Sony STR-DE985 6.1 Channels Receiver

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.

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....

Pros: A plethora of a/v connections, including component and digital.
Cons: More difficult to reassign digital connections than on inferior receivers.

To start my review, I think it is important to state my criteria used for choosing it. Here is what I wanted from my A/V receiver:

1. Dolby Digital and DTS (and more decoding options were welcome, of course)
2. Component video...

Pros: Great Dolby Digital.....inputs\outputs for every imaginable use. Custom sound setting. Price
Cons: The user manual could explain functions better.

I purchased the STR-DE985 to replace my older expensive
PRO LOGIC receiver. I wanted the newer digital format and did I ever! There is no comparison. I use the basic Surround speaker setup(2 front/center/subwoofer/2 back side surrounds) plus the...

Pros: Hookup options, learning remote, 6.1 with 7.1 speaker option
Cons: Manual is hard to follow at times, time for setup

I have had this receiver for two months now. I use it in conjunction with a Polk audio speaker system, RM7600. The sound quality reproduction for 6.1 surround is amazing. I did not think that this receiver was that hard to setup. The amount of time...

Pros: 5.1 INPUTS On screen set-up and adjustments Price surround back speaker.
Cons: No major disappointments

i bought this to replace my Sony STR-DE935 because some of the amplifier channels burnt out. To be honest,the manual specifically stated do not use "a+b" speakers in the surround mode but i did it anyway. I mention this because a new "improvement" on the...

Pros: Value, features, inputs
Cons: Not many; Can't save changes to inputs

Solid performer, good value with lots of features and a wide range of inputs. Seems to be well constructed, I've had mine for a year with no problems.

Setup takes a bit of time - learning the ways to take advantage of auto decoding (for both input modes digital/analog auto detection and for signal decoding i.e. 2 channel or surround) also took time to sink in. Remote has a lot of options but small buttons are still a hassle.

Drawbacks: 1) You can't save manual overrides of the input assignments - so if you have Cable video coming into the input labled "TV/SAT" but the Cable audio coming into DVD coax (the only coax audio input) you have to turn knobs when ever you want to see what is on TV/SAT video but hear the DVD input. The manual does not deal well with this limitation. Lower cost receivers offer this option, I wonder why Sony didn't.

2) No conversion of video signals to/from different inputs - so if you input s-video you must output s-video. I think this is pretty common for receivers in this price range.

Great learning function on the remote, Excellent Sound quality, Great features. Well worth the money. Easy to setup, easy to use. I would reccommend this to the novice and the expert alike.

Very satisfied with overall sound and performance, BUT because manual is so hard to follow I have still NOT been able to totally coordinate all of my digital components. For non Sony componets remote is not easy to program or use.

it,s a great system full sound very easy to conect and get started ample conection ports need more digital ports and a easier remote control