Sony's new 2023 A/V receivers ZA1000ES, ZA3000ES, ZA5000ES & ZA7000ES

[Robert Zohn]

Sony's new 2023 A/V receivers are also wireless speaker capable with Sony's SR3, and SR5 and Sony's wireless SubWOOFERS SA-SW3 AND SA-SW5.

Sony 2023 STR-AZ7000ES 13.2 Channel Receiver

Sony 2023 STR-AZ5000ES 11.2 Channel Receiver

Sony 2023 STR-AZ3000ES 9.2 Channel Receiver

Sony 2023 STR-AZ1000ES 7.2 Channel Receiver

[unberechenbar]

Oh wow I wasn't expecting this. Great news! I was worried that Sony was getting out of the receiver business after closing its factory in Penang.

[jhawkjd]

It's about time! Unfortunately I gave up on waiting for eArc and HDMI 2.1 in their most powerful unit and went with an Anthem MRX-1140. After previously owning 5 Sony receivers, each an upgrade for tech improvements, I may never go back to a Sony receiver.

[HDTV1080P]

I like how the 2023 Sony A/V receivers have 8K passthrough. The 13.2 channel Sony A/V receiver looks very nice. However HDR10+ passthrough is not mentioned in the specs, only HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR. Hopefully a Sony firmware update will offer HDR10+ passthrough like the Denon and Yamaha A/V receivers offer (but Sony has not announced a firmware update). Also the Denon and Yamaha A/V receivers offer Auro 3D surround sound, but that is a feature not offered on the Sony.

[Robert Zohn]

@HDTV1080P, good point and I asked for HDR10+ support to be added. Very little content is mastered in HDR10+ and most of the TVs and other a/v devices do not support HDR10+.

So although I want Sony to support HDR10+ it's not a deal breaker for me even if I had one of the TVs that are HDR10+ capable.

[Robert Zohn]

Here’s two pictures from one of Sony’s demo rooms that had the AZ7000ES demonstrated with the full 13 channels powered.

These pictures shows the front of the room with the 3 front subs and you can see the front L/R, and the center speaker is behind the screen, and two pictures showing the left and right side of the same demo room with the 4 heights, 4 wides and the two in wall rear speakers.

To make this demonstration more changeling and to put the AZ7000ES through the toughest test these were all 4 Ohm very high-end Keff speakers Specifically this was a 5.6.8, speaker system that exploited the power and full capability of the new flagship AZ7000ES with all 13 channels firing and 6 Sub Woofers.

Everyone in the room that was filled with a/v experts all agreed and were amazed at the audio fidelity and full dynamic tonal range and the detail and clarity in the AZ7000ES's audio performance when fully loaded for the best possible 13 channel immersive audio experience!

Sony's new A/V receiver line-up sets the bar very high in it's features and overall exceptional audio performance.

[uncledougie]

Interested in knowing what the remotes are like. Are they the same across the line? Backlit? Direct source selection or scrolling?

[HDTV1080P]

The Sony also does not offer 8K switching on all the HDMI inputs. Hopefully this will change in future years. The Denon AVR-A1H 15.4 channel A/V receiver I was looking at has 8K switching on all the HDMI inputs, Auro 3D, and HDR10+ passthrough. However, the Denon also costs $6,499. The 13.2 channel Sony STR-AZ7000ES is a value A/V receiver for only $3,299. One can almost buy two Sony A/V receivers for the price of one flagship Denon.

[Robert Zohn]

Yes Sony's new ZA ES series and the new entry level AN1000 share the same remote control. The only differences are the menu options for additional features and control as you move up into the premium ES series line-up.

It's a very easy to operate and user friendly remote control.

[RocShemp]

Does the AZ7000ES have a Sony equivalent of Audyssey Dynamic EQ / Volume? I know some might view it as sacrilegious, but I find such features useful.

Also, is the AZ7000ES expandable to 15 channels? Not a deal-breaker, but I'm curious nonetheless.

[Robert Zohn]

@RocShemp, Sony's AZ7000ES is limited to 13 channels. At Sony's new receiver presentation we ran the AZ7000ES with 13 full channels powered and 6 SubWoofers.

Not sure about the equivalent of Audyssey Dynamic EQ / Volume control, but the AZ7000ES's calibration application performs beautifully and we all heard and evaluated the audio performance as among the very best we have every heard from any receiver.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

@RocShemp, Sony's AZ7000ES is limited to 13 channels. At Sony's new receiver presentation we ran the AZ7000ES with 13 full channels powered and 6 SubWoofers.

Not sure about the equivalent of Audyssey Dynamic EQ / Volume control, but the AZ7000ES's calibration application performs beautifully and we all heard and evaluated the audio performance as among the very best we have every heard from any receiver.

Thanks for the reply, Robert Zohn. Spent a while watching multiple reviews and visiting a few other sites. You all seem to be in agreement so, barring some major game changing release, I have decided to get the AZ7000ES. This'll be my first Sony AV receiver too.

[Robert Zohn]

You will LOVE Sony's new 2023 flagship VPL-AZ7000ES A/V Receiver!

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

You will LOVE Sony's new 2023 flagship VPL-AZ7000ES A/V Receiver!

I certainly hope so.

By the way, do the two subwoofer outs in this model send independently adjustable signals or the same for both subwoofers?

[Robert Zohn]

The built-in calibration application individually configures the sub output independently.

I edited this post as I need to double check on the 2 sub woofer outputs to confirm that they can be individually calibrated. I'll update this post tomorrow afternoon.

[Panson]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

You will LOVE Sony's new 2023 flagship VPL-AZ7000ES A/V Receiver!

Thank you, Robert.

Do you know what DAC the ES line uses?

[Robert Zohn]

Sorry I don't know which DAC is in the AZ7000ES and Sony does not disclose the components.

Not sure if Shane Lee will take the cover off of his AZ7000ES, but you can post this question on his AZ7000ES video thread.

Sony's first allocation/shipment is scheduled to ship to us the week of Feb 27.

[red_5ive]

I haven't listened to a Sony AVR since the 90s, and admittedly have written them off over the years. But this new line has me doing a double-take. If I were in the market, I'd consider adding to my short list. I love the clean look/clean face, too!

[Panson]

Originally Posted by Robert Zohn

Sorry I don't know which DAC is in the AZ7000ES and Sony does not disclose the components.

Not sure if Shane Lee will take the cover off of his AZ7000ES, but you can post this question on his AZ7000ES video thread.

Sony's first allocation/shipment is scheduled to ship to us the week of Feb 27.

Shane Lee's sound portion of his review was general HT opinion, not dealing with Music. I doubt he delved further.

FWIW an Audioholics forum poster mentioned Sony ESTR-DA5400ES (2009) uses TI PCM1681PWR (24-bit).

No need for DAC secrets. Yamaha, Denon, others are well-known.

[SlaughterX]

Hope to catch the flagship model on sale for half off in a year... because I don't need another AVR and that's the only way I would buy one of these... but I admit it would be kinda cool having another Sony AVR, I think ym 2nd AVR was a Sony and it worked pretty good.