Sony recievers (1 Viewer)

[Junie]

What is wrong with Sony recievers? They are hardly ever mentioned on the forum. Are they crap? poor quality? I own a STR945 and it seems to be working fine. However I'm new to HT and have not demoed many recievers to compare. Please tell me what the deal is regarding this brand.

PEACE!!!

 

[ColinM]

I had an STR-DE915 (100x5, DD only, no dts) for a couple of years and I thought it was fine. Then I lost the rear channels. Got it fixed. They went out again. Fixed again. Then the sub started humming along by itself and that was it. Goodbye!

I replaced it with an HK AVR110. On paper, the Sony had 300 more total watts, a ton more DSP's, etc.

The HK is light years ahead of that Sony as far as sound quality goes. Sony's DSP's are terrible (my opinion). HK's build is far better. Tons of things seperate the two. I paid $400 for that Sony in 1997. The HK was $300 6 months ago.

Bottom line - Sony CAN make good gear. They make some fantastic pieces. But they also make some inexpensive stuff. You get what you pay for. A $300 AVR today would have cost $1000 just 3-4 years ago, but build quality also seems to go downhill as time goes on, for entry level systems.

 

[Junie]

Thanks for the post. I see what you mean. Sometimes when you have the equipment in ? It's hard to face the facts. Right now I'm upgrading my speakers starting with the fronts and center.I just got paradigm Mini Monitors for the fronts and looking to get the cc370 for the center soon. I like the HK brand as well as Onkyo. So many brands to consider. I hope I don't have the same troubles you had with your Sony at least for the next 6-8 months. Thanks for the info.

PEACE!!!!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Sony's ES line of receivers are of very good quality at their price points. The DE line is Sony's low-end line, and the amplifiers are nowhere near the quality of the ES line.

I owned a Sony 50ES DD/DTS receiver for over 3 years, and it was a solid performer. I cannot really comment on its DSPs, though, since I never used them. I used the basic DD and DTS decoding for DVD's and the receiver's direct mode for CD's.

 

[Mark Hobbs]

The complaint I hear most often about Sony's non-ES receiver's is the lack of power. They claim 110watts x 5 for the Sony STR-DE975, but that is only at a specific frequency (1khz) and .7% THD. Most competing receiver brands publish power across the frequency range (20hz-20khz). In fact, Sony does report accurate power ratings for their ES line. For instance, the STR-V555ES (at 3 times the price of the DE975), is listed as powering 120watts x 5. Now if you just look at the box it doesn't look much more powerful than the 975, but it is a MUCH more powerful receiver than the 975, because it is delivering that power from 20hz - 20khz, and not just at 1khz.
Here is a quote from Dustin B's excellent explanation of this discrepancy in the Primer for Home Theater Newcomer's thread:

Also remember the watt rating on an amp isn't always an accurate one. Things to watch for are amps that give their rating at 1khz instead of from 20hz-20khz. Amps that give THD numbers higher than 0.1 in their power rating. Amps that don't specifiy all channels were being driven when this power output rating was obtained. Amps that rate into 6ohms but say not to drive 6ohm speakers. So as an example take these to specs:
1) 110W at 1khz, with 0.7%THD into 6ohms (on the front of the box they also claim 110Wx5 and in the manual say not to drive 6ohm speaker with it)
2) 70Wx5 (all channels driven) from 20hz-20khz, with 0.08THD into 8ohms (manual says you can drive 6ohm speakers)
2 should actually have 70W for each channel. 1 if measured under the same conditions as 2, will in all likely hood have less than 40Wx5.

See his post here: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...278#post517124
Sony is guilty of this kind of deceptive marketing of their non-ES receivers. SO, although marketed as higher power than a lower-end Onkyo or Denon receiver, the non-ES Sony's are actually LOWER power. Instead of spending $400 on a Sony receiver that claims 110w but only delivers 40w, why not spend that $400 on the Denon 1802 (for example), which claims 80Wx5 and less than .08% THD and delivers every bit of that power?

 

[Mark Hobbs]

Colin M's observation that the HK AVR110 delivered a better sound than the Sony STR-DE915 illustrates how confusing these power claims are.

The Sony is rated at 100Wx5. The HK is rated at ONLY 40Wx5.

The difference is the HK is: 40W x 5, 20Hz – 20kHz at

 

[Wayne Ernst]

The question is: If the Sony box said "35Wx5", would anyone buy it? Probably not, so they resort to deceptive marketing.

Sony is also guilty of overrating their power levels on their mid-level "DB" series line. Sound and Vision magazine tested the STR-DB1070 receiver out which claimed 100W x 6 for the output. However, the tests revealed 31W x 6. In reality, every manufacturer seems to fudge the numbers a little bit until you get up the $2,000+ range of receivers. However, Sony seems to do the worst fudging when it comes to these numbers with the exception of their "ES" series.

 

[Dan Joy]

I bought my STRDE835 2 years ago at $369.00 because I bad Salesman at Ultimate Electronics got me. It has weathered the storm and been reliable. However, with my incoming 25-31 PCi, I wonder if it will keep up. Oh darn, then I will have to buy a real receiver
For beginners who don't know better, it's not a bad deal to get started with if low on funds and want alot of extras!
Now I know better1!

 

[jeff cr]

i purchased the sony strde-575 about 8 months ago. it is an excellent reciever. 100 watts by 5. plenty enough power for my 12x19 living room. can't turn it up all the way or the neighbors in the house next door complain. plenty enough power for music and movies

 

[MichaelGomez]

I have a str-da555es and it has performed flawlessly. I bought it back in '99 for $500 (my wife worked at sony). For the price I paid, I would buy another. I was thinking of getting a da5es but I think that I will go for seperates.

 

[Vasanth B]

Because of all the information posted in this very useful forum, I steered clear of the "mass-market" receiver brands like Sony and Technics. While I won't argue that Sony can deliver solid audio products (ES line) I think even entry-level HT enthusiasts are better served by Denon's and Onkyo's entry-level receivers. I own the Denon 1802 and am very satisfied with it.

 

[ColinM]

Just a note to all who read this - Sony's entry level stuff is fine if you just want to get going in HT on the cheap, or you don't feel the need to get anything else.

Starting from scratch in this hobby can be expensive. When I bought my 'cheap' STR-DE915 ($399)I also picked up the Sony DVP-S300 ($450). Total bill? $970 after tax and accessories.

Now I could do the same for the price of the DVD player alone. Nothing to complain about, to be sure!

But for an exta $200 or so, the level of quality goes up considerably, even though the watts seem to be less.

Less is often more.

- C

 

[Ken Custodio]

I had a Sony STR-DE835, which was my first real Home Theater receiver. It was a great receiver for being my first one, but you quickly outgrow the receiver if you continue to upgrade the other components of your system.

Plus it makes you appreciate a higher quality receiver when buy it, I went from the Sony 835 to a Denon 4802 and the quality difference was readily apparent as soon as I hooked it up.

Ken