Sony STR-DN1030 AV Receiver Review

[admin]

The Sony STR-DN1030 has more features than any other AV receiver in its price class. However, what good are features (WiFi, Bluetooth, Pandora,etc...) if they are a pain to use? The STR-DN1030 does a lot of things right, but it's user interface is years behind the curve and hurts the overall experience.


Discuss "Sony STR-DN1030 AV Receiver Review" here. Read the article.

[jotham]

I used to like getting Sony receivers for my family because at the time the feature list was pretty solid. The problem I had was that if they were abused in any way (say speaker terminals shorted for a brief second), they would give up the ghost immediately. I would take them apart, replace fuses but no dice, they were smoked. I even took them into repair shops just to make sure i wasn't missing something like a hidden circuit breaker.

Contrast this with Yamahas that I could practically hit with a sledgehammer (RVX-992), HKs that pumped out solid non-clipping wattage (3380) and my Onkyo 805 that handles Michael Bay movies (with a PC cooling fan on top).

I'm pretty responsible with my electronics and I try to restrain my family but after we lost the second low-middle end Sony receiver, I switched brands to just about anything else.

Am I the only one that has seen this fragility? Remember, I still have an fully operational 805 so I must be a *delicate* person

[Steelheart1948]

In my almost 35 years in this insane hobby, I've made only one purchase that I seriously regretted. You guessed it: a Sony receiver back in the 1980's. Nothing but trouble.

[PENG]

I can never understand why on this forum there seem to be much more people who have had bad experience with Sony receivers. I have had experienced with a few and never ever encounter any problems, not even minor ones. I would consider their AVR any time if they have all the features I need but they are missing a couple.

[sterling shoote]

I've been a Sony fan for over 30 years. Prior to Sony I was persuaded by advertising from Marantz; but, for me, the reality of Marantz was that most everything I purchased needed warranty service. I was not satisfied. At any rate, at the time, I was also not satisfied with any of the turntables/cartridges which I had purchased until a Sony PS-4750 attracted me. I purchased it; and, I have now enjoyed it for over 30 years without incident. My satisfaction with the Sony turntable made me receptive to other Sony stereo, HT, and professional audio products, which now dominate my system. I have some Sony components, like the TT, which have never needed service, and others which have served me for at least a decade before needing any attention. My Sony TA-E9000ES pre/pro and TA-P9000 preamp, which are the heart of my system today were both manufactured over a decade ago and appear to have been designed so well, that when connected to something like a current Blu-Ray player, 5.1 state of the art is realizable. In other words, with my Sony system I want for nothing. I am completely satisfied; and, I am over purchasing anything with the exception of perhaps a new Blu-Ray player, maybe one from Sony, if they produce one for their ES line which is competitive with the OPPO 95.

[PENG]

I've been a Sony fan for over 30 years. Prior to Sony I was persuaded by advertising from Marantz; but, for me, the reality of Marantz was that most everything I purchased needed warranty service. I was not satisfied. At any rate, at the time, I was also not satisfied with any of the turntables/cartridges which I had purchased until a Sony PS-4750 attracted me. I purchased it; and, I have now enjoyed it for over 30 years without incident. My satisfaction with the Sony turntable made me receptive to other Sony stereo, HT, and professional audio products, which now dominate my system. I have some Sony components, like the TT, which have never needed service, and others which have served me for at least a decade before needing any attention. My Sony TA-E9000ES pre/pro and TA-P9000 preamp, which are the heart of my system today were both manufactured over a decade ago and appear to have been designed so well, that when connected to something like a current Blu-Ray player, 5.1 state of the art is realizable. In other words, with my Sony system I want for nothing. I am completely satisfied; and, I am over purchasing anything with the exception of perhaps a new Blu-Ray player, maybe one from Sony, if they produce one for their ES line which is competitive with the OPPO 95.

I don't doubt your ES gears are nice products, even my much lower quality DAES2 and ES4 were very decent. The bad experiences with Sony cited here just seem so out of proportion to me, that's all I am saying. I bet on world wide basis Sony probably are still selling quite well relative to others without the seemingly bad reputation around here. I am not sure if it is the same over at the avsforums. I may just check it out, just out of curiosity, no other reasons. Just checked: seems to be the same over there, weird..

[sterling shoote]

I don't doubt your ES gears are nice products, even my much lower quality DAES2 and ES4 were very decent. The bad experiences with Sony cited here just seem so out of proportion to me, that's all I am saying. I bet on world wide basis Sony probably are still selling quite well relative to others without the seemingly bad reputation around here. I am not sure if it is the same over at the avsforums. I may just check it out, just out of curiosity, no other reasons. Just checked: seems to be the same over there, weird..

Looking at product warranty claims on a percentage basis might reveal Sony to be more reliable than other brands. At any rate, my son just returned the second Onkyo surround sound receiver he had recently purchased after it suffered a catastrophic failure as had the first unit he had purchased after several weeks of use. I have empathy for him. Although he got all of his money back he is disappointed as well as disillusioned. The golden age of HT and stereo may have ended at the beginning of the first world recession back in 2004 or perhaps even earlier in 2001. Maybe it's time to buy vintage stuff.