Sony STR-DH800 7.1-Channel Audio Video Receiver (Black)

given as gift, have no real opinion on this product except that it was the one the recipient wanted.

First I would like to say what a great receiver this is in my theater. Wow. I was looking for a quick fix before I bought a THX Certified Receiver. Boy, am I impressed. I am very tech savvy with these items and I gave this 4 stars in the "Ease of Use" category because the surround settings were "usable" right out of the box! It also has an auto setup (cord included) that allows you just to push buttons. Take note this will require your patience and attention. This may take up to 3 hours, but the aftermath is a fine tuned surround to die for. I can't wait to get a 3-d TV.

It has HDMI A/V pass-through along with all speaker posts. Love this receiver.

Sound............9.5 (No THX)
Quality...........9
Appearance...8
Price..............10 (Others with the same options are an easy 450)
Overall use.....9
Overall..........9.1 (Great receiver for the options)

You really can't beat this receiver based on the price alone. Readily interfaces with a variety of AV equipment (love the 4 HDMI inputs) and can accommodate most sound demands. The tricky part is getting used to the menu and understanding the different sound output options; patience is a virtue required (but not included) for operating this device.

I would recommend this receiver for beginners and intermediate audiophiles.

This is a true no brainer. I have a sony HD tv and a sony blueray. It made sense to keep it all sony so the devices would have a better chance of working well together. Well the receiver works better than I thought it would and the sound quality was higher than comparable units. While I am not an audiophile I like very good sound and you get champaigne quality at a beer budget on this model. Easy set up is a plus and sony equipment just works with little hassle. I couldnt be happier to get a better receiver You would have to pay $100s more for the same quality.

after about 3 months of trying to understand what the heck i needed to get to have a decent sound system that would support all the latest and greatest gadgets....i chose this. mainly for the price. the ONLY thing it doesn't feature that i realized would be nice...is upconverting to 1080i. meaning, if you don't have an upcoverting DVD player, you should go get one to use with this (they are cheaper than the cost to upgrade to a higher reciever model). or i have a nintendo wii, here it would be nice to have upconverting, but for the $100+ more it costs to obtain this in a reciever....not a big deal to me. otherwise it's got plenty of HDMI jacks to support a cable box, blue-ray player, PS3, X-box, etc....as well as a ton of other digital and analog inputs. more than i know what to do with.

i use this more for a home theater set up, so audiophiles may think the sound is lacking, but i think it's just awesome. i even have a computer running through it too. so i can enjoy movies and tv....and then with a flick of a button turn over to itunes....or nintendo wii.

one feature i don't think gets talked about enough, is it has a "night mode"....which is perfect if you live in an apartment like me. it basically turns down the bass and puts more through the center channel. i only have a 3.1 speaker setup running right now, as i haven't hooked up the rear speakers yet....but honestly, i am happy with just that too. if you are looking for something simple, and not too expensive....i highly recommend this sony model. get at least a center channel to go with your left and right speakers though.