The Official Sony STR-DG920 Receiver Thread

[JasonR]

Originally Posted by TENSE

^^^^^^
or better yet; you give him facts and links on why he should purchase the sony dg-920 huu? i would care less because i already have a receiver, and i dont have to prove anything to no one, but since you, JASONR insist, please do so......

Originally Posted by JasonR

Sure! I am mobile now, but will post a review for the 820 when I get home. The 920 only improves on the 820, so it should suffice. Also, I can personaly recommend the receiver because I own it. Where you have never even heard it and are recommending against it.

Here ya go!

http://whathifi.com/Review/Sony-STR-DG820/

Silky sound, dynamic dialogue

But back to the receiver in action. Set-up is done through Sony’s Digital Cinema Auto Calibration system. It’s ridiculously quick, easy to use and accurate – the receiver takes just a few seconds to set up.

And, hooked up to a Blu-ray player such as the Panasonic DMP-BD30, the Sony sounds sensational. Fed the Dolby TrueHD soundtrack from Batman Begins, the STR-DG820 impresses with its solid, controlled sound.

When Batman’s Tumbler causes havoc on the streets of Gotham City, the Sony delivers explosions with a fine sense of immediacy and impact. Bass notes don’t wallow or linger. In fact, you soon forget you’re listening to a ‘budget’ receiver.

The Sony is a dab hand at dialogue, too. Voices sound full-bodied and boast exceptional clarity, even during the most boisterous action scenes. There’s no trace of brashness or harshness in the sound that could prove tiresome over prolonged listening.

Sure, more expensive receivers can give you a greater spread of sound and greater scale but, for this sort of money, the STR-DG820 is an absolute star.

It's equally adept at music

Dare we say it, the Sony also sounds adept when it comes to CD playback. Press the Analog Direct button to turn off all unnecessary internal processing and the receiver’s clear, composed sound once again comes to the fore.

It exhibits a fine sense of rhythm for an AV receiver and dishes out decent bass weight during Eminem’s Without Me.

Many of you will have been waiting for the verdict on Sony’s new receivers. Well, we can confirm that the STR-DG820 has definitely been worth it. If all the new models are as this good – and they can get that Sky HD nonsense sorted out – Onkyo et al had better watch out

[jaymzbo]

Quote:
However, there is one notable omission: multichannel analogue inputs. So, your player has to be able to stream the HD data through HDMI for everything to work properly. In addition – not that you'd really expect them at this price – there are no pre-outs.
At this point it's also worth pointing out that the STR-DG820 can't upscale (Sony's step-up 'ES' range can upscale to 1080p), nor can it upconvert (again, the 'ES' range can). These features aren't vital, but upconversion would have been a welcome addition.

Taken from the above review. I am not sure if the above concerns also apply to the 920 or not...and to be honest with you, I'm not completely sure what it all means for that matter.

Is it a point to be concerned about given I'm currently using PS3 60 GIG as player??? Would PS3 handle all of that? I don't even have a 1080P display at this time (click my profile if interested) as far as the upconversion concern goes, but am thinking I will sometime in future....

p.s. what does "pre-outs" mean????

thanks so much

[JasonR]

The 920 does upscale, but does not have preouts. You will not need them unless you are planning on using seperates in the future.

[Kirsty_Mc]

I'm getting seriously wound up... Sony didn't make this available in the UK ... we only got the 820

[Chevypower]

One of our receivers is the Sony 920. It is great. I don't need to verify it with the opinions of websites and magazines to base my judgement on it. I bet if the Sony haters were told they were listening to an Onkyo, they would love it.

[jblfx]

I've had my 920 for about two weeks now and I love it! I'm no expert (at all!) but I did a lot of research and asked many questions here and chose the 920. No regrets!

[jaymzbo]

I apologize for so many questions. MY eyes are so tired now from all of the reading done today on receivers, speakers, etc., etc. You know how it is...

I can't seem to find on this site, google search, even sony's own site if the 920 supports (if that's right word) all of the newest audio codecs. But like I said I am really tired and may have missed it...

does anyone know what codecs will work with this sony????