Sounds good when it is working

Tends to "blow up" from time to time, out-dated

I thought I would put in my 2 cents worth. I am very happy with my receiver for the most part. It does what I want it to do, power my speakers to watch movies. Unfortunately, it is now in the shop after blowing up. Since I bought it (I also got a great deal) the protector light would come on and I would lose the sound completely for a few seconds. That went on for about 6 months until one-day smoke started rolling out of it after using it for about an hour. I have been waiting now for 3 weeks to get it back. Luckily, it was still under factory warranty. If you get this machine, I think you should get an extended warranty due to all the neg. reviews here. Bottom line, it sounds good (though now a little outdated due to DTS) but I would buy something else unless you don't mind having it in the shop from time to time.

good looking unit,good sound,equal power to front and rear channels,separate volume control for front and rear channels,optical in/out

unit gets very hot,no s-video jacks,no dts decoding

as far as sound quality goes this unit rocks but if i had to compare it to a car,yugo immediately comes to mind,because in my first year with this unit my front channels died on me,fortunately it was still under warranty and sony repaired it,but not long after it was repaired my rear channels died on me and i again had to send it to sony to be repaired,how much of a pain in the butt is that?!!!! uggghhhhhhh!!!!!!
Initially i thought because i had bought it open box at circuit city there within laid the problem but now i know better.
i haven't had any problems since i got it serviced last"knock on wood".
I also have that annoying crackling(static) sound when the volume is adjusted but it only comes from my rear speakers.
Overall i am satisfied with the sound and logistical ease of sound adjustment,and the service sony provided but i would not recommend anyone purchase the str-de915 unless they get some type of extended warranty.if i had the option of buying this receiver again "I WOULDN'T"

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none

Even Power to all speakers, optical in/out, plenty of sound fields, good speaker connectors, simple setup features.

Heats up, low sound quality, static occurs when volume or balance is being adjusted, no gold plated a/v in/out except on front

Not a bad rig unless you paid more than $400.00, I have had no major problems yet. It does heat up fast so i keep stuff away from the vents to help cool it better. The volume knob in a word sucks because everytime I adjust it it makes this crakling sound, I keep the volume at average listening levels to avoid using it. It still is way better then my previous unit (STR-DE 705) which cost the same a year earlier. I bought it while on vacation because it was $1200cdn in Canada at the Sony store, and I got it for $399.99us on an open box special at circuit city which after exchange works out to half price.

I upgraded because I wanted larger speaker inputs as well as optical in/out, and of course more power and balence. My STR-DE705 had (120x3) plus (50x2)Rear for a total of 460watts. My STR-DE915 has 100x5 watts which was better for my rear speakers because before I could hardly hear them with the front ones getting more that double the power.

In conclusion it is a very good unit if you can keep it cool and don't mind the volume control problem. I recommend getting more sensitive speakers for this unit so she doesn't fry on you.

Similar Products Used:

STR-DE705

Even Power to all speakers, optical in/out, plenty of sound fields, good speaker connectors, simple setup features.

Heats up, low sound quality, static occurs when volume or balance is being adjusted, no gold plated a/v in/out except on front

Not a bad rig unless you paid more than $400.00, I have had no major problems yet. It does heat up fast so i keep stuff away from the vents to help cool it better. The volume knob in a word sucks because everytime I adjust it it makes this crakling sound, I keep the volume at average listening levels to avoid using it. It still is way better then my previous unit (STR-DE 705) which cost the same a year earlier. I bought it while on vacation because it was $1200cdn in Canada at the Sony store, and I got it for $399.99us on an open box special at circuit city which after exchange works out to half price.

I upgraded because I wanted larger speaker inputs as well as optical in/out, and of course more power and balence. My STR-DE705 had (120x3) plus (50x2)Rear for a total of 460watts. My STR-DE915 has 100x5 watts which was better for my rear speakers because before I could hardly hear them with the front ones getting more that double the power.

In conclusion it is a very good unit if you can keep it cool and don't mind the volume control problem. I recommend getting more sensitive speakers for this unit so she doesn't fry on you.

Similar Products Used:

STR-DE705

Good sound, decent power for a 1997 reciever in the price range, digital decoder and lots of inputs, works well with Sony trinitron TV and recievers remote, lots of sound fields allow easy tweaking.

Overheating and frustrating sound with the volume control

I've had this one for quite some time. And, who would have guessed but I have had the same exact problem as EVERYONE else. I had my protection come on for a week or so and then quit. So I figured it was ok then before I knew it my front and rear amps blew. My center was still ok. Once I got it fixed I haven't had a problem since it was repaired about a year ago. However, I also have that annoying crackle in my volume control. Man I wish I would have found this site earlier.

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Kenwood reciever

Thank God I stumbled across this site. My Sony STR-DE915 just blew up and I was searching the net for repair info. I see from other people's reviews that this is a common problem. Unfortunately my receiver is past warranty, so I'll have to decide if I should bother repairing it.

Too bad, because for the past two years it's served me very well. I noticed that the unit was warm, but I foolishly didn't pay much attention to it. Worst of all, I have a Sony cassette player stacked on top of it.

While I admit this may have led to my receiver's demise, I'm still upset that the quality was shoddy. Now I'm stuck with a receiver that flashes the "Protector" message and spews smoke when I turn it on.

Remote Control

Lost my Rear Speakers this weekend, should have read the reviews here before buying.

As you can see I'm a Sony fan. I've always had good luck with Sony products and from a A/V standpoint I love the S-Link option.

My system, no complaints for 3 years, sound was clear crisp. The max volume I could go to was 12:00, this was not do to noise but just the fact that it was as much as I needed, it rocked. I use Polk Sat Speakers.

Last weekend the cracking started, it lasted about two days and then the rear channels were gone. I was going to get it repaired but after reading these reviews I'll just purchase a new reciever with a better history. And yes it will most likly be Sony.

As far as the ratings, Value - Good, Overall (A month ago I would have said 5) today I say 1 based not on my expereince but all the rear speakers that have been mentioned here. Sony should really do something about this. I plan to send Sony a copy of this page so they can see all the complaints.

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Sony - DSS, DVD, VHS, TV

I have owned the STR-DE915 for about 3 months now (bought a display model off an online auction for $300). I am very happy with the performance as the foundation for my Home Entertainment System (Bose AM7's and Bose 100's for the rear channel, Sony HiFi VCR and Sony 32" TV). The Movie sound is exceptional especially in the 3D enhanced mode. I also agree with other reviewers that the sound settings should stay with the different modes but otherwise no complaints.

Bunches of features (if you take the time to learn about them), hearty sound, pretty looking.

Like just about everybody here, my 915 has reliability issues. And it gets so very hot.

Apparently, 50% of the people in this forum got their 915 in some sort of special deal/refurbished/open box buy. Summer of 1998 I got mine, open box, from Circuit City (yes, I know) for about $300. Cheapest digital receiver at the time. Thank god I opted to pay the $40 for the 10 year Circuit city unlimited warranty...I think I'm going to need it. Last year, during pretty normal music play, I smelled burning electronics and my lovely blue dot matrix display blanked, as did the music. Circuit City was great about fixing it (about 2 days), and I was shocked to see that the list of replaced parts was almost 2 pages long. Based on the other reviews, I think it's safe to say that this receiver definitely runs too hot for its own good. Mine was pretty well ventilated (nevermind that I live in Arizona, the balls-ass hottest state in the universe). Also, I've got the "crackle-hiss" when I adjust the volume. Dunno why.

Those problems aside (?) this is really a great little receiver. When it's working, it sounds just as good as the Harmon Kardon my roommate hooked up during the Sony's repair. I've never needed to turn it past 40% to generate huge, crisp sounds, in music and movies alike. Still waiting for recordable DVD's, so I don't know about the digital decoder or inputs on the 915...yet.

After reading all these reviews, I'd say: I'm happy with my 915, but I certainly wouldn't recommend buying one unless you're getting a very accomodating service plan/warranty like mine. Like a fine classic automobile, this is a joy to own if you can stand its quirks and trips to the shop.

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Sony STR DE715, Weber 80,000 BTU Propane Grill.

great sounding, awesome selection of sound fields, more than enough i/o points for all your components

remote takes a phd

i got the reciever on an exchange from circuit city after a kenwood 1080-avr crapped out after 6 months, and since kenwood discontinued the model and they screwed up my ticket by adding instead of subtractiong the total the did and even exchange for the sony, even with the sony being $200.00 higher, of course they werent crying because i had just bought a brand new sony trinitron while i was in there. i have seen different reviews on this reciever, not just here but before taking this one i did some homework on it, and 3 years later still reciever can't be touch, from others that i have listened to in the same price range. i have it hooked to the dvp-s300 sony dvd player, sharp hi-fi vcr and my satelite. optical outputs on both the dvd and the satelite. i have all jbl speakers: 2 10" stacks, sub, center and sorrounds they all fit just great and sound supperb.