Does Sony make any good receivers?

[backtothecanvas]

Something along the lines of an Onkyo 805? do they make anything comparable? thought it might be neat to keep everything Sony related . . .

[stevemoore99]

Originally Posted by backtothecanvas

Something along the lines of an Onkyo 805? do they make anything comparable? thought it might be neat to keep everything Sony related . . .

I think my STR-DA4300ES is pretty nice...

[Chevypower]

I think Sony receivers are under-rated especially on this forum... their speakers are usually pretty average, but not bad, but they have made good amplifiers for many years in my opinion (long before the ES series). Of course people are free to agree or disagree.

[JasonR]

I have my Sony STR-DG920 on preorder. That onscreen GUI looks really cool. I got it for less than 400 dollars, so I did pretty good on it. I don't think it compares to the higher end receivers, but it fits my needs.

Manual - http://129.33.22.12/release/STRDG920_EN.pdf

Source - http://reviews.cnet.com/av-receivers...-32868601.html

The STR-DG520

(Credit: Sony)

Key features of the Sony STR-DG520:


5.1 channels, 100 watts of power
Two HDMI inputs
Supports 1080p pass-through at 60 and 24 frames per second
Available in March for about $200



The STR-DG720

(Credit: Sony)

Step-up features on the STR-DG720:


7.1 channels, 105 watts of power
Three HDMI inputs
Can handle eight channels of LPCM audio
XM-ready
Available in March for about $300



The STR-DG820

(Credit: Sony)

Step-up features on the STR-DG820:


7.1 channels, 110 watts of power
Four HDMI inputs
Onboard decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-High Resolution Audio and DTS-HD Master Audio
Supports x.v.Color
XM-ready with Neural Surround Sound
Includes a Sony Digital Media Port
Available in May for about $400



The STR-DG920

(Credit: Sony)

Step-up features on the STR-DG920:


Upscales analog signals up to 1080p over its HDMI output
Features icon-driven menu system, possibly similar to what we've seen on the STR-DA5300ES
Supports x.v.Color and Deep Color
Available in June for about $600

[bigpapy]

according CC employee sony receivers sucks he said two of them blow out in less of tree months

[stevemoore99]

Originally Posted by bigpapy

according CC employee sony receivers sucks he said two of them blow out in less of tree months

I don't listen to posts with bad spelling and no punctuation... ...

Seriously, though... I do not know who CC is but the experience of one person does not necessarily mean anything... I'm pretty sure I've had mine more than 3 months now...

[JasonR]

I have had my current one for over two years....

[stevemoore99]

Originally Posted by JasonR

I have had my current one for over two years....

Yep!

I will not say how long I had my pre 5300ES Sony other than to say it was real LONG time!!

I'll not disagree that there are better receivers out there, but they work fine for me and I've never had a problem with any of them.

[ascian]

in a word.... no

[ixlegitballinxl]

not a bad receiver, just better ones out

[Kratos3]

Sony makes decent receivers. I had one that blew an IC chip. The thing about entry level Sony receivers is that they don't have the power supplies or higher-end processing that receivers like Denon, Marantz, and the higher end Onkyo's do. Also, I believe that they also don't use high-current amplification. That becomes more important for using speakers with lower effeiciency ratings, say below 88 db. The ES line is more comparable to Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo receivers. One guideline, although very unscientific, is how heavy the receiver is. Heavier receivers tend to have heftier power supplies, larger heat sinks, etc. For most applications and casual listening at sane volumes with comparable equipment, Sony is an OK choice for a budget receiver. But I'd take a similarly priced Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon, or Marantz over Sony any day.

[Chevypower]

the lower-end Sonys don't have the higher-end processing that the higher-end Onkyos do? Well that's just not good enough, surely Sony should be making low-end receivers that compete with their higher-end competitors products!

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Sony = good receivers at premium prices... shitty speakers though.
Onkyo = just as good (if not better) receivers at REALLY GOOD prices!!!

Try and keep with Sony if you really want too, but you could save yourself up to $700 by getting the exact same quality out of an Onkyo equivalent. I have seen equivalent receivers selling at $1799 CDN (Sony) and $1099 CDN (Onkyo).

[FilmmakingFiasco]

My main interest for a Sony receiver would be using the XMB on screen menus. I think they're delicious.

[CasualKiller]

Originally Posted by Petra_Kalbrain

Sony = good receivers at premium prices... shitty speakers though.
Onkyo = just as good (if not better) receivers at REALLY GOOD prices!!!

Try and keep with Sony if you really want too, but you could save yourself up to $700 by getting the exact same quality out of an Onkyo equivalent. I have seen equivalent receivers selling at $1799 CDN (Sony) and $1099 CDN (Onkyo).

Actually the Sony receivers end up being cheaper by hundreds of $$ due to the fact that US merchants will ship Sony to Canada, where as they wont ship us Onkyo so you have to pay the Canadian overblown price.

It's mostly due to the fact that Onkyo voids the warranty's on receivers shipped to Canada from US so most merchants don't want to deal with the hassle of disgruntled consumers.

You could of course just Ebay but me myself I like warranty's.


Just to give you an example, the cheapest Onkyo 705 at the moment is around 1100 in Canada where as I can get the rough Sony Equal, the STR-DG2100 for 799 shipped from the US.

[cawgijoe]

I would have no problem buying the 4300ES or 5300ES receiver. They have received good reviews and the 5300ES especially has been praised.

ES products also have a five year warranty now.

I've been looking carefully at receivers lately hoping to pick a good one up to replace my Denon AVR-3300 and it's a most difficult task.....every manufacturer has it's issues.

The Onkyos give you alot for the money, my fear is that they get very hot and we all know that heat kills in electronics.

[DiverSpear]

I have a 5300ES and it is great. Before that I had a 910 that was almost 10 years old and before that I had a first generation sony surround receiver and for it's time is was great. I've never had problems with any of my sony gear. Even all the moving I did in the military nothing broke.

[hagar852]

Originally Posted by Kratos3

Sony makes decent receivers. I had one that blew an IC chip. The thing about entry level Sony receivers is that they don't have the power supplies or higher-end processing that receivers like Denon, Marantz, and the higher end Onkyo's do. Also, I believe that they also don't use high-current amplification. That becomes more important for using speakers with lower effeiciency ratings, say below 88 db. The ES line is more comparable to Denon, Yamaha, and Onkyo receivers. One guideline, although very unscientific, is how heavy the receiver is. Heavier receivers tend to have heftier power supplies, larger heat sinks, etc. For most applications and casual listening at sane volumes with comparable equipment, Sony is an OK choice for a budget receiver. But I'd take a similarly priced Yamaha, Onkyo, Denon, or Marantz over Sony any day.

The weight of the DA3300ES is the same as the Denon's, Yamaha's.. Onkyo 705.. 33-37lbs.. You only need something like 20-30Watts to produce 100db's and the Sony outputs roughly 66wpc when driving all 7 channels.. People would argue that is crap.. but like I said you don't need a lot of power to produce high volume levels... besides I will never listen to movies that loud anyway.. I would like to still be able to hear my system in 5-10years..

The 805 is almost 60lbs and throws a lot of heat.. The 705 has a built in fan...

I baught the DA3300ES over them becuase of heat and I get a 5 year warranty with the Sony and I didn't have to buy from an authorized dealer... So I was able to buy a STR-DA3300ES for less than the Onkyo 705..

Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo you HAVE to buy from an authorized dealer or otherwise your warranty is voided..

[Kratos3]

Originally Posted by hagar852

The weight of the DA3300ES is the same as the Denon's, Yamaha's.. Onkyo 705.. 33-37lbs.. You only need something like 20-30Watts to produce 100db's and the Sony outputs roughly 66wpc when driving all 7 channels.. People would argue that is crap.. but like I said you don't need a lot of power to produce high volume levels... besides I will never listen to movies that loud anyway.. I would like to still be able to hear my system in 5-10years..

The 805 is almost 60lbs and throws a lot of heat.. The 705 has a built in fan...

I baught the DA3300ES over them becuase of heat and I get a 5 year warranty with the Sony and I didn't have to buy from an authorized dealer... So I was able to buy a STR-DA3300ES for less than the Onkyo 705..

Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo you HAVE to buy from an authorized dealer or otherwise your warranty is voided..

Cool. I was speaking mostly about the entry-level Sony receivers. I think the ES line is very good from Sony. Also, it's hard to beat that 5 year warranty.

[meckel]

If you are looking @ Sony audio, look at the their ES models. I would stay away from their speakers.

I'm ordering the 5300ES I hope next week. SIX HDMI inputs are you kidding me, that hot GUI on screen menu, and the stereo speaker mic. For m the review I read on CNET and in Home Theater Magazine and the 6 HDMI inputs were the deal closers. I currently have 5 HDMI devices (Blu-Ray player, (2) 400 disc DVD/CD changers, TivoHD, HD cable box)