at the time it was a great buy...good power...remote is OK since I have a Marantz RC5000 who cares.

RELIABILITY !!!! My last ever Sony product I ever buy !!!!! Sony does not know the meaning of the word Reliability.

Runs super hot - I have 2 fans installed - one directly on top pulling hot out of it and one in back of the rack. YES THE REAR AMP FAILED ON ME TOO...!! Also the motorized volume control made terrible static noises when used. My advice - go get the Onkyo at SOUNDCITY.COM for $599...it'll last you a lifetime.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo TXDS777

Many inputs and outputs. Loud. Equal wattage to all 5 channels.

Learning remote would not learn enough codes to be useful, or as many as it said it would! Digital inputs overlooked SPDIF. HORRIBLE BUZZ NOISE when changing volume with the remote.

Sony really screwed me over on this one. And so did Circuit City. I paid $1000 for this unit right when it came out.

Later, I bought a $200 soundcard that had 'digital out'. I knew I had digital in. It was SPDIF which I had learned was "SONY Phillips DIGITAL Interface". I had a SONY Dolby DIGITAL Receiver. I oughtta be able to connect the two, right?
Apparantly not without a $100 box.

Whoever said INTEGRATION above was right -- there is very little integration with Sony. It's their demise, and I wont make the mistake of buying their products ever again.

The HORRIBLE BUZZ when turning the volume knob is horrible. It's only when using the remote and only when using the VCR as the sound source, not the cd player. Go figure.

Also, their marketing made it sound like there was presets for all the inputs, but there weren't. Horrible. Major differences on my subwoofer between computer and cd player. Makes switching between MP3s and CDs incredibly inconvenient.

Sounds great once it's going though. I chose it based on its specs; I just wasn't wise enough when I chose those specs.

Good buy at the time; 1st gen Dolby Digital decoding at an inexpensive price; optical inputs/outputs; good power!

NO DTS DECODING! (Where was the hinesight on that, SONY?)

I bought this receiver simply because it offered Dolby Digital decoding for my DVD cheap and a plethora of optical inputs/output for MD and CD, etc. At the time, it was an excellent buy for the money. A few months after I bought it, you could get the version up with DTS decoding for the same price! THE WAR BE DAMNED!!! Needless to say, slightly irritated but I kept it nonetheless.

I've brought it in twice for service for two different problems. Problem 1: I accidentally used the wrong OHM setting and blew the PROTECT circuit/amp. Problem 2: the DOT MATRIX display went out.

Both items fixed and not a problem since. Sounds good - power is evenly distributed - I do not have the mysterious static when turning volume up/down using remote. Essentially, the unit still rocks! The only reason I'll upgrade or replace is if it blows on me again.

Would I choose another Sony? Hmmmmmmmmmm...

Similar Products Used:

32" Triniton TV, Cerwin Vega 15" Floor fronts, Bose Center, Infinity sub, Sony surrounds, DVD, Minidisc, etc

sounds great

runs HOT

the quality of digital sound in movies holds its own against units costing 3X as much. i have a cooling fan installed in my rack, pumping the heat out of it. i once forgot to plug the fan back in after doing some rewiring back there and *poof*.... my rear channels stopped working. luckily sony headquarters is about 4 miles from my house so i got it taken care of under warranty. haven't had a single problem since. this unit run VERY hot, and if you put it in a rack you MUST install a fan, and don't even think of putting another component on top of it. it's just like intel CPU's... when you overclock celerons from 300 to 450MHz.... :) as long as you provide adequate cooling it will outrun any P-II for a third the cost.

Strong value, many features, versatile hookups, plenty of power.

None encountered as yet. Given some of the other reviews
on this product, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Overall, I have been pleased with the performance of this,
my first, Sony receiver. During the first year of using
this receiver I had only two speakers, old Infinity Column
II's, circa 1976. Moving from 35 watts (Pioneer) up to
100 watts (Sony) made a huge difference, which I expected.
Experienced no performance problems during this time.
Within last two months have added 2 Infinity IL-40 for
front L/R pair and Infinity IL-36 for the center. Two
Infinity RS 2000.3 complete my home theatre as rear L/R.
Thus far, I am extremely pleased with the versatility of
having 5 speakers and all the soundfield options. The Sony
has pushed all the speakers to floor shaking levels during
viewing Star Wars Episode I, especially during the intro
THX sound "test". Again, reading all the user disent now
makes me wary, but it has been smooth sailing for me.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer SX-737 (ancient model bought approx. 1975 and
still working daily)

Lots of features, digital inputs, great price

Piece of junk, gets too hot

Rear speakers went out. The amps were fine -- it was the digital processor that fed the rear amps that went out. Cost $ 150 to repair. Its happened to several other people. Don't buy this model, you will be sorry!