 Worth the wait! |
| Review Date: June 10, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Getter, Portland, Oregon |
The DH800 wasn't yet available when I started shopping for a new receiver a couple of months back. Even though the 700 was being heavily discounted at the time, the 800 had enough next-generation features (DTS-HD decoding, Dolby Digital + and a couple THX modes) to prompt me to hold off a while. And it was worth it. This is an incredible value for a mid-range receiver. After going through the manual, the setup (tuning it for a room) looked unbelievably complex. You had the ability to electronically position each speaker (forget balance controls!). Then, I found the section that explained what the little microphone was for. Wire everything up. Power it on. Put the mic where your ears will be and press the "go" button. Your system sounds like an Atari video game for about 20 seconds and you're done. Remarkable.
Part of my motivation for staying with Sony is that it plays so well with Sony-brand components via Bravia Sync. My DH800 is plugged into an XBR screen and will be joined by a BDP-S560 Blu Ray when it ships this summer. Yes, I tend to be Sony-biased. I've worked in TV production on and off for a lot of years and now spend a fair amount of time in Oregon's first (and still best, IMHO) HDTV studio. On cameras, switchers and displays, the Sony nameplate figures prominently. As with DH800 and XBR screen, has proven it still excels in convenience, consistence and logical interface design.
The rest of the system is a bit of a hybrid (I'm not a huge fan of Sony speakers). My primary front speakers are old and venerable (Canoga Park-era) Infinity 2500's, B&W VM-1 surrounds, HTM-61 center and a truly fabulous Hsu Research VTF-1 subwoofer. However, the auto-calibration has this menagerie blending together seamlessly.
The only down-side I've found so far is that the back panel (particularly the large cluster of speaker terminals) is pretty crowded and the speaker lugs tend to be a bit sticky and troublesome. Sony seems to have skimped a bit on the connectors they chose. Beyond that, it's a beautifully designed and executed component that will really shine when attached to Sony's next-gen Blu-Ray. |
Great Bang for the Bucks!!
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| Review Date: August 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: J. Davis, Columbus, GA |
I searched for several months before pulling the trigger & buying the STR-DH800. Despite Sony bashing by many, I am very satisfied with my purchase. All of my other toys are HDMI equipped & up conversion was not a consideration. It has a decent amount of power & plenty of connections for virtually any device the average consumer will own. My suggestion would be to invest in banana plugs & save yourself a headache when connecting speaker wires, they saved me quite a bit of time. [....] has them pretty cheap.
The auto cal. does a great job at setting up speaker levels & distances. Night mode is also nice. The manual & menu may not be friendly to a newbie. An onscreen menu function would have been nice. If your seat is more than 10 ft. away, as mine is, you will end up standing or straining your eyes to make small adjustments. The receiver is relatively tall, but it is not very deep. It has a nice & simple layout. The buttons & knobs have smooth action & the display is not distracting while watching movies. It does not generate very much heat.
It has been a long time since I purchased home theater equipment & I am very satisfied with my purchase. My system includes: a Sony STR-DH800, Samsung BD-P1600, Sony DVPNS710H, Xbox 360 Elite (Resident Evil LE), Dayton HTS 1200 surrounds, Sony bookshelves, Logitech Harmony 550 remote, Dayton SUB-80, & Vizio 47XVT. Been busy since Christmas.
At it's current price, this receiver is definitely worth a look. I am sure you will not be disappointed. It has helped me save over [...] based on the HTIB I was considering. |
PS3 = Don't Need This Receiver
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| Review Date: February 23, 2010 |
| Reviewer: AHA Says, Oakland, CA |
First off, this thing rocks. Sound quality is excellent, plenty of inputs/outputs, rock solid performance. Don't use a weak powered sub, or you'll get some serious popping action. If you want some cheap/decent speakers to go with this system, the Insignia 5.1 speakers from Best Buy (despite being a questionable brand) put out some serious highs and lows, emitting a decent high-end twinkle and a nice bass breeze from the sub's general direction. Score one for hit or miss Insignias! But I digress...
Anyway, the real reason for this review is the learning curve, and also people's general lack of knowledge regarding audio receivers and PS3s. Audio receivers are generally difficult to use, but if you're not the type to research how receivers work, then you're probably not the type who would appreciate the quality difference, anyway. Spare yourself the headache and get a BD all-in-one home theater system and a powered sub; that's all you'll really need. If you want something more, however, please realize that the manual will not answer all your questions; the receiver is only one component and is dependent on other equipment.
So, to begin: if you have a PS3, this WILL work with TrueHD and DTS-MA HD. But you don't need this particular receiver (or any receiver that can decode TrueHD or DTS-MA) to get beautiful, uncompressed, lossless audio. Any 7.1 receiver with a HDMI input will do.
If you've already gotten this receiver and have no intention of returning it (like I did), then here's your lesson: If your piece of equipment can decode TrueHD or DTS-MA natively (such as your PS3), then it will likely decode the codec FIRST, and THEN send it to the receiver as Linear PCM. The process is fully lossless and there is essentially no degradation, and all relevant speakers will perfectly reproduce the right sounds. If you don't believe me, press Select on your PS3 controller (or Display on the BD Remote). The top right corner should either say TrueHD or DTS-MA, along with some crazy bitrate usually above 3 or 4 Mbps, sometimes up to 20 Mbps (Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS Surround cap out at 1.5 on a good day). The display on the STR-DH800 will also show you that all 5.1 speakers are lit up and in action. It will also, however, display "Linear PCM" instead of "TrueHD" or "DTS-MA," something that scares the uninformed and at least one person who reviewed this receiver on Amazon. As a result, they scurry off and change their BD audio settings to "Bitstream," which, depending on your PS3 model, could be the WRONG THING TO DO.
Older PS3s (see: the fat ones) do not pass TrueHD or DTS-MA via Bitstream. They will automatically demote the audio to plain Dolby Digital or DTS, which will cause the receiver to display a nice "Dolby Digital" or "DTS" running marquee, but ultimately result in lower quality lossy audio. One thing for sure; it'll sound louder. That's because the dynamic range (the difference between loud and quiet sounds) is smaller with the older digital codecs. In any case, Bitstreaming from an older PS3 to the STR-DH800 will result in lower quality audio and a misleading Dolby Digital or DTS message on your display.
Newer, Slim PS3s, however, can now bitstream TrueHD and DTS-MA straight to the receiver and allow the receiver to do the decoding. It's all really unnecessary, since there is no discernible difference between PS3's LPCM and bitstream audio. Some audiophiles might cry otherwise, but their numbers are few, and their arguments are, as one wise man said "theoretical/pedantic." But hey, you'll get to have the TrueHD and DTS-MA logos flash across your receiver's display! Huzzah!
That's cute and all, but you actually lose something with bitstreaming: the PS3's system sounds. Since only the untouched audio is passing through to the receiver, the PS3's system audio gets left behind. Maybe it's a small price to pay to get the TrueHD logo up.
To make things worse, if you pick up a receiver that DOESN'T have TrueHD or DTS-MA capabilities, then bitstreaming will result in audio downgraded to DD 5.1 or DTS Surround flavors. However, if you did the smart thing and stuck with Linear PCM, you'll let the PS3 do the decoding and pass an uncompressed Linear PCM signal to your receiver, which it is almost guaranteed to process and output properly.
Rule of Thumb: Linear PCM is your best bet for PS3 audio bliss, regardless of the model.
All this is really pointless if you primarily use a PS3 for Blu-Ray. The STR-DH700 is a similar, but cheaper, receiver that has all the HDMI ins and outs you need without native TrueHD/DTS-MA decoding. The PS3 already does the decoding, and any decent receiver will accept Linear PCM, so as long as the receiver has HDMI input, you're good to go. Enjoy! |
Good value receiver
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| Review Date: August 13, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Mr. Fixit, Southern CA |
I bought this receiver as an upgrade to replace my old Sony receiver which finally died. So far it's been great and does pretty much everything I want it to do for my setup. It has 4 HDMI inputs so it should be something that will be usable for many years as HDMI is basically the standard for new high definition video/audio. One feature I found especially nice is the auto calibration feature. It makes setup a snap and I have pretty much left the settings alone as it sounds great using just auto calibration.
Be aware it does not do upconversion though. I believe there was some confusion when this model first came out in regards to upconversion. Just be aware it does not do it. So what this means for example; if you hook up a source that uses component video input, you would still need to use separate component video cables to your TV/monitor. It will not switch/upconvert the signal through the HDMI output.
Overall I'm very happy for the price I paid. It's got many great features, such as iPod dock expansion, wireless speakers, etc., that I should be happy with it for many years to come. For the money you can't go wrong if you need a good basic receiver. |
Great recieiver for the movie nut on a budget
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| Review Date: August 16, 2009 |
| Reviewer: crb 1274, Indianapolis, IN |
| If you don't want to spend an arm and a leg or can't on a high end receiver then this unit will work just fine for you. I have had great luck with Sony products over the years and this seems to be right on line with the rest. The sound is amazing when paired with a blu ray disc that spits out DTS-Master HD or Dolby True HD. Very crisp and clear. The remote is user friendly and the speaker calibration is a blessing. Best Buy had this unit for $399.99, but I got it on Amazon for $285(plus no tax and free shipping!). I hope others check out Amazon before Best Buy pulls the wool over their eyes like they have mine for so many years. |
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