Great entry level receiver. It was
Written: Mar 27 '02
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Pros: Price, Style, Responsive Remote, Reliable
Cons: Sound is harsh, lack of inputs, not really many for this price
The Bottom Line: Best receiver in this price range. Sony isn't the best sounding, but great feautres, great price.
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| doooood's Full Review: Sony STR-DE475 5.1 Channels Receiver |
I purchased this receiver from a friend who bought it on a staff discount, for approximately $120US about a year ago. It was my first DD/DTS receiver, and i was quite happy with it. It is now with my parents, as i gave it to them as a gift.
Now down to the meat and potatoes.
After hearing a couple other receivers (that i've owned) in the time after having this one, I'm not as impressed as i was originally, this being the lowest-ended receiver that i've ever owned.
This receiver was tested with 3 different speakers. for fronts. Klipsch SB-1, Klipsch SF-1, dbPlus Bookshelf 6.5.
The rear and center speakers used were Klipsch SS-1 and Klipsch SC-1. With 2 different Subs, Energy Encore 8 and PSB Alpha Subzero 5
Pros:
This is an awesome deal. I would have still been happy using this receiver for Home Theatre applications. Its got all your basic needs.
Excellent bass management. I am still quite impressed with the bass management of the sony receivers in general. I've heard the DE675 as well, and both have amazing bass reproduction.
Its got lots of DSP modes. If you like DSP modes its got quite a few for receivers of this price range.
Cons:
Not very musical. I wouldn't recommend this receiver for people who want to listen to a lot of music. Its rather harsh, and bright sounding. Especially when i coupled then with the Klipsch speakers, which are amazingly efficient, and have horn tweeters. The sound was a little too harsh. Once i switched to a more "audiophile quality" receiver, it sounded much warmer.
Doesn't have many settings for distance and time delay, etc etc for the speakers. It has basic height and distance for pairs.
Not many video switching outputs. If you have s-video stuff, you wont be using this for video switching. It also only has one Digital input, which can be a pain if you have more digital devices other than DVD.
Other than the first con, regarding the sound quality, its a great receiver for this price.
There was a problem with the subwoofer out on my unit. The fixer shop said that there wasn't anything wrong with it, but when the receiver is off, it continually sends a 60hz tone to the subwoofer, never allowing the sub to auto shut off ang making this annoying hum. This hum is gone when the receiver is turned on though. Its not the "ground loop" that people talk about, it is a problem with the receiver not grounding the subwoofer when it is turn off. Mine was probably an irrepairable lemon.
Overall:
I'm not amazed by the sound, but i am amazed by the amount of features for this price. The reliability is good, except for that subwoofer thing. I would recommend this receiver as a first choice to anyone on a budget
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 120
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Epinions.com ID:
doooood
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Member: Nelson Chung
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I love snowboarding, knives, watches, home audio, and car audio!
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