Price and features

Reliability, noise, slow remote controller

This is my second review of this unit. This unit is not a "Bang for Your Buck" that I thought it was. It does go easy on the "buck" but it has a tendency to go "Bang" after a few months, especially during the hot summer season. The volume control indicator (LED) failed twice but Sony repair service was good. Another worry I have on this unit is that the decoder board, the one with lots of surface mount devices(SMD), has a tendency to momentarily shuts down during hot season or long use. The three voltage regulators on this board get extremely hot. It will BBQ your finger if you touch it. Why did Sony decided to put a little pathetic heatsink on these devices. Some three terminal regulators will turn itself OFF if it gets too hot or the output load is too great. Here's something for everybody to try. The annoying hum at the subwoofer output that I discovered before is actually coming from the AC power supply driving the flourescent display on the front panel. To here the hum, connect the subwoofer output to a trusty decent plain amplifier, not a subwoofer amplifier or another receiver and stay away from those mini-system, and connect an average size speaker, floor standing type would be good, to the plain amplifier and listen for the hum and hisses. I use a pair of 12" speakers and the hum was unbearable. Other brand as listed below that I tried did not suffer this problem. If I disable the unit's front panel display (dimmed it completely) the hum completely disappeared but the hiss remain. Most stereo equipment will have some noise but this one is excessive. Disconnecting the supply to the display will also stop the hum but don't do this for safety reasons and warranty issue. If anybody know any solution to this hum/hiss problem, let me know. Thanks Beside these minor problems, the price and features at the time was still a value for money given the good customer service I had at the repair center, not the Sony helpline I rang for answer. You will need to talk to a technical repair person for honest answer. It seams that heat is the hidden culprit behind the problems associated this this particular model. If this bothers you, go to a different brand, not model. Thanks

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha RXV1000, Pioneer VXD9??, Denon AVR2801, Harman Kardon AVR80(I borrowed these from friends)

For the money this AV reciver was the best bang for the buck in its day

none

Excellent unit with good build qaulity, good stereo + surround, inputs galore, excellent price

Similar Products Used:

DB1070

power consuption,can be set up with 4 fronts a-b,or by putting speaker cable splitter,can be used for long periods of time without being bored,too many hookups,soundfields to list

none at this price!

this baby is top of the market quality in any shape way or form,dont touch the grill when left on for too long"its hot".the imaging of video is unbelivebly awesome,the digital inputs have an unbeatable sound hands down!has a full function control that can be programmed as easy as 1,2,3 and can be used to control anything you desire.On one note the f.m. tuning suacks but bass manegment is digital and is tuned in every soundfield or {dsp}.is worth 350.00 and I paid 288.88 for it at the scrath and dent price and was on display.its 110watts are hard to come by.would buy it again in a heartbeat.

Similar Products Used:

onkyo666,sony840

Everything

None

Great receiver!!

PRE-AMP OUTS! B Speakers. Smooth clean sound at real world levels that handles abuse when turned up! S-Video ins/outs. Great cosmetics. Rock solid build. A remote that does just about everything except learn. Be prepared to do some reading to understand it. Still an excellent value compared to the many available out there. If you can find one and 6.1 or Pro-Logic II isn''t your main concern, by this receiver!

Very few. Again, the remote isn''t the best but I''ve had worse. It''s a shame many people out there has problems with theirs but I can''t make any REAL claims of disatisfaction. There are NO weaknesses. It does everything you want and more.

By today standards, this receiver is considered "old" but after living with this unit for over 2 years, I thought that leaving my comments about it could do no harm. To begin with, WOW! There are a lot of people who own this receiver (according to this website) and that''s saying alot when you consider that Sony mentions little about it on their website. I picked this up from One Call in early January 2000 to replace a fairly new Sony STR-DE925. The features this one has is similar to the 925 which made set up easier. For the novice, all I can say is read the manual...closely. Alot of questions an be answered by reading it. SOUND QUALITY: This box has it in spades. I completely understand all of you who have found this box to be less than excellent but like everything out there, there''s always a few bad units in every production line. Take it back to where you bought it and insist on a new one until you''re satisfied because this box does SATISFY! But the real question is, what does it take to be satisfied? Considering the price-point this receiver goes for, I''m amazed that most of the folks who are complaining are one''s who shouldn''t be buying a 400.00 receiver for mega systems anyway! This box was meant for us who travel the middle of the road, who want more than the cheap stuff but can''t (or won''t) pay the outrageous prices for high-end. If you buy speakers costing thousands, why would you buy this anyway? Still, even your complaints deserve notice and I agree that my unit does have the hiss problem in the AFD & Surround Modes too. I called Sony about it immediately in January 2000 and they seemed defensive about it, or pretended to not understand my complaint at all! I can say that I only notice it when I turn up the volume to extremely LOUD levels (11 o''clock or higher) and at those levels, Ted Nugent is the only thing louder. At realistic levels, the hiss is no problem at all. My Yamaha is clean but contains hiss as well when turned way up so is it both receivers or the Surround Modes contained within? Who knows? When I recently added the Sony DVP-NS700P DVD player to my system, the hiss disappeared completely. Is that a testament to the DVD player or the receiver? Again, who knows? All I can say is for the money, this box sounds better than most 400.00 receivers out there and as good as some priced way higher. If Sony went

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Yamaha RX-V850

fabulous sound, ample power, plenty of inputs

remote manual is complex and hard to learn

I have upgraded from a basic audio only Technics receiver and am using a pair of old, inexpensive Pioneer speakers (which I plan to upgrade). The difference in sound using the SONY receiver is amazing. Right now I am running my TV-cable sound through the receiver, and there is a world of difference in the performance of the speakers. I still have not figured out how to use all of the input and output termanals. I think this is a great receiver, especially for
the price.

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old Technics audio only receiver

I have found this to be a great receiver. I love everything about it except that whenever I watch a move of of dss or a vhs tape, the background sounds are excellent and loud but the on screen diologue can barely be heard. I have tried adjusting every setting I can think of with no luck. Otherwise this is a great receiver.

If anyone has had this problem or can give me any tips, your input would be greatly appreciated. You can either post it or email me at samishalash@home.com
Thanks in advance!

Similar Products Used:

sony strde935, de725

Clean,strong amplification.

Remote does not allow complete control over other name brands. Good backlit learning remote wouold be appreciated.

Home Theater can be a very costly business. What started as a hobby, ended up in buying seperate amplifiers for each channel and continual upgrades of all equipment. Just before I upgraded to D/Digital, I was running McIntosh Amp//Preamp for front B&W 603'S. H/K AVI 200 Amp for the rear B&W DS6 THX's and H/K PA 2100 Signature amp for the centre channel B&W CC6. Sub is Definitive Technology PF 15. The time came for upgrading to D/Digital and the thought of one amplifier giving me the type of sound that I was used to was rather disconcerting. Music is a very essential part of my life and I have found that most A/V amplifiers, fall down in this department. I listen to music ranging from Crosby, Stills to Rage against the machine.
This amplifier has made me take out Vinyl and cd's that I have not listened to in ages and listen to them anew.
What a great amplifier. The best price I could find in South Africa was R5150.00 equivalent to U.S. $850. It sells
for $1000 in most stores. Even at this price, this amplifier is really a pleasure to listen to.

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H/KAVI 200 Prologic only

Good construction, Great sound, Lots of features and
hookups. Remote controls my Sony Tape deck and DVD player

Manuals, especially the remote manual. Still haven't
figured out everything.

I bought Sony's STR-DB 930 after
reading all the great reviews from this page. I am extremely
happy that I did. Sony STR-DB 930 sounds great and compared
to my Kenwood VR-309 unit, it was a world of difference.
I can hear certain instruments that was not even audible in Kenwood. The sound is clean and rich. Bass is great and the
Dolby Digital 5.1 movies sounds awesome.
I was not a Sony believer prior to this, but now I would recommend this receiver to any one.

I got mine from Crutchfield, even though the price was $599. I know I would have gotten it about $150 cheaper but didn't want to take the chance and hassles of costly shipping back and forth if I was not satisfied. Crutchfield have 30 days no questions asked free return shipping, and
they are Sony Authorized dealer.


The other components in my system are as follows :
1. Sony DVP 650D,
2. Sony Cassette Deck Sony ES TC-WA7ESA
3. Infinity RS-5 (for speaker B - for music)
4. Cambridge Soundworks MovieWorks II 5.1
speaker system with BassCube 10 (for speaker A -for
movies)

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood VR-309

Plenty of features to suit most everyone's needs and preferences, unique 2-way remote.

High learning curve for the receiver and the remote.

Finally retired my 7-year old Sony Pro-logic Receiver, which has been a reliable and excellent performer. Chose this model after fairly extensive research for the last 3 months via the web, magazines and visits to audio stores. Other Receivers compared include models from Yamaha, Denon, Pioneer Elite, that are under $800 list. The Sony DB line offers the best quality, performance and price trade-off between the high-end ES line and low-end DE line - the "B" in DB apparently stands for "bridged". Paid $409 from One Call, which I highly recommend - good price and service. Had to spend several days learning the features and making adjustments to maximize the listening experience, especially with DVD movies. Many people commented negatively about the remote. As a techie, I find it innovative and powerful, but certainly not very intuitive.