Sound quality, looks, simple to setup, More than enough power.

Can't set the volume level for Front left and Right speakers, I can only balance the level.

This reciever I bought after testing a lot of similar priced recievers and none could match the sound quality of this one. I tried Kenwood to Pioneer to Yamaha to Sony ES series, but I tell you this reciever is the best of all. Even at low volumes the sound is very clear and precise. I generally watch the movies in the night time and so I have to keep the volume low, and this is the main reason for me to buy this , because it was very clear even at the low volume.
The only thing which I am missing is to able to set the volume level for front speakers, I can set the volume level for centre and rear though.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood VR-409, Pioneer VSX D509S,Yamaha HTR-5280,Sony STR-V333ES

Excellent bass and clean sound output overall, more bells & whistles than Sony STR-DE845

You have to read the manual thoroughly before taking out the frustration on smashing LCD Remote Commander. No decibel meter.

(Note: this review has been modified for clarity from the original)

Let me start by stating that I am profoundly deaf. That doesn't mean I should be excluded from audiophile enthusiasts, nor should I be considered an idiot. As a matter of fact, some deaf people like feeling vibration and hearing the noises (unless the sound quality is noticably inferior and just plain bad) so they buy and install receivers with subwoofers and speakers with their knowledge of hookup and configuration. I know of a deaf man whom I used to work with personally bought and installed his own theater system. Deaf people are just like normal people, except for mild-to-severe hearing loss.

With that said, I am impressed with the overall hardware and audio quality of Sony STR-DE945. I was considering purchasing the slightly cheaper STR-DE845, but the higher model has additional features not included in the line of Sony STR receiver models.

Best features: Very good 5.1 surround, excellent bass and tremble at 110 watt per channel, clean audio output, multiple sound choices with Auto Format mode (27 modes all in one, including Virtual Theater), DTS decoder, easy to hook up to external audio components (Tape, MiniDisc, CD Player), front A/V inputs for easy plugging

Worst features (well, not really): LCD Remote Commander - unique design but difficult to use and configure unless you read the shoddily translated remote control manual thoroughly. S-Video output buses only work with S-Video input on VCR/TV/etc. and no interchangeable S-Video dash A/V cable due to technical difference. Must have good sense to configure the receiver for appropriate theatrical sound based on the ability to distinguish superior and subpar sound quality depending solely on the age and quality of speakers capable of sustaining 110-watt output (I have four old Sony speakers from 1988). No visual decibel meter. Angry neighbors abound complaining about loud noises. Remote Commander not compatible with Playstation 2 DVD playback (why, Sony?)

Minor complaints and gripes aside, Sony STR-DE945 is quite a bargain as an affordable mid-range home theater receiver that have more features and very good sound quality than powerfully mammoth in superior audio but obscenely expensive high-range receivers from Yamaha, Harmon Kardon, Pioneer, Denon and Onkyo.

Highly recommended if you're looking to shell out bucks for a bargain on a top-notch receiver and want to experience the home theater surround comparable to watching the screening of a film in the theater with surround sound in Dolby and DTS.

Gotta pre-order "Apocalypse Now Redux" DVD to drain the resource of the receiver to duplicate the experience of watching in awe Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece of war epic screened in 70mm on the gigantic screen at the theater!

Similar Products Used:

NEC AVR-700E (type BU)

Price, Power and great features.

it does get hot sometimes.

I looked for several months before i decided to get this unit. This is definately the way to go if your are looking into upgrading from prologic to dolby digital. It tends to get hot sometimes, but nothing you cant fix by adding a small fan in the back of it. i went to radioshack and got a computer fan for $12.00, i plugged it in the AC output located in the back of the receiver so that it would go on every time i turn the receiver on. So far it works great. If you are looking for a great setup, look into what I have below. Staying with a complete Sony sound system, I believe, was a good idea. I paid around $850 for all of the Sony equip. at Sears I feel that I have got one heck of a deal. Sears always matched all the lower prices i've found on the internet so far.
Here are my specs:

Mitsubishi VS50707 Projection TV
Sony STR-DE945 - receiver
Sony dvp NS400d- DVD player
Sony SA-WM40 - subwoofer<- tremendous bass
Sony SS-MF415 - fronts <- great sound
Sony SS-CR490 - center with rears <-great surround sound
Sony CD-CE375 - Cd player <- excelent choice
Sony TC-WE305 - Cassette player

Power, lot of inputs and outputs

no light on the volume

This is a good a/v reciver for most of the users, it has great sound and a lot of functions, and I have experience no problem over a year of use.

Similar Products Used:

harman/kardon

Excellent Power, great freedom for any settings you would like to implement, the availability of the second subwoofer pre-out is great to have. product quality is second to nobody.

I wish this unit had better speaker terminals (outputs) for the rear and center channels (the front channels are more than acceptable.

All in all, this A/V reciever kicks ass, straight up to Sony.

Similar Products Used:

none.

Features/Remote Commander/On-Screen Display/

Some excessive heat with extended play, but not enough to remove the reciever from your finalist list.

Well it has been an entire month since I purchased the Sony STR-DE945 Receiver. If you have not yet made your purchase but were considering the Sony, here are my experiences thus far with the 945.
Performance has been exquisite! Obviously speaker quality plays the largest role in sound quality, but I speak rather in high volume clarity and distortion terms(Yamaha 5.1 Cinema Series Speakers). Recently I was able to run the volume on my 945 in a little match with my neighbor. At about half volume (base box low level), the crystal clear highs and deep penetrating base was awesome! Absolutely no distortion at all. In fact, the overall sound quality improves with applied volume levels. This little sound off lasted about 15 minutes, but from where I was standing the winner was my Sony. In addition to the sound quality, I have been very pleased with the compatibility of my other components. The 945 seems to be able to run virtually any other machine with ease of operation. That is priceless to me. More jacks than I probably will ever use?
The Remote COMMANDER has also been a significant pleasure in my selection. In the attachment you will find many varying opinions regarding the remotes' complexity. I have still not completely mastered the ability of this remote, but am overall really impressed with it's capabilities. As you and I had discussed before, it's durability is questionable. The flap down feature which exposes some very heavily used command buttons, does begin to loosen with continued use. It is very hard to gauge whether or not this will increasingly get worse or not. The change is subtle and if you are not as critical about these things as I am it may go virtually un-noticed.
The On-Screen Display mode is equally priceless. I am no stranger to this option. As I recall, my Kenwood (previous unit) had this state-of-the-art feature as well. Although I am not as impressed with the Sony's display as I was with the Kenwood. The Kenwood model actually had a cursor which you controlled with a rolling button on the remote. Much like the cursor button on your laptop computer. In comparison, the 945 simply scrolls from item to item (less impressive). Nevertheless, this feature was worth the extra coin. It allows for some very cool tweaking to the sound DURING a movie! Very Nice.
Now on to my more serious concerns... HEAT! I have read many mixed reviews regarding how hot the 945 (entire STR-DE series) gets during normal use. This is true! My receiver rapidly heats up to abnormal temps in minutes of turning it on. Even at low volumes, six or seven hours of play will render the 945 very hot. I first noticed this heat problem about a week ago when I noticed a smell in my apartment. That hot electronics smell, you know the one. Anyway, when I opened the glass doors to my entertainment cabinet, I could literally feel the warmth rush out. The receiver sits on the bottom shelf with about seven inches of space above it where the DVD player is shelved. In addition, the backing has been removed for better ventilation by the cabinet's previous owner. The vent situation could only be better if I put it outside on my patio! Many reviews state that installing a computer fan to the receiver can help to eliminate the heat issue (the Kenwood had a built on fan for this purpose). My Kenwood would also get very hot under normal conditions, but the built on (external) electronic fan would offset my concerns of spontaneous combustion. The Sony offers no such peace of mind..............Good Luck. Hope this helps in your decision.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood Reciever

Very powerful, gets loud when you need it to without a problem. VERY cool remote

Volume knob is really touchy most likely due to the massive amount of power this this produces. Optical hook-ups don't fit quite as tight as I would like. You HAVE TO read the instructions to work this thing

I bought this unit on ebay second hand. I didn't have the money for it last year since I'm in college so I had to wait. I wasn't really interested in the brand new stuff (i.e. 1075) So I waited and got what I could afford. Well, Sony did it again. Other companies don't stand a chance. This unit has every feature you want! The front panel is layed out in a nice fashion and for the most part it's not to hard to figure out. You do have to read the instuctions though. There to many functions on this unit to just sit down and "play around" till you figure it out (unless you have a few months to waste). Overall this unit is a great unit for music and movies which few receivers can boast. I say if your going to want to listen to music and watch movies with the same unit buy almost any of Sony's products. Within the past year I have switched everything from JVC to Sony and I must say it's like night and day!!

Similar Products Used:

JVC RX778-VBK (worst ever!)

Great sounding for receiver under $400. Adjustable frequency levels per channel. Multi sub inputs for powered woofers. Above all, quality sound for price.

Stereo tuning (direct tuning only done from remote), remote responds VERY slow, no backlight. No volume light on receiver.

For the dollar...a great buy. The small weakness are much out weighed by the strenths. If you can find this receiver for under $350 consider it a great buy. If they're asking more...Look elswhere, but be sure to check the reviews!

Similar Products Used:

Technics, Medium-low end Harmon Kardon.

Everything

Remote could be better

Previously I had a Prologic receiver.
I was estatic to hear how much of an improvement
Dolby Digital is over prologic. Even better DTS sounds
perfect. I can't really compare this with other DD or DTS receivers because I have never used any other, but this one sounds great. I would have to say perfect because I don't know any better but I am completely satisfied with the receiver. If you have a prologic receiver or less, I would recomend this to anyone.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR-2000

Excellent home theater sound quality overall(bass,mids,treble)for the price, s-video and A/V inputs, DD and DTS, 27 DSP Sound fields. Appearence great to look at. The toggle button for easy access and less buttons.

Does get a little warm but have never had any problems because of it. Remote, it looks great and the delay doesn't bother me like some. It is a hassle to access whatever your looking for.

Awesome receiver for the price I paid. I went to Mysimon.com and found one for $367 shipped, made a printout and had Sears match it. I would highy recommend. Though if your going to pay $500 for it I recommend getting the STR-DB940 which is better all around. Again great receiver I love it to death.

Similar Products Used:

STR-DE925