Price Paid:  $450.00 from Sony Store in outlet

Summary:
I too, just had my rear channels blow out on this model after about 3 yrs. or use. Then the front ones let loose a few weeks later. Before then it had performed adequately with my Bose Surroud theatre speakers. I had bought into the whole "Sony family" concept when buying my DVD player about a year and a half ago so that the components could talk to each other easier. HOWEVER, in light of this breakdown that would have cost $200-$250 to fix, I'm re-evaluating the idea of even buying another Sony product of this caliber.

Strengths:
Many options to adapt system to room environment

Weaknesses:
OUTPUT SECTION TOPPLED ON ALL CHANNELS - NOT WORTH FIXING, EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Mail Order somewhere

Summary:
I bought the Sony as a compromise ... I wanted a Denon receiver. Setup is pretty easy. Sound is a bit bright. The unit has inadequate heat sinks and runs hot. Digital inputs are not switchable and S-video inputs are insufficient for any reasonable home theatre application. Graphical User interface is unique ... NO universal remote can control this receiver. Within 18 months of purchase, my rear channels blew out (I only use moderate loudness levels in my HT). Had the rear amps repaired and bought an outboard cooling fan. Now the left rear amp is blown again. I can't recommend this receiver. It doesn't integrate well with other components, the remote is unique, and its unreliable.

Strengths:
It's got a pretty face, lots of bells and whistles.

Weaknesses:
Rear amps have blown out twice. Remote is unique.

Price Paid:  $1399.00 from Brandsmart

Summary:
The sound Quality from this receiver rivals my Krell amp. On screen menus control everything even high-end abstract pieces. Using now for 2 years and still nothing better has hit the market. A perfect solution for a for an all in one av receiver.

Strengths:
On screen menus, Sound, Detail , Everything

Weaknesses:
no Dts

Similar Products Used:
HK,Krell

Summary:
I GOT THIS RECEIVER FROM J&R FOR $599. SO FAR I LOVE IT . THE DSP SOUNDFIELDS ARE VERY REALISTIC. I LIKE THE ONSCREEN DISPLAY BECAUSE OF IT'S DETAIL. THE ONLY THING I WOULD CHANGE IS THE JOYSTICK REMOTE, AFTER HAVING AN STR-G3 I GOT USED TO THE EGG REMOTE THAT IT HAD.ANOTHER THING I REALLY WISH IT HAD WAS PREOUTS BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE A BIT OF A LACK OF POWER (100wattsx5)WHEN TRYING TO POWER SOME KLH 15'S.YOU CAN'T REALLY GET ANY BETTER FOR THE MONEY AND I THINK IT IS WELL WORTH IT.

Summary:
My primary concern when purchasing a Dolby Digital Receiver was features as opposed to sound quality. For the most part I think this receiver met my needs. The on screen display makes everything much easier to use. Another reviewer mentioned he doesn't want the display over the movie, and I can see that as a concern, but I have found rarely do I need to pull it up while watching a movie - I just make my setting adjustments before the movie, and maybe tweak volume while it's playing (which does not bring up the OSD) Even if I did need to bring it up during the movie, I have found it not to be a big deal, but I guess that's me. Within the OSD there are many great features and settings - one thing I had a problem with was the macro feature, which was almost, but not quite what I needed. Because the composite is not routed thru the S-Video, I found that I could not hook up the DVD player thru the receiver S-Video and the VCR thru the receiver composite, so I planned to run the VCR thru the receiver and have the Svid cable go from the DVDplayer to the TV directly. The problem with this is every time I want to watch a DVD, I have to switch to that function on the receiver AND pick up the TV remote and switch to a different input (for the svideo). I tried for days to figure out a clever way of getting the macro stuff to work and switch it to the proper input when I push the DVD button on the receiever remote, and switch back to the other input when on the VCR function. couldn't quite do it.. Other than that, I think the sound quality is decent - I could have probably paid more money for a receiver with half the features and slightly better sound quality, but I would have barely noticed it - the features I notice.