Sony 2023 ES Receiver lineup

[Eppie]

Sony receivers don't seem to get mentioned very often in the forums, but Sony announced today four new receivers in the ES lineup. They have a very minimalist design on the front and the initial feature set looks pretty impressive. They do not have full specifications on the web site yet, but there is a link on that page to a comparison chart in PDF format. They range from a 100W/ch 7.2 AVR to a 120W/ch 9.2, 130W/ch 11.2 and 150W/ch 13.2 AVR ranging in price from $900 - $1700 - $2100 - $3300. All models have a full set of pre-outs and support 8k, Dolby Vision, HDR 10, HDMI 2.1 and DTS:X. Audio features support wireless high-res audio, native DSD (no conversion), blue-tooth streaming and work with Sonos Works, Spotify Connect, Chromecast and Airplay 2. For room calibration they use Digital Cinema Calibration IX which is Sony's new room correction system. ES systems have a 5 year warranty which is a nice bonus.

On the technical side, the brochure and comparison chart do give rated specs at the bottom in fine print. The amplifier rating is with 2 channels driven into 8 ohms with a 1kHz signal and rated at 0.9% THD. To me that implies that the power is a little over-stated at first glance. Some 3rd party testing would be in order.

Competition is a good thing so it will be interesting to see how these compare to offerings from Denon / Marantz and Yamaha.

 

[-Jim-]

Thanks for the post @Eppie . I still own a couple Sony Home Theater AVRs (one in the Family Room and one at the Family Cabin in the interior of BC) so I'm a bit of a fan. Both are still working good. Early on in HT I had one of their AVRs as my main unit for ages. My last 3 AVRs have all been Denon. (And we got one for my Mom last Fall.) I was concerned about Sony as it seemed they were going to abandon the Home Audio business. I think it's good to see healthy competition in the industry. (I'm a bit surprised to see they "only" offer dual Sub outputs - even on their top of the line!)

I agree independent testing should be in order. @gene Are you on the case already?

 

[Eppie]

Thanks for the post @Eppie . I still own a couple Sony Home Theater AVRs (one in the Family Room and one at the Family Cabin in the interior of BC) so I'm a bit of a fan. Both are still working good. Early on in HT I had one of their AVRs as my main unit for ages. My last 3 AVRs have all been Denon. (And we got one for my Mom last Fall.) I was concerned about Sony as it seemed they were going to abandon the Home Audio business. I think it's good to see healthy competition in the industry. (I'm a bit surprised to see they "only" offer dual Sub outputs - even on their top of the line!)

I agree independent testing should be in order. @gene Are you on the case already?

Official release is not until March so we won't see any hands on reviews until next month.

 

[lovinthehd]

Good to know, last time I looked at Sony's page of receivers there were only a few of the STR-DH series. I was thinking they looked like they were exiting the market....

 

[j_garcia]

The ES line has always been good, but seemed to focus on features more. Features I often did not need. Their calibration is their own, which usually is not as good as something like Audessey.

 

[lovinthehd]

The ES line has always been good, but seemed to focus on features more. Features I often did not need. Their calibration is their own, which usually is not as good as something like Audessey.

Their latest version could well be better than the older DCAC, tho. Like to see more details....

 

[ban25]

Shane has a video up:

 

[lovinthehd]

Shane has a video up:

Who is Shane?

 

[ban25]

Who is Shane?

Shane Lee. Hi-fi enthusiast and reviewer. He's been on a number of videos with Gene on the Audioholics channel over the past few years.

 

[Captain Norway]

To me, the main differentiator here would be the potential benefit for us with large tvs with the center lift function, and the ability to do a center above and below the screen.

No one testing this so far has looked at those features.
@gene, testing the dual center with a combination giving about equal to the mains would be great.

Like Arendal 1723 S Monitor as mains and 2 x 1723 S Bookshelf as centers.
Another would be SVS Ultra Tower and 2 x Ultra Bookshelf.

Erling

 

[gene]

Sony has contacted me directly and wants us to bench test their flagship. Matthew Poes will be heading this up for us and we will be doing videos together about the new Sony AVRs. They seem to have potential though I'm a little disappointed the dual sub outs are just a parallel connection. I do like that their receivers weigh 50lbs, means they have a real power supply.

 

[shadyJ]

I am surprised that Sony has even bothered with producing more AVRs. This is not exactly a growth market. It can't be easy with electronics supply shortages. Maybe Sony has more of their own supply chain and isn't as affected as other manufacturers, so it isn't as expensive to make for them.

 

[rsharp]

Two of the models definitely don't have a minimalist design. Happened to stumble upon this Audio Advice video on YouTube last night.

Also some rather obscure features; will see how they'll work out in practice. e.g. if having a center channel under your TV, you can now install a second one above the TV, inform the receiver about it and thus the sound will come from the TV's vertical center. I'll take a hard pass on that one

 

[-Jim-]

Sony has contacted me directly and wants us to bench test their flagship. Matthew Poes will be heading this up for us and we will be doing videos together about the new Sony AVRs. They seem to have potential though I'm a little disappointed the dual sub outs are just a parallel connection. I do like that their receivers weigh 50lbs, means they have a real power supply.

I should have known you'd be on the ball here. Hopefully Sony will assist Audio Advice on a Giveaway here.

Now if we could get some movement on Testing those speakers modified by GR Research (@shadyJ ?) we chatted about some months ago...

 

[Eppie]

I should have known you'd be on the ball here. Hopefully Sony will assist Audio Advice on a Giveaway here.

Now if we could get some movement on Testing those speakers modified by GR Research (@shadyJ ?) we chatted about some months ago...

Yeah, but the giveaways are always continental U.S. Need some love for the Canucks too.

 

[-Jim-]

Yeah, but the giveaways are always continental U.S. Need some love for the Canucks too.

Hey @Eppie I'm a Canuck too. Gene recently said if I won the contest, I could arrange for it to be sent to my Parcel / Maildrop in Point Roberts Washington which is 10 minutes from my Mom's Condo. (I live 45 minutes away from her, so I'd get to visit as well. I have Nexus / Global Entry so crossing the border is easy.) I'd be responsible for the importation which would be simple. (Just applicable GST & PST on the market value of the equipment - maximum with CUSMA => or as the US calls it USMCA. Maybe less if Customs would let it pass as a contest win.)

 

[PENG]

Hey @Eppie I'm a Canuck too. Gene recently said if I won the contest, I could arrange for it to be sent to my Parcel / Maildrop in Point Roberts Washington which is 10 minutes from my Mom's Condo. (I live 45 minutes away from her, so I'd get to visit as well. I have Nexus / Global Entry so crossing the border is easy.) I'd be responsible for the importation which would be simple. (Just applicable GST & PST on the market value of the equipment - maximum with CUSMA => or as the US calls it USMCA. Maybe less if Customs would let it pass as a contest win.)

Me too, I never tried, as I didn't know there might be such option.

 

[Eppie]

Hey @Eppie I'm a Canuck too. Gene recently said if I won the contest, I could arrange for it to be sent to my Parcel / Maildrop in Point Roberts Washington which is 10 minutes from my Mom's Condo. (I live 45 minutes away from her, so I'd get to visit as well. I have Nexus / Global Entry so crossing the border is easy.) I'd be responsible for the importation which would be simple. (Just applicable GST & PST on the market value of the equipment - maximum with CUSMA => or as the US calls it USMCA. Maybe less if Customs would let it pass as a contest win.)

I'm a couple hours from Detroit or Buffalo but no mail drop box. My friend in Detroit is a trucker, so he's always on the road, and my friend in Ann Arbour moved to Colorado. I'd have to ship to Swerd and make the 10 hour drive again.

 

[Eppie]

Two of the models definitely don't have a minimalist design. Happened to stumble upon this Audio Advice video on YouTube last night.

Also some rather obscure features; will see how they'll work out in practice. e.g. if having a center channel under your TV, you can now install a second one above the TV, inform the receiver about it and thus the sound will come from the TV's vertical center. I'll take a hard pass on that one

Shane's video is the first time that I saw the unit with the front over off. I imagine most people will leave it on after setup. The dual centre channel seems targeted at professional installers. Not sure how big the appeal will be for the consumer market.

 

[j_garcia]

That's what I was saying with Sony ES, they like to pile on "new" features that often don't have a lot of benefit. They think it is a selling feature because it is a differentiator, but usually it goes unused by all but a few tweakers. All I want it to do is have plenty of power and do what it needs to do without a lot of messing about. The engineering time and real estate inside they spent on that "differentiator" could have gone to making just robust.