Bang for the buck, multitude of connection types

Wow, after yanking this out of Circuit City and scaring my roommate half to death with another "stereo equipment" box, this things is now scaring my neighbors half to death. Currently connected to a pair of Infinity RS5 speakers with a Bose VCS-10 center channel in place, the Infinity satellites will be going up this weekend, as will the DVD player. (Leaning towards the Onkyo DVC-600 now) All I know is that this reciever is an amazing piece of work, and would recommend it heavily in the price range.

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Fisher, older Sony Reciever.

Digital Converters, a lot a very good and natural DSP, a usefull equalizer

default settings lead to think of a defective product, amplifiers good but not enough transparency, power on/off still not working, not enough digital coaxial inputs.

The first hour gave me headache and nerve breakdown: there was erratic sources switching, complicated fine tune set up to do... but sound quality really impressed me for the price. And finally all the fine tuning revealed the full potential of the receiver: 3 band equalizer, choice of intensity of the effects, choice of rear speakers situation, reverb, depth of screen, additionnal DSP... that is a lot! I tought many times to return it anyway to the store when after running it a bit it stay on the selected source. The day after same problem again : not staying on selected source: always back on DVD... So I ran again the fine tuning adjustment, locking on autofunction and digital input priority and putting my digital receiver through DVD coaxial input (I only have coaxial output from the digital TV receiver!)seem, I say seem, to solve the problem. So I am keeping it, like a weak newborn child with an irrisitible smile!
I can not predict for other receiver, I do not have any heat problem or hiss (yet!). Good luck if you try it! I would not call it audiophile grade but it is doing a great digital job even with my CD player digitally through it (it cost more itself than the receiver!).

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Technics

Feature packed, power (110w), lots of hookups. Sony quality (well maybe - read on).

Confusing remote (I know...RTFM). Quality (I've had problems - read on)

I purchased this unit from Sears for $389. They didn't have the 835 they were advertising so they upgraded me. It took no time at all to set up only to have the first problem. It kept switching to Video1 when using the remote or the front panel. I took it back to Sears and got another one. This one popped loudly in the rear channels when powered on or off. I called Sony and they said the unit was bad and I should return it. I asked about the Video1 problem (which this unit has also) and believe it or not, they admit that S-link doesn't work very well. They said that it gets confused. The integration that S-link was supposed to provide is what I was looking for but now I hear from Sony that "It doesn't work very well". Call me stupid but I'm going to try a third one if I can find one because I really like it's features and I wanted all my equip to be from one vendor. Sears said they can't get me one for about a month. The question is if it's because the unit is so popular or the fact that they keep getting returned because of problems. Hopefully three's a charm.

Yes the remote is slow but I still have 2way turned on. If all goes well I'll be buying a touch screen remote to work all the equip and then I won't have to worry. (yeah right)

Great sound, The soundfields are awesome. Power is great and comes out crisp and clear. Loaded with features, DD, DTS.

The remote is really cool, but a bit annoying. Who cares. Reviews should not be based on the remote. There is a lotta heat generated, but this seems to be coming from the heatsink cause it is so close and in the center to the top of casing.

The sound is very nice. Crisp, clear. 110x5 power and it gets loud without getting distorted. The soundfields are just great. Good selection. Many options in speaker placement. Volume level controls for each set of speakers. It is heavy in power. I don't know what everyone is talking about hissing in the backs or center. Maybe mine doesn't because it was a newer shipment of the unit. Seems that way for most of the more recent reviews. I love watching movies in Dolby Digital. There are so much customizable features. Lot of inputs. Great receiver. Worth the money. There is a lot of heat generated at top of receiver. The heatsink it right in the middle of the receiver and right near top of casing. I think that is why it feels so hot. Your hand is just centimeters away from it. Also when you put your hand to the right and left of heatsink, it is not hot at all. So I really don't think that heat is a problem with the actual components. They coulda threw in a fan. 5 for value and I would give 4.5 overall.

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Aiwa AV-DV75

Lots of A/V inputs, Great Sound, Easy Setup

complexity of sound fields

For what the reciever costs it is an excellent buy. Features for Dollar is great. Remote took not too long to figure out and is better than the "Learing Remote" my Pioneer had. I particulaly like the amount of different sound fields and how they sound. I don't have any of the problems listed in the other revies. Sound is crisp and clean. Good bass and highs. I use a passive subwoffer for now and I still get great bass response.

System:
Polk Audio Sattelite speakers with passive sub 300w per side
Pioneer PDM-600 6pack CD
RCA 32" TV
RCA DSS

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last amp was Pioneer VSX-9300

A/B channel switch, dual room contro, A1 link, lots of Inputs,

hiss in speakers, remote

Great sounding receiver, lots of power and never ending sound options. I bought this as an open box special for 350 and it turned out to have a loud hum in all the speakers even with mute on. Turns out it was defective and Sony replaced it with a brand new one. I think the power is great and the options are endless. So many different sound fields to mess around with you'll never get bored. Love the game sound field for the Playstation. I think this receiver seperates the sound great and with a Sony DVD player and Sony center and powered sub, it packs a punch for movies. I'm running it in 6 speaker surround with center and sub and the sound is incredible. My speakers were reviewed as having a lot of distortion but hooked with this reciever, I don't hear anything but crisp clear sound. I also like the look and the fact that it has a 3rd video input in the front of the system, perfect for playstation. I've always used Sony and everything In my house is Sony. Very dependable and great customer service. My old receiver lasted 9 years of everyday abuse and never sounded better. Going in the BR for a second mini PL surrond system. I think anyone would like this product for the price.

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Sony STR-AV970

All around, a solid and complete reciever.

remote is pretty sweet, just a bit complex. Reciever itself runs a little hot.

Pure, rich sound... plenty of room for future expansions, and good God is there power! All around dynamic design, bravo to Sony!

Unit runs hot; I placed a 4" cooling fan (on the aux power plug) on top of the reciever to circulate some air, and since, it runs much cooler.

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previous sony models

Many hook ups, numerous sound fields, and lots of power.

A battery eating remote and poor quality control by SOny.

I went through 3 of these receivers in order to find one with out the rear speaker hissing problem. In truth, for the price and performance (of a perfectlyt working one) you can't beat this receiver. I admit it will get frustrating if you have to return this receiver 2-3 times, but in the end once you get one that doesn't hiss you'll be damn happy. The one thing that really pissed me off was when I called Sony to inquire about this problem they informed me that they had never heard of this issue. But, when I referred them to this site they quickly changed their tune and appologized for their "lack of knowledge." Russian Roulette is a shitty game unless you win. When you get a Str-De935 that works you will feel like a winner.

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Str-De925

100 watts, remote functions, tons of connections

runs hot,

Replaced a '70s vintage Sony "Vfet" Amp with this unit. Hoping for the same utility as before, should be a decent unit for under $400. Features are up there with the high end stuff except .09 distortion is a negative. The 100 watts with Klipsch speakers still sound awesome. Seemed the logical choice for a mid (price) range receiver.
Listen Hard - Make your own decision !

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none

Great Sound, Many Features, Tons of bells and whistles

Remote takes a little getting used to.

Don't listen to any of the other people here. This is a great receiver, and it is well worth the money. Granted the remote takes a little getting used to, but after you have used it for about a week you wouldn't want to go back to a regular one.

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STR-DE835