Sony STRDE497 RDS Receiver 400WATTS

...a bit cheap for a Sony home theater! Hey, guys it's my first time!]

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I bought this Sony to go with a DVD player with coax digital out, xbox with optical digital out, PS2 and Sky + box. Connecting all the speakers up (sold seperately) is about as simple as it can be with spring-terminal speaker connections at the back of the amplifier.

The amp has five separate input buttons although you can double ...
...(or DTS, of which the Sony can decode both) you can really hear the effects from the rear speakers, at the same levels as the front speakers sometimes when the sound engineer allows, however switch to Pro Logic II and the rear speakers seem to take a dive. Maybe the rear speakers are meant to be more subtle in Pro Logic, I dont know. Now you can always increase the level of the rear speakers to compensate but when you switch back to 5.1 soundtracks ... more

[Shortly after writing this review I realised that I should only be reviewing the Amplifier here, whereas I actually purchased the Home Cinema system (model HTDDW760) which includes the satellite speakers and active sub-woofer in a complete package together with this model of amp. However, most of what I wrote originally still applies here but I had to cut a few bits out regarding the speaker and sound quality as it is irrelevant for this review of the amplifier only. Apologies for any confusion. Luckily you can read my full original review of the complete home theater package in it's proper place if you search for the HTDDW760 model... I thought £144.99 seemed a bit cheap for a Sony home theater! Hey, guys it's my first time!]

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I bought this Sony to go with a DVD player with coax digital out, xbox with optical digital out, PS2 and Sky + box. Connecting all the speakers up (sold seperately) is about as simple as it can be with spring-terminal speaker connections at the back of the amplifier.

The amp has five separate input buttons although you can double up and use say 'Video 2' for one digital input and another analogue input together, so I connected the XBox via optical digital and the PS2 via analogue, and they both play back on 'Video 2' (and no you cant listen to them both at the same time, the digital input seems to override the analogue... I just tried this now!) I presume the same can be done with the 'DVD' input using the coax digital input and associated analogue input. Each input can be user-assigned a unique name. For example after connecting the XBox and PS2 to 'Video 2' I renamed this input 'Games' which will always show up on the display now when 'Video 2' is selected. Of course it won't match up with the printed 'Video 2' button on the face of the amp but what the hell, it's always nice to be able to customise.

Setting up the speakers and sound levels is straight forward enough, but at this point I'd like to point out the first of my only two problems with this kit. The joystick on the remote control is a bit clumsy. It's too easy to accidentally press it down when you actually wanted to press it in a direction, say left. Fair enough, you only really use it whilst adjusting menu settings, which arguably wont be done often, however if you want to use the remote with your DVD player for example, (for which the control can be programmed for different manufacturers to operate a range of kit a la Sky) it becomes more of an issue.

My second problem is something that I dont know if its even possible to do with other equipment. When listening to Dolby Digital (or DTS, of which the Sony can decode both) you can really hear the effects from the rear speakers, at the same levels as the front speakers sometimes when the sound engineer allows, however switch to Pro Logic II and the rear speakers seem to take a dive. Maybe the rear speakers are meant to be more subtle in Pro Logic, I dont know. Now you can always increase the level of the rear speakers to compensate but when you switch back to 5.1 soundtracks the rears are way too loud. And unfortunately you can't assign different speaker levels between different surround modes - it's one for all. Shame. Also I would have liked a mode for playing stereo music where the sound from the front speakers is copied and played at the same level out of the rear speakers. Ok, fair enough you get a much more exciting sound with CD's if you crank the rear speakers and hit Pro Logic II's music or movie setting.

Still, once you set all the speaker levels to your taste (and aslo program in your actual distance between front and rear speakers - a setting that I cannot tell any difference between even at extreme settings, one for audio freaks I imagine) you get to enjoy the sweet, sweet sound of the Sony. At flat EQ settings the treble is crisp and tight, but I think the wattage speaks for itself here. The Sony always delivers with movies and TV and I'm starting to prefer the sound to that in my local theater. After prolonged music listening though it may be tempting to notch up the high end EQ, but that's really down to personal preference. We may also be lacking a bit of mid-range guts that's again only really noticeable when listening to music, particularly rock, but that's nothing that the bass can't make up for.

Ooop, and I almost forgot the most important point. I have a thing for volume controls on hi-fi equipment, God knows where that came from, but lets just say the Sony's is satisfyingly smooth and weighty. Very classy. It's not motorised of course because the Sony's volume works with discrete values from 0 to 70 which I prefer anyway, you know where you are with numbers. Just out of interest I play my 5.1 DVD's back uncompressed at volume level 45 out of 70 and this fills my mid-sized room nicely with home movie goodness but don't expect to be able to rock the block, especially with lower level equipment such as iPods.

All in all an absolutely great buy, I really don't think there is much competition at this price range. Great looks, big sound, total compatibility. Plus, just as a P.S. I noticed this very amp (or what looked like it at least) turned up in one of the early episodes of Desperate Housewives in one of the housewives living rooms. See if you can spot which one!!! 

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