Hissing noise
Written: Nov 12 '00 (Updated Dec 15 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good price, can use 4ohm speakers, DTS and Dolby Digital.
Cons: Hissing noise that is always present at any volume level.
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| lsmith03's Full Review: Sony STR-DE545 5.1 Channels Receiver |
The first thing I really liked about this receiver is the earth-shaking bass it puts out during crash scenes in movies. I watched a train wreck and my couch was literally shaking as if it happened outside my house. It also has a 4/8 ohm speaker switch, allowing me to use my 4 ohm Cerwin Vega 12" speakers. Receivers allowing 4 ohm speakers seem to be rare now. It has both DTS and Dolby Digital decoders, allowing you to use a fiber optic or coax cable for the digital audio connection. It allows you to set the size and distance of all your speakers, channeling all the bass to the left/right speakers if they are the only LARGE ones. The sound positioning is great, as I couldn't notice the sounds 'jumping' from speaker to speaker as objects moved past the screen.
Now, the things I didn't like about the unit. There is a constant hissing sound that is easily heard when the volume is turned down below 10 (out of 30). It stays at about the same level through the range of 1 to 24, and goes up louder beyond that. It must be a defect in this particular model, as I have read several other comments from other people concerning this same problem. The speaker connections aren't as good as I would have liked, consisting of spring loaded plastic levers that push the wires against the connections. It seems that there are only 30 volume levels, it doesn't increase slowly as you turn up the volume, but jumps up to the next level as the knob is turned.
I recommend this receiver to anyone wanting a low priced receiver with Dolby-Digital and DTS, and not picky enough to care that you won't get perfect silence while watching movies. If you are setting up a room just for watching movies, this receiver will be totally unacceptable, but if you want it for movie watching in a living room, you might be perfectly satisfied. At higher volumes, you won't notice it at all, as the hissing doesn't increase as the volume is turned up.
If you are skeptical of my review concerning the hissing noise, then check out the following address for more testimonials. http://www.audioreview.com/reviews/AVReceiver/product_48120.shtml
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
lsmith03
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Member: Louis Smith
Location: Louisville, KY
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 3 members
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