First of all: ir has a great EQUALIZER for each separated channel (front, central and back). Great power, really feels like 100 watts per channel. Great details as a jog for easier adjustment or a blue light that turns on when decoding dolby digital or dts.

No volume level indicator.

I loved this unit at first, then after about a month, most of the buttons on the front
panel stopped working. The receiver always wanted to cycle through all the listening
modes. I ended up pushing one of the listening mode buttons on the front panel in
and jammed a small piece of paper in there to get it to stay at one mode. I was able
to use the remote to access all the receiver's functions until it also died.

Now the left back surround works intermittently. I thought lose connection, all connections
are tight at both the receiver and speaker. I connected a different receiver to the same setup
and everything works fine. This is the second Sony product that I purchased, and then
months later, died or had major problems. I'll never buy a Sony product again.

I bought this receiver about 10 years ago and have been very happy with it. For the most part of its life it has been used just as a 2 channel reciever. It has plenty of power, I hooked up a pair of JBL cf-120 speakers and also another set of boston acoustics hs 450. I have since used these four plus a definitive center speaker to create my suround sound. At first this receiver was a bit complicated but now I like the way I can fine tune my speakers. The remote is awsome, with the ability to program and control many other components all with one remote.

The only problem that I have had with this receiver is that sometimes the switch between A, B, and A&B speakers doesn't engage. So I have had to press the switch sideways and it normally clicks back on.

With no HDMI I will have to replace this soon :(

The optical inputs work great with blu rays and with all the other imputs I can hook up my ipod or computer.

Plenty of inputs. You can use any type/configuration video & audio input/output.

Well, I wouldn't classify it as audiophile quality, plenty of room for improvements. Overall I've had no big problems.

I bought this a few years ago as my first audio/video receiver. I'm glad I did, because it's been pretty intuitive as far as setup, and I've had no mechanical problems with it. It has a good sized transformer that will get hot after awhile. The remote is a little funny. I only use it for volume,power,source, and a few other things. The radio sounds good, nice seperation, a dial would be nice though. Also the fm can get kind of staticy once in a while(in a digital sort of way). The phono section is nice to have, and works very well. Right now, I have a dv525 dvd,philips 312 TT and ctf1000 going through it, driving a pair of jbl s312's and s-center(and my tv). I've really enjoyed this receiver and it's paid many times over the inital investment, but I'm still looking forward to what else is out there. Someday, maybe.

Plenty of Digital Inputs, Digital Pre Programmed Sound Fields, Equalizer Settings each for Front, Rear, Center, Subwoofer Control, LFE, LFE DTS Mix Control, Surround Effect Control

Very Complex Settings, It will take a while to set this Amp to match your speakers and Ear.

It took me a while to get a perfect sound of my Bose Speakers. This is a Excellent Receiver with multiple digital (optical and coaxial) inputs. Excellent Sound Quality and Surround Distribution. I enjoy it completely

Similar Products Used:

POLK SUB WOOFER, BOSE SPEAKERS

A ton of inputs, outputs and sound field settings, space-age remote with lighted display and buttons. Decent tuner section.

Very complex, difficult to determine correct settings. Variable sound quality from amp.

Bought this receiver in the spring of '01 for two reasons. First, my old JVC was dying, and second, I wanted to see if the optical input would improve the sound from my Sony 200-CD jukebox, which is pretty sad through the analog outputs. I selected the Sony partially for remote compatibility with other components, plus what looked like a very cool remote. I have used this unit only for two-channel stereo, mainly CDs and FM through ads 1290 speakers, which cost over $700 ea in 1986 and are very highly regarded (see reviews on this site). The first problem I had with this unit is its complexity. It's tough to determine which speaker and input settings work best for plain two-channel stereo, something which should be rather simple. The manual's suggested settings produced a harsh, overly forward sound. Also, you must change tone controls through the equalizer settings, rather than simply adjusting a bass, treble or midrange control. It also was a year before I accidentally discovered how to operate my Sony jukebox from the receiver's remote. Now the mysterious part. After MUCH experimenting, I discovered input and speaker settings that produced absolutely superb sound, better than anything I've ever heard from my speakers. I thought I'd struck gold, with a $400 receiver that produced sound that was completely satisfactory to my ears. However, my joy was short lived. For some reason, the sound quality seems to vary randomly over time, without changing the settings. At times, it's fabulous, at times good but lacking bass, and other times muddy and bass-heavy (on the same CDs). Perhaps the amp is going bad prematurely, or maybe there's so much programming in this unit that it gets confused and resets itself. At any rate, I've decided to invest in a higher end amp, tuner and CD player, since I've had a taste of the sound my speakers are capable of. I'll relegate the Sony to a lower end home theater function, which is what it's really designed for. I guess you get what you pay for, afterall.

Similar Products Used:

JVC, Kenwood receivers

Makes a great door stop

Doesn't work anymore

Sounded great while it lasted. About a year and a half after i started using it, all sound stopped working. no dts, dolby digital, ANYTHING. now i have to run all the wires to my tv until i save up enough money to buy a receiver that will last me more than two years. SONY stinks!!! also had a sony dvd player that i bought at the same time and that broked after 9 months!!! i'll never buy sony again and they don't stand by their products

Decent amount of inputs and outputs. Good for the price. 2 sub outs. DTS, Dolby, all that good stuff. Cool blue light when you are multichannel decoding. haha

I guess it could have more power :)

This is a nice unit. I have had no trouble. Some people say there are problems with it, but I have not experienced any of these problems.

Sounded damn good for the price

I guess ya get what ya pay for.

Runs HOT Remote is for rocket scientist. Bought this receiver before XMas of 00 and found a minor annoyance of something not working (audible pitch for surround speaker set-up). I decided I could live without it as I wanted to use it right away and didn't want the hastle of shipping it back. All seemed well till recently when all of the front panel buttons quit operating. So 9 mos out of warranty and the whole thing pukes. This is the end of the road for Sony.

Similar Products Used:

Various

Nice receiver when it works. Beware of breaking.

Gets very hot , chassis can burn hands to the touch.

It''s New Years 2001/2002, the people are partying and the subs are punding the dance floor, You have a nice home audio system which includes a Sony STR-DE845 and everyone is having a good time. Then all the music cuts out and all you have is bass from the sub, this is my experience with the unit, I''ve had this unit for over a year now and the final amps blew out in it. This is a great receiver when working but the unit simply produces too much heat, thus components IC601 and other related components that Sony neglects to put heatsinks on to dissipate the heat from the unit. If you are going use this receiver for home use I suggest a huge fan to place on top of the unit.

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Have a Old Skool Harmon Kardon that is still kickin.