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Opinion on Sony Receiver?

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To make my favorite recommendation for the umpteenth time, I'd go with a Denon 2308 from Dakmart for ~$355.20 Canadian shipped to Halifax. It has all the Audyssey adjustments and excellent quality, connectivity, and power output for that price range. It is refurbished, but most reviewers say they can't tell the difference between the refurbs from Dakmart and new units. Dakmart affirms that it will operate exactly as a brand new unit, and you'll get the same one-year warranty as you would with a new unit.

I don't think you'll do better for the price.
 
I have been busy, sorry for the lack of feedback. I appreciate all the replies and my experience is going to validate what I think is the majority opinion in here.

I went to Future Shop and purchased the Sony STRH800.

Installation: I set the new receiver on top of my old Sony one and transferred all the speaker wires and the digital audio coax coming from my PC.
I connected the TV to the HDMI output and the DVD, PC video card and cable box to the HDMI inputs.

Verdict: a breeze.

Setup: I used auto cal to set up all the speakers. The receiver detected all the speakers corectly, ie large or small. The auto calibration is much quicker then my old receiver. You can now store 3 different speaker calibration setup wich I did using the full flat parameter. I relabeled all the inputs so they made sense to me. My learning curve was small so it was fairly easy but I still had to use the manual.

Verdict: No problems, It's faster but you do need the book.

Music: I set up my sound card SPIDIF to 192 KHz, 24 bit sampling rate. Music came on but I could not adjust the treble or bass unless I turned the sampling rate bellow 48 KHz (receiver limitation). Fine, once I got everything working the music sounded exactly the same as with the old receiver.

Movies: Movies from the PC and the DVD worked immediately over HDMI but there AGAIN, I could not discern any improvement in sound quality over my old receiver.

Verdict: I paid good money to get a newer receiver with support for all the newest standards and better connectivity. I also expected improvement in the sound quality. It's NOT there.

Conclusion: This baby is going BACK TO THE STORE. Even with $200 off the regular price this receiver was disappointing.

I am going to put a bit of money aside and wait for a sale on the Onkio SR507 and look up the Denon 2308 as suggested by kalrith

I kind of trusted all the reviews on the web but I realize now that those people most likely have nothing to compare the receiver to and as long as they can get it to work fairly easily they will give it a good rating.

My philosophy: if I am going to upgrade my receiver, I WANT TO EAR A DIFFERENCE!!
 
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Sorry you had to find out the hard way... most tried to warn you. As others have said, the only good Sony line is their ES line where they actually take the time to engineer and build with decent components.

Also, don't forget to look at last year's models, especially the yammys and pioneer elites. You might be able to get a much better quality receiver in the same price range by buying an older model. Also don't forget about looking at factory direct refurbished units. I picked up a factory refurbed harmon kardon DPR-1001 for $200 (with full warranty) when they were still going for $1200+ new in store (MSRP was still $1800, it was their top of the line unit at the time). I only just replaced it last year (got an Integra DHC-9.9 pre-processor).
 
My SONY HT receiver opinion would be the electronics might work fine on their low end stuff, but their poor amplification on their cheap receivers does not make up for it. You can buy a Harman Kardon for just about as cheap as any brand, and at least they won't exaggerate their amp specs.

If the receiver claims 110 watts times 7 at 8 ohms, just look at the back of the receiver and if it states something like 300 watts max on the power output, usually printed near the power cord, you know your getting screwed. Low power amps in cheap receivers can't supply 110 watts x 7 to ALL channels driven at PEAKS, that's the thing.

http://www.sonystyle.ca/commerce/se...1&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&productId=1006550

*Power Consumption: 240W (Max? Who are they kidding???)

So if a H/K receiver in that same price range states 50 watts x 7 and says its output power in the back is 540 watts, you know you are getting ALL that power at near peak, on ALL channels at the SAME time, all things being equal.

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/product_detail.asp?urlMaterialNumber=AVR%201600&status=

http://www.harmanaudio.com/search_browse/productspecs.asp?product=AVR 1600

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Arial,Helvetica]*Power Consumption 65W idle, 540W maximum (5 channels driven)[/FONT][/FONT]!!!

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][FONT=Arial,Helvetica]*Harman Kardon receivers have earned worldwide accolades for their uncompromising sound quality. Though the AVR 1600 is Harman Kardon’s entry-level receiver, it nevertheless maintains the company’s high performance standards. The AVR 1600 incorporates the brand’s acclaimed, high-current, ultrawide-bandwidth amplifier sections, which generate 50 watts for each of the receiver’s seven channels. Whether it’s the exciting sound of explosions from the latest movie or the detailed nuances of your favorite musical artist, the AVR 1600’s amplifier delivers sound with uncompromised realism, dynamics and subtlety. [/FONT][/FONT]
Essentially, what most companies do with their cheapo HT receivers and HT in a box systems is put car stereo quality amps with all that harmonic distortion in a larger HT receiver box.

Plus, I think many cheapo HT receivers look like total junk from the back, too. Which is where connection quality counts the most. Anyone who has ever broken a speaker or HDMI connector on the back of a receiver would agree connection quality is pretty important.

And the Sony is about 18 lbs versus 28 lbs on the H/K. All that extra weight is made up in the amp section.

So what would you rather have? A cheap car quality amp with high distortion in a HT receiver box, or a REAL HT quality amp capable of driving 4 or 8 ohm home speakers with low distortion?
 
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Well, 🙂

The Onkyo TX-SR507 happen to be on sale at Best Buy this week (it's as if Best Buy has been reading my mind) and I am getting a small tax refund!!

Guess what's going to be replacing my Sony receiver tomorrow???????

LOL
 
I got the Onkyo set up and running.

The calibration process was a bit of a pain in the ass but what a difference compare to the Sony receiver.

Ill never own another Sony.

I just can't get over how good this sound.



Enough said.
 
Number1 said:
I got the Onkyo set up and running.

The calibration process was a bit of a pain in the ass but what a difference compare to the Sony receiver.

Ill never own another Sony.

I just can't get over how good this sound.



Enough said.
Click to expand...

Another satisfied convert! I am glad you took the time to take the Sony back and get a more respectable receiver. Too many people just put up with it
 
Number1 said:
I got the Onkyo set up and running.

The calibration process was a bit of a pain in the ass but what a difference compare to the Sony receiver.

Ill never own another Sony.

I just can't get over how good this sound.



Enough said.
Click to expand...

So should I say "I told you so" now or later? 😉

Glad you tried something else. Sometimes, we internet know-it-all's actually DO.
 
Glad to hear that you listened to the Onkyo. I have been a fan for a while, which is why I looked at Integra when I was looking for my pre-processor (Integra is basically the high end brand, but don't think for a bit that the Onkyo's are "low end" by that statement, they are just in a different class).
 
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