Question about quality of Sony receivers... (1 Viewer)

[JimMIT]

Sony ES products now carry a limited five year parts and labor warranty.

 

[Jeremy Little]

Did they change Canada to a 5-yr too? I always thought it was 5yr US, 3Yrs canada.

 

[Jeremy Little]

Did they change Canada to a 5-yr too? I always thought it was 5yr US, 3Yrs canada.

 

[JimMIT]

I need to slap myself for forgetting that there are other countries out there. The information regarding the five year warranty on Sony ES products came from the Sony USA website. I don't know what the warranty is for other countries. In fact, I wonder why it would be different -- do they break down sooner or more frequently in Canada?

 

[JimMIT]

I need to slap myself for forgetting that there are other countries out there. The information regarding the five year warranty on Sony ES products came from the Sony USA website. I don't know what the warranty is for other countries. In fact, I wonder why it would be different -- do they break down sooner or more frequently in Canada?

 

[terence]

Definatly go with the ES line if possible, i have owned my 4ES for over a year and a half and no problems. I use it as a Pre/Pro now.

 

[terence]

Definatly go with the ES line if possible, i have owned my 4ES for over a year and a half and no problems. I use it as a Pre/Pro now.

 

[Shane Martin]

I doubt it but I'd like to know the answer.

I'm 50/50 with regards to Sony's dvd players. My current one is damn near bulletproof. I've tried out 2 new players from 2 new manufacturers and their not worth a crap. Then again I'm not about to trust the current $100 Sony's either. The market has really hurt the overall reliability of the sub $400 dvd player.

 

[Shane Martin]

I doubt it but I'd like to know the answer.

I'm 50/50 with regards to Sony's dvd players. My current one is damn near bulletproof. I've tried out 2 new players from 2 new manufacturers and their not worth a crap. Then again I'm not about to trust the current $100 Sony's either. The market has really hurt the overall reliability of the sub $400 dvd player.

 

[Shiu]

I have also owned my 4ES for about 18 months and started using it as a pre/pro a few months ago. It was a tough decision for me to trade it in for a 3805 last week. For $1200 tax included, the 4ES was truly a great receiver.

For those who like Sony products but are concerned about the reliability and quality of their receivers, should give the ES line a chance.

 

[Shiu]

I have also owned my 4ES for about 18 months and started using it as a pre/pro a few months ago. It was a tough decision for me to trade it in for a 3805 last week. For $1200 tax included, the 4ES was truly a great receiver.

For those who like Sony products but are concerned about the reliability and quality of their receivers, should give the ES line a chance.

 

[terence]

Shui,

I understand how tough that would be, the 4ES has a lot features & flexibility that you have to pay BIG $$$ to get from a dedicated Pre/Pro. It will be a while before i part with it, it's not perfect (far as every feature one would want) but get's the job done all the same. One of the main reasons i bought the 4ES was an easy way to slide into seperates. It weighs in @ 46lbs and built like a tank compare to the regular line, you would think some one else made instead of Sony. It really shows what a company can put out when they want too. It was a not bas @ all as a receiver either IMO, but my main goal was to move up the upgrade ladder by adding a seperate amps. By doing this the results have been great for my needs.

Shui,

What features drew you to the 3805, that made sell your 4ES?

 

[terence]

Shui,

I understand how tough that would be, the 4ES has a lot features & flexibility that you have to pay BIG $$$ to get from a dedicated Pre/Pro. It will be a while before i part with it, it's not perfect (far as every feature one would want) but get's the job done all the same. One of the main reasons i bought the 4ES was an easy way to slide into seperates. It weighs in @ 46lbs and built like a tank compare to the regular line, you would think some one else made instead of Sony. It really shows what a company can put out when they want too. It was a not bas @ all as a receiver either IMO, but my main goal was to move up the upgrade ladder by adding a seperate amps. By doing this the results have been great for my needs.

Shui,

What features drew you to the 3805, that made sell your 4ES?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Thank you for the feedback. The unit I have (in the shop again) is an STR-DE835. I'm pretty much just sick of dealing with these issues and this is Sony number 2 I've gone through it with. I will say my friend who has one and let me hear and demo it at his place still has his with no issues. So perhaps we are talking luck of the draw. At this point though I feel I am jumping off the Sony ship. If I replace this unit it won't be with a Sony.

Maybe because Sony is popular and there are many of them out there this is why people seem to either love them or hate them. It seems common to hear people saying "I'll never buy a Sony again!"

I guess now I need to research other brands. I will say this, I've heard many different brands and most seem to have a "warmer" sound than the Sonys do. Anybody else notice this?

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Thank you for the feedback. The unit I have (in the shop again) is an STR-DE835. I'm pretty much just sick of dealing with these issues and this is Sony number 2 I've gone through it with. I will say my friend who has one and let me hear and demo it at his place still has his with no issues. So perhaps we are talking luck of the draw. At this point though I feel I am jumping off the Sony ship. If I replace this unit it won't be with a Sony.

Maybe because Sony is popular and there are many of them out there this is why people seem to either love them or hate them. It seems common to hear people saying "I'll never buy a Sony again!"

I guess now I need to research other brands. I will say this, I've heard many different brands and most seem to have a "warmer" sound than the Sonys do. Anybody else notice this?

 

[EricRWem]

Yes, if you go Sony, ES is the only way to go.

 

[EricRWem]

Yes, if you go Sony, ES is the only way to go.

 

[Shiu]

Terence, it is mainly the auto set up & home EQ function, PL2X and HDCD. I wanted to keep the 4ES, its the WAF thing.....that prevented me from doing it. It has been only 3 days without the Sony and I already miss that blue light. Anyway, I had the Denon powering all 7.1 channels for a while, then reconnected the Adcom GFA-555 to power the mains. I can tell you one thing though, if my 4ES has that "ES" transformer in it as the newer units do, I would have fought harder (end result would have been predictably the same) to keep it. Not that I believe the "Bando" transformer is a problem, but I always felt cheated ever since I found out mine has a generic transformer in it while the more recent units, and apparently all those European and Australian models have the ES transformers.

I still prefer the sound of the Adcom so once again the Denon is being used as a partial pre/pro. I really did not use the 4ES as a pre/pro because it powered the center and surround channels. It only became truly a pre/pro when I listened to CD music.

Reggie, I listened to many supposedly warm sounding receivers such as HK models including the AVR630, and now the AVR3805, I do not find any of them sounding warmer than the Sony 4ES. In fact, I did not find the 4ES bright sounding at all. I guess it depends on the speakers to certain extent. May be my Polk Audio RTI38 are warm sounding speakers.

 

[Shiu]

Terence, it is mainly the auto set up & home EQ function, PL2X and HDCD. I wanted to keep the 4ES, its the WAF thing.....that prevented me from doing it. It has been only 3 days without the Sony and I already miss that blue light. Anyway, I had the Denon powering all 7.1 channels for a while, then reconnected the Adcom GFA-555 to power the mains. I can tell you one thing though, if my 4ES has that "ES" transformer in it as the newer units do, I would have fought harder (end result would have been predictably the same) to keep it. Not that I believe the "Bando" transformer is a problem, but I always felt cheated ever since I found out mine has a generic transformer in it while the more recent units, and apparently all those European and Australian models have the ES transformers.

I still prefer the sound of the Adcom so once again the Denon is being used as a partial pre/pro. I really did not use the 4ES as a pre/pro because it powered the center and surround channels. It only became truly a pre/pro when I listened to CD music.

Reggie, I listened to many supposedly warm sounding receivers such as HK models including the AVR630, and now the AVR3805, I do not find any of them sounding warmer than the Sony 4ES. In fact, I did not find the 4ES bright sounding at all. I guess it depends on the speakers to certain extent. May be my Polk Audio RTI38 are warm sounding speakers.

 

[terence]

Thx Shui,

The auto Cal is a great feature to have.



I found this to be true myself, in fact the 4ES has a neutral sound to it IMO. I have heard the 4ES on a variety of speakers and the only ones that came off as bright was Klipsch. I have heard it played on Infinity, Acoustic Research, Boston Acoustics, vienna Acoustics, Mirage and Polk Audio. All with a slight different sonic signature, and i always found Polk Audio speakers (RT series) to have a laid back sound to them.