Sony STR-DA4ES and DA7ES have arrived (1 Viewer)

[AaronBatiuk]

Gil D said:

The 2 multichannel inputs on the Sony are nice, but I'd like to see some level of pseudo bass management on the stereo inputs like on the Denon

If the 4es operates similarly to my DB830, then you can get bass management (i.e. sub low-pass and front high-pass) with 2 channel analog or digital sources. Simply put the receiver into AFD (Auto Format Decode) mode, as opposed to 2-channel mode (which is truly only 2-channel - no sub). If you have set up the receiver to use a sub *and* set to "small" front speakers, then you will get bass redirection in AFD mode when listening to a 2-channel source, just as you would when listening to a multi-channel source. If you use 2-ch mode instead of AFD, you lose bass redirection, but keep the EQ. If you use the analog direct mode, you lose all processing including EQ.

Is Neo 6 the 5/7 channel stereo equivalent - I'm not sure. At least there is DPL-II.

Yes, dts NEO:6 is dts's answer to Dolby's DPL-II, and both are useful for multi-channel music reproduction from stereo sources. Both have a Movie mode for matrix-surround encoded sources and a Music mode for non-matrixed sources.
Note that Sony's DD-EX and dts-ES receivers offer something that no others do: Sony's proprietary surround-back decoder. The selection of the decoder is based on the 6-channel mode that you use. In "Auto" mode, Dolby's or dts's surround back decoder is used for their respective (6-channel flagged) sources; in "ON" mode, Sony's decoder is used. It is left as an exercise to each listener to decide which does a better job.