Sony STR-DH800 Receiver Thread

[Trogdor2010]

Sony STR-DH800


sony-str-dh800 THREAD.jpg

Hello.

I'm getting tempted by getting the Sony receiver that amazon is having for around $200 (It shifts sometimes), here's the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-STR-DH800...2258770&sr=1-3

It has some nice features such as lossless audio decoding via HDMI with 4 HDMI outputs and the 7.1 speakers can work as a Bi-amp for 5.1 movie watching.

I'm planning on getting the Oppo BDP-83 blu ray player (or the BDP-80) mainly for the subtitle shift feature (If anyone can give a link to a PS3 subtitle shift hack, I'll be pleased).

My main concern is the audio quality and the weight of the unit is kind of light. I might not get it if it's more of a downgrade from my yamaha HTR-5640 listed. The price however is too good to be true.

[citizen]

if you are interested in refurb, you can get a decent to great hk for around the same price at their ebay store, theres about 100 av receivers for auction there right now, there were some in the 200 and 300 series going for under 200 plus shipping

[progers13]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Hello.

I'm getting tempted by getting the Sony receiver that amazon is having for around $200 (It shifts sometimes), here's the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-STR-DH800...2258770&sr=1-3

It has some nice features such as lossless audio decoding via HDMI with 4 HDMI outputs and the 7.1 speakers can work as a Bi-amp for 5.1 movie watching.

I'm planning on getting the Oppo BDP-83 blu ray player (or the BDP-80) mainly for the subtitle shift feature (If anyone can give a link to a PS3 subtitle shift hack, I'll be pleased).

My main concern is the audio quality and the weight of the unit is kind of light. I might not get it if it's more of a downgrade from my yamaha HTR-5640 listed. The price however is too good to be true.

Hey Trog, $200 isn't a bad price for what you get (HDMI decoding and 7.1). However, I would urge you to stay away from this receiver. The lack of an equalizer has been a problem in my setup, as has the lack of pre-outs. You may never plan to add an external amp, but you should have a receiver that is capable if you do. This receiver will back you into a corner with no other option down the road but to upgrade. I think you'd be better served now to spend a little more now to at least get something with pre-outs. Take it from someone who learned the hard way, and spent a lot more than $200....

[callas01]

Try the refurb Marantz 4003 on accessories4less.com, they are great receivers with a 1 yr warranty and have pre-outs and true power specs. it will accept LPCM and you will have lossless audio, plus its right in your price range-ish.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by progers13

Hey Trog, $200 isn't a bad price for what you get (HDMI decoding and 7.1). However, I would urge you to stay away from this receiver. The lack of an equalizer has been a problem in my setup, as has the lack of pre-outs. You may never plan to add an external amp, but you should have a receiver that is capable if you do. This receiver will back you into a corner with no other option down the road but to upgrade. I think you'd be better served now to spend a little more now to at least get something with pre-outs. Take it from someone who learned the hard way, and spent a lot more than $200....

Hey Progers, I was thinking that this isn't that great of a receiver, and I could use the preouts in the future. I own an amp, but I use the amp to power 3 subwoofers (2 JBLs and a yamaha), but I have been curious about amps. They never seem to market them much for the home theater, so about brands such as Emotiva, I have never found many available to purchase. Do you know of any dealers of amps, not receivers. It would be great to hear.

Also, do you know of any hack, code or install that allows subtitle shift? One of the reasons I'm considering a new receiver is that if the PS3 can be hacked, could there be a hack for subtitle shift, since it's just a simple player decoding to do it. I may just forgo the receiver for the Oppo player I planned to get soon (When the tax refund comes).

I have been forgetting, but you seem pretty helpful, I sent you a friend invite.

Also progers, I love your enhancements to your set up

[progers13]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Hey Progers, I was thinking that this isn't that great of a receiver, and I could use the preouts in the future. I own an amp, but I use the amp to power 3 subwoofers (2 JBLs and a yamaha), but I have been curious about amps. They never seem to market them much for the home theater, so about brands such as Emotiva, I have never found many available to purchase. Do you know of any dealers of amps, not receivers. It would be great to hear.

Also, do you know of any hack, code or install that allows subtitle shift? One of the reasons I'm considering a new receiver is that if the PS3 can be hacked, could there be a hack for subtitle shift, since it's just a simple player decoding to do it. I may just forgo the receiver for the Oppo player I planned to get soon (When the tax refund comes).

I have been forgetting, but you seem pretty helpful, I sent you a friend invite.

Also progers, I love your enhancements to your set up

Hey buddy, I don't know of any modifications that can be made to the PS3. The subtitle shift is a big one for me, and a major selling point for the Oppo. I don't know for sure if the BDP-80 has this option (although I can speculate that it does). Definitely pose that question in the Oppo owners thread, because you might find that the 80 will suffice for your needs instead of the 83, and save yourself $200 in the process.

There are plenty of amp options out there. You could probably search the Pre-pro threads on this site for more info. Although, for the price, I've heard absolutely nothing but rave reviews about Emotiva. Many amps are 2x or more expensive than the Emotivas, and I don't know that that extra money truly gets you any significant in the way of additional performance. If you want, you can look up users that I know who have them (crazyBLUE, JasonR, Fors*, ryandubbz, and Erict, just to name a few). To be honest, I'm sold on the Emotiva brand (no plans to look any further). I have to get a new receiver with pre-outs first, but when I do, I'm definitely getting an Emotiva.

And thank you for the compliments on my setup. I still think of it as very modest, but I'm still making upgrades. I'm just trying to be smarter about my upgrades now. Like I advised to you, out of personal experience with the DH800 receiver. I've no doubt that it has a market for some people, but you seem to have tastes very similar to mine. And I know this is one purchase I wish I had done differently.

I accepted your friend invitation. Feel free to shoot me PM's with any other questions you may have (or jump into my thread - link below in my sig). Even if I don't know the answers to your question, I know enough other people on here that I could probably point you into the right direction.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by progers13

Hey buddy, I don't know of any modifications that can be made to the PS3. The subtitle shift is a big one for me, and a major selling point for the Oppo. I don't know for sure if the BDP-80 has this option (although I can speculate that it does). Definitely pose that question in the Oppo owners thread, because you might find that the 80 will suffice for your needs instead of the 83, and save yourself $200 in the process.

There are plenty of amp options out there. You could probably search the Pre-pro threads on this site for more info. Although, for the price, I've heard absolutely nothing but rave reviews about Emotiva. Many amps are 2x or more expensive than the Emotivas, and I don't know that that extra money truly gets you any significant in the way of additional performance. If you want, you can look up users that I know who have them (crazyBLUE, JasonR, Fors*, ryandubbz, and Erict, just to name a few). To be honest, I'm sold on the Emotiva brand (no plans to look any further). I have to get a new receiver with pre-outs first, but when I do, I'm definitely getting an Emotiva.

And thank you for the compliments on my setup. I still think of it as very modest, but I'm still making upgrades. I'm just trying to be smarter about my upgrades now. Like I advised to you, out of personal experience with the DH800 receiver. I've no doubt that it has a market for some people, but you seem to have tastes very similar to mine. And I know this is one purchase I wish I had done differently.

I accepted your friend invitation. Feel free to shoot me PM's with any other questions you may have (or jump into my thread - link below in my sig). Even if I don't know the answers to your question, I know enough other people on here that I could probably point you into the right direction.

Thank you for such help and accepting the request

The oppo bdp-80 does have subtitle shift as the bdp-83 does. The thing I know the oppo 83 has over the 80 is the damn ABT2010 chip, which especially for very large screens and DVDs makes it significant, and I still watch a fair share of DVDs to appreciate this feature, I still rather watch them in blu, but this becomes more important when there are alot of movies on DVD and may not come soon or never will. I know this is not a necessity, but curiousity is persuasive .

How much do the Emotiva amps tend to cost? The two channel pre amps tend to carry more power than the 4 or multichannel amps if we are being realistic.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Thank you for such help and accepting the request

The oppo bdp-80 does have subtitle shift as the bdp-83 does. The thing I know the oppo 83 has over the 80 is the damn ABT2010 chip, which especially for very large screens and DVDs makes it significant, and I still watch a fair share of DVDs to appreciate this feature, I still rather watch them in blu, but this becomes more important when there are alot of movies on DVD and may not come soon or never will. I know this is not a necessity, but curiousity is persuasive .

How much do the Emotiva amps tend to cost? The two channel pre amps tend to carry more power than the 4 or multichannel amps if we are being realistic.

I would be lying if I even took a stab at how much the Emotivas cost, as I don't know. They are considerably cheaper than other options though. I will ask around and get back to you.

Update: See the response below from landry_p2000

Morning Progers. The XPA-3 is $599, XPA-5 is $799, XPA-2 is $799 and I am not sure about the XPA-7. One of these guys can key you in on that.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Thank you for such help and accepting the request

How much do the Emotiva amps tend to cost? The two channel pre amps tend to carry more power than the 4 or multichannel amps if we are being realistic.

http://emotiva.com/upa5.shtm
http://emotiva.com/upa7.shtm
http://emotiva.com/xpa3.shtm

visit their site and click on the amps you may be interested in and since they sell direct it will give you pricing and shipping. See the examples above

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by callas01

http://emotiva.com/upa5.shtm
http://emotiva.com/upa7.shtm
http://emotiva.com/xpa3.shtm

visit their site and click on the amps you may be interested in and since they sell direct it will give you pricing and shipping. See the examples above

Looks like Callas got the link Progers

Thanks for the link. It actually sounds like a great deal actually. I'm not planning to get them anytime soon, but THAT I might plan in the future.

One thing that makes me cautious. Since the limitations of the 300 watt power cables could limit it's stated power signal, although much better than many receivers claim, it's still seems limiting especially for the multichannel amps. The 3 channel amps seem to be the best deal, although I'm not planning to have alot of power. I did hear the power is more to conflict with clipping and distortion than volume, which makes more sense to have the amps.

[deckardp]

I have had this receiver for around 6 months along with my new Polk speakers. A few months back I started noticing intermittent static coming from all of the speakers when watching TV or movies. I have checked all of the connections and everything looks good. I have also made sure that no power cords are near the speaker wires. The sound comes and goes and sometimes doesn't happen at all. When it does happen it lasts for a few seconds and then disappears. I am getting very frustrated with this and wonder if anyone else has had an issue with this and knows whether I should just contact Sony about this, because there is something wrong with the receiver. Thanks.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by deckardp

I have had this receiver for around 6 months along with my new Polk speakers. A few months back I started noticing intermittent static coming from all of the speakers when watching TV or movies. I have checked all of the connections and everything looks good. I have also made sure that no power cords are near the speaker wires. The sound comes and goes and sometimes doesn't happen at all. When it does happen it lasts for a few seconds and then disappears. I am getting very frustrated with this and wonder if anyone else has had an issue with this and knows whether I should just contact Sony about this, because there is something wrong with the receiver. Thanks.

Contact Sony. I haven't had any static issues.

[deckardp]

Originally Posted by progers13

Contact Sony. I haven't had any static issues.

That's what I thought. Sucks.....

[progers13]

Originally Posted by deckardp

That's what I thought. Sucks.....

It sounds like you've done all the troubleshooting that I would've suggested, so it might be best to call Sony and see if they suggest something we haven't thought of. Good luck.

[deckardp]

Originally Posted by progers13

It sounds like you've done all the troubleshooting that I would've suggested, so it might be best to call Sony and see if they suggest something we haven't thought of. Good luck.

Thanks. Yea and I tried the 2 things they suggested on their website. Thought I would try here where people seem to know more than most people about these things.

[Big Sexxy]

Yes I too have had that static sound from my receiver just yesterday, it only lasted about 20 seconds. I've never had that happen before.

[deckardp]

Originally Posted by Big Sexxy

Yes I too have had that static sound from my receiver just yesterday, it only lasted about 20 seconds. I've never had that happen before.

To make matters worse I sent to them for service - they didn't find anything wrong with it and it came back with a large dent in the top of them that they are denying having done to it. I got the run around with them, but now they are having me ship it back to them so that they can replace the cover.....

[jbat31]

I have a sony receiver and normally use one of the cinema settings, but about a week ago, I was playing with the remote and turned out Multi ST which at the time I thought was for multi channel, but later read it was multi channel stereo. It is under the AFD modes menu. I have my blu ray player hooked up via hdmi. The weird thing is sound was coming from all the speakers including my center etc and all seemed to be normal, but since it was multi stereo, what was I actually getting to my speakers? Was it still dolby true hd and DTS master audio, or was it only stereo?

I assume the proper setting is AFD Auto

Also I do have this exact receiver and really love it.

[carios23]

I used to have a WiFi router near my setup and I was getting static. Now, I have a switch there wired to my router that is somewhere else and it all works well.

[deckardp]

Originally Posted by carios23

I used to have a WiFi router near my setup and I was getting static. Now, I have a switch there wired to my router that is somewhere else and it all works well.

Recently I have switched power strips and for the past few days I haven't noticed any static. Strange... Doesn't change the fact that I have to send it back because they dented it though....