Eric-Miller

Views on Sony STR-DE995/S Recoever

I am puting together my first Home Theater. I have gone through and done my car stereo already and while sifting through all that information found that Sony was flat out horrible in car audio. Is the same true in home audio?
I would like a Denon or HK but I have to be realistic and am on a college student budget.
This Sony is 7ch x 110W! On Screen Display, A/B Output, and a lot more for $499 retail. It just came out so my plan was to wait a lil while until some online retailer stocked it and maybe find it for some where around $400.
Is there something else I should be looking at for around the same price and all these features.

Thanks for the Help.

steven pm

Yes. Pretty mcuh any other receiver in that price range! Seriously, you may not want or need 7 channels for a while, if ever. Better to get a good 5 or 6 channel receiver, of which there are several in that price range. Just FYI, the Sony amps (non-ES) are quite anemic. You will get a much louder and clearer output from a Denon or Yamaha or Onkyo or H-K receiver rated at 70 watts or so than from SOny's "110 watts."

Dunno which receivers have what features in your price range, but definitely avoid Sony and check out the above brands. Also consider how important the A/B output is--will you really use 'remote' speakers from your main source? Probably easier to pick up a compact stereo system or quality boombox when you really need it.

Adam.Gonsman

I'm gonna fall right in line and second Steve. I have a very high level of contempt for non-ES Sony amps. Well, actually, I have a high contempt for the ES ones from a few years ago too.

A big thing to think about is which is more important to you. Sound or features. To their credit, the Sony's do tend to have a pretty good set of features for the money. But companies don't give things away for free. To make up for it, Sony seems fond of cutting corners on their amps. Their are other brands that do the opposite.

I would definately check out the other brands that Steve mentioned. And most importantly, go demo some of these units. You may find that you can't hear a difference and would rather opt for the Sony if it has better features or you may even like the Sony sound. You may also find that you hate the Sony sound once you compare to other brands.