Great sound, easy hook up

no graphic display for eq. confusing remote

There's a lot of bang for the buck with this receiver! I tried out a another Sony and a Kenwood model before purchasing this one. I'm glad I went through the hassle of retuning the others because this thing rocks! Whether I'm watching movies or just listening to music, the sound quality is there.
Some patience is required for learning how to the remote. I think the manuals could have been written a little better. After some trial and error, I find the remote to be a good companion to my whole system.
If you're wanting a real good receiver for a good price, go with this one.

For those that Emailed me, the 333 was purchased from Audioo Video City in Santa Monica for $749, they had a limited supply and I was on a short list for the past 6 weeks.
Glad I have the DTS and the 5.1 external inputs and the S-video. Also the Denon remote really sucks, it seems 10 years old.

I haven't had time to really suss it out (work and school) but the build quality is solid, and the manuals are complete and concise. (Much, Much, Much better than the Denon docs). There is alot to take in!

I'll try to update this review soon. Your patience is appreciated. 5 stars so far.

Gosh, I hate the remote!
The 333 rocks. Great sound. Great features. Mucho delay when switching between DTS and anything else.

I like this reciever alot.

More updates coming...I'd be happy to answer SPECIFIC questions.

Called SoundCity on June 3, 1999 to inquire about 333ES availability. Matthew at SoundCity read a recently received memo stating that the 333ES is suffering from quality control problems and production has been discontinued until further notice. No other information was given to me during the phone call.
I would like to purchase this receiver so any additional information as to when the quality control issue is resolved would be appreciated.

Purchased the reciever on saturday June 5th. I think I was the First in Austin to bring one home. A&B Tv had approx 3 dz. and hadn't heard off any quality control problems. The reciever is very nice. I am upgrading from sony prologic reciever about 5 years old. This is a big upgrade. The dolby digital is wonderful. Beats Prologic hands down. The reciever works logially similar to the old reciever. this made set up easier to figure out. the number of sound settings was not too confsing after reading about them in the manual. Have not tried the DTS yet but hope to soon. The remote is much smarter than the previous recievers remote. Not really as easy to use quickly. Must have some interaction to use the remote. The old one was as easy to see where the button was and turn it on, could turn the system on or off with out really looking.
I am alittle disapointed that it did not have an S-Link bus on it. The control AII bus is alittle confusing because I have not heard of it before. I was looking forward to using the S-Link. I guess I will have to wait for the TV to be upgrade to use it.

The sound on the amp is very good. The AC-3 is nice to be able to understand what they are saying without playing with the volume. Music plays well an am very pleased.

My 333 came in today, and I hope to post a review tomorrow!
It replaces a Denon 1700, and I'm using it with a Toshiba 3109 and Klipsch 1.1s and KSC-1.

Wish me luck!

5 stars for now since I'm first on my block but we'll see come the review.

Just put in a DTS DVD in My sony 550D DVD Player and there was no delay in switching. I have it set on Auto Scensing and it switched as fast as it does with AC-3. Very happy with the sound.

Just got my 333 on Friday, June 4. I had it 2-day shipped from a dealer in Georgia for $575. Sure beats $799.
In my humble opinion, for the price this receiver is excellent. The menu system is extremely simple and easily programmed. Setup was a breeze and I didn't have to reference the manual often. The remote is nice, but a little slow at times waiting to download info from the main unit. It is the easiest programmable remote I have every used. My wife picked up using it in 5 minutes, without the manual. It works all of my equipment pretty easily, with only a few exceptions.

My Sony DVP-S7000 sounds great now, especially with the Coax input. There is ample power, especially effortless for sat/sub systems and the decoder seems accurate. Power-wise, I'm not sorry I didn't get the 50/555. There are more sound fields than I will ever need and they have some really great sounding effects.

Another nice feature is all of the PRE-AMP IN/OUTS for each of the 5.1 channels in case I ever want to hook up another decoder. I have it hooked up to a Klipsch 100W Sub and the Definitive Technology Pro Cinema 100's. It really fills the room and allows for simple customization of speaker placement.

I also am a little disappointed about the removal of the S-link bus, although I'm not sure exactly what it would allow me to do on this system since I don't have a Sony Megachanger yet. The A1 control, supposedly allows downloads of CD Memos to the receiver and then to the remote display. I'd like to hear from someone, who has this in action.

I am sure I could have paid a lot more for a lot less.

Finally, If I had it to buy it again, DEFINITELY!!

Feel free to write with questions: wb74420@glaxowellcome.com

The DA333ES arrived three days ago, and I've had plenty of time to check it out. Prior to the 333ES I had a Pioneer VSX-9700S that was eight or nine years old. It was Pro-Logic only, and I wanted to make the jump to a Dolby Digital and DTS receiver.
Rear panel hookups:

4 Video/Audio w/ S-video -- 2 with VCR inputs
1 Video/Audio w/ S-video on front of unit
4 Audio -- 2 with Tape/MD/DAT inputs
1 Coaxial digital input for DVD/LD
4 Optical digital inputs
1 Optical digital output
FM and AM antenna jacks
Monitor Video Out RCA and S-video
Control A1 II jack
5.1 Channel Inputs
Pre-Outs for all channels (it has 2 woofer outs)
2 switched AC outlets
Speaker terminals for 5 channels as well as an additional set for 2 more front speakers.
4ohm/8ohm selector switch.

I should note that the digital inputs can't be re-assigned to other components. If they can be, I didn't see it in the manual.

Set-up was not a problem. I've heard people complain about the documentation with the 30 and 50ES receivers. I don't know if this manual is new, but it did a decent job. I also have the S330 DVD player, and its manual is a mess.

The remote appears to be the same one that comes with the 925 and 30ES. It is not a learning remote, but it can control many different brands of components. I was easily able to use it to control a Panasonic VCR, Sony CD player, DVD player, Toshiba TV and Pioneer LD player. The remote has a small LCD screen for menu display. If there is not a button for a particular control then you can scroll through a menu list to select it. Fortunately the basic controls have buttons, and I only had to go into the scroll list for obscure controls. If you have a component that has an often-used function in the list, it could get to be a pain. As far as controlling the receiver itself, I had no problems. There are some controls, such as arrow selection buttons, behind a flip-down panel on the remote. These are only for initial setup and probably won't see much use. One caveat: if you want to control your DSS (I no longer have one) you will have to access these behind-the-panel buttons.

As far as sound goes, I like it, but I think everyone should make their own decision before they make a purchase. I mail-ordered my receiver sight unseen, or should I say ears unheard, based on listening to the 30ES. I was able to use Dolby Digital and DTS source material. WOW!! DTS sent me their #3 demo disc and a demo CD. My favorites are Dragonheart and the DTS logo. Both DD and DTS are much better than Pro-Logic. The 333ES also does a better job at Pro-Logic than my old receiver.

Some of the features I like:

Front/center/rear can be adjusted independently for bass/mid/treble. Front and rear balance can also be set.

You can also, using the eq function, set the level and frequency of bass/mid/treble. For example, you can set the center midrange level to +/-10 dB in 1 dB steps, and you can set the frequency to which the level is applied from 500 Hz to 5.0 kHz in 21 steps.

The receiver has many soundfields. Each one is explained in the manual. I almost never use soundfields, but there is one I like. The "Virtual Multi Rear" soundfield creates a larger soundstage in the rear channels. In my particular setup the rear speakers are directly behind me in a small room. They are also extremely close together (3 ft.). The "Virtual Multi Rear" makes them sound farther apart and slightly to the sides. Some of the soundfield parameters can be adjusted, such as effect level, wall type and reverb.

The receiver also remembers the last sound setting for each component. If you are watching a videocassette with the sound set for Pro-Logic and then watch a 5.1 DVD, when you switch back to the VCR input the sound will be automatically be set to Pro-Logic.

I think the 333ES has a lot going for it. The price is very good as well.

This is a very good DD/DTS unit. I ordered this unit from Uncle stereo mail order and it showed up at my house in a next day ($570.00 includes shipping). I had it for a week and I watched about 10 DVD movies, I really like the unit. The sound fields are good too!. The remote (RM) control(2 way comunication) is very good in my opinion. I was able to use it to control all my audio components(CD player, tape deck, cable box), video components(VCR, DVD player, and Mitsubishi TV), I used to have 4 different type of RM to operate my system (I was not happy with that). You have to read the comand control manual and be VERY PATIENT, when you get use to it you probably like it. I did not experience any difficulty to use the RM control even though I hear bad things about it. I'll give it all five stars.