great sound

No a/b, a+b or mute switch

so far, so good.

Great sound, various features. 6.1 decoding at great price.

Not user-friendly remote, take few days to get used to.

Incredible sound in a simple look. I match this receiver with JBL N-38, Bose center+surround, JBL sub, making a quick under $1000 system. The receiver 6.1 feature and more than 10 sound field provide wide range of stuffs to play around with. In its stereo mode for cds, it gives very clear undistorded Jazz and also heavy powerful Rock. Reall impressive.

Sound and headroom is pretty good for the price paid for the unit.

1) Remote. I don't understand why Sony thinks that each one its multi-functional remotes should perform 90% of all of the other functions of the other components it can control except for the most commonly used ones. Each time I buy a Sony product I have to spend a week learning the remote. Now that I have five of them, I guess I'll have to fork up for a Universal. 2) Displays. A little confusing at first, but can be translated after about an hour of toying with the unit.

This is my first receiver purchase and I have to say that I am pleased as of the first week of owning the unit. I have all Sony products (TV, DVD and VHS) and the Boston Acoustics 9000 II speaker set. All cables are Monster XP and flatwire (surrounds) The sound is decent for the price paid. I know that the "ES" series sounds about 10 to 15 percent better but in my mind isn't worth the extra clams. It's a solid unit for those on a budget. Even my buddy who swears by his Denon system with Klipsch speakers (and actually helped me setup) was impressed and was questioning whether or not his setup was worth three times the money of what I spent. As of this review, I have yet to acquire a rear center channel speaker to explore the Dolby 6.1 capabilities but the unit does 5.1 with exceptional realism and clairity across the spectrum.