super7
Active Member
Had a PM asking for my thoughts about the STR-DB780 and thought there may be others looking at this receiver. Here goes...
I already had a Sony 28DX40 28" Widescreen IDTV, and a Sony DVP NS300 DVD Player, and got the go ahead (from you know who) to proceed with the full surround experience.
Wanted to stick with Sony (looks, remote compatibility etc.), so decided on the new STR-DE 685 (the 485 doesn't have DPLII, and 585 doesn't have optical out for MD). This was originally to be released in June, but AFAIK is still unavailable.
Amazon had Sony SA-VE525 speaker system on offer for £200, so I bought those back in April, and they sat in the box for several months whilst I waited for the 685 to appear.
It was only through the forums that I found out about the STR-DB780 (the Sony catalogue does not mention it), and from what I could gather this was better than the 685 (QS range, so has aluminium front like the 1070 / 1080 rather than plastic), and had all the features I wanted.
Rang SuperFi (AVLand's shop in Coventry) and they had stock, so went straight there and bought it (£250 with 3 year warranty) a month or so ago (even missed the F1 qualifying at Spa!).
It looks excellent and feels really well built. Has loads of inputs, optical out, good speaker binding posts, good remote and loads of features. One thing lacking is 6.1 decding, but you'd need another speaker anyway, and I've nowhere easy to mount it.
Took a lot of time hiding the cables (drilling through walls, carpets up etc. - all good home cinema stuff!) and setting up the amp (speaker type, distance etc.). It was after midnight by the time I was done.
The sound is... excellent! Watched Terminator 2 first and nearly shook the house down!! Shrek is also excellent through it - the sub really adds to the dragon scenes in the film. ProLogic II is well worth having too, as it really helps bring stereo TV / VHS to life - it's very clever - how does it work???
The speakers haven't been too well thought of on the forums, but I've no complaints - small (so the missus is happy), but with a big sound. I bought the Sony wall brackets for the rears (£20 from Hispek.com) - really neat. The sub frightens the dog though!
Haven't bothered yet to do video switching through the amp, but might try this in the next couple of months.
All in all, I'm very happy, and would highly recommend the amp, and the speakers.
Anyone else got one? What do you think of it, and what is it partnering?
Cheers
Super7
I already had a Sony 28DX40 28" Widescreen IDTV, and a Sony DVP NS300 DVD Player, and got the go ahead (from you know who) to proceed with the full surround experience.
Wanted to stick with Sony (looks, remote compatibility etc.), so decided on the new STR-DE 685 (the 485 doesn't have DPLII, and 585 doesn't have optical out for MD). This was originally to be released in June, but AFAIK is still unavailable.
Amazon had Sony SA-VE525 speaker system on offer for £200, so I bought those back in April, and they sat in the box for several months whilst I waited for the 685 to appear.
It was only through the forums that I found out about the STR-DB780 (the Sony catalogue does not mention it), and from what I could gather this was better than the 685 (QS range, so has aluminium front like the 1070 / 1080 rather than plastic), and had all the features I wanted.
Rang SuperFi (AVLand's shop in Coventry) and they had stock, so went straight there and bought it (£250 with 3 year warranty) a month or so ago (even missed the F1 qualifying at Spa!).
It looks excellent and feels really well built. Has loads of inputs, optical out, good speaker binding posts, good remote and loads of features. One thing lacking is 6.1 decding, but you'd need another speaker anyway, and I've nowhere easy to mount it.
Took a lot of time hiding the cables (drilling through walls, carpets up etc. - all good home cinema stuff!) and setting up the amp (speaker type, distance etc.). It was after midnight by the time I was done.
The sound is... excellent! Watched Terminator 2 first and nearly shook the house down!! Shrek is also excellent through it - the sub really adds to the dragon scenes in the film. ProLogic II is well worth having too, as it really helps bring stereo TV / VHS to life - it's very clever - how does it work???
The speakers haven't been too well thought of on the forums, but I've no complaints - small (so the missus is happy), but with a big sound. I bought the Sony wall brackets for the rears (£20 from Hispek.com) - really neat. The sub frightens the dog though!
Haven't bothered yet to do video switching through the amp, but might try this in the next couple of months.
All in all, I'm very happy, and would highly recommend the amp, and the speakers.
Anyone else got one? What do you think of it, and what is it partnering?
Cheers
Super7