- Excellent DSP engine and limitless DSP possibilities. Having an onboard EQ capability is a must especially when matching speaker timbers. The myriad of other control functions such as variable low-pass/high pass crossovers gives the user flexibility in settings.
- EQ capabilities are such a nice option to have to fine tune each individual speakers. I use an RTA and SPL meter to calibrate these parameters.
- Very difficult to find a receiver with these capabilities such as Variable subwoofer crossover settings, tremendous EQ flexibility,
- 5.1 preamp outputs are a blessing for separate Amplifiers
- 2 subwoofer outputs
- DD and DTS surround modes are very useable, Matrix 6.1 is very impressive.

For $199.00 - are you kidding?

Excellent HT Receiver with a nice amplifier section. Compared to most units I have auditioned, there is a noticeable warmth to the sound. I have been a Sony ES follower and am quite familiar with most of the line up and its progressions throught its history. I use it with Magnepan MMG's( upgraded crossovers ) and knowing how difficult Maggies are to drive at higher SPL's is a testament to its build quality. It has a rounder top end as opposed to grain.

I have replaced my stock cable with a thicker gauge and it made a noticeable difference in dynamics and imaging.

Similar Products Used:

Sony TA-E2000ESD, Denon, Yamaha, Onkyo

Inputs from hell. Great sound on both music and videos. Unclutered faceplate. Easy to set-up. Remote is confusing at first, but you'll get use to it.

Could use a bit more power. I wish more of the controls were hiden for a cleaner face.

I bought this unit off of eBay from a seller that thought he had a problem with the unit. It turned out to be a loose connector on the volume knob, 5 minutes of tinkering and boom...It works! Man, does it sound better than my previous Sony receivers! Highs are clearer, bass is tighter, and even though it was rated lower in power, you can't tell. This has almost any and every type of hook-up that I can think of using and then some...Hell, I don't even have that much equipment! I was like many on the 'I Hate Sony' kick, but this unit has revitalized my kindship with the Sony brand. I definately think the ES line is much better than the lower end stuff by far. As far as comparing the ES line against higher end companies like Rotel, Parasound, Proceed, or the likes, it's like comparing apples to oranges. Sony is a mass production firm and will have a lot more mistakes and be on the lower side of sound and quality. I would be really pissed if I had one of these high end pieces and they sounded only marginally better than a Sony, and many do just that!!! Why pay 3k-up for something that does a bit more than something that cost less than 1500.00, doesn't make sense to me, but it's your money! I just love to hear those fake A$$ audiofiles whine about what they think they hear or don't hear, even though they have had no training or acoustical engineering degrees what so ever! All they do is sit and tweek knobs, people, just sit back and listen for a change and just enjoy whatever you are watching or listening to.

Similar Products Used:

Sony STR-DE915, Sony STR-DE925

Works and works with no problems.

Remote control unit is a pile of crap and does not work most of the time.

I have had this receiver for about 1.5 years now and it works great. I use it every day as my TV and Satellite system run through it and have not had a single problem. Looks like Sony makes a pretty decent reciever, but their DVD players are a pile of Junk, so to anyone interested, stay away from Sony DVD players. I will not, however, buy Sony again for anything due to the bad experience I had with their DVD players. Sony has lost my business for life.

Price and sound quality

slow 2-way remote, poor user manual

I'm writing this follow-up review of the Sony V333ES. I've had the unit for about two years now. The first one was returned for the protection circuit error. This one works flawlessly. No excessive heat, no hum or hiss. Speaking for Sony products in general they seem to put out what they can get away with. They fight the returns and the repairs and hope you give up. That's the hidden cost of Sony ownership. But if you don't mind putting up with it you can end up with something grand. My second unit seems to be perfect. I echo what others have said about this little guy. It's nothing short of awesome.

Many inputs on the back. Good sound quality. Good remote that will work anything.

It gets hot, should probably have a fan.

The sound is great when it works. The unit went into protection mode on August 5th 2002. So I took it back to Ultimate Electronics for repair. I bought the unit there December 2001. When I took it in they told me it would be a week to look at it then another week to ten days for parts. I have called them about every ten days and now they dont know what is wrong with it. They are going to have to trouble-shoot every componet in the unit to find what is wrong with it. I called my sales man and he told me to call back on septemer 18th and he would call Sony and see what to do. Other than that or the money I believe it was the best buy out there, for a middle range reciever.

Dolby Digital,Pro-Logic and dts decoding. Gives CD''s a surround sound effect

Very Slow remote,no HD inputs/outpust

Awsome Receiver! The STR/V333ES is all you need for surround sound. the 444ES and the 555ES and the 777ES just has extra features for muli-room listening.

There are too many to count! See "CFG, Audio Enthusiast from Dallas Texas."

So many things that you have to figure out on your own. The manual is a small bible, but still insufficient when you're trying to do some things.

First of all, I love Sony products, so let me get that out of the way right up front. Now let me say this, THIS RECEIVER KICKS BUTT! I have had it for 2 weeks now and I am thoroughly impressed with its features. I have had a little trouble with minor things, such as figuring out how to make the VCR still get power when the receiver is off, so that it will display the time. As well as, how to make it actually receive a digital signal from my DVD player. That was a problem that I could not find help with in the receiver manual-I referred to my DVD manual and felt like a complete idiot! The DVD player(also Sony, DVP-S550D) was not sending a digital signal! Once I fixed that little mistake on my part, the sound was AMAZING! Do not underestimate the need for a digital/optical cable! This improved the sound dramatically!
Components attached to STR-V333ES:
Sony DVP-S550D (DVD player)
Sony SLV-960HF (VCR)
Sony SSCN290 (center and rear speakers)
Kenwood LSK-704(front speakers)
Sony Playstation
...more to come!

I would also like to praise www.onecall.com ! They were great! Brian at onecall was very helpful! He beat every price that I threw at him, for several products, after several return calls. He made it impossible for me to buy anywhere else! Another key thing was the fact that I ordered on a Wed.(9 am Orlando time),it shipped from Spokane, Washington, and arrived on Thurs(8:30 am Orlando time). I found that to be amazing, less than 24 hour turnaround! And it went clear across the United States! Please, give them a call! Tell them John from Orlando sent you!

Similar Products Used:

too many to name!

Question Answer

You are right, I tried to email myself and you through this board, and it did not work. So...

The manual states the power consumption as 410W. Since the V333 and the V444 share the same manual, I'll go ahead and post that the power consumption of the V444 is 420W.

Both have 2 switched outlets on the back, total of 120W.
Both are 17x7x16 In.
(just some more stats for ya since I'm digging in the manual)

CFG!

Optical/Coaxial Inputs,DD 5.1 and DTS, lots of sound fields including Virtual 6.1 EX, S-Video switching, 110 WPC X 5, 2-Way Learning Remote, Features/Quality for the price, 5 Year ES Warranty

Does get a little hot, S-Video Out can't send composite signal, Heavy!

Was going to get the ES 333 currently being cleared out to make way for this model, but at just about $100 more for 30 WPC more and a few more new features, I figured this would be the way to go.

So far I'm very pleased with it. I have my new Sub/Sat speakers on order, so I'm using this with my old Sony towers and "Very" cheap center and surrounds. Even with the old speakers, I can tell that this receiver and it's Dolby Digital output is way better than what I had before. I hear nuances in movies and music I never heard before. I can't WAIT for the new speaker set to get here!!

Having never owned anything this complex, I was a little taken aback, at first, with all the settings. Large or Small Center speaker. Large or Small Surrounds. Surrounds Behind or To the Side of Listening Area, etc. And seperate EQ for each speaker as well (which I havent played with yet since these speakers are coming offline in 3 days).

The remote either had codes for DVD, TV, CD, MD or I made it learn them in a snap. I was a little dissapointed that it couldnt output the composite signals through the S-Video Output. It's news to me on these A/V monsters, but might be old news to Audiophiles. No matter, S-VHS VCR's are cheap now anyway. The S-Video switching is nice as well. With a S-Vid DVD signal passing through the unit, I can see no signal loss at all, nice and clean. Got a TiVo, LaserDisc and Playstation going through it as well.

One note, though. There is only one coax digital input and 5 opticals. The opticals arent just there to be assigned like some A/V's, but marked for each component. The coax is marked for the DVD/CD input. There is an Optical Out, though.

The soundfields are something I never thought I'd use, but they are quite nice. Live music (and a Def Leppard studio album) is really cool on Arena or Stadium mode. Regular music and radio I play through Disco/Club mode. It's nice and tight up front, with a little ambiance in the rears.

When I get the Sub/Sats up and running, I'll post my experience with those as well. I'm actually looking forward to tuning those speakers with all the flexibility this A/V provides.

I'm going to give it a 4 in Overall, since I've had it 5 days, and playing it through old speakers so I can't put it through it's "5.1 in the year 2000" paces yet. But I already can tell it's a 5 on Value.


System:
Pioneer DV-505 DVD Player
Technics 1991 CD Player
Sony Trinitron 32" 1998 TV with S-Video
Sony Tower Speakers 1991 with dual 8" Woofers, 5" Mids
Sony Center and Surround Speaker Package from 1996 that cost $49 (so measure the quality there)

Sub/Sat System to come:
Klipsch Quintet with Klipsch 10" Powered Sub (perfect for a bachelor apartment)

Similar Products Used:

1996 Pioneer Pro-Logic

Clean power and sound, audiophile setup options, intelligent front and rear panel design, terrific capability for the price.

Beyond horrible user manual,tedious non-intuitive remote,need degree in sound engineering to use equalizer functions (no graphics)

I looked at and auditioned several receivers in the $600-$1200 category, and I still think the 333ES gives you the best value for the terrific capabilities it has and the superb sound it produces, despite the very substantial shortcomings in the product manual and the slow, labyrinthine remote.

I have this receiver set up with NHT Super Twos, Super Sub, Super One Surrounds and a Super Center. My DVD is a Sony 360, JVC SVHS VCR, Sony Tivo, Sony RF Satellite Receiver (Direct TV), Monster Power Center (more about this later) and a Sony XBR400 HDTV monitor. The connections are simple with high quality binding posts and clear labels. The setup is relatively straightforward until you get to the more complex functions like equalizers and crossovers affecting DTS, Dolby Digital and large and small speaker settings. If you are not a sound engineer or if you do not have terrific support from your vendor, this is NOT the receiver for you, because you will become very frustrated trying to use all this great receiver's capabilities with the woefully inadequate Sony manual.

The remote has very complete functions and capabilities, but a sort of weird and nonintuitive way of getting to where you want to be. It has a VERY low WAF (wife acceptance factor).

Despite my carping above, the basic power and sound delivery of this receiver is first rate. All functions work well except a seemingly not very sensitive tuner and many of the fairly useless soundfields (the Sony Theater modes are terrific in either Dolby digital or DTS). The
source switching requres a little practice, but works well.

I am good enough at this to be asked to friends' homes to help setup and wiring problems with high end components, but not good enough to master (instead of just use) all the capabilties of this unit, and even some of my more talented friend agree that the price you pay for this great, clean, CHEAP power and sound is a horrible manual and slow remote. If you are not comfortable with all aspects of home theater and audio setup already, don't buy this one-I've seen stuff five times more expensive and complex that is twice as easy to use. What Sony needs here is a remote designed by Pioneer Elite or Onkyo and a manual written by Yamaha. Leave the receiver the way it is with graphics for the equalizer functions. I'd still buy it again because of the price.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite, old Sony non ES, Marantz, Yamaha