Price Paid:  $100.00 from Ebay

Summary:
This is a good all around surround reciever that has everything to do the job.

Strengths:
Heavy duty construction (it weighs over 30 lbs), the pre-amp outs are nice to have for expansion, and a lot of other ES series elements are integrated into it.

Weaknesses:
The amplifier tends to hiss just a little, but you wouldn't notice it unless to put your ear to the speaker.

Price Paid:  $250.00 from Tweeter

Summary:
I bought this receiver a few years ago at half price (originally $500) because Sony had just discontinued it and the store was trying to get rid of the few new leftovers it had.
I bought it mainly for it's multi-channel features for movies, but I do listen to a lot of music as well. I'm not an audiophile (I own CD's, not vinyl) but the music reproduction has been very good in my opinion. I do not strive to get a completely flat response, but I have learned to tone down the bass and treble quite a bit for the sake of accuracy. This is made easy with the built-in equalizer, which is head and shoulders above any other receivers capabilities (including the current Sony ES line). There are separate bass, treble, and mid-range controls for the front, center, and rear speakers. For each you can adjust the boost/attenuation level and pick the frequency you want it to affect. The equalizer applies a bell curve effect to the surrounding frequencies. The result is a very customizable way to get the sound you want from your speakers. This feature is customizable for all of the music/movie processor settings. Speaker volume levels are adjustable in 1dB increments. For music I primarilly use the Small Hall DSP setting. The use of the rear speakers for reverb in this mode gives the music a fuller sound. The reason this works well is because you can adjust the amount of reverb it contributes and how long the reverb time is (as well as the amount of the overall processing that it does). If done properly, you can simulate a wide soundstage from average front speakers by making very slight use of the rear speakers; the effect is quite natural and convincing. The other music DSP modes are pretty useless.
For movies, I absolutely love Sony's Cinema A mode. When decoding 5.1 movie soundtracks using the standard Dolby Digital/ dts decoding chip, the sound is very good, but somewhat localized (you know that you got only 2 rear speakers). Since movie theaters have multiple surround speakers, Cinema A mode (and Cinema B and Cinema C) uses a separate chip to simulate one of Sony's three soundstage theaters at Sony Studios. The result is a very convincing reproduction of multiple surround speakers that truly gives you a full 360 degree wall of sound (even without a rear center channel speaker). No bogus colorization here to make the sound better, just an effect use of Sony technology.
This receiver is filled with loads of other useful features such as speaker distance compensation, variable speaker crossover frequencies if you set your speakers to "Small" and use a subwoofer, specifiable location of surround speakers, etc. Overall a very good receiver that I wouldn't want to part with. The remote looks cool, but its ergonomics absolutely suck...by a good universal remote. I use the Sony RM-AV3000.

Strengths:
An abundance of customizable settings
Great sound for movies and music
Heavier duty construction; not cheap plastic

Weaknesses:
No 7.1 capabilities
No Dolby Pro Logic II (wasn't around then)
Discontinued

Similar Products Used:
Current system:

VIDEO
Toshiba Cinema Series 32AX60 Television
Toshiba SD-2700 DVD Player
Panasonic Omnivision PV-4569 VCR

AUDIO
Sony STR-DB840 Receiver
Sony CDP-CX355 300-Disc CD Changer
Sony RCD-W3 CD Recorder
Sony TC-K461 Cassette Deck
Sony MZ-R500PC Portable MiniDisc Recorder

SPEAKERS
JBL J900MV Main Speakers
JBL SC305 Center Channel Speaker
JBL J50 Surround Speakers (2)
Infinity Interlude IL100s Subwoofer

ACCESSORIES
Sony RM-AV3000 Remote
Philips F20T12/CW 20 Watt Natural Light fluorescent bulb w/ Rosco N.9 neutral density
filter
SpikeMaster SM-BB8S surge protector & line noise filter

CONNECTIONS
Monster Cable MV2CV component video cable
Monster Cable IDL100 coaxial digital audio cable (for DVD)
Monster Cable MD300 SW subwoofer cable w/ IHPY Y-adapter
Monster Cable ILS100 optical digital audio cable (for CD changer)
Monster Cable ILS100TM Toslink-to-mini optical digital audio cable

12 ga. copper speaker wire for L/R front and center channel speakers
16 ga. copper speaker wire for L/R rear surround speakers

Price Paid:  $160.00 from private sale

Summary:
what can one say about the db840.read ecoustics.com review.the ultimate in surround sound amp.this baby does everything.the price of 160canadian is unheard of.i will never sell this receiver.buy one if you can find one.

Strengths:
the total sound quality.to be able to listen to 6speakers+sub in stereo.dolby digital dts is awesome.

Weaknesses:
the remote.i only use it for volume control.

Similar Products Used:
kenwood vr-407.

Price Paid:  $379.00 from onecall.com

Summary:
after almost 3 years, i can say this has been a great investment. the sound is above average. set up was easy and it still works, the base management system is lacking and the remote is the hardest thing to work with. too bad sony has stopped this line of equi;pment.

Strengths:
sound and reliability

Weaknesses:
remote

Similar Products Used:
older sony, yamaha, and luxman systems

Price Paid:  $420.00 from Fredgaard

Summary:
I think that it is a okay reciver. I havn't discovred any problems when I used it at high volume.

Though it still have some weaknesses. If you put your ear close to the speaker, you can hear some noise from the reciver when it is turned on

Strengths:
Cheap, can play at pretty high volume

Weaknesses:
Remote, noise when turned on, not good for stereo