room, and in a VERY quiet place, this product has to be used QUIETLY at night, and so you can imagine my EXTREME disappointment when I put the volume below 8 and the thing hissed too much to hear the sound!!!

I could not believe it!!!

Previously my Marrantz, which is 12 years old!, output a sound so crystal clear at low volumes, i was SOO surprised to get so BAD hissing from such a reputable Company as Sony!!!

What happened Sony???
Why do you have to make THIS one a duff product???
This is perhaps the FIRST thing I have brought brand new and THIS is how I get repaid????

GRRR!!!~

***DO NOT BUY THE SONY STR-DE SERIES RECIEVERS UNLESS YOU DONT CARE ABOUT THE SOUND YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO!!!****

Unfortuntely, I WAS hoping for this to be a good review, but alas, it is not...:(

happy hunting for a reciever that is NOT a Turkey - this one IS!

Similar Products Used:

Marrantz Amp

Very good sound when volume is above level 10.
AFD - automatic detection of sound input.
Good range of inputs and outputs.

Hard to read some buttons on the remote - green text on white.
Yes, you guessed it, that damned hiss. It is audible and annoying when playing at a volume level below 10.

Overall, bells and whistles, useability, power etc are good. BUT, what do you want with an a/v receiver? - good, clean sound at all volume levels, not just blowing the pictures off the wall - which this receiver doesn't provide. I've done what mark from Mark from NY has done - upgraded to the STR DE 845 ... Time will tell on this one.

Similar Products Used:

none - first time buyer

None.

Everything!

A piece of junk. It's a weak amp that hisses like mad. The lack of phono inputs is disturbing as well. If you dont mind your nice expensive speakers sounding like 20 dollar Jensens than buy the Sony. I should have known better than to buy this pile of rubbish but for the price I took a shot. A store demo is worthless cause all the store ambience hides the awful hiss. I would avoid this unit at all costs and go for a more reputable make. AVOID!

Similar Products Used:

JVC, Technics, HK, Sony

price, some features

hiss, remote

i have a pioneer from the 80's that doesnt hiss like this thing does. i thought i was getting a value but i didnt. i dont think i would buy another sony device again. it's going back right now.

Similar Products Used:

first surround receiver, old pioneer

Good Dolby Digital/DTS output. Lots of sound stages

Hard to see remote, green on white.

The receiver is fairly easy to hook up, and once done the setup it sounds great.

I noticed the hiss the first time I turned it on, and after rearranging all the wires it was still present. I took it back and got another one which did the same thing. I got a Sony technician to look at it and he said there was a poor ground or something and fixed it for me. There is no hiss at all now. If you guys would take the receiver to a technician I am sure they could fix it.

This receiver is awesome while watching DVD's. It has an incredible amount of bass, and the highs are good too.

The only downside is the remote control. It has white glow in the dark buttons with green lettering on them that are hard to see in the dark, but after a while you get used to where the buttons are so you don't need to see them.

Similar Products Used:

Other Sony Receivers

Ease of use

Constant hisssssssssing sound even at lowest volume (1). underpower

I first auditioned this receiver at a local distributor in my area and liked the sound and features of the unit. So I decided to buy it but unfortunately when I brought it home I could only tolerate this receiver for less than a week. The lack of power to drive my Technics speakers was the first drawback. Then I bought the matching speakers (as suggested by Sony Consumer Service)- Sony SA-VE315. The hissing problem still persists. Finally, due to Sony policy here in Malaysia of not accepting the products back after purchase, I had to sell it at half the original price after only 5 days of use.

Some bells and whistles.

HIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSS and the remote.

Believe what you are reading here. I have always had Sony receivers, and I assumed that the Sony STR-DE545 would be up to Sony's usual standards. I WAS WRONG! The first thing I noticed was this incredibly loud and annoying HISS coming from all speakers. No matter what adjustments I made, I was unable to eliminate it. I thought about exchanging it, but after reading similar comments from people all over the world on here, I returned it and purchased the Pioneer VSX-D509S (after reading glowing reviews on here). I would recommend either the Pioneer 409 or 509 for a comparable price. You can normally find the 409 for under US$300. Even if it's a few more than what you paid for the Sony, IT IS WORTH IT. Hey Sony: What happened??

S-Video input/output, many functions, price

Hiss and remote

I didn't listen to this receiver before buying but once it was connected up, yes it does have a noticeable hiss. My old Pioneer SX-780 from 20 years ago did not have anything like that. The 545 was selected because it satified all the switching needs for a new home theater system including S-video from a Sony DVD.

Sony is not the only one suffering from hiss. Other reviews on this site mention that some Onkyo model and the Denon AVR-2800 had the problem too. In Denon's case it was traced to bad DSP chips according to one reviewer.

I returned the unit after a few days and from the advice of others on this site settled on a Yamaha or Denon. Decided on the Denon AVR-2801 partly because the remote is so flexible that it allows you program it to turn on the TV,DVD, and receiver or other combinations of equipment with a "call" key and a number key. And yes,it has no hiss and sounds very pleasant to my non-audiophile ears.

Be careful about specs these days. Some manufacturers like Sony are quoting 100W with 1% total harmonic distortion while other manufacturers quote 75W with about .05% distortion. From what I could determine from manufacturers that quote distortion at both .05% and 1%, these two receivers would be comparable. Seems to me that it wasn't that long ago that 1% distortion was considered awful but maybe its not that important in a home theater application.

One last thought. I have a friend who decided to stay with a Sony so he took headphones to a store and listened to them all until he found one that he was happy to buy.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha HTR-5240, Denon AVR-2801, Pioneer SX-780

I have recently purchased a Sony STR-DE345 receiver to use with my computer. It uses the same amplifier section as the 545(so I was told) and I have noticed only a slight hiss from the surround and center channels. The bass is clean with decent clarity from the high end giving it a powerful and pure sound reproduction in its class. However this particular receiver lacks comprehensive surround adjustments that would be beneficial for home theatre. In spite of this, the DE345 is Sony's basic pro-logic/digital ready receiver and it certainly achieves what its intended to do. At $399AU rrp this receiver is definitely a great buy.

Price, Good number of AV inputs including optical

Hiss, no phono input, no tape monitor input, no front AV inputs, S video/Composite bus

GREAT starter system!! However when the spouse (who thinks a transisitor radio is good enough) says it hisses too much, it's gotta go. Now to be fair there are a couple things going on here. First I suspect that the main board in the receiver is the same one that Sony uses for the whole product line (545,845,945). During the course of production I believe they left one filter capacitor too many out of this receiver. Second, GOOD SPEAKERS ARE A MUST. At first all 5 speakers hissed. I pulled the covers on my Kenwood LSP-9000 towers (purchased years ago overseas). The adjustment for the highs was set to Max. I turned them back to normal and the hiss went away. I can't say the same for the center and rears. They are a matched set of Kenwoods bought on clearance a few years ago for about $60, definately not top of line. The hiss is still there in those. Not as noticeable now though. My choice is simple I could bridge the remaining speakers and cut out the hiss. Or, go get the 945 for $100 more. I'll go with the 945 to get the phono input (yes I still have vinyl) and an input to use my DBX equipment. For somebody who is just getting into home theater on a tight budget. THIS RECEIVER IS FOR YOU!! Follow the prime rules of A)don't skimp on the speakers/put most of your cash there and get quality the first time and B)buy high quality cabling. The garbage equipment ships with is just that - garbage. Follow those simple rules and you will not be disappointed with this receiver.

Similar Products Used:

Sansui (way back when they still made good stuff), Kenwood KR-V7070