Decent Sound, DTS and DD 5.1 Suppport, Plenty of Analog and Video Inputs

Spring Clips for Surround and Center Speaker, Ridiculous Remote, Non-Assignable Digital Inputs.

Well I guess my complaints stem from the fact that I traded in a Denon 4800 AVR for this receiver. I just decided I wanted to go for a seperate AMP and Controller in the future, and I wanted all THX certified equipment. So this receiver is just a stop gap measure until I own both the Amp and the Controller.

With that said, I'm sure some people will accuse me of being too critical.

I think that if you spend more than $200 on a receiver you should have good binding posts on all of the speaker output terminals. What's the harm in having them there anyway? You can still connect the bare wire if you have something against banana clips. That was frustrating having to cut the Banana plugs off my center and surround speakers.

The remote is typical of Sony, all flashing lights and displays and no real substance that couldn't have been replaced by a simpler (and cheaper) selector switch and a few extra buttons. So instead of making it cheap (cost-wise) and easy, they make it unnecessarily complex. I'm finally getting used to it.

The digital inputs are very non-consumer friendly. I own a Sony CD player with a digital output, but this receiver dosen't have a CD digital input for a CD player so, since I'm like everyone else and don't own a MiniDisk player, I just pluged my CD player into that. Now I have to choose MD on the remote (to select the sound source) and then put my hand over the IR beam generator and select CD to play CD's. Frustrating. You should be able to assign the digital inputs to anything you want.

Also through my Digital Cable, I am able to receive broadcasts of some channels in Digital Sound. Unfortunalty some channels are still broadcast in analog. In the AVR-4800 I could plug both the Digital and Analog signals into the receiver and it would choose Digital when avaialable and Analog when it wasn't. Of course, the 4800 is a few steps up the ladder from the STR-DE845, so I'm not pissed about this quite so much.

Sound is OK, very bright, and Sony (as usual) incorrectly instructs you to point the surround speakers at your head. But there is plenty of flexibilty within the set up, and that was nice. Set up was moderately complex, but nothing horrifically difficult, pretty much the usual.

Speakers: M&K 750THX (LCR)
M&K 550THX (surround)
M&K 1250THX (sub)

The SOny logo

Weak power.

This reciver isnt very powerfull. It may look pretty but it has very little power. Dont let the 100x5 watts confuse you this is a childrens play thing.

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Hk Denon Onoko

Price, Features, Sound quality and pretty blue light :-)
Great remote for the couch potato. Digital Cinema Modes Rock when watching Star Trek on television!

Maybe too technical to access advanced features

I heard all the buzz about Dolby 5.1 and DTS so I started to build a system around my Infinty RS 6001 front speakers and Cerwin Vega VS100 rear. The Sony STR-DE845 was my choice after hours of research on the web, let me say I was very pleased with this piece of equipment from the moment I opened the box! The features are outstanding (as covered here in many reviews), and the power and quality of sound is more than enough to be worthy of my speakers. I find the remote to be among the best I've owned, all the options you need to run the system from your chair in a very easy to understand format. My only complaint with this unit is the way the equalizer is implemented; you need to have a fair amount of technical knowledge to understand what band you are adjusting and how it will affect the sound. On the other hand, the person who likes to tweak everything and has a good backround in home audio will be in heaven with all the options.
Couple of notes: I have read reviews on this receiver that if played in stereo people were unable to get the sub-woofer to work, I have not had this problem... also, I suggest you set your speakers to 'Large' regardless of size, you will hear the difference and not go back.

Who Should Buy: Anyone looking to get a great Dolby 5.1 or DTS system. For the money it will surprise even the picky audiophiles out there.

Who Should Not Buy: Those with 2 speakers and no plans to get 4 more (2 rear, center and sub), you will live in pain since all the great options are useless.

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Onkyo, Kenwood, Carver, Pioneer

Excellent for music and HT

The remote control make take a while to master

Thanks to everyone who took the time to share their experiences with this product. This is a great entry level A/V receiver for those wanting Dolby Digital and DTS decoders. My experience confirms that Sears will honor their "low price guarantee". If the low price is from an internet dealer, Sears will add reasonable shipping charges toward the purchase price.

Sound Quality, Ease of set-up, NO HISS and doesn't get hotter than any other receiver I've owned

Remote requires a Nuclear Engineering Degree to program and operate and the volume knob does not have a light on it.

OK, the majority of the reviews about this receiver are good or better, but, alot of people I talked with cautioned me about how HOT this receiver would get, and how crappy the sound (power) was. Well, I ran the receiver all day having a DVD movie marathon with the sound cranked, and the receiver did not get hotter than any other receiver I've seen or owned. I also played music for long periods with the volume cranked, damn near breaking plaster of the walls with my Cerwin Vegas, and still, not that HOT. Sound and power is great. Would be nice to have a "bass" and "treble" knobs, but, JVC and KENWOOD doesn't offer that either, so, it's a minor complaint.

The receiver is complex, and took an hour or so to figure everything out. I still haven't figured out the remote. My wife is blond, so, it'll take me a while to teach her the receiver.

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Sony STR-D990

Great Sound at the right price

Began shutting off and flashing "PROTECTOR" every time the volume was the least bit loud. The manuel says that it is a short or something but nothing has changed. All connections are the same and it worked fine for months. Anyone have a clue?

Except for the problem of the "PROTECTOR" turning the unit off all the time, it would be a great unit.
I guess it needs repaired.

everything!

no led light on volume knob.

i own the 545 for 7 mon. decided to upgrade to the 845 because of the x-tra sub output 7 otther fetures the 545
did not have. HOLY **** WHAT A DIFFERENCE! it's like the 2
were made buy 2 seperate co. i thought my ht sounded greatw/ the 545, but the 845 ROCKS! my sub use to go boom, now
it's like BOOOOOOMMMMMM! My other speakers have come alive as well. u guys get the point, i did not have the hissing problem others complained aboutw/ the 545 i thought it was good a/v reciever for what it was, but i'm soooooooooooooo
glad i made the upgrade. i also luv all of the x-tra dsp modes it has way more than the 545. i also agree w/ others who said that their cd's sounded 100% better, i had a complaint that my sub was not acurate when playing cd's,but
it was'nt the sub it was the 545. the 845 really delivers
cleaner,tigther,stronger bass. my rears really sound increidible. now it did take a while to set up,& learn how the remote works, but worth it . my only 2 problems are the
owners manuel is not what i would say user friendly, & no led light to see where the volume is. i do miss how the 545
had #'s in the display when volume button was pushed. so if you are looking for a great reciever w/ plenty goodies,sound
bass ect. without breaking the bank,here is your bang 4 da buck. i luv this machine!

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sony strde 515,strde 545

NICE LOOKS, GREAT POWER, DIGITAL DTS HAS GREAT SOUND

NO HOOKUP FOR EXTERNAL EQ., NO REMOTE LIGHTS, VOLUME KNOB NOT LIT UP, TOO MANY USELESS SOUND FIELDS

I PURCHASED THE UNIT ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO FROM A LOCAL AUDIO STORE. BOUGHT AT A GREAT PRICE, OPENED BOX. I HAD TO PURCHASE A DVD TO SEE HOW THE DIGITAL SOUND COMPARED TO MY OLDER JVC SURROUND SYSTEM. BLEW ME AWAY. SOUNDS A LOT CRISPER AND CLEARER. THE ONE BIG DRAWBACK TO THE UNIT IS THE ABILITY TO HOOK AN EXTERNAL EQ. TO PROCESS THE ENTIRE
RECIEVER OUTPUT. I NOW HAVE TO PURCHASE SEPARATE EQ'S TO RUN MY OTHER HOOKED UP COMPONENTS. THE NON LIT REMOTE IS A FACTOR WHEN SITTING IN THE DARK TRYING TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS. HAVE TO KEEP SWITCHING ON LIGHTS.OTHER THAN THAT THE UNIT HAS BEEN FLAWLESS SO FAR. HAS GREAT SEPARATION FRT. AND REAR AND I LIKE THE INITIAL SPEAKER SETTINGS YOU CAN USE WHEN SETTING UP YOUR ROOM. HEIGHT, DISTANCE ETC. ANOTHER NICE FEATURE IS THAT IT HOLDS YOUR SETTING CHANGES IN MEMORY FOR THE NEXT TIME. I CAN'T GIVE THE UNIT AN OVERALL RATING OF FIVE DUE TO THE AFOREMENTIONED FAULTS.BANG FOR THE BUCK IS GREAT.

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JVC, HARMON KARDON

It sounds like a receiver should. It is high quality.

There are no weaknesses.

I purchases this receiver two months ago and had some great fun. It was a great day, great day! It sounded great. I was having great fun. It was a great day, great day! I also have some JBL speakers. I had some great fun with them too. I was listening to Garth Brooks on this receiver and popped my right ear drum. I can't hear out of it anymore. So, I'm not sure if it actually sounds good or not, (I was already deaf in my left ear), but the receiver looks cool. When my ear drum got fudged up I was like "crud vapors"!. Oh well, it is a great looking receiver.

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I have not uses any similar products.

remote i threw it away

Great receiver for the price. Sounds great and with a little reading you can set up the sound in many diferent ways. I figured out the remote but even after knowing how to use it doesnt help that it is a piece of sh-t. If you order from crutchfield use my customer ID # and you save $25 off your purchase and I get $25 off my next purchase
Customer ID number is 19166124.