low price, practical remote

poor build quality, poor sound quality

I agree with most of the negative reply's regarding this reciever. I actually feel that the price is much higher than the quality of this unit. My major complaints have to do with the sound quality. All of the sound feilds sound bad, both with music and with movies. Even with my high quality paradigm speakers this reciever sounds poor. Lack of s-video and lack of fiber optic inputs are also reasons for a negative review.

summary, overpriced, poor sound quality, and poor build quality.

Similar Products Used:

pioneer, onkyo, kenwood

I've had this receiver for about 6 months now. It has always had problems. Sometimes when I turn it on, I get no sound. Turn it off and wait five minutes and the sound is back. I finally got some rear and center speaker about a month ago and started using the sound fields, etc. Now, in the middle of a VHS surround sound movie, the sound disappears. I turn the sound field off and it comes through on the front speakers. I turn the sound field back on, I get hissing static. I'm not even close to being an expert, but I can't find anything wrong with my set up. I'm taking it back in for service. Hopefully, I won't have the same bad experience as many others have had with service on this receiver. Can anyone out there help me? For now...

One of the earliest affordable receivers with DTS decoding capability

No S-video switching and 6-channel input

This model was one of the affordable receivers with DTS capability back in 1998, and the main reason I bought it. I use it with my DTS LD's to enjoy the superb sound format. The sound quality of this model is quite good for home theater use, a typical consumer-grade receiver with above average quality. It has served me well so far, but I prefer the flexibility of separates. I'll probably upgrade my home theater gears to separates in the next six months, but I'll keep this receiver in my bedroom. Overall, Sony receivers are OK for starters who are not picky, but eventually you want to spend more for better quality.

Similar Products Used:

None

The cute buttons. and sound feilds.

Everything else.

I'm sorry but this is going to make a lot of people mad, but this receiver SUCKS. Don't get me wrong, it's great for your average consumer. I am sure that was sony's target. The thing that makes me mad about these low grade receivers is the attempt to cover up that they suck with remote features and signal processing (that sounds like poop) to sell these things. Now I know it's my fault for buying this thing and yes I am cheap. I would rather have a Nakamichi than this, but what's done is done. The thing that I hate the most is the power section. The power section is WEAK, AND COLORED. My old Nakamichi AV-3 with high current power sounded WAY better. Everything I have ever owned from Sony has been crap. This was my third Sony product and my last. What the hell is the deal with DTS I have not seen poop on DTS yet. They market it like it's the greatest thing ever. I don't even see any of the new movies encoded with DTS. I wonder why. It's kind of like when you see a VCR for sale with VCR-PLUS that flopped. Anyhow Sorry to the one's I have made mad. I just don't care for the bells and whistles on any product unless it just rules the earth in tone because I feel that when a company does that, there just trying to cover up low quality. Sony YOU SUCK. GET SOME REAL ENGINEERS.

Similar Products Used:

NONE

Unlimited flexibility in creating the perfect sound from the parametric eq (if you know what pink noise is and how to optimize its potential)

The flip down remote. It has a lot of features, but mine is about to fall off because I'm always playing around with the sound.

When I won this receiver through a contest at work, I thought I was getting the best of the best. Then I realized I didn't have much to choose from the stupid catalogue my company provided. This receiver is the best deal for the money. If I was going to drop $500 again, I'd buy a high end year old model through ebay. I'd recommend Denon or Onkyo. I grew up with music in the 80's and always swore by Yamaha and 10 band eq's. I could never get good video sound from it, so I was excited with the new 925. It actually took me 2 years to figure out how to make this thing sound as good as any Onkyo or Denon on the market. That's the downside. If you're not an audiofile and don't have 5 hours to figure out the sound, buy a Denon. First thing, don't waste your time with all the sound fields. All you need for video dvd is Cinema B. You'll get great surround if you lower the level of the front and center channel to 0, and raise the rear surrounds to 10. Secondly, you don't need to crank the high's to 10 (that produces hiss), and keep the khz on the tweeters at 1800. Any higher and you won't hear them. Finally, to get rid of the annoying midrange, set it at 4500 mhz. Don't skimp on the center channel. Buy a good one. And for God sake, get a 10" sub. The old 12" 3ways are useless. For great cdrw/pure music, set the receiver to auto format decode and just use the sub and two front speakers. The disco mode sounds ok if you don't overload the rear surrounds, but can't compare to afd. If you want my setup for dvd and music on the parametric, email me. This receiver has "too much" flexibility" for the average Joe, but it has the potential to kick ass. It just takes time.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Pioneer

DD & DTS
Plenty of Power to push a booming system
2 subwoofer line outs

My unit runs warm/hot
no S Video
dealing with sony staff/service

This receiver brought me from Pro-Logic into the
awesome world of Dolby Digital and DTS. It has
ran fine since I got it. However, it should be
noted that I have had terrible service/repair/
warranty issues in the past with Sony and some of
my other Sony products. But, so far so good with
this unit. This was great stepping stone towards
true "audiophile" status, it is great receiver but
falls short in some areas consistantly (view other
reviews on this receiver). Although quite advanced
for the price it is pale in comparison to receivers
such as my friends Marantz SR-18.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-305

Price

I think I have had this product for a fair amount of time, just over a year, and have had no overheating problems. A few complaints in other reviews bother me. One can not expect pure amplification in a receiver under $500, and some coloration is expected, but there is more to than just the receiver, for example from the mains, to the interconnects, to the source, to the speaker cable, to the speakers themselves. To say that my old receiver sounded better may very well be true, it just may not be the receiver to blame. In fact, the receiver may be actually be better, and actually bring out flaws you had never heard before. On the remote-- I am a purest, no EQ, no DSP, no bass boost, etc. etc. So if you are going to watch a movie, you put it on, press play then sit back and relax, all the controls you would ever need are on the front, stop, pause, play, volume, and mute. Battery drain can be solved quite easily, turn the backlight off! For all of you who had problems with this model, I can't apologize on Sony's behalf. But you missed out on a great value.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-2500

DTS is great

remote having problems using other sources like my sony TV

I purchased it 1 year ago and got it for a steal I paid 350.00 for it new. the only problem i have is i can't control the volume on my TV, and it is a sony anyone have any ideas?

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic DVD denon CD poineer LD yamaha sub

Well built receiver, good sound

DTS PCM format change gets hung-up

This is a good enrty level unit, I recomend it highly. I does get warm, but not too warm. Sounds great, Looks great, and the remote is great! If you want really good sound though, get a sony ES model, youll be amazed!!

Similar Products Used:

Sony 715 Receiver, NEW 777ES Receiver

POWER

You cant equalize to the fullest.

I Purchased this product because of price and DTS capability.Also power per channel. I really had no idea about the S-Video inputs. Can anyone tell me what they're used for. My model doesnt have these inputs.

Similar Products Used:

NONE