Sony STR-DG910

[LifeOfAPirate13]

I was reading posts before about the Sony 750 which didn't seem like a bad deal but I can go up in terms of budget on a high quality reciever I am looking around the 500 range for a reciever this sony reciever on amazon is 344.50 and it seems in the reviews and what I read here that the HDMI boards seem to go out on these recievers all the time if all works this seems like a good deal because I have a ps3 and a bravia TV but is there something else out there that will get me really good Picture transfer output from the HDMI I dont want any downgrade in PQ. Is the Onkyo 705 better? I am semi-retarded when it comes to Audio so I know you guys are good please help me out here.

[JimSD]

Interesting that you mention you've read the HDMI boards go out on the 910. I had one for about a week and the picture would cut out on me at least once every 20 minutes or so. I had figured that since I was connecting a Sony PS3 to the 910 and from there to a Sony TV that there wouldn't be any problems since they were all Sony. I took the 910 back and replaced it with an Onkyo 705 and am glad I did. I think the sound is better with the 705, but that is subjective and I didn't do a direct comparison so it's just an opinion. I like the fact that the 705 decodes the new HD audio formats because I can foresee using a standalone player for Blu-ray in the next year or two. Plenty of people like the 910. Just take my info as one data point of many to make your decision.

[Jimbo976]

I have the 910 to go with my PS3 and have been very happy with it so far.

[LifeOfAPirate13]

And reading some more posts now the 920 is right around the corner and that is looking really nice does the Onkyo 805 have better HDMI out functions than the 705?

[bighorns]

I have a 910, HD DVR and PS3 routed through it and have no problems.

[nezff]

I myself would definately go with the Onkyo. Clean power. Sony makes great tvs,camcorders,cameras,ipod speakers, etc.. not home theater IMO.

It doesnt come close to clean undistorted power of the ONKYO,yamaha,denon,harmon,marantz etc..

here is something to look at:

There is a very interesting article on receivers and their rated power. I tried to find it but could not. It basically was showing how manufacturers will rate a receiver with just one channel driven. It gave a breakdown on what they actually delivered. Onkyo was decent as was HK. Yamaha rated decently but the unit tested was a higher end unit(1400) Sony was absolutely terrible delivering a measly 30 watts per channel when 5 channels were driven. I had seen this on the avsforum if you want to spend the time looking for it. If I find it I'll post it on here.
Ok I had the brands wrong here is the breakdown from that article.
Denon 4308
Rated: 140 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 171 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 111 watts
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Denon 2307
Rated: 100 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 140 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 74 watts
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Pioneer VSX-94TXH
Rated: 100 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 178 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 61 watts
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Onkyo 605
Rated: 90 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 144 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 80 watts
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Onkyo 875
Rated: 140 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 201 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 128 watts
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Yamaha RX-V2600
Rated: 130 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 158 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 55 watts


Yamaha RX-V1800
Rated: 100 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 196 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 119 watts - 6 channels driven
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Yamaha RX-V661
Rated: 90 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 151 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 53 watts - 6 channels driven
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Sony DG910
Rated: 100 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 84 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 30 watts - and that's only with 5 channels driven
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Cambridge 640R
Rated: 100 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 166 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 91 watts
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Integra DTR-7.6
Rated: 105 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 148 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 44 watts
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...ers-page2.html


50 watts of clean power is better than 100 watts of garbage?
Sony DG910 (Total Harmonic Distortion - 1%)

Onkyo TX-SR605 (Total Harmonic Distortion - .01%)

Would you rather have 1% of distortion or .01%? That's a huge difference!

[CasualKiller]

Not sure where these specs came from but the THD for the 605 is actually .08% and for the DG910 it's .09%.

I'm fairly certain there's not a human on the planet that would be able to discern an audible difference.


For overall value considering both are in the same price range you would probably be happy with either one.

[hagar852]

Originally Posted by CasualKiller

Not sure where these specs came from but the THD for the 605 is actually .08% and for the DG910 it's .09%.

I'm fairly certain there's not a human on the planet that would be able to discern an audible difference.


For overall value considering both are in the same price range you would probably be happy with either one.

+1

[moviefan]

The 920 decodes the latest audio codecs; it ss worth the short wait!
It also has 4 HDMI inputs.

[J6P]

Originally Posted by nezff

Sony DG910
Rated: 100 watts per channel
Output with 1 channel driven (8 ohms): 84 watts
Output with all channels driven (8 ohms): 30 watts - and that's only with 5 channels driven
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/rec...-receiver.html

Actually Sound & Vision was a lot more flattering to the STR-DG910 than that implies:

"Commencing as always with full-range stereo, I was pleased to find this fairly modest receiver capable of surprisingly fine listening, even under close scrutiny. Playing high-quality SACD recordings (stereo-mix) revealed no prominent sonic flaws, and the DG910 offered enough two-channel power for even serious listening. Cueing up a 5.1-channel DTS disc of the Allman Brothers' classic "At the Filmore East" sets from 1971(!) yielded satisfyingly live-like levels without audible strain, though forcing the issue still closer to actual concert SPL produced a fairly marked steely quality, followed quickly by audible distortion."

"Movie-soundtrack reproduction followed a similar pattern, yielding quite impressive quality via my medium-sensitivity speaker suite plus subwoofer. There was plenty of oomph for most real-world domestic use. Playback at true cinema "reference" levels was there, but I did not sense the full dynamic freedom and impact of my everyday setup, which exploits six 200-watt amplifier channels."

"...and [during Kingdon of Heaven] the Sony's performance was well up to the task. Even in the big battle scenes..."

"...the DG910 had power enough to deliver all the level I would typically ask for, with good clarity and dynamic punch."

"It also delivers generally fine performance, enough real-world power for most systems in modestly sized rooms, and an impressive array of extras."

Total Harmonic Distortion using Dolby Digital input was listed at 0.02%.

And on the 30w output: "Power measurements were a bit disappointing for a receiver that claims 100 watts per channel surround-mode power into 8 ohms. Stereo power was fairly typical for a mid-priced receiver, though 4-ohm wattage seemed slightly curtailed, probably by power-supply current capacity. But multichannel power results, at least in conventional steady-state tests, showed only about 30 watts per channel; I conjecture (but never received any confirmation or explanation from Sony) that the receiver’s software deliberately limits steady-state power-supply current whenever any multichannel mode is invoked, either by the user or automatically (as by a Dolby Digital or DTS bit-flag). Still, although the receiver showed signs of strain when pushed to the most extreme limits, my listening tests did not fully reflect such restricted multichannel ability as the measurements imply. This suggests to me that the receiver has more power on tap for short-term demands, even when in its multichannel modes."

Overall, they seemed very impressed for the price.

Sound & Vision review of STR-DG910

[hagar852]

Originally Posted by J6P

Actually Sound & Vision was a lot more flattering to the STR-DG910 than that implies:

"Commencing as always with full-range stereo, I was pleased to find this fairly modest receiver capable of surprisingly fine listening, even under close scrutiny. Playing high-quality SACD recordings (stereo-mix) revealed no prominent sonic flaws, and the DG910 offered enough two-channel power for even serious listening. Cueing up a 5.1-channel DTS disc of the Allman Brothers' classic "At the Filmore East" sets from 1971(!) yielded satisfyingly live-like levels without audible strain, though forcing the issue still closer to actual concert SPL produced a fairly marked steely quality, followed quickly by audible distortion."

"Movie-soundtrack reproduction followed a similar pattern, yielding quite impressive quality via my medium-sensitivity speaker suite plus subwoofer. There was plenty of oomph for most real-world domestic use. Playback at true cinema "reference" levels was there, but I did not sense the full dynamic freedom and impact of my everyday setup, which exploits six 200-watt amplifier channels."

"...and [during Kingdon of Heaven] the Sony's performance was well up to the task. Even in the big battle scenes..."

"...the DG910 had power enough to deliver all the level I would typically ask for, with good clarity and dynamic punch."

"It also delivers generally fine performance, enough real-world power for most systems in modestly sized rooms, and an impressive array of extras."

Total Harmonic Distortion using Dolby Digital input was listed at 0.02%.

And on the 30w output: "Power measurements were a bit disappointing for a receiver that claims 100 watts per channel surround-mode power into 8 ohms. Stereo power was fairly typical for a mid-priced receiver, though 4-ohm wattage seemed slightly curtailed, probably by power-supply current capacity. But multichannel power results, at least in conventional steady-state tests, showed only about 30 watts per channel; I conjecture (but never received any confirmation or explanation from Sony) that the receiver’s software deliberately limits steady-state power-supply current whenever any multichannel mode is invoked, either by the user or automatically (as by a Dolby Digital or DTS bit-flag). Still, although the receiver showed signs of strain when pushed to the most extreme limits, my listening tests did not fully reflect such restricted multichannel ability as the measurements imply. This suggests to me that the receiver has more power on tap for short-term demands, even when in its multichannel modes."

Overall, they seemed very impressed for the price.

Sound & Vision review of STR-DG910

Yeah I read this and I am perplexed when people only take certain phrases from this review to back up their statements when in the review itself totally doesn't suggest that Sony receivers are junk...They say pretty much the opposite...

Old phrase.. You get what you pay for.. a sub 500 dollar receiver isn't going to be the best ever I would imagine... But it should perform very well especially for normal demands.. I had the DG910 and it did just that.. It was fine..

[nezff]

Originally Posted by hagar852

Yeah I read this and I am perplexed when people only take certain phrases from this review to back up their statements when in the review itself totally doesn't suggest that Sony receivers are junk...They say pretty much the opposite...

Old phrase.. You get what you pay for.. a sub 500 dollar receiver isn't going to be the best ever I would imagine... But it should perform very well especially for normal demands.. I had the DG910 and it did just that.. It was fine..

power wise, i would have to pass on a sony. just my opinion.