Thoughts on the Sony STR-DE9? (1 Viewer)

[MikeJason]

I am looking at this receiver to be used in a relatively small room.:

SONY STR-DE997B

I know that it is not even Sony's top of the line series, but for around $330 I was considering it.

Is there realistically any noticeable sound difference to an untrained ear such as mine between this model and a higher model?

Thanks.

 

[PeterK]

well, I don't know much but I have the DE 597 a lesser model of your 997. I can't really compare it to the sound quality of anything else but I like it very much.

 

[Shane Martin]

Compared to an ES, Yes. Although I am a big fan of Sony's receivers, I couldn't recommend the DE to anyone due to reliability problems. If you are wanting to only spend $300 bucks then reliability becomes a 2nd thought due to cost(I'm trying to be realistic..)

 

[MikeJason]

What kinds of reliability problems are you referring to?

Out of curiosity, where do the lower models lack in sound quality? Is it just less of a dynamic range?

 

[Shane Martin]

Bloated power output meaning they didn't produce much. They still don't but its getting a little better. To me if I had to spend $300 and couldn't wait, then the new digital Panasonic receivers seem like a reasonable gamble to me. However I would wait and save up more $$. Sony's ES is leagues better but it costs more.

 

[LanceJ]

Mike,

Put your $300 into another brand. IMO Sony's DE series always seem to have wimpy amp sections, in addition to the reported reliability issues already mentioned (they had this same problem when I sold them in the mid 90s). Onkyo, Panasonic, Yamaha, or Sherwood are the ones I would check out.

From what I've seen myself over the years mostly what you get for more $$$ is more power and features. But the sound itself hardly seems to change (among the same manufacturer's models). So unless you are using difficult-to-drive speakers--electrostatics; models with a 4 ohm resistance rating, etc--a $300 receiver from a decent manufacturer should sound perfectly fine. And if this is a bedroom or college apartment living room, you will probably never need to use even this class of receiver's full power output.

 

[MikeJason]

Thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[anthony_b]

I think you could get something decent for your budget from Denon,Yamaha,HK or Onkyo that would be much better than the Sony.

 

[John Morton]

I'd look around also. I had a DE (THOUGHT it was pretty decent). I sold it and bought a Sony STR-DB930 (some ES components). It may be replaced in my main HT room, but I quite possibly may never sell it!!

You might consider if Sony still makes the DB series (now called the QS, I think)? Try OneCall.com.

 

[John Morton]

Sorry, never mind. I just found out, Sony did in fact stop making the DB or QS (at least in the US). At this point, if I went Sony, I'd go used DB/QS or only ES.

 

[John Morton]

Update, I just verified (google search) that Sony does in fact still make the DB series, but for non-US sales. You might look around the net or call some dealers. Maybe somebody can hook you up with one? The latest model appears to be the STR-DB795? It's received some really good reviews.