Sony STR-DE895 Setup Issue? Receiver Advice!

[cmaglio]

I just bought a Sony STR-DE897 Receiver trying to save money and still get the features I wanted. However I just hooked it up and I can turn the volume all of the way up to "MAX" and the speakers are not very loud at all. I currently only have 2 front speakers hooked up. Could there be a setting wrong? Could the receiver be bad? I am looking into biting the bullet and buying a Denon or Onkyo. The 5 year old 100Wx5 Sony this new receiver was replacing was at least 2-3 times louder than this is currently getting.... what could be wrong?

[cmaglio]

It seems there is a source level problem... DVDs play decently loud, while all of the other sources dont get loud at all. The volume is at a decent listening level when the receiver is set to "MAX" volume which doesnt seem right to me at all. All of my devices are set to fixed volume so that no individual adjustment should be needed. I think I am going to cut my losses, sell this, and buy a receiver with an On Screen Display to make setup easier. Any other suggestions? BTW, For replacements... I am looking at the Onkyo TX-SR702, Yamaha HTR-5760, and the Denon AVR-2105. Any advice is very welcome.

[Mania]

Any chance that you have the receiver set for Pro Logic, or 5.1 output, when you only have 2 speakers? This can be a common problem when setting up a new system, and might explain the problem you are having, especially if you think you aren't even gettin all the source material to the speakers. Make sure that your receiver knows that you only have the 2 F and L speakers before you get rid of the thing. I would be shocked if there was actually something wrong with it, and that it wasn't just a setup issue. Good luck

[cmaglio]

I have it setup for a 2 channel setup with no subwoofer. The unit gets decently loud playing back DVDs, however when hooked up to any of the other sources I have it is barely loud enough at MAX volume. The speakers got very very loud with my old Sony STR-DE515 (all of the same sources and cables). Anyway, I don't think there is anything wrong with the unit.

I am going to buy a receiver with a few more bells and whistles, which is wwhat I should have done in the first place. I am putting my old speakers on eBay anyway because I just bought what I think to be a decent setup from the Cambridge Soundworks Newton Series, especially for the price I paid.