Sony's New ES Receivers - STR-DA4400ES Tops Line... So Far

[admin]

Sony’s new ES line of receivers may bring to mind the words of the Who’s Pete Townsend: Meet the new boss – same as the old boss. The company’s new ES line of audio/video receivers looks suspiciously like last year’s new ES line of audio/video receivers with a slight rearrangement in features to price points.


Discuss "Sony's New ES Receivers - STR-DA4400ES Tops Line... So Far" here. Read the article.

[tn001d]

I'll pass.. thanks

[Biggiesized]

Faroudja DCDi is the best they can do on a $1500 receiver?

[mnnc]

The words 'New Boss" are directly from the cover of a S&V issue...stacked somewhere in my den in fact. I am finding this site to be less original and focused than ever before and it's sad because this "follow the leader" approach is such a drab game. Not to say that S&V are the leader...by no means. Stereo Review's Julian Hirsch was the authority. One would assume that writing for a popular site would involve creative, unbiased, and original script. I teach my second graders these components during writers workshop...and they get it. Second grade!!! it goes something like this:

Johnny!?
sir?
Sarah wrote The house was very big.
How can you write the same thing using different word/s?

(Johnny is given some think time and responds based on his 7 yr old vocabulary bank)

The house was huge.

Very good Johnny. You see Johnny your sentence means the same as Sarah's however you did not use the same words as her. Great job. Now go write it.

End of lesson.

Names/characters totally fictional however scenario...very real.

[Adam]

Names/characters totally fictional...

Bummer. I really got into the story because I was hooked on the realism and personal connection with the characters. To find out that there isn't really a Johnny or Sarah...just so disappointing.

Just kidding. You make a good point, although being creative, unbiased, and/or original all of the time is difficult to pull off. Especially for us elders who can barely even remember second grade.

[NGL_BrSH]

ya but did they solve the "Black Crush" problem and the overall bright audio?

[Wayde Robson]

The words 'New Boss" are directly from the cover of a S&V issue...I am finding this site to be less original and focused than ever before and it's sad because this "follow the leader" approach is such a drab game.

Are you suggesting that I plagiarized S&V? Or are you saying the new boss metaphor is a tired cliché?

Your mitt-full of charges contain a few serious allegations that warrant specifics. I noted you also used that B-word, the bane of any commercial review publication.

But like a government conspiracy theory du jour, titillating claims of professional bias are far more fun to dream than to make any effort to prove or even constructively outline.

I gave full credit for the sentence to its writer. My application was nothing more than a colorful metaphor using a popular lyric that I believed readers would relate to. I cannot claim to have seen it used before although it’s no surprise in consumer electronics writing. I don’t believe the same metaphor being used somewhere in an old stack of S&V constitutes overuse.

On the other hand ... I have read way too many overly-creative, all-too-colorful subjective audio reviews in hi-fi mags and to be quite honest I’ve had enough.

What sets Audioholics apart is that you won’t hear a reviewer wax poetic about a new power-amp transforming an old CD recording so as to produce …

"...transcendent highs that seemed to fill the room with the ether of fluttering angels."

Audioholics.com is neither following nor losing its way. In fact it’s diversifying and solidifying its place.

New readers will come for the snappy news analysis and colorful Who metaphors…

They’ll stay for the most in-depth product reviews on the web…

…and the extra helpings ‘o cheese!

[Dave Moritz]

Is there any in depth specifications for the 4400 anywhere?

Now since the 4400 has a Weight (Approx.) : 33 lbs 1 oz (15Kg), I am going to assume that it most likely puts out a current capability of 33A - 36A. I would also like to know if it uses Burr Brown DAC's or did they pull an Onkyo and use Cirrus Logic DAC's? Has Sony switched internal amplifiers to something that sounds better compared to there older models? Because that is the only way I would ever place a Sony ES receiver in my A/V rack! Sure the offering of 6 HDMI inputs are very attractive and 120 watts per channel is not to bad ether. The 4400 is supposed to offer dual HD video zones and I would have to wonder how well it does it and if zone 2 is full 1080p or not, especially since the receiver only sales for $1,500. But I am not sold on Sony's preparatory auto calibration software and there amplifiers leave much to be desired, far from being audiophile quality. If this receiver shines anywhere it is most likely on the video side because of the MSRP they most likely cut cost by shaving audio performance. Look at the Onkyo 805 which has a very stout audio section but the video side is lacking. For all that performance even Onkyo had to cut back somewhere. For the money the Onkyo audio wise would defiantly stomp the 4400 guts out all day long!

[GlocksRock]

i try not to support sony whenever possible