Unit went back to the repair service 4 times. Mixed it up with someone else's the first time (different serial numbers). Couldn't repair mine the other three times; video out, jacks don't work, etc.. The last time it came back the video 3 jacks in front don't work. I have to crawl behind my TV to connect an XBox and disconnet the A/V jack on the back of my TV. Thanks Sony! I was so appalled at the service and product quality I wrote the Chairman and CEO of Sony a letter in Toyko. Even after assistance from corporate it came back not working properly. I've given up. Their service operation is completely disfuncional and mismanaged. Sony is living on their past good reputation however their product quality continues to decline - everthing from the camcoder I had that lasted less than a year to the A/V line.

Good sound in small-room environments. 2nd room feature. Compensations for speaker type/location.

Needs S-video on Video2. So many features that it gets very complicated finding something. Still haven't mastered the on-screen thing. Switching to universal learning remote is tricky.

I bought this in need of more video inputs, to suppport my TiVo habit. Connections: The unit has adequate a/v connections, except that the video2 has no S-Video. So I had to get a cable adapter (comp->S-video) from TiVo to Video2. I couldn't just use comp, because on this unit the S-video is on a separate bus. You have to use all S or none. Also, the DVD digital input is coax, while all other digital inputs are optical. Would be nice to have choices, or at least have them all the same. Theater: good sound. I don't have a center rear speaker to try, but otherwise good surround effects, both in Dolby Digital II/DTS, or the various sound fields. Music: Good from DVD/CD/MP3, but haven't tried MD or others. The auto-detect sound field is nice, as is the one-button 2-channel function. Sounds good in a small room w/small sub. Can't vouch for bigger rooms. Features: customizable input titles is cool, but I suspect that's common now. 2-room is cool, if you can find a long RCA. I haven't figured out the on-screen thing yet, but I'll keep working on it. Takes a lot of time to get all the stuff it does. Speaker distance/position settings are effective.

Similar Products Used:

Various JVC and Denon receivers.

I bought this receiver at Circuit city and it was an open box item so I got a good deal on it. The only problem is it did not come with a manual. If anyone could sent me a copy of the manual please contact me at jayyoungs26yahoo.com

Tons of Features. Good Looking. Great Display. Excellent base reproduction. Sony's Digital Cinema Modes and Audio Theater modes really make a difference. EQ is very nice. Ability to change video signals through the reciever. Can set all different EQ settings for each mode. Tons of connects, front and back.

Remote is clunky. Auido volume response is slow-takes a few seconds to go from quiet to loud, mostly because they have such a wide range of volume-maybe not a weakness actually. On-screen display could be easier to use, esp. the EQ frequency display. Sony manuals always suck. They need to fix that.

Actually a 2002 model. This is a great receiver for the price. I got a hell fo a deal on mine. The sound is very clear. I haven't heard the "sony hiss" yet. My old sony had the hiss and also had static when you turned the volume up and down. It seems like they have fixed these old sony problems. The unit is packed with features for the price. Way too many to list. My buddy with a $1000.00 receiver was amazed at what I got. Now it's not audiophile by any means, but it's a solid receiver to power your basic home components. The movie sound you get is amazing!! Really crystal clear stuff. The CD sound is good but not amazing. And I don't even have rears hooked up. The Dolby Digital II is great. Makes any two channel source into 5.1 audio-it really works well. The unit really kicks the base, even with my small woofer. I have a small room, so can't vouch for the unit's performance in larger rooms. Lots of rear connects. Just a great receiver at a great price for the audio enthusiast who cant' afford the high end stuff. And if you know sony, go to Crutchfield and compare this model to their 1070 or ES models. You actually get more with this one! Not the high quality componentry of ES, but more features.

power ,clarity , 6.1 matrix

none

sony makes a hell of a product 110x5 channels doesnt rock you then no reciever will . movies are great music is awsome with sub only you have to have a powerful sub to take advantage of this reciever .i was giong to get the yamaha but when i compared yahmaha didnt have goo power yes it has clean sound and prbly sounds a little better than sony for music but sony is just as clean and more power

Similar Products Used:

yhamaha ,pioneer

power ,power ,6.1 matrix , dts , soundfields

remote , no bass boom

i bought this product after having a pioneer , and let me tell you it rocks loud crystal clear sound , good features and nice looks too. no hiss, just clean power for a good price .

Similar Products Used:

pioneer vsx509s , sony str685

No "S" video inputs for satellite or second VCR.

First unit purchased at Curcuit City, had the terrible hiss in the rear channels, returned unit! Second unit worked for one hour, it actually blew up, smoke, and noise and awfull smell. Curcuit city had no more units available would take two weeks to get a replacement. Went to Best Buy, same unit same price. This one worked well. Still for this much money you would think the satellite input would have an "s" video port, it does not. Very disappointing. Also, the second VCR input doesn't offer it either. Unit gets very hot also. My fifteen year old Pioneer reciever actually sounds better.! remote control unit is complicated and still will not operate all devices. ( my Hughes Satellite. )I do like the surround sound. It adds a major impact to watching/listening to movies.

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Pioneer 835

Lots of inputs both digital and analog.

Very definate "Hiss" High volume setting required for adeqate sound

I have owned this unit for just under a year and although it is a good value for the price when listening to home theatre, it falls short when playing music. There has always been a "hiss" present in the system, but this became even more pronounce when I upgraded speakers to the Paradigm Monitor series. It is all but unlistenable when playing back softer tracks of music at any kind of volume. Fidgeting with the default EQ setting will quiet down the amount of hiss, but at the cost of high-end fidelity. Also, I have always had to set the volume level quite high to achieve a comfortable listening level. Max level is 50 and I often listen to music in the 35-40 range. I could recommend this system for a Home Theatre only setup, but for anyone who would need this unit to serve double duty as a HT and Hi-Fi sound system, I would send them elsewhere.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, Denon

Sound, options, power and price.

None yet

I just upgraded from a sony home theater in a box system. It had a very similar receiver but lacked a few things that the 975 has. It sounds great as an entry level hometheater system and was really convenient as I didn''t have to purchase everything seperately. But I decided to upgrade to something more powerful so I purchased the 975. The speakers I''m using are Jbl s38 fronts, Jbl S center, Jbl pb12 sub and KLH 9915''s for the rear. I plan on upgrading to Jbl rears to match the system but the KLH''s will do for now. At first when I purchased the 975 I wasn''t all too pleased because it sounded just like the previous sony receiver I had, but after a few days I discovered how to use all the functions and tweek it to the sound I wanted and now it sounds great. IT just sounds better and better. It even sounds good in 2 channel stereo mode. I had an old Fisher stereo receiver and at first I thought that sounded better. That was rated at 110 per channel also but only had 2 channels. It had a warmer sound with better bass at low levels. I noticed that with my Jbl''s though that it wasn''t able to handle the power and would constantly cut off with the volume at less than half. With the 975 I haven''t turned it all the way up yet but with the volume 75% of the way up it did not cut off and it actually sounded even better. The louder I make it the better it handles. I think the 975 is an excellent receiver. IT has tons of options, its got power to spare, the sound is crisp and crystal clear, I haven''t noticed any distortion yet and its got a great price. To top it off its got a learning remote so you can program it to work with virtually any system components which utilize IR remotes. I haven''t noticed any hissing as I read in other reviews.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, fisher, bose, denon, marrantz, pioneer and aiwa

power,32bit dsp, cleanpower, soudfields,6.1 dolby matrix

no bass boost ,remote kind of hard to figure out

great sound ,great power , and tons of options, remote could be better, and no bass boost but a good sub makes up for no bass boost,

Similar Products Used:

sony str-675, pioneer vsxd-509