Sony ES Receivers

[ChrisinLa]

I am putting together a new home theater system with RTiA7 fronts fxi4 surrounds csi4 center and a dsw500 sub. My TV is an XBR Sony LCD and I have the Sony 350 Blue ray player. I need a quality receiver to control this whole system. Staying with Sony would be nice because of the Bravia Theater sync that allows one touch control across components. My question is does anyone know if Sony's ES receivers are powerful enough to work well in such a system?

[jon s]

To be perfectly frank, Sony's receivers have been underpowered and overrated for the past few years, even their vaunted ES lines. Don't get me wrong, I love Sony equipment but they have really gone downhill.

Recent reviews show that their amp sections will perform to spec when driving two channels, but their power drops drastically when all channels are driven. Sound and Vision tested the 5200ES a couple of years ago. It was rated at 120wpc, but when five (of seven) channels were driven, the power dropped to 66 watts per channel.

Their DG910 receiver dropped to 30 watts when five channels were driven. Home Theater magazine tested the 4300ES, another 120 watt receiver. The power dropped to 40 watts with all channels driven.

OTOH, for a similar price, the Onkyo TX-NR875 (now replaced by the 876) was tested at 128 watts per channel, a difference of 5-dB. The Onkyo weighs over 50lbs compared to the Sony's 38lbs.

The weight difference is in the power supplies. The bigger the supply, the better the power reserves. I used to have a Sony ES receiver and find that the Onkyo is a better unit (I bought the 905). The Onkyo has a separate power supply for the video circuitry to eliminate any interference. It also has bus connectors for better connectivity, a superior Reon video processor.

The only caution is that Onkyos get HOT. And it is not the amplifier. It is the Reon processor that cooks. Like the Denon DVD-3930CI which uses a similar video processor, the unit demands clearance for ventilation.

[ben62670]

Welcome to Club Polk
I am not a huge fan of Sony receivers either. I prefer HK. Don't let the wattage ratings scare you 50 watts HK is like 100+ most other manufactures;)
Ben

[WilliamM2]

You don't need a Sony to control everything with one touch. Grab a Logitech Harmony remote and any mix of brands will do it.

[dorokusai]

I am putting together a new home theater system with RTiA7 fronts fxi4 surrounds csi4 center and a dsw500 sub. My TV is an XBR Sony LCD and I have the Sony 350 Blue ray player. I need a quality receiver to control this whole system. Staying with Sony would be nice because of the Bravia Theater sync that allows one touch control across components. My question is does anyone know if Sony's ES receivers are powerful enough to work well in such a system?

The RTiA series is pretty efficient and the Sony would be just fine.

[Sherardp]

I have a sony 7100ES avr. Very nice unit, however Im afraid the others are right. The new ES gear is average at best. If youre looking and wanting a nice AVR check out the Pioneer Elite 94 model. The best price I've seen on these were at Value Electronics, give them a call ask for Robert, he can get you one for around 800 bucks. I just ordered the SC-07. Good luck.