Excellent receiver for an everyday user.
Written: Aug 15 '02 (Updated Aug 15 '02)
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Pros: Very good sound for the money, nice features, very reliable.
Cons: There is no optical input for the DVD channel.
The Bottom Line: If you are an everyday user, and want to spend under 300, buy this unit. It will more than fill your needs
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| revray's Full Review: Sony STR-DE685 5.1 Channels Receiver |
I bought the 685 after I had gone through the whole debacle that everyone else had who owned a Harman/Kardon AVR 45. After throwing that piece of junk onto ebay for someone else to use I went looking for something that would support my system.
I am an everyday user, I just like clear sound and ease of use. I do not have stellar speakers, nor do I have a great room for sound. However, I do like surround sound on my DVD's and game cube, and I do care about quality and ease of use.
The 685 has great quality. It is a Sony product and I have never had a problem with their products. It does not get super hot like other models and fits nicely into any cabinet. The remote is excellent and truly universal. There are some functions that are never used, but all receivers and remotes have those.
The functions are awesome. I really love the ease of use that this unit has. There is a slight learning curve for some of the things, but the manual is pretty clear on the whole thing.
The one down side to this receiver is it's lack of optical input on the DVD channel switcher on the back of the unit. Sony highly recommends that you use a coaxial connection to connect your DVD. Well if you have an older DVD player it came with an optical connection not a CO-ax one. You can plug an optical connection into the video 2 channel in the back of the machine, but the buttons will not match in front.
Sony makes up for this by allowing you to name each channel uniquely, meaning that you can select the video one channel, and program the unit to display vcr, or DVD, or even to say GAMECUBE. It has an eight character limit, which is not too bad at all.
It definitely has power behind it, again I am an everyday user, so I do not know how to give you details on wattage amounts and different numbers, but I can tell you that when you turn up this receiver, you feel it. The surround channels are sharp and clear, and when you have it on 2 channel stero it makes radio sound very nice.
The look and feel of the unit is nice, I especially like the blue light feature it has, which lights up when the unit detects multichannel information.
This unit is right for the money. It has enough channels for pretty much any system. I have a lot I want to hook up and it handles it all nicely. I have a cd, md, nintendo 64, gamecube, dvd player, vcr and a tape player all hooked up to it. The unit is full but it handles it all well.
If you have another 100 dollars, go up one model since it has the jogdial feature to swtich between functions. Also it has the new dolby digital function.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 275
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Epinions.com ID:
revray
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Reviews written: 1
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