performance vs. price

no optical inputs for CD, slow remote

I had this unit for awhile now and so far no problems, especially the ones that were mentioned here in this site. This is a great receiver for people who are on a budget or just starting to build their first HT setup (like me).

With its high output power(110W X 5), DD/DTS decoder, low price (> $400) and tons of other features, this is best from the other comparably-priced receivers (Onkyo TX-DS474, JVC RX-888, Pioneer VSX-608, HK AVR55).

Good luck for those who are starting to build their HT. Here is the rest of my toys:

Klipsch RF-3 for fronts
Klipsch RC-3 for center
Paradigm Titan for surrounds
Toshiba SD-3109 DVD player
Sony CDP-CE535 5-disc carousel CD player
Sony KV-32S16 TV
Sony SLV-761HF VCR

I rate this receiver 5 stars!!!

Power, versatility, optical digital output

Remote is confusing at first

Picked this up a couple nights ago, and I couldn't be happier. It sounds great to my ears, and the price was even better to my wallet.

Remote could be better, but after some use it gets better. That's why they have the instruction booklet, I guess.

I have none of the hiss/static problems mentioned in other reviews.

Couldn't be happier. Highly recommended!!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer VSX-D608
Harman Kardon AVR10

An absolutely incredible receiver. So crisp, so clear, for the money this is great!

Remote..still trying to figure it out

I bought this receiver and a sony DVD player. I absolutely love music and movies!! Ths music that is produced from this receiver is awesome. I live on a college campus and I have the best theater here !! The sound is so crisp when it DTS mode or dolby digital. Imagine a full speaker collection, the 2 main, center, and surround..all very very expensive speakers.. the whole apartment rumbles.. the remote is a hassle though.. but the volumn is very easy to use :o)
again, this receiver rocks... no doubt about it!

Similar Products Used:

Sony all my life...

Sound, features, looks

lack of S-Video output

It's awesome!!! I just got it yesterday. The installation was easy. The remote isn't as bad as what others have indicated in fact I like it a lot.
I would suggest this unit to anyone who is looking to set up a system.
I got it from JandR for $399 shipping included. It's worth every penny for the price. I love that blue light!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha

great bass, highs and lows

remote

All in all this is a great reciever and it will get you all you need in a home theater system except of corse the sub!

Similar Products Used:

jvc, denon, yamaha

great bass, highs and lows

remote

All in all this is a great reciever and it will get you all you need in a home theater system except of corse the sub!

Similar Products Used:

jvc, denon, yamaha

LOTS of inputs, Dolby Digital and DTS, cheap.
It does its job...

...but not well.
lots of staticky, crusty sound...

For its price, you get a lot, but I have problems with its sound on analog sources. I don't know the technical terms, but all I can say is the bass is "crusty" it ends in static distortion. lots and lots of distortion. There are other problems with its analog sound that are hard for me to describe.

But I do not have much to compare to, so it could be, and is very likely, that the problem is with my sources..


I do not really know why this would be much different, but DOlby digital playback sounds much better. I have started listening to cds on the dvd player because it has the digital out. Now I want to upgrade cd&dvd player to a nice dvd changer that plays cd-rs also. (I'm thinking harman kardon or pioneer)

This is a good DD starter reciever. For those of us who want all the features but DON'T have the thousands of dollars to throw around.

My newfound obsession with audio equipment, however, is forcing me to upgrade, so this one for sale for $250 + shipping obo. I do not have the remote for it.

email me if you're interested labubu@collegeclub.com


On an unrelated note, I have seen many squabbles and childish fighting in these reviews. To those people who engage in this immaturity, please stop. Why do you think we want to read that? you lose credibility when you call someone or infer that someone is stupid.

Similar Products Used:

sony str1070

It was cheap, full of features

.8% THD??? read below

This is the first Sony reciever I purchased, purchased to upgrade the aging Pioneer VSX-4600 which was Dolby Surround only. This reciever accompanies my old ProScan based home theater setup (old 27 inch ProScan, ProScan DVD player, and JVC SVHS VCR). It sounds decent, and has plenty of power, but in comparison the .8% THD IS noticiable. The old VSX-4600 was once one of Pioneer's better models, 105 watts to the front channels with .008% THD, 20 watts to each rear speaker w/ .08% THD. I guess I got used to it, and the way it sounded, which was good, clean, crisp and powerful. I am not sure whether it was the fact that I could always seem to come up with a good deal buying a Pioneer (every one I purchased was on clearance at one point, as low as $45 for the VSX-305) or the consistant quality that I had come to expect from their recievers that kept me loyal to the brand for so long. The only thing that strayed me to a Sony was the $199 price tag on a top model (thanks Sears!). It does have its merits, tons upon tons of soundfields (which work to varying degrees in my experiments), high power, and a fairly flexible setup. It worked OK for the most part when watching DVDs, listening to CDs and tapes, but sounded a bit bright for my liking, and there was noticable speaker hiss (only the Pioneer minisystem was as bad, but its a minisystem and not anywhere near the class of this reciever). In comparison to my other Dolby Digital/DTS reciever, the Pioneer VSX-D309 (a less powerful reciever I used with my larger 35 inch Inteq TV) it did as well in surround mode, but the Pioneer lacked the speaker hiss despite the fact that I used lower quality speaker wire (due to space constraints). The binding posts are a nice touch, but I would have liked the surround channels to have had them as well (spring terminals anyone?). If you are going to feed 110 watts to the surround channels you probably would like to use some sort of high quality speaker wire, which these little spring clips don't do much for (forcing you to use some sort of adaptor like the ones Monster makes). Sony could also have used gold plated connectors on the back, expecially at the price this reciever normally retails for. In all its a good unit, a few step shy of excellence however. My value rating is based on the price it normally retails for, not what I paid which was a clearance price.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, VSX-4600, VSX-305, VSX-D309, SA-6800, XR-P770F (minisystem), Pro Logic reciever/casette deck portion of a rack system (model slips my mind), Marantz 2215

For all of you who posted 2 speakers and below, I can hear ya and I can understand your pain!!! I am posting this review to let people know that Sony DOES make high quality stuff - but it's not the STR-DExxx (crap)line!!!
Have you guys tried the STR-DAxxx (ES) or STR-DBxxx (QS) series? Their low end models are close to $400!!!

Do ask for STR-DB830 or STR-DA333es, of course you will not get them at Circuit City or Best Buy! Call JandR, OneCall or Crutchfield and do NOT waste your money on this "just lots of input/output - DD DTS - no sound quality" junk.

This is Great! I just bought my first DVD Player and needed a Dolby Digital Receiever to go with and this is the one I choose. I'm not an Audiophile, but I love surround sound movies and this compliments my DVD player GREATLY. I never heard movies so crisp and clear. The best part is I'm using the same speakers from my old Pro Logic Reciever and it still sounds great. I don't know what others are talking about because I like the remote. It is a little complex but nothing tooo hard to handle. But this is a great sounding receiever. Tons of features and plenty of hookups. I can't wait till I get my new Speakers. Infinitys all around. I love Sony!