Sony ES Receiver Line: Overkill for Home Theater? (1 Viewer)

[Jack_V]

I was looking at getting a Sony STR-DA3ES for HT use.

I don't want to get into Sony VS XXX here, but rather:

Is a receiver with a large power supply and higher wattage needed for HT use with smaller speakers and a powered sub?

I was interested in the ES line above until a salesman suggested that unless you are driving large speakers the added power in those receivers are overkill.

He suggested in the past people wanted high power/current equipment to drive large speakers for full range without powered subs.

Today the powered sub takes care of the low end sound, and most prefer smaller speakers for HT use.

Comments...

(if you like the ES line what speakers did you pair with them)

 

[BrentPollard]

No it is not overkill. ES components are built better and usually have longer warranties. if you can afford an ES product buy it.

 

[Michael_V]

While it sounds great with smaller speakers, I have actually found my Sony 30ES is not quite up to the taks of powering my Paradigm monitor 7s, so no, it is definitely not overkill.

 

[Yogi]

Nothing is overkill when it comes to power requirement. You'd be amazed at what the true power requirements of uncompressed DD sound tracks is and what the speakers can handle. Also you will be amazed at what the true power output of most mass market receivers is. So go get the ES receiver. You will thank yourself as you go along the way in this hobby.

 

[Brett Miles]

I would agree with the others that the ES line is not overkill at all. You won't find many people on this forum who will recommend Sony's DE line. I also wanted to make sure that you knew that the 3es has been replaced. IMO, if you are going to be buying this unit new at this point, it should be at a substantial discount being that it's last year's model and missing DPLII (if I remember correctly) and some other gizmos on the current model.

 

[Jack_V]

Thanks for the replies.

The 3ES unit I'm looking at is $695CND/$435US.
So its marked down a fair bit I think, but as noted it does lack decoding modes.

They don't have any 5ES's left, and the 4ES's are $1000CND/$625US.

I'd like to have the extra decoding modes but set a $700CND budget on the receiver.

Only other option considered is a Yamaha 5590 for about the same. Salesman said he preferred the Yamahas as they are 'higher current' compared to the Sonys.

To be honest, I don't know what that means?

I had focused on the Sonys due to the flexible bass management and tone controls on a per channel basis.
Also, the 3ES also has a 50Mhz component switcher vs 30 for the Yamaha.

Should I pick up the Sony, there's just 1 new and 1 demo left or wait for boxing day?

 

[KeithH]

Jack said:

I was interested in the ES line above until a salesman suggested that unless you are driving large speakers the added power in those receivers are overkill.

Sorry, but I feel that comment from the salesman is ridiculous. Power is not just about driving "large speakers", or better, inefficient speakers. A receiver that is well designed, including being fitted with a quality power supply, will simply sound better than one with inferior construction. I have a budget Energy e:XL 5.1 speaker set-up with bookshelf speakers all around, and when I upgraded from a Sony STR-DB930 to a Sony STR-V444ES, the difference in sound quality with music and movies was substantial. The Energy speakers are not difficult to drive (sensitivity >90dB), but the 'V444ES is simply a much better receiver than the 'DB930.

 

[Dan Joy]

Jack V

I have the big brother DA5ES. I have a moderate set up and heard a big difference when I went from the Sony DB-835 to the DA5ES. I also auditioned the Yamaha 1200 and the Denon 3802 which were all very competitive in price and options. I chose the DA5es over the DA3ES because I got a great deal and the difference in price was only 150.00. I could have easily done without DPLII! There is no doubt about the beefy construction and power supplies on the DA3,5ES. I hardly doubt that you will feel the upgrade as overkill.

 

[Chuck Kent]

Jack: I feel your salesman is fairly well mis-informed.

You want every watt your budget can tolerate. Why? The primary reason is to help prevent potential amplifier clipping. (Clipping occurs when an amp is pushed beyond it normal operating limits. Instead of low distortion, linear output, you can end up with distorted high frequency peaks. If the peaks are severe enough, you can destroy tweeters in the connected speakers in a matter of seconds.) If you like playing your music or movies loud (and all of us do, at least at times) then a higher wattage receiver IS safer and is not overkill. This rule applies no matter what speakers you are driving. (Fullrange speakers ARE more at risk than limited bass models. But the risk of overdriving an amp exists with ALL speakers.)

My opinion on "high current" is that you have to be careful and read between the lines. There is no officially sanctioned "high current" amperage measurement. The term "high current" is usually mentioned in the ad copy but seldom on the spec sheet...(especially in any kind of meaningful way.)