Is my receiver THAT out of date??

[EJD]

My Sony DA5ES receiver came out in 2001 and was considered one of their best ES receivers (maybe their best) to date. It had the SHARC processor, 110wpc, had lots of flexibility and was a very solidly built piece weighing about 45lbs. Now keep in mind this was back when Sony ES was actually a fairly decent product - I agree they went downhill in recent years.

In the couple of years I have owned it - it's been OK - but never really wowed me. I always have felt that the sound for movies was not as accurate as it should be. It just has an artificial feel (can't really describe it any better than that).

I have been torn about what a new receiver with Audessy would do for me, and am really eyeing the remaining Onkyo 805s.

My question is, how much will I benefit from upgrading what I have - keeping in mind the following things:

• I don't pass video through my receiver
• My only HDMI source is my Oppo (get my HD via OTA)
• Only 5.1 for the forseeable future
• No BluRay at this point - but one will be coming within a year
• Not starved for power with my current receiver
• Room treatments aren't possible due to WAF

Any thoughts as to whether an upgrade would be worthwhile? I'm hoping for a more realistic/improved sound for movies.

Thanks

 

[Haoleb]

from what you have said, I dont see why upgrading would benefit you at all really. All of the things your reciever lacks, you dont use anyway. Speakers will offer much more in terms of "payback" when it comes to upgrading than recievers if you are looking for something more.

 

[EJD]

So decoders/processors haven't improved much since this was released?

What are your thoughts about the benefits of Audessy?

 

[Adam]

I don't own a product with Audyssey, but I was extremely pleased when I upgraded in 2005 to my Pioneer that has a similar system (Pioneer has a system call MCACC). My previous receiver was a Yamaha from 1998. The Yamaha had plenty of power, but my system always sounded harsh to me, especially on music. With the Pioneer, who's MCACC system does auto equalization, my system sounds much more pleasing to me.

So, it's possible that you'll have a good experience with one of the auto set-up routines in the newer receivers. I'd suggest buying from someplace that will let you take it back if you don't notice any improvement.

 

[Dezoris]

If your main goal is 5.1 dolby digital or DTS and your receiver does that now and you are mainly a DVD guy?

I would keep it for now.

I agree with what has been said, build out your speakers, and then upgrade your TV unless you already have a 1080p set that does 24hz.

Receiver tech annoyingly changes every 6 months to a year.
Speakers and TV are a safer bet right now.

When you get Bluray run the HDMI to the TV for video and optical to your Sony.
You won't get the dolby hd or dts HD but you will get 5.1.

I would wait until the next gen receivers come out for sure. Audioholics just had a bit on Dolby volume. I would certainly like that on a receiver just for watching TV on the dish. To be able to control volume variation is a must have feature that is not out yet.

 

[EJD]

So would a better option be to get a BluRay that internally decodes Dolby True HD, DTS-HD, etc and use the analog outs to connect to my receiver?

Is there a downside to sending a 7.1 soundtrack via 5.1 outputs?

 

[Votrax]

I've got a Sony STR-V444ES (2000 model) and an HK AVR 745. I don't use either for video switching. I have a 7.2 setup with the 745 and personally I don't think it's any better than the ES was with a 5.1 setup. Of course the 745 upmixes the 5 channels to 7 channels. The ES has more parameters to tweak than the HK as well. If you're not going to take advantage of the video processing I don't think you can do any better than your DA5ES personally unless you buy a high end to flagship receiver.