Great sound, power beyond what I will use and hopefully longevitity

None so far...

Ok I hope this is the final review for me for a while... the Harman Kardon bought in 72 is still rocking in the garage next was a Kenwood Pro logic that lasted about 3 years then the rear speakers started Popping and going out. I figured go with Sony so I picked up a DE-515 at Sears for $249 on 3-98 right out of the box it showed protect (see review).

Now it gets better I did my research and figured Onkyo was the way to go for a DS575 (see review) went to circuit city and listened to it right next to it was a HK avr300 (see review). Needless to say both went back.....!

I now learned about the Sony DB830 what a machine I now feel that my Bose 201 front and VSC10 center JBL rears and my new Velodyne CT100 sub have plenty of power ( I never get past 3 1/2 on the volume dial) the Dsp sound fields are great althought I have settled on Cinema exb is the way to go for my taste but the others are also usable. Considering the Sony DE series reputation and problems it seems the Sony DB series is the way to go. For clarity of sound and power buy this one.....Why not spend $100 more than a DE and get Fantastic Sound....

Good luck out there!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Harman Kardon bought in 1972, a HK AVR 300, Kenwood, Sony DE515 and an Onkyo ds575

clean, tight, quiet. Loud as hell.

EQ could be a little more accessible

Excellent deal. Probably the best value in the Sony line. Very quiet, warm sounding and fun to operate. Nice programmable remote and good front panel display. Reccomend this one for anyone not wanting to spend enough to get into the ES line. But, its not like this one is a big compromise. One of the best Sony products I have ever owned. Doesn't geal really warm, either.

Similar Products Used:

most of the Sony STr line

Great styling, Lots of features

Remote

Just picked this up at GoodGuys as a discontinued model for $299.00 total including a 5 yr warranty. Can beat that price . If you live around the LA area I suggest you pick up one these for the price fast. Why spend hundreds more. Always buy second generation and save. Unless something new comes out that sets the standard. Now I can afford to spend more on better speakers. Remote I think is better than the LCD one. LCD unit eats batteries and is slow to react to commands.

Dolby Digital, DTS, Power, S-VHS inputs/outputs, digital and coax inputs....

remote...but like another reviewer below says - you get used to it after a while (it's not so bad).

I placed a review here for my first db830 back in October of '99. The right rear(surround) output was noisy for the 1st 10 minutes before the unit warmed up..I sent it back to Sony where they kept it for a month. They then shipped me a new unit which has worked without any problems. This is most likely the best AV receiver for the money one can get. I'm extremely happy with the new unit.

features, DD, DTS, nice to have to impress people

remote (cover broke off),

I have had this unit since october after i brought the 835 back because it was worthless. this one worked fine and all my friends could just stare at it in awe. i bought it from a local sony es dealership, and as i learned they proved to be completely unreliable. i had some CV's hooked up but they sucked so i bougt some MB Quart QL C200's for up front and a D1200Sl sub (which took over 4 months to deliver eventhough the dealer said 2 weeks at the most garaunteed, but anyways back to the unreliable Sony). it is a good product though. i was impressed with the sound quality eventhough i have a crappy sony cdp-de335 cd player hooked up to the optical dvd input.
but the remote flip up panel broke off, the tuner doesnt work, there is a short in the right CD input, and just today i was listenin to some ouse of pain at fairly low levels and it said "protector" on the panel and the right speaker doesnt work and the left one sounds bad so theres a short somewhere.
im sure i just got a bad one, but thanks to sony's 2 year warranty, its all good
its a nice receiver except for a few things, but i think i must have gotten a bad one. it can be fixed
and because of sony's repair department, its terrible. therefore this receiver gets 4 stars for overall rating. 5 for value because its an amazing receiver for under $450

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DE835

Power, 5.1 Decoder, Design

Remote

I researched buying this reciever and other Sony's for about three months before making up my mind. I have owned an Aiwa shelf system where the CD player went (heard that's very common) and was not about to go with anything that might not last. I didn't have a lot of money to spend so I was looking for something with all the options I wanted. Actually got a great deal at J&R Msic in Manhattan, talked the guy to $350. This has those and more. Lots of power!!! I have Polk RT800 speakers, when turned to about 3 on the volume, there will be no conversations in the room. Granted I have it in a 20 x 15 room. Just hooked up the DTS and love all the sound fields reciever offers. Takes a lot of instruction reading and play time to get it to sound the way you like but its worth it. Watched scream three the other night and blew me away when you here those footsteps coming up from behind.

The one drawback is the remote. Works fine but is missing a few functions. I have a Sony cd player yet the receiver remote does not have the suffle/continue buttons. Plus the night glow is great but you can't read the buttons because its written in green instead of black. There even tough to read during the day.

Over all I am very happy with its perfomance. Love the drop down front door.

Similar Products Used:

Sony

Plenty of power, clear sound and very tweakable. And of course the price!

HISS! IF YOU EXPERIENCE HISS YOU HAVE A DEFECTIVE UNIT WHICH SHOULD BE REPAIRED. READ MORE BELOW !!!

I bought this unit due to all the positive reviews here att Audioreview.com. At first I was going to buy Technics SA-GX930, but I was warned that this unit tended to overheat.

At first I was really happy with the Sony. It had many useful settings and they were all easy to understand. But, but, but, I soon found that there was a terrible hiss. Damn, I thought, I have got myself a defective unit. So, I looked again at Audioreview.com, and found out that I was not alone with this problem...

However, I was so pleased with this Sony, that I didn't just want to return it, but tried to have it repaired instead.

No sooner than said and done, I left it for repairment, but I got it back three weeks later with the not so amusing "no defects found" label on the receipt. To say the least, I was irritated and I immediately phoned a Sony technician who said that THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT ON SOME EARLY MANUFACURED SONY RECEVERS AND SOME COMPONENTS IN THEM HAVE TO BE REPLACED. This also applies to the 930 and some of the cheaper (none QS) series.

I left it for repairment again today, and I really hope that this will help. Of course, I will notify you all about this.

I give this unit three stars now due to the hiss, but if (hopefulle WHEN) the repair succeeds I will give it five stars. Again: IF YOU EXPERIENCE HISS, HAVE IT REPAIRED.

Finally, if you want bass on this unit, use the CINEMA STUDIO EX. A together with +10 dB @ 100Hz on the fronts. This makes my system more "seismic" =).

Similar Products Used:

Good old Technics SA-400K from the mid 80's.