The Sony Str-DE845, A Very Capable Receiver.
Written: Jun 06 '05
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Pros: Twin sub outs, heards of power, triple line backlit lcd remote.
Cons: Remote a bit hard to figure out at first
The Bottom Line: I would recommend this to anyone looking for a surround receiver. Hold's it own to names like, sherwood, yahmaha, denon, and onkyo. Twin sub out's, sophisticated remote, Phono input, Brilliant.
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| nightshad0w's Full Review: Sony STR-DE845 5.1 Channels Receiver |
For those of us in the world who have had many sony products, We know that they have always been a great company. I have gone through several various sony products, and I have never really had a complaint. Now I suppose if you are you wanting to spend a couple grand on a surround sound receiver, you can get a very capable receiver as well. However, some of us just don't have that kind of money, yet we still want an awesome piece of equipment. This is where the sony str-de845 comes into play.
Now previous to this receiver, I had gone out and bought a sony ht-ddw660, which is a 200 dollar all in one, whole kit and kaboodle surround sound package. basically it is just a receiver, 5 speakers and a sub. I was urning for a surround sound system, and at the price, I could not pass it up. Now, hands down I was really impressed with this system. It was money well spent. But I wanted more. I wanted to able to have more fine-tuning options for my music and movies, and I really wanted to have sub outputs, so that I could use powered subs. So I got the str-de845. One of the coolest things I read about that helped sell me on the receiver, was that, it had dual subwoofer outputs.
WOW! I thought this was a really cool feature, and that alone could have hooked me on the receiver. I also wanted something with power, and at 100 rms x 5, this thing was looking pretty good. I liked the overall setup of the unit, and the remote reminded me of something from star trek. One could write a whole review on the remote alone.
After having this receiver for about 4 months, I have become very used to all the functions, and all of it's capabilities. The remote took me longer to figure out, then the receiver itself. Now let's get into some specifics about what makes this such a great receiver.
First and foremost, You've got three optical digital inputs. You also have an optical digital output, and a coaxial digital in. You have an MD in/out, a CD input, a phono input (which can be hard to find on newer receivers)
You have Video 1 in/out's with S-video, Video 2 with just composite, And an DVD/LD in. You also have the CTRL S OUT for use with other sony products. You also have the twin SUB out's which is one of my favorite features. Now let's get to the remote. First off the remote came with it's own manual. That tells you enough right there. The RM-LP204 remote commander is one impressive remote, so much that you can have command over such a vast list of electronics, that it would take me a long, long, time to list just half of them. There are way to many functions of this remote to list here. If epinions has a section for this remote, maybe I will write a review on it as well.
Now I am controlling my whole system with this one remote, Including my ps2 (new slimline model) When I first figured out that I could use the remote to control my ps2: as far as dvd playback control, I was absolutely astounded. No programming had to be done, I simply pointed the remote at the ps2 and hit play.
So enough about the remote, on to the sound quality. All and all I have been very impressed. As much as I wanted the twin sub out's, I for now, only have one sub. It is a Polk audio PSW202 10 inch powered (50 watt rms) ported subwoofer. as far as speakers are concerned, I have a set of 5 older JBL Scs135 surrounds. I bought all of them used, at 60 dollars, and they do wonderfully. Each of the four surrounds has one 3 inch video shielded midrange, and one 1/2 inch titanium-laminate dome tweeter. The center has dual 3 inch mids, and the same tweeter. They all handle 100 watts nominal, so they are perfect. I have to say, That I would be more happy with some floor standings for the front, but theese are great for the money spent.
You can adjust the frequency cut-off point for all ranges, and I have mine set to nominal as far as manufacturers recomendation. This unit generates plenty of crisp, sharp and clear high's without deafining you. The mid-vocal range could not be better. The bass has such a punh That I frequently find myself turning the sub out control down to negative three, and turning the bass boost off. You have MANY options for soundfields, including: normal surround, 6 different cinema studio modes, The cinema studio mode, is a soudfield generator created by sony, to try to reproduce the way it would sound in an actual movie theater, with many many speakers. You also have night theater, mono movie, stereo movie, headphone theater, small hall and large hall. That is just naming a few. You also have A.F.D. (Auto Format Decode) which automatically detects the type of audio that is being input at the time.
You can change the output levels of all the channels of all the speakers. you have a screen depth setting for the center channel, which seems to make the sound come from inside the screen. (Very cool) This unit has an entire spectrum of sound field adjustment's that Is right up there with receivers of far, far more money.
I cannot describe how very happy I am with this receiver, and if you are like me, and want the best, You can pick one up right now, for no more than 260-350 dollars. I give this reciever my longest review yet, as it is, a very fine, very complex piece of equipment. This receiver originally retailed for about 500 dollars, in the summer of 1999. But is, in my opinion, still a great piece of equipment, one of the best in it's class.
The Sony STR-DE845, From me, a 5 star rating.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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Epinions.com ID:
nightshad0w
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Reviews written: 4
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