Powerful, flexible, solid sound, eq actually works

Noise in right rear when adjusting volume (yes, me too), gets a bit warm

Well, let's be controversial for a moment. There are lots of reviews here praising the 930 and knocking this one. I beg to differ. I went through 2 930s and couldn't tolerate the noise and spuriae from the rear speakers. Maybe I was unlucky - who knows - but I then tried the 935, fully expecting to find a backwards step in quality. Nope. To my ears and setup the basic sound is fundamentally similar. This one just didn't have the noise (although all 3 could get a little hissy at the back especially with the eq on). Has anyone else noticed - the digital part of the 930 and 935 is the same! I don't think the analogue part of any Sony receiver is particularly characterful... if you want that, go somewhere else. I'm keeping this unit. It's doing an excellent job on movies, and for real hifi, I listen to my Naim setup.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DB930

Control-A1(II), Remote

Remote learning curve

This is my first Receiver. I love it so far, but I am still using only two 50 watts speakers with it, therefore I have no valid opinion on how it really performs (it does sound great with only those two speakers). I simply want to mention that this receiver is great to unify all your Sony components. The remote is indeed a bit complicated but is awesome to use with Sony Control-A1 compatible devices. It's packed with great features. You can control your VCR or MiniDisc desk from that single remote (with track names appearing on the lcd, etc). When mastered, I think it is one of the best features of the receiver.

Speaker configuration is very nice. You can specify the size/position/height of the speakers you are using and the system adjusts to that data.

Battery life is said to be 3 months for the remote, which certainly is a weakness too.

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None

Inputs, Customizability

Remote!

I havent had any problems at all with bleeding or whine, and I am currently using 9 of the 10 inputs (all but phono). Sound quality is quite good in both music and HT settings, and the ability to make fine adjustments to the soundfield is a big bonus when it comes to matching surround speakers. I havent had any problems with heat--and I am driving some pretty large speakers at high volume levels (although I do have 2 powered subs, which takes some of the strain off the receiver in DD tracks to get the same SPL)

This receiver is far better than my older 915--which unfortunately was stolen recently. However, I still have the learning remote from the 915 which is easily the best remote I have ever used, FAR better than the one supplied with the 935. Heres a telling example: to 'jump' to the previous channel on the TV, you have to go through 2 button presses, with a pause in between while the remote figures out what mode you are in... WHATS THE POINT of a jump button if you have to hit 2 buttons?? Also, to use the number buttons to change channels you have to open the flip-top.

I picked this up for $499 at Best Buy... it can be had much cheaper, but this was an insurance replacement so I didnt have much choice.

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Sony DE915

Inputs, Customizability

Remote

I havent had any problems at all with bleeding or whine, and I am currently using 9 of the 10 inputs (all but phono). Sound quality is quite good in both music and HT settings, and the ability to make fine adjustments to the soundfield is a big bonus when it comes to matching surround speakers. I havent had any problems with heat--and I am driving some pretty large speakers at high volume levels (although I do have 2 powered subs, which takes some of the strain off the receiver in DD tracks to get the same SPL)

This receiver is far better than my older 915--which unfortunately was stolen recently. However, I still have the learning remote from the 915 which is easily the best remote I have ever used, FAR better than the one supplied with the 935. Heres a telling example: to 'jump' to the previous channel on the TV, you have to go through 2 button presses, with a pause in between while the remote figures out what mode you are in... WHATS THE POINT of a jump button if you have to hit 2 buttons?? Also, to use the number buttons to change channels you have to open the flip-top.

I picked this up for $499 at Best Buy... it can be had much cheaper, but this was an insurance replacement so I didnt have much choice.

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Sony 915

Remote, Sound feilds, Look, easy setup

Makes a small beep while operating the remote

I am very pleased with the perfomance of this reveicer. I use almost all the sound feild while listenning to dvd, cd and video. For those who have trouble setting up for the best quality in your house, this system can be ajusted to your suroundings and the speaker positionning. I really like the extra jacks in front to plug in my dreamcast and N64 and the "game" sound feild is great for that gaming feeling. With conjuction with all the other unit, this is a great buy. The display window on the remote is great when you dont have any lights on. 5 stars for this thing is for sure.

Settup:
Sony Str-de935 receiver
Sony dvp-s550d dvd
Sony slv-799hf vcr
Sony 32" trinitron tv
Paradigm Monitor 5 front and Monitor 9 speakers
Paradigm CC-350 center
Paradigm ADP-170 rear
Clements 10" sub

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str 635

Cool Features, lots of extras + Total Sony System Remote Compatability (Praise be to Sony in the highest!)

Slow ass remote

More or less a good DD receiver. The only reason I'm posting this is to let everybody in on how to speed up the 935 remote. Turn off the br-directional communications mode on the remote. It will instantly turn on and let you switch video / sound modes with no wait.

Super sweet!

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Sony STR-830

Cool Features, lots of extras

slow responding remote

Purchased this unit (DE-935)about a month ago
from BestBuy. So far no problems. After
reading some of the other reviews, I am beginning
to wish I got the BestBuy Service Plan though.
I also purchased the DVP-S330 (DVD Player) and
a CDP-CX300 (300 Disc CD Player). Totally awesome
how the remote display shows all of the titles in my
cd player. I wish the remote response were a little
quicker but other than that, no complaints.

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Kenwood VR309

Remote control, power, looks, ease of use

Sometimes poor 2 way remote communication

I paid about $350 for this unit which I had Circuit City in Thousand Oaks beat the price at www.inetshopping.com. I've been an audiophile for years and I'm the scietific type that doesn't believe in a lot of the snake oil. To me, all amplifiers under the same conditions sound the same. So sound quality on any low distortion amplifier is the same to me and if you don't think so go take Richard Clark's $10,000 challenge.

This unit is a tremendous value. I have almost all Sony equipment (Sony VCR, 330 DVD player, Vega 32" XBR tv, etc). The S-link is great although confusing to hook up initially. But I can use the 2 Way remote to control all my components seamlessly.

The remote is great although I have a few complaints. Communication with the receiver takes a second or two to establish. When operating my Denon CD player, the CD player controls don't work until the remote communicates with the receiver. In addition, the 2 way remote doesn't give me enough functionality on my Vega.

I have also noticed a mysterious quirk when I control the receiver with the buttons on the front panel. For instance, if I am listening to the tuner and change the settings on the receiver, it will mysteriously switch over to Video 1. I rarely do this so it's no big deal but I can't figure out why it's doing that.

All in all, for the price you can't go wrong. I see people paying 3 times the price and only getting half the receiver the 935 is.

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Sony 555 ES

Powerful, pretty clean at high volumes, nice display and layout. Fit and finish high. Good value for money

Remote can be awkward at first.

I've had a Sony 1011 for about six years now and never had a problem with it(it's now running my computer sound system).I never intended to replace it for my home theater, but I had the opportunity to buy a 935 for 244.99 new in box (I have my ways). Dolby Digital is unbeleivable, if you have pro logic only, upgrade now. My only gripes are there about 5000000 virtual surround modes for movies and only a few DSP modes for music. The display although it looks nice is very bright. If you have it next to your T.V you might be distracted by it's multitude of function lights must be at least twelve in Digital Mode. Sound quality is much improved over my 1011, but I'm sure that the ES models sound better, but for the price I paid so what. The remote is frustrating at first. But with some study it can be quite useful. My advice is shop around, you don't have to pay 499.99 for this unit. Even at that price it is worth it but why pay it when you don't have to.

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Sony STRD 1011

Hookups, Power, Configurability

Would have liked a learning remote. The S-video and Composite video do not talk to each other, so you have to switch the TV when switching between them.

This is my third sony reciever, the 925 I had originally was great (when it worked) I ended up taking it back 4 times to Circuit city because it would flash PROTECTOR after about a week to a month of use. They wouldnt admit there was a problem with it until I actually took a picture of it flashing... Anyway... The 835 I got for a roomate, and it was pretty awesome. My only complaint with it was that the remote is illegible with the light green letters on white buttons...
I actually intended to get the 835 for myself, but everyone was out of stock. So I picked up the 935 for like 460 bucks from sears. I also got the V80 53" sony tv, and the 530D dvd at the same time (gave a 10% discount for 3 at once...)
Since setting it up, (which was not all that hard) I have watched a number of movies, (including a star wars marathon on LD) and I have no major complaints. The sound is clean, powerful, and does not cause fatigue. It does get warm, but not as warm as the 925 did. (I actually had that one shut off on me.) The surround sound is amazing, very clear and open soundstage... I have Polk RT55 in the frons, and similar polks throught the rest of the system, (I forget the numbers.) They all love being driven by this reciever.
The remote has gone through the stock batteries in like a week, so that scares me, but what do you expect from supervolt batteries. It controls my SONY 51 cd changer beautifully, I love being able to pick which disc I want to listen to right off the remote. It doesent do everything for the big screen though, it does all the important stuff. The tv's remote is crazy enough, and brisseling (SP) with buttons, so you cant expect it to control everything... It does a fair job with the dvd, but I havent figured out how to scroll around with it yet. Overall on the remote, I am a little scared, but it is impressive to look at.. All my friends think its a cell phone... (geesh)
The Svideo and composite not talking is slightly irritating since it means I have to change the TV to video4 to watch a DVD. I guess they were trying to keep the signals "pure" or something. I know they do the same thing with the digital audio and the analog. As a bonus, when I switch back to my cable box, the stereo automatically switches the TV to video 1 through the slink cable, (im not sure why it doesent change it back to video 4 thou..
Overall, Id give this reciever 4.5 stars, Im still a little pissed about the svideo and composite not talking.

Similar Products Used:

SONY 835, 925