I agree with others regarding value and features for the price. However I may be returning mine or at least replacing it for the following problem. My Right Surround output is consistently lower volume then the left. It is not the speaker or any shorts, etc. Test tone sounds balanced but actual listening imbalance persists. Also, I get buzzing noise from this speaker (Rt Sur) when I operate volume control. No big deal on this one, but if this is normal, there should have been better shielding for the volume servo. On that subject, the volume servo should allow finer adjustment like the Yamaha’s. I would like to make finer adjustments at the lower volume levels using the remote. I do like the remote better than Sony’s Two-way remotes which are slower than molasses in January. However, how do you like the choice of green lettering on the white function keys – can’t hardly make them out – crazy. Doesn’t matter – I’ve transferred them to my Marantz 2000. The remote needs a dedicated Woofer level button like the JVC’s. It needs a front/back fader like the Denon’s. Also, it needs more 3ch modes (Lt Front-Center-Rt Front) for those times your just listening to stereo or mono TV and you want good output through all three front channels. A good simple Matrix mode with user adjustable delay would be nice. I’d like to know if any others are having the surround speaker imbalance and buzzing I described above.

To tell the truth - after researching for days, here and other places, I had decided after reading some very negative reviews that I was going to stay away from Sony this time around. When all was said and done my financial situation dictated and more or less forced me to choose between the STRDE835 or the STRDE935. I chose the STRDE835 and now am thanking God I did. I really cannot see how anything could sound any better than this - to my ears that is - - - I replaced a 7 year old Dolby Pro Logic A/V Receiver with this unit and debated that too because I knew I could not even listen to DVDs yet because would be some time till could afford a DVD Player. BUT even the DPL Surround is MUCH more DYNAMIC. I thought my previous receiver was great BUT I now here Highs and Lows and SEPARATION like NEVER before. This is ALOT of A/V Receiver for the money!! I LOVE mine!

this receiver kicks butt

When I first purchased the Sony STR-DE 835, I thought I had found a great deal. I had no problems for the first ten days. On the eleventh day, the subwoofer output died. Back it went to Best Buy, in exchange for another. The second unit had severe distortion in the surround speakers, and a bad tuner. Once again, back I went, and exchanged it for another 835. I got it all hooked up, crossed my fingers, and fired it up. This unit had a bad amplifier section in all five channels! The sound had no punch to it, and music and movies sounded very distorted, even at very low volume levels. For the third time in as many days, I stood in the neverending return line at Best Buy. I listened to the Yamaha's they had, and was not impressed.I went to Circuit City, on a lark, to listen to the new Onkyo TX-DS 575. What a difference in sound and build quality compared to the Sony! I gave up s-video inputs, but it was WELL worth it. I've had the Onkyo for almost a month, and I have nothing negative to say about this unit. The Onkyo is simply the best deal you can find in it's price range-clean and powerful sound for both music and digital surround sound.
If you want a unit that has a lot of inputs, but ok to lousey sound and build quality, get the Sony. If you're looking for great sound quality, and solid build quality, and can live without s-video (or buy a separate switch box), go with the Onkyo TX-DS 575.

Purchased from Good Guys for $379 (price match w/ Best Buy) and went soley on my good experience with 2 previous Sony receiver/amps. This one I thought too was great when I first got it. It was my first DD/DTS system and I was really impressed with the sound and the features. Also purchased a Sony DVD with it so I was "Mr. Sony".
However when playing DVD movies with DD, I noticed that the center and rear speakers had a hard time keeping up with the sound levels coming from the mains. I compensated by turning them up all the way but then the center was too loud and the rears didn't get much improvement. I shrugged off the problem 'cause I was such a Sony devotee.

Then I started reading reviews at this site. Boy was I suprized! I didn't realize that so many problems were being reported, and some of them I'd experienced (like the excessive heat and the DD sound from the center and rears). Then I experienced other problems (see my review on the JBL TLX-181 speakers) so I traded the Sony in for a Yamaha RX-V595a. (The people at Good Guys/Maryland Pky. were very understanding on the trade-in. The Sony was 2.5 months old and well beyond the 30-day trial period. They took the Sony in for full credit and I purchased the Yamaha. Also, the guy that was helping me was very knowledgable and a pleasure to work with).

The Yamaha kicks butt for movie sound and really highlighted the problems with the Sony. I haven't had a chance to check out the music side of it yet, but I was really impressed by the clearity of the rear and center channels.

Also, while debugging problems with the sound from my main speakers, I was running 2 pair of speakers: the mains and the 2 Home Theater speakers (JBL SCS125) and the unit would dump at about 5.5 on the volume with the Protection error (turns out this happens on the Yamaha too, to which the guy at Good Guys says "you need more power").

I'm off Sony now (i.e. the "General Electric" of consumer electronics) and give it a 3 'cause I'm just disappointed with it. For about $125 more I feel like I got a "real" receiver in the Yamaha and I'm much happier (that is until I get my main speakers back from the shop and have a chance to put the Yamaha through it's paces!)

I bought this unit a couple of months ago. I have watched many dvds since then and have found no problems with the unit. For the price I paid, I am very happy.

For the money the 835 is probably the best Dolby Digital receiver on the market. I have owned this receiver for two months and have had absolutely no problems with this model. This unit replaced my old, $800, Sony 900 ES Dolby Prologic receiver and it out performs my old receiver in every way, shape, and form. It has all the bells and whistles that you would ever need and I bought it delivered for $326 from ONE CALL. Who would of thought that you get so much for so little. I’d give the 835 10 stars if I could.

Upon initial listening test with the Sony, I was disappointed. The sound was dull, flat, and lifeless with both 2 channel material, and Digital. HOWEVER, after figuring how to use the built-in EQ, and other settings, I used them to mate the reciever better with my components (of which are also all Sony) and speakers. After this was done, the sound was WOW! The settings and their parameters does take getting used to, and also, it does take some time to get the settings just right, but it IS imperative to get the best sound. So far I have done extensive listening tests with both music and movie material, and and (esp. for the price of $329 from Video-Direct.com) and am very impressed with the sound dynamics, and quality overall (though sometimes it is "bright" sounding on certain material, but this may be due to the material.) In researching how I should setup the EQ, I found that this receiver likes for you to set the eq up in concordance with your speakers' crossover points for bass, mid, and treble (for 3-way speakers). When I found out what these points were for my 2-way monitors (2800 Hz) I adjusted all parameters around this, appropriately (which at times, only LONG listening tests can do.) I also found the DSP (which I usually hate) very convincing, but only in a few modes. My definite favorite is the "Virtual Multi-Dimension" mode, which simulates having 5 pr. or rear speakers instead of 1, and also it tends to "open" the sound up a lot more. This ALSO works well with CERTAIN music VERY WELL (i.e. Techno.)I never had any problems with overheating... as long as the unit is properly placed in a well ventilated area, you shouldn't either. NOTE: IF THIS UNIT RUNS HOT DUE TO PLACEMENT, THE SOUND WILL SUCK TOO, AS WITH ALL RECIEVERS!
Yes, there are better units out there than this, and accordingly, you will also pay for them. Overall, with price/performance ratio in mind, this receiver CANNOT be beat! (and I've heard many!)If you have problems with bad sound quality from this reciever, then the problem is either you have a defective unit that needs to be replaced, OR you do not have it setup to its best potential with your components/speakers (or you have sucky components or speakers.) GO SONY!

Fortunately, I still haven't experienced most of the troubling problems some other users of the Sony DE835 have posted. And regarding the mysterious "humm" that some other reported, I have to say that maybe they should check their speaker connections, because my DE835 produces an impecably clean sound in both stereo and processed surround modes.
So far I am quite happy with this model. It has the greatest number of features and other goodies for the price. The Dolby Digital and DTS processing are quite impressive (I have my Toshiba DVD player connected through optical cable) and reproduces both DD and DTS movies with a life-like fidelity. Also impressive is the array of surround modes available through its 32 bit DSP processor. I have only seen these many features in receivers that cost twice as much.

I tested at home and ended up returning similar models by Kenwood, Pioneer and Technics. None of them offered these many features and sound quality.
The only areas that I though Sony needs to improve on this model are the following:

- Bass: I don't seem to get a lot of juice from the sub-woofer connection. I actually needed to raise the volume level on my powered subwoofer to balance the low frequencies.

- It gets too hot! Like many other users, I also noticed that it easily gets burning hot after a good 30 minutes of use. It worries me and would like to know from other users if I should return the unit. It scares me a bit!

- Graphical interface: The only feature this model lacks! I know I should not ask too much for the price of this unit, but more affordable Kenwood models come with a graphical GUI that you can use through your TV monitor.

If it wasn't for how hot it gets, I would give this unit 5 stars. Other than that, it's a fine piece of equipment.

JS

- Number of features for the money.
- Excellent DTS and DD decoders.
- Awesome 32bit processing environments.
- Amount of back panel connections (digital and analog)

- Gets too hot after using it for two hours on DD or DTS modes.

This receiver performs quite well and has features only available to machines twice as expensive. the sound is very clean and DD/DTS decoding is, in my opinion, superb.
I have compared side to side the acclaimed Sony 830 with this machine and found the quality on both machines to be quite similar.

I noticed that it gets quite hot after whatching a DVD movie on DD or DTS. Other than that, it's am quite happy with it, and I think it's an awesome deal for your buck. In particular, the 32bit sound environments is a quite impressive feature. You have to hear it to believe it. They beat by a long, long shot the few 24bit sound environments on the JVC RX-888.
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PS: I just read that other folks got defective units of this same model. I sadden to read similar Quality Control problems with other Sony products this year. Sony needs to get their act together, and needs to hear strongly worded letters from dissapointed customers. If your 835 unit was defective, return it and get a good one. Mine it's been working quite fine from day one. Hope it stays that way!

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 575, JVC RX-888