A couple of questions for some experts

[ryjam282]

Hey guys/girls, I am new to the boards here and I have been reading for quite awhile.

All I am reading is about Denon and Yamaha and brands like that. I was looking at getting a Sony Receiver, any opinions on this? I have read a lot of reviews on this receiver and it looks good (STR-DE995S)

I have about $700-800 to spend on a receiver and speakers and I have a few questions. I am looking to get a 7.1 surround receiver, the Sony (STR-DE995S) is the one I have taken a liking too and I found it at a relatively cheap price from OneCall.com ($327.35). Does anyone have any opinions on this receiver or Sony in general? I always thought they were a good company.

As for speakers, I am looking for, like I said 7.1 surround, so I need the 2 rear surrounds. I was wondering if some of you could point me in the right direction for a set of speakers and I would really like a sub that has a 10" woofer with it. So any help would be much appreciated. I have about $400 or so to spend on the speakers. I would love some Bose, but know they are no where near my price range but would Bose speakers even connect to a Sony receiver?

Please help guys/girls, thanks for your time.

Ryan

[SSaull]

Please do not buy a Sony receiver. They make the worst a/v receivers on the planet. The ones you should look at are Yamaha RX-V650, 750, 0r 1400. They range in price from 549-800. They all have the new Yamaha Parametric Acoustic Optimization feature which will optimize a lot of factors to your room. Their dsp modes are incredible, and I am on my 4th Yamaha receiver. Go to Tweeter and give them a tryout. You won't be sorry.

[ryjam282]

Please do not buy a Sony receiver. They make the worst a/v receivers on the planet. The ones you should look at are Yamaha RX-V650, 750, 0r 1400. They range in price from 549-800. They all have the new Yamaha Parametric Acoustic Optimization feature which will optimize a lot of factors to your room. Their dsp modes are incredible, and I am on my 4th Yamaha receiver. Go to Tweeter and give them a tryout. You won't be sorry.

SSaul, thanks for the update but does Yamaha have any 7.1 receivers in my price range, (around $350 or so)? What is so bad about the sony receivers? All the ones I have listened too have sounded pretty good. Please explain, thanks a lot.

[N. Abstentia]

Wow, if I were looking to put together the worst sounding system possible then Bose and Sony are the first two brands that come to mind.

Actually Sony receivers don't sound THAT bad, as there's not a huge difference in the low end stuff from Sony, Yamaha, Kenwood, and other brands such as that. Where Sony does suffer is reliablity. They are just made like junk.

But Bose on the other hand probably ARE the worst speakers I've ever encounted. I've never understood why anyone would even think they sound remotely good. What is it that you heard from a Bose speaker that you liked?

Also just curious..why are you locked onto a 7.1 receiver? What's the point?

[ryjam282]

Wow, if I were looking to put together the worst sounding system possible then Bose and Sony are the first two brands that come to mind.

Actually Sony receivers don't sound THAT bad, as there's not a huge difference in the low end stuff from Sony, Yamaha, Kenwood, and other brands such as that. Where Sony does suffer is reliablity. They are just made like junk.

But Bose on the other hand probably ARE the worst speakers I've ever encounted. I've never understood why anyone would even think they sound remotely good. What is it that you heard from a Bose speaker that you liked?

Also just curious..why are you locked onto a 7.1 receiver? What's the point?

The reason I want 7.1 is because I like the full surround feel. I know most of the sound is fake but I still enjoy it very much. Plus won't sound be going to 7.1 eventually? So, the Sony is not a reliable receiver, I actually was checking into the other ones that SSaul provided in his reply and I really like that RX-V650. That is a nice one and I am wondering what is the big difference between that and the sony one I wanted (STR-DE995s)
Any help there would be appreciated.

So, Bose speakers suck huh? I haven't listened to them in about 5 years and remember then sounding nice back then so I just put 2 and 2 toghether. So, what do you reccommend for speakers for my Home Theater if I want to go to 7.1 with a 10" woofer in my price range? Thanks a lot for your remarks.

[kexodusc]

I've had mixed experiences with Sony. To me they are more of the "entry level" (I hate using these classifications like some elitist, sorry) as far as quality and performance go...I'd put Sony there with Kenwood, your basic Pioneer, Panasonic, JVC, etc...Your basic Sears brands. Good value, decent performance, sometimes not always the best quality.

Next up you'd have Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer Elite, and Harmon Kardon (probably a few others I'm missing)...I have to disagree with N. Abstentia - there is a significant difference in sound quality, performance, and features in these brands over the others. You can begin by looking at the power supplies, connection options, processing capabilities, etc...plus they're just generally built tougher. Whether they're worth the extra $$ to you is something only you can decide.

You can keep spending money on Bryston, Rotel, Adcom gear etc if you really want the most performance, but you start to lose gains...the law of diminishing returns. You probably won't notice as much improvement going from a $500 receiver to a $2000 receiver as you would a $200 to a $500.

There are exceptions though, price doesn't necessarily mean performance or quality. Sony makes some great stuff, they also make some crap. There's some product lines that over-lap the prices of higher quality product lines. These forums are great tools for educating yourself about what to look for in equipment, but often too much personal bias presents itself. Go test some receivers out, and decide what's best for you. Good luck!!!

[ryjam282]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I owned a Sony previously and thought it was nice. So, that is why I was saying Sony again. I will try out this Yamaha one and check it out. Does that YPAO System thing really work? I am curious to see that thing.

So what do you recommend as far as speakers go? Like I said, I want some nice sounding speakers but can only spend around $350-400 or so. Thanks.

[Bryan]

With a budget of between $700 - $800 something will suffer. Where do you make the compromise? More often than not, the subwoofer becomes the sacraficial lamb. Material right now is either 5.1 or 6.1. True 7.1 isn't even in the picture. IMO, you should go with something such as the HSU Ventriloquist/VTF-2 combo for $660 delivered plus a Yamaha HTR-5730 for $199.99 delivered. Granted that adds up to $859.99 but should be a better system for you in the long run as the sub will remain in your system for years to come, probably long after you've upgraded the speakers and receiver.

[magictooth]

Next up you'd have Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer Elite, and Harmon Kardon (probably a few others I'm missing)...I have to disagree with N. Abstentia - there is a significant difference in sound quality, performance, and features in these brands over the others. You can begin by looking at the power supplies, connection options, processing capabilities, etc...plus they're just generally built tougher. Whether they're worth the extra $$ to you is something only you can decide.!

Dunno about that. I figure with a total budget of $800 you're not going to able to hear all that much difference. Your first item on your to do list should be to narrow down to what brand of speakers you like. That'll make the biggest difference in sound quality. Many people love Paradigm speakers although they're not my speaker of choice. Individual speakers would be the best bet, but with the budget, you may have to compromise and get a good HTIB like the Hsu kit or Tannoy FX series. These will give you 5 speakers + a subwoofer (the Tannoy is only 8"). The Tannoy can be had on eBay for $400 while the Hsu will cost you a bit more.

After that, get a good receiver. Any of the brands that are listed above are fine choices. Some prefer Yamaha, others prefer Denon, etc. In the end, the only person that needs convincing of whether a receiver is any good is yourself. I know it sounds like a cop out, but as with everything audio only you can make the final decision.

[paul_pci]

I know this is hard to do, but try not to confuse the market proliferation of Sony and Bose with quality products. Look past the veneer of marketing and eye the specs, the reliability, the build, and auditions if available. Doing so, would automatically dismiss Bose.

Happy hunting.

[ryjam282]

Thanks a million guys. I guess I have some deciding to do in the future. I appreciate all the knowledge.

[SSaull]

Sony just doesn't have the "punch" of something like a Yamaha or Denon. The only reason anyone makes a "7.1 receiver is because the original intent of 6.1 was to have a rear center channel. Noone really like that idea because of placement or other reasons, so now most of the higher priced receivers give you 2 amps for the rear surround. However, if your budget is $350, you need to consider whether you really want to get a junky 7.1 or a decent 6.1 receiver. And, trust me, that extra channel does absolutely nothing for me.
Yamaha's RX-V650 retails for $549.95; if you go to Tweeter and cry, you can negotiate with them. I got my RX-V1400 for 690, it was 800 msrp. Good luck.

[JeffKnob]

I have recently upgraded from a Pioneer receiver to a Yamaha RX-V1400 and will tell you that the Yamaha is much better sounding. I went from a 5.1 system to a 7.1 system and honestly don't notice much of a difference if at all. The extra two channels don't really add much. Most of the time I don't even have them turned on. I agree with Bryan's suggestion to get the HSU Ventriloquist/VTF-2 combo and a lower model of a quality brand for a receiver, ie. Denon, Yamaha, H/K, Onkyo. I got the chance to hear side by side the difference between a high model Bose system and the Ventriloquist system and will tell you it was like night and day. Bose only makes money because they have brainwashed the public into thinking they are great. That is just my 2 cents.

[CyberStoic]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I owned a Sony previously and thought it was nice. So, that is why I was saying Sony again. I will try out this Yamaha one and check it out. Does that YPAO System thing really work? I am curious to see that thing.

So what do you recommend as far as speakers go? Like I said, I want some nice sounding speakers but can only spend around $350-400 or so. Thanks.

Ryan;

I have a sony str-de 895. It is not a "bad" receiver, nor is it "junk", but it is terribly underpowered, way under what the specs say. When playing 2 channel stereo it is decent enough and the power seems about what they specify, but the sound is shrill on the high end. When playing it in home theater mode (6.1) , I would be suprised if you get 50 of those 100 watts per channel. Furthermore, if you push the volume, it will distort. I used to run that as my main system, with a set of polk towers and surrounds but became very dissatisfied with the sound, which seemed hollow and it's lack of power in 6.1 applications. I replaced it with an Onkyo 601, which is wonderful.

The sony 895 now resides in the den/family room that the kids (10 and 6) use for their dvd's, music and gamecube/playstation. It is hooked to an old set of KLH towers all around with a klh center. For their use, they are thrilled, they impress their friends with being able to use the "big stereo". (They are actually quite proficient with it's use and switch between all the various surround modes, etc and the 10 year old can hook everything up all by himself - gotta start them young)

In any case, personally, I would avoid the sony and look for something else. A friend of mine has a Pioneer 912k (110watts x 6) that has a parametric sound thingy like the yamaha and it is on closeout as the new 914 comes out -- and I have seen it for under 300.00. That is a reasonably priced receiver. It is not 7.1 but lets you hook up 2 speakers in the back surround to fill in the sound. My friend has it paired with some JBL's and it is enjoyable when watching movies.

Best Buy is now stocking the new yamaha's and their older models are being reduced. The HTR-5660 (6.1 85 watts x 6) can be had for 399.00 or less, which is at least 100 off, and I have seen it for less than 329.00 on the web.

Personally I love my onkyo 601, which can be gotten at CC for 449.00 on sale and even cheaper for a refurbished one on the web (around 300).

Don't know if that helps, but they are much better than the sony and in your price range.

Good luck

[kexodusc]

Oh boy, I'm risking being flamed here, but here goes: Anyone who can put a$200-$500 Sony beside a $200-$500 Yamaha or Denon and not hear a significant difference has got to be deaf. I have a Sony STRde635, a Yamaha RX-V795a, and a Marantz SR-5000. Even running through the extremely cheap and mediocre Axiom M3ti's in my dining room you can easily hear a difference betweent the 3. The Sony just doesn't compete. Not even close. It doesn't have the power, the headroom, the dynamics, whatever wishy-washy audiophile adjectives you want to use. Try plugging in some decent RCA cables into the back of the Sony and feels like it will implode.

That being said, it was a reliable Dolby Digital receiver for me back in the day for about 4 months, and has driven the old wharfedales in my garage for 2 years now without failing. And it gets pretty dang cold in Maine in the winter!!! Anyway, brand new 1 or 2 years apart, there might have been a $100 to $200 dollar difference between these three receivers, but the Marantz and Yamaha are far, far, far superior as far as sound quality, features, and connection options go. Period.
Now, anybody interested in a used Sony STRde635 or Yamaha RX-V795a??