Newbie alert! Need help!!

[Goosemanfu]

Hi all! I am not a "stereo guy" but do like to have a nice sounding surround system when watching a movie. I have recently found what I think is a good deal on a Sony receiver and would like to hear some input from ppl that know more than I would!

Here is what I have found......

Sony STR DE985. It is in a clearance section in a store and I have been able to arrange a price of $300.00 CDN for it. I am wondering if anyone has any comments on the performance of this unit and if it would suffice for an everyday use kinda receiver.

Any comments would be appreciated!!

Cheers!

 

[Nomo]

I had a sony DE-885. Just recently fried it. This one seems similar to the 885. (maybe a year or two newer?). Sony gives a decent assortment of features for your dollar. If you're looking for something that's going to keep you happy for several years to come this may not be the reciever for you. It's lack of inputs make it look pretty "long in the tooth". Can't really comment on the price, however if it's anywhere near 300 US dollars you may be able to do better with an Onkyo or Yamaha.

 

[Leprkon]

the 985 is actually two generations old now (995 and 997 being the replacements). it is "only" a 6.1 channel receiver as the newer ones are 7.1.

the main advantages to using Sony are generally matching to your TV to use a single remote and (in my expereince anyway) that they last forever.

the disadvantges would be that this model was considered by the posts I found to be be very difficult to set up and that the sound quality is merely very good but not great. maybe someday, Sony will hire people who speak English to write their manuals. I have found that many functions are easy to do, it's just the translation into English was done so very poorly that it seemed much more difficult.

I have a 995 (about 2 years old) and a 915 (about 15 years old), neither of which have every given me any problems (unlike a pair of Kenwoods that were not very reliable).

At that price, the deal you have will be pretty tough to beat (if I do my math right, it's on the order of $ 225 to 250 USD). You might find an Onkyo 501 (also "last year's model") on closeout for a similar price, but that would be the only real competition. The same item in the US is currently retailing for about $ 400 on shopping.com.

 

[nova]

My opinion,... skip it! There are better receivers in that price range. I have a DE-995 and would only recommend it if someone gave it to you for free and you have good fire insurance. Sound quality is poor, power is very poor, and if you don't have efficient 8 ohm speakers it gets so hot ya can't touch it. On the other hand, operation and set-up are very simple ( really nothing there to set up ;-), and it comes with a learning remote.