Sony STR-DG820 Receiver Preorder

[ecove]

Sony STR DG820 - AV receiver - 7.1 channel - pre-order


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esquared
Anandtech Senior Moderator

 

[cpmer]

good deal

 

[Odeen]

What's so special about this particular receiver?

Reason I ask - Butterfly Photo recently had a Yamaha RX-V663 on sale for $324 shipped. The V663 has Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio decoding, pre-outs for a power amp, and it converts analog video inputs to 480P. The main things it doesn't do is have enough HDMI inputs (just 2) upscale beyond 480P, matrix Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio 5.1 to 7.1 (although it does matrix to 7.1 with LPCM sources), or have an HD Radio.

Does the Sony have a similar feature set to the V663? If it does, it's a tremendous value, since it's $50 cheaper than the best price for the Yamaha. If it doesn't, then it's just another value receiver that may offer certain advantages to certain users...

 

[Slick5150]

It has 4 HDMI inputs as I recall and can decode TrueHD or DTS MA, but I don't believe it can transcode analog video sources (component, etc..) to HDMI.

That being said, I've always preferred Yamaha's sound quality to that of brands like Sony, Onkyo, etc.. that tend to focus more on having the most inputs and whatnot. Not saying this is a bad receiver, but I'd be willing to bet the RX-V663 will sound better.

 

[shortylickens]

I like all the HDMI and fiber optic inputs, but considering the type of hardware I have right now, I'd prefer a bunch of digial coax and component inputs instead.

Having said that: 770 watts and 7.1 sound for well under 300 bucks isnt a bad deal at all.

 

[Trashman]

Just a heads up, this unit does not decode TrueHD and DTS-HD. SPECS
Still, not a bad deal though.

I agree though, that the Yamaha RX-V663 is a much better buy, more features for the price.

 

[RedShirt]

Thanks OP! You just saved me about 85 bucks (When factoring in shipping + tax)! I pre-ordered this at Amazon for 400 and just canceled.

The big deal about this receiver is it's price for offering 4 HDMI inputs. Sure it won't sound as good as a Yamaha, but it'll sound good enough for me with my cheap 200 dollars surround sound speakers. What I like is I'll finally have a single device that will do all my video switching.

Also, Sony's own description for this receiver at Sony Style says:

"Powerful HDMI? connectivity combined with Active Intelligence offers automatic detection of optimal video and audio signals from all connected components with convenience of a simple one wire connection."

Does this mean it'll convert Analog to HDMI? If so, that's icing on the cake.

 

[Trashman]

"Does this mean it'll convert Analog to HDMI? "
unfortunately it does not.

 

[bigboxes]

This is crap. My Denon weighs 40lbs while this weights 19. You do the math. It's not like they throw a brick in there to give it more weight. You get what you pay for.

 

[will792]

Originally posted by: bigboxes
This is crap. My Denon weighs 40lbs while this weights 19. You do the math. It's not like they throw a brick in there to give it more weight. You get what you pay for.

Totally agree. A good receiver has to be heavy since heat sinks, capacitors and frame cannot be shrunk. Personally I would go for Yamaha/Denon/Onkyo or ES line of Sony receivers ( more expensive than STR line). Specs for receivers do not tell the whole story.