Awesome Sound Quality Incredible Versatility Easy to setup and control

None

I've owned some of the finest Audiophile equipment made and all things considered this is one of the best. Features galore, incredible sound at all levels and a very reasonable price. Hooked to my JBL Studio 38's with Center Channel, Model 12 Sub Woofer and JBL 1200 series for surround it's nothing short of awesome. The only reason anyone would be less then thrilled is if they try to hang on to obsolete technology as seen in earlier reviews. Mixing this with older equipment is a foolish notion. I have many associates in the A/V industry and they all say that this is "the best overall sound they have ever heard"....needless to say I couldn't be more pleased.

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I home tested systems from Bose, Marantz, Pioneer and Kenwood.

Just two that I can think of. ONe: It weighs little so it's easy to cary to the trashcan. And number two: It is small so it fits into a trashcan easily.

It's WEAK! prefect catagory for this unit.

I have just purchased the STR-DE885. I purchase it due to it's ability to do Dolby Digital. Payed only $129 for a demo unit. I have owned Onkyo stuff and still do but only std pro logic. I wanted to test the Dolby digital before purchasing anything that would be costly. the 885 was hooked up to JBL L150's for front,and JBL 4312's for rear and a Infinity for the center speaker. No sub was used since it sould not be necessary with the big JBL's in the rear. I can move my house with 4 JBL's using the Onkyo's 100 WATTS! Of course that is a real 100 RMS. I have to tell you.. this unit (the885) is the worst thing I have ever used and heard. It touts 100 watts per channel. Ha Ha! What a joke.. My Onkyo is so much better. the 885 has NO base at all ( due to low power I think. The menus system is also junk. To set base and trebble you have to go through many menu's and adjust each group of speakers, and there is base mid,and trebble. If you want to change the any of the levels for a particular CD that you are listening to FORGET IT!! It also is lacking a tape monitor so you can't add a equalizer.. Very poor. They could have one overall control that would do all speakers which works very well. I have already returned this unit for all my money back. I would have taken 20 bucks for it, but they gave me the full 129 back, as I only owned if for two days. I will stick with my old Onkyo for while until I get a new one with the Dolby Digital, I welcomed gtting back to the Onkyo.. (smile)...

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Onkyo now and( one old sony)... should have learned! It was replaced with my Onkyo.

Lots of features. Reasonable sound.

hissing noise (really irritating) when powered on but no input signal. may be affecting real sound while listening music/movie. (didn't test on these).

I bought this receiver for its features and price. It was new unit in sealed box. The first thing I noticed was that when no signal was there, I was still hearing hissing noise from speakers even at low listening volume. To test it, I increased the volume on the knob, and now the sound was louder than my normal listening level. No matter which input channel I use, this was the characteristics. I switched off all connected equipment trough power switch, but the hissing remained. Finally, I connected my 12 year old Marantz unit (it has 110 W/ch power, more than Sony), and I could not hear any hissing noise at all. Same equipments, same speakers! Finally, I returned the unit. BTW, the unit runs really hot too (atleast compared to my 1991 marantz).

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Marantz, Pioneer

A good amount of inputs, A lot of soundfield options, A lot of speaker setup and fine tuning options

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I went to Best Buy planning on getting the STR-DE585 which was $200; then I spotted this beauty as an open-box item for the same price, so I had to get it instead. After hooking it up, it took me awhile to figure out how to get everything working(I didn't get a manual with it), but once I did, I was very pleased. The sound quality is excellent and it has plenty of room to hook up almost anything(4 optical digital in, 1 optical digital out, 2 component video in, 1 component video out, etc.). I would recommend this receiver to everybody.

AWSOME SOUND!! ajustable parameters, BIG bass, awsome!!

The remote takes a wile to get used to... could used to be re-designed. settings can get a little complicated...

I originaly purchased A STR-DE485, and was not totally satisfyed with it. I went back and they sugested this one. Well let me tell you, at 100 watts*5 (6 with pre-amp out) this thing gets loud and stays clear, With my speaker system.(cambridge soundworks newton series MC150 conter, 4 MC100 surround, and a bass cube 8s)I love the ajustable preamp for the sub, it is like dubble amplification, and all sound peramiters are ajustable. Listing to movies in dolby digital and DTS settings are incredible, and with the prologicII decoding, watching tv in non-digital format sounds great as well. If you are into sound quality, but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it, i suggest this reciever.

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Str-de485

Power and feature packed for the money

like others have said, none for the price

For the price, this receiver can't be beat. If your looking to build a small to mid range home theater, I would suggest this receiver. Output is good at a medium listening level but when you crank up the volume it's awesome. It takes some tweaking but it's worth it. Tons of connect options. I pretty much have every type connection in use just to experiment. You don't have to be a audiophile to get this baby running.

Great sound, good remote with other sony components.

None so far.

I have had this product for about a week. Seems to be great for the price I paid, even though I don't have thousands to spend on the higher end units. This receiver has great sound dependig on the speakers and cables used, I reccomend the SR-305's for the mains and center channel. This unit has programmable highs, mids, and lows for each individual speakers which is a plus for audio and video formats that one needs. Overall, I am pleased with this purchase.

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STR-335

-Good/clean sounding amp / GREAT sounding for the money! -Great features, see review for some examples -'Bang for buck' factor -Sony reliability

-Remote isnt that great / hard to use when switching thru compenents (like trying to turn the tv down while on dvd mode) -Too many useless DSP modes, almost always the AFD setting sounds best. -Runs a tad warm, but I have mine in an enclosed rack with hardly ANY if NO ventilation running on 4ohm and it hasnt given me problems after an 8 hour striaght movie marathon at mid to high volume use! So I dont think this is a weakness since all amps produce heat.

Although I dont consider myself an Audiophile simply because I dont have the money for a 50k plus system, I do consider myself knowledgable about audiophile products and sounds...that being said... This reciever has to be the best 'bang for the buck' I've bought. All my components are Sony as well, so Im a tad biased, but not to the point of saying Sony products are the best; because they're not. I would easily rank this reciever with the H/K lineup and the lower end Marantz units (sr5200) because its simply that good. The biggest downfall about the unit is almost ALL the soundfields are useless in my opinion. If you have a great set of speakers, then your going to want the unit set on AFD (auto format decoding) at all times so you dont have alot of useless effects in the sound that arent supposed to be there anyway. The only soundfield(s) I've used are the 2 ch ones, and really I dont use them enough to warrant them being there. Sony should have spent their money on more isolation inside the chassis like in the ES models rather than DSP modes that 98% of consumers will never use. I dont like the remote much either, if my Mitsu remote would change the inputs on the receiver, I'd put the sony one back in the box. This is nothing a HT master remote wont fix though... Some of the best things about the unit is there are several toslink inputs, 2 sub outs, Virtual Matrix 6.1 sounds good, nameable inputs (ie "VCR" instead of "video2"), GREAT EQ and LFE control on each speaker, 4/8 ohm setting (which I use 4 ohm on my DT speakers so the unit runs a little warmer than normal), 100x5 output on the amp (realistically the wattage your getting is around half that though) and cost/bang for buck factor. My HT room size is 17x14 and the 'main' setup is: -2 Defintive Technology BP2006TL (mains w/250watt 8" subs in each) -1 Def Tech CLR 2300 (center w/150watt 8" sub) -2 Def Tech BP6B rear tower speakers (identical to the mains except no sub) -Mitsu 50" analog projection w/component video input -Sony STR-De885 receiver -Sony DVD (think its the model 300) -Sony CDP CX355 300 cd Changer -Monster Power HTS3500 conditioner -Monster THX speaker & sub wiring -Lutron Home Automation remote lighting Will soon be adding a DT Super Cube I or II sub to finish off the sub >30hz frequencies, however with the 2006tl I have NO COMPLAINTS AT ALL with sub/room shaking perfomance!! DT is the BEST SPEAKERS MADE for the price - PERIOD!! I challenge you to find a better set in that price range!!! Look even on this site, besides the 'satellite' packages, there isnt one DT speaker on here not rated 4.25 or better!!!

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Owned several other sony receivers with same results - good products. Have auditioned in my home and other homes on similar HIGH END systems these products: -Sony ES -NAD -Marantz -McIntosh -

Lots of power, easy to use and lots of connections.

For its price, there is no weakness.

This system has an user friendly interface and connections. Great with good cables and 5.1 speakers. I could not ask for a better receiver.

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Toshiba, JBL, JVC

Sound quality, build quality, lots of digital inputs (4), detailed settings, great price tag.

None; considering, you have good speakers and good cables.

I bought the STR-DE885 beacuse I was looking for a receiver that brings DPL II, 5.1 DD and DTS sound at a sensible price. I have to say that I'm very satisfied with the receiver. It offer lots of features and great sound. One of the nicest features are the crossover frequency settings for the speakers. It also offers great EQ setings for every speaker. In a nutshell, the STR-DE885 offers high end receivers settings at a low end price.

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Sony, Technics, Kenwood