Not Bad At All
Written: Nov 22 '02
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Sound: |
 |
|
| Ease of Use: |
|
|
| Durability: |
|
|
|
Pros: Very versatile on the inputs, easy to use once hooked up
Cons: Difficult to setup, cannot use SVid output if SVid not used for ALL inputs.
The Bottom Line: If you are in the market for a $399 receiver this is fine. If you need SVideo into your TV but don't have SVideo on ALL inputs, look elsewhere.
|
|
|
| jdmba's Full Review: Sony STR-DE985 6.1 Channels Receiver |
I picked up one of these at Circuit City. It has an AM and FM stereo receiver (antennas supplied), a Cable/Satellite in, 2 Video In in the back and 1 up front, a dvd in, a phono in, a tape in, a cd in, a MiniDisc in, and tons of optical/digital inputs. It also has 3 component inputs for those who are lucky enough to have those. The videos have in and out on each one so that you can still tape shows.
Once you get them all hooked up, which is by no means easy, operation is very easy. The remote can learn all your other remotes, and switching between inputs is convenient. You can customize which speakers you wish to use, or you can leave it on auto. On Auto, it set up for dolby surround with my Matrix DVD, and Left-Right for the cable and VCR.
On the bad side, however, is that the following setup will not work: Red-White-Yellow in from cable box and VCR and DVD, but SVideo out from the receiver to the television. For some reason, this $400 receiver cannot (and the manual says will not) convert between signals like that. If you use Red-White-Yellow in (which, for some older boxes and vcrs is your only choice) then your entire system is going to be non-s-video. I think this is a failing of an otherwise great system.
Of course, it also has the 6th channel, which makes it great for those who are worried about being obsolete. It does not have THX, but the price point isn't right for THX, so it would not be reasonable to assume that it would.
All in all, a great system at its price.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 399
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jdmba
|
|
Reviews written: 3
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.