Design, amplifier, flexibility, many "bells & Whistles"

Remote

This unit replaces an ancient JVC receiver I got for my 16th birthday in 1976. Upon receipt I was impressed by the various capabilities and functions provided. The design is attractive and the front panel inputs are handy. The amp and overall technical design appears quite superior to it's sister product, the STR-DE835. Setup was straightforward in terms of connections, however, being a re-born enthusiast, I thoroughly enjoyed the ability to tweak each variable in the setup, from the EQ function, to adjusting the delay for the rear speakers. The remote does not excite me, which is why I purchased the DB830 instead of the DB930 as I intend to purchase a 3rd party 'learning' remote in the near future.

All in all I'm pleased, like the quality, and would reccommend this to a friend.

Similar Products Used:

Sonty STR-DE835

Multi-function unit for home theater; built-in decoders; lots of features.

Bad sound if used primarily for music.

I bought this at Good Guys for $499, realizing I was not getting high-end equipment, but I mostly wanted to use it as a pre-amp unit (coupled with my Carver amp and Carver AL-III speakers) with built-in DD/dts decoders. Well, I never even watched a movie on it... because after about 8 frustrating hours of tweaking and adjusting while listening to CDs, I still thought the sound was abominable! The phony "sound fields" like "hall", "jazz club", and "church" were pathetic, and just added echos, reverb, and "effects" to the music, wildly distording it (in my opinion). The cleanest sound could be achieved on "2-channel stereo" mode, but even with equilizer adjustments (built in) I could not find a clean sound for music that I was happy with. I put it back in the box and hooked back up my 12-year old Yamaho 220 watt amp, for a true, clean sound. I'm in the process of upgrading, but this Sony was a Downgrade!
I am normally a fan of Sony products, but I know they DON'T make high-end audio equipment, so I should have known better. If you want HT, this could be the right unit for you (it looks beautiful too), but if you want MUSIC, steer clear! My own usage is 95% music, 5% HT.
I'm giving it a generous 4 stars, since I know that I wasn't really using it for the proper application.

Guys go and buy this receiver it's great value for your money and plethora of functions, connections plus GREAT sound.

solid build, high quality circuit, ready for just about everything plus price, gold plated inputs.

remote hard to read

I bought this because it was time to upgrade from my yamaha pro logic. I wanted both dd plus dts with good sound and and quality for the money. From all you good folks who posted reviews for the db930 and db830 I decided to go with the 830. It was $357 including shipping from One Call. After listening to it I can tell you that nothing under $500 will touch this reciever except the db930. When you add in the fact that I paid only $357 total, this STR DB830 is a steal in anyones book. Surroud decoder is first rate, ample power for almost anyone and your dog definitly will not want you to turn this up to full power.

AWSOME SOUND! Plenty of choices for tweaking a system to perfection!
Infinate soundfield choices for customizing you home theater to your pleasure!

just the remote, sub outout a little dirty but nothing that a quality cord can fix!

This an update of a previous post.
I have had this unit about two weeks now and I am really satisfied! I am using the two sub outputs one for a massive subwoofer That I custom built and another that I installed inside my couch! Needless to say the KICK that I get from from the subs is incredible!
When people come over and watch a horror or action movie it is like they are sitting in an electric chair! You can feel the explosions down the back of your spine! I love it when people scream when they are not expecting it!

I finaly viewed "The Matrix" for the first time in digital. In the first scene when Trinity jumps into the air is A SIMPLY AWESOME EXPIERENCE! You feel the room pulsate violenty with an awesome low vibration that you can feel on the floor and in your chest!
A pal who came over to check out my system commented "how the hell did you you do that?" It is simple, when you buy the reciver that is just step one. The second step is to "tweak it". The last step is to know what sound you are looking for. In my case I had to change crosovers and build my custom subwoofers because I auditioned THE BEST AND THE BEST WERE NOT GOOD ENOUGH! I like having full control over my sound and the 930 lets you do just that....from controling the mid's treble & bass for ALL OF ALL OF YOUR SPEAKERS NOT JUST THE FRONTS....to the reciver remembering the different modes that you like best.

There is allot of untapped sound in these digital tracks it is up to you to find it .....DO NOT BE AFRAID TO BREAK THE RULES OF DOLBY!! YOU WILL BE PLEASANTLY PLEASED!! And remember that Dolby is just a starting point.

This reciver is a tinkerer's dream come true!!!!

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Denon

Plenty of cool SPACIOUS surround modes...also plenty of power, clarity of amps, captures a REAL THEATER AND PUTS IT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!

DID ANY ONE MENTION THE REMOTE?:)

I Just got this reciver today! Hookup was easy. The sound is crystal clear.There is plenty of power in this baby!
I have a small home theater (12x14) with a 130 inch Draper screen with a Zenith PROJO setup, and WOW does this reciver make my living room sound like it is 50x100 ft. long! If you have a small theater THIS WILL MAKE YOUR ROOM SOUND MASSIVE! After about 3 hours of tweaking (my pleasure of course!) I finally got the subwoofer to sound the way i like it.Tomorrow I will tweak the rest of the speakers and the room to get it just right.

If you like soundfields then you should check out this bargain steal.My current fav is the night theater mode (it is scary...the walls seem to fall away and you are in your own massive Roxy and that is just pro-logic!)

I will post another update later .PS THIS RECIVER TAKES ALLOT OF PLAYING AROUND WITH TO GET THE SOUND JUST RIGHT! (my pleasure of course):)

Similar Products Used:

YAMAHA, DENON

Features, Price

Great, simply great. You can't beat this one for the features and it's price tag!

Too many to list in this few lines!

For you people who want to have a descent point of view, please go down to the local HiFi store and check this receiver. I did the same thing and comparing it with other receivers in it's category it is the best you can buy. You know the rulE "you get what you pay for". If you want the best then go for the Sony ES line or go for the Yamaha DSP-A1. Forget Onkyo since most of their receivers have a stupid hiss problem. I give it a 5. Check it out for yourselves. You just might have a different taste or ears than mine. Always check something out before you buy and compare it with as much products as you can. It took for me 2 weeks until i decided to get this one! Do the same if you have time!

lots of inputs/outputs
decent sound for the money

as others have mentioned, inadequate quality control

Hello again, this is a follow-up to my post from several weeks ago. I'm sad to report my Sony 830 just up and died last week. Back it went, and I went back to the Yamaha 795a. I have to agree with Tom when he says that although the Sony has a lot of options, none of this matters if the quality control sucks! I wouldn't bash Sony entirely, as others have done, but I must say I am very disappointed in Sony products as of late. If Sony ever gets the QC problems fixed, this would be a pretty good receiver if you're looking for mediocre sound.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TX-DS 575
Yamaha RX-V 795a

Great sound, design and price

Too many un-usefull soundfields.

At this price (550 $ in Denmark) it's worth it. Great sound with many posibilities.