Sony STRDH800 Receiver (1 Viewer)

[Relofish]

Hello,

I've read the specs and just looking for an opinion on this Sony receiver (STRDH800). I'm impressed with the Bravia sync possibilities and the THX decoding. But I'm wondering I'm better off a brand that's more focused on receivers - Denon, HK, Onkyo. The other device I've been looking at is Pioneer's VSX-919H. Mostly impressed by the USB connection to IPOD. Thoughts?

 

[Jason Charlton]

Personally, I would take a closer look at the recievers from Onkyo and Denon. Sony is a well respected name when it comes to TVs and media players (DVD and Blu-Ray), but much less so when it comes to receivers (looking at the specs, 1% THD is actually quite high). While Bravia Sync might be a convenient feature, any decent universal remote (especially the Harmony remotes by Logitech) could easily provide the same ability to set inputs, etc. based on the activity you select.

THX doesn't hold as much weight as it used to. Many receivers out there meet or exceed the THX quality standards, but the manufacturers choose not to pay THX their (exhorbitant) fee for including the little logo on the front panel. Also, ever since THX introduced their "Select" branding (i.e. Good, but not as good as "Ultra") I've been awfully skeptical of them - if they're all about quality, why introduce a "lower" standard?!?!?

Amazon has the Onkyo 607 for a good price. Did you have a specific budget in mind?