Customer Ratings & Reviews

For the price this has a great number of inputs/capabilities. However it had some major errors that forced me to return it: 1. While using HDMI out (99% of my use for this), adjusting the volume would black out the screen for 5-10 seconds. Spent a TON of time trying to troubleshoot and could not find a solve 2. Insanely complicated menu/features and the manual was zero help. I was constantly troubleshooting using random online forums. For example in my 5.1 system I noticed that no audio was coming out of the subwoofer. The manual was no help, and it was only by chance I saw a forum mention that I had to set up all of my other speakers to "small" in order to enable output to the subwoofer. What a frustrating experience! 3. Surge protector would kick in way too easily, often shutting down the console. No great way to manage it since (a) there was no documentation to help identify the root cause or fixes and (b) I couldn't lower volume during loud movie scenes due to issue #1 which would temporarily pause my movie/game every time I made any adjustment

I got this solely for the Optical audio input Yes it has more watts than the 25 year old JVC it replaced (RX-403) which was 65 watts per speaker. I must say this Sony has mid range and treble and does not have any bass. I have 4 tower speakers 4 way with 15" woofers in each of them. The old JVC at 4 power Less than 1/2 the max volume of 10 will trump this more watts sony receiver. I can turn up the sony all the way and the woofers are barely moving.. no matter what setting I have it on. Not as loud as the jvc on 4 power. Very disappointed. The old JVC would have those 15's jumping. I opened the sony box today and it is going back tomorrow. For now the JVC is hooked back up..My grown married kids said it was my speakers. Until I hooked up the JVC unit and they were flabbergasted I hope I can find something that will fulfill my needs for rocking the house. I want to feel the movies not be mid ranged out. Seems like 25 watts RMS per speaker.

There are three types of people: those who can count and those who can't. Meanwhile, there are two types of Sony users: those who love them and those that despise them. I think if you like Sony products you'll love this receiver. It was a relatively simple plug-and-play process to get my TV and Satellite systems to work with my surround sound set-up. The on-screen menu will whisk you away to 1995 but it's easy to use and you'll breeze through any advanced setups in a hurry. Now I need to find a subwoofer to give this surround sound system some bass.

This is one of the best receivers that you can get for your dollar. Don't waste your time shopping around...I've bought two already and thinking about a third....thanks Best Buy!

My Sony DA-5ES receiver died after 15 years of faithful service so I needed to buy a new one and decided this time I wasn't going to spend an arm and a leg. Looking at BestBuy.com and reading reviews I decided to do this on the cheap and bought this receiver since it was under 200 bucks. I was blown away by this receiver! The sound quality is clean and sharp. Music sounded great and using the multi channel option gives me the surround sound effect I always wanted for my music. HDMI Arc feature works perfectly with my Vizio monitor and doesn't affect the image quality. The onscreen menu is primitive and you have to dig a bit to adjust sound levels for the individual speakers by going through the Home menu but you need to make the adjustments because, at least for me, the other way didn't give me the sound I wanted. My two previous Sony receivers were very flaky when it comes to playing digital sources, there was always a initial delay when first playing anything and my subwoofer would always fade in and out no matter how I set things but this one has shown no problems for either one.All in all this a great receiver and I'm very happy I decided to purchase it!

If you are not an ultra-audiophile, but still appreciate great home theatre surround sound, then this receiver might very well be what you are looking for. It is easy to install, the instructions are intuitive, and online tech info is easily available. For the money, this receiver is one that you should put on your shopping list.

Got the Sony strdh550 receiver yesterday to replace a 15yo Sony pro-logic unit that finally died. Hooked it up, sounds great & great price but... There's no A/C power outlets on the back! Even the more expensive units don't have a switched outlet! Lame!! Also, even tho the auto level-setting room sensor is nice, individual speaker volumes cannot be set. I like a little more volume out of the center channel to hear dialogue over booming effects, but there's no knob or way to do it. At least none referred to in the manual that it comes with, which is little more than a multi-language spec sheet. C'mon Sony, put a decent manual in with your products!! I'm still making adjustmens, but so far it's been difficult to get it sound the way I like it, rather than the way the sensor THINKS I'd like it. Still sounds great tho!! Guess I'll be looking on-line to see what others have done.

This unit is replacing an older Sony receiver, 21 years older to be exact. This unit has everything I need and want, and it is nice to have more options than just the old Dolby Pro Logic (original version) that my old receiver had. I don't need 7.2 speaker setup or anything higher. The standard 5.1 surround set up is all I plan on using for years to come. The physical setup of this unit was not difficult, and HDMI cables make things a breeze compared to years ago. There seems to be a learning curve in reading the manual for all the settings, but that's okay. I don't mind learning. Be advised though: this unit does not come with the user manual. You have to go online for it. You can read the manual online or download a PDF. Very glad I got this receiver. I don't want anything more than what this unit has, and I'm glad a found a receiver that won't make me pay for things I don't need or want.

23 months old and still suits my needs. However I made one change in hookup after recently upgrading to a 4K TV with HDR. With my current non 4k Blu-Ray player the picture quality "seems" better with more vivid colors when hooked directly to the TV rather then thru the receiver. Could just be me. Comments?

First of all, those people talking about the lack of instructions are not kidding. Download the online manual to your desktop, you will need it. It is a PDF file called Help Guide. I think the most infuriating thing to me was that the pass-through whereby you can watch your TV without turning on the receiver, was not set to default. You had to hunt several clicks into the innards of the settings and then perform two steps to free your TV. Other than the lousy lack of instructions and some terms that will be a learning curve for some people, it is a great receiver.

I bought this strictly for listening to music. I was using a Pioneer same wattage/5.1. I am using the same speakers as before. With this receiver it makes my speakers sound like they did in the 70's & 80's.Love the bass from the sub. Anyway, for those who grew up with analog equipment like me & thought there is not a serious music receiver that will produce the sound like the old equipment, then this is what you need. I am very happy that I went for the open box one. Price was cheap & sound is excellent. I do not have it hooked to my tv though. As far as music, you can't beat this receiver. I would buy it again in a heartbeat !!! Ex. is Bad Co., Blue Oyster, Grand Funk, Uriah all sound super AGAIN FINALLY !!

Great easy setup. Solid surround sound driver for 5.1s

Got this unit for Xmas, overall a good system. One problem I am having is I cannot get my DVD unit to work with it. It's just straight HDMI from the DVD player to the reciever, changed the input and nothing. The DVD and cable function because It passes through correctly. Mike

I BOUGHT 2 SONY HOME THEATER RECEIVERS I HAVE A HUGE HOUSE THE RECEIVERS ARE EASY TO SET UP. THE SOUND IS SUPERB.SOUND IS CLEAR AND CRISP,.AND IT HAS 2 SUB WOOFER INPUTS SO I CONNECT BOTH SUBS TO IT. IN MY THEATER. SOUND BETTER THAN GOING TO THE MOVIES.

Excellent receiver for the price. Satisfied with power output, connection types on rear, usability, etc. One drawback I noticed is inability to temper bass and treble. Overall give 5-star mostly based on quality for price. Would buy again, thank you.

I bought this to upgrade a very good, 16 year old sony receiver for hdmi pass through capability. We don't always have the stereo on just to watch tv, so I'm looking for hdmi pass through with as little power use as possible. I have it set up and it sounds great, however I measured power usage when in "standby" with hdmi pass through "on": it's using 32 watts which is only about 3 watts lower than when it's fully on. It has an "auto" hdmi pass through mode however it loses the hdmi signal once it's turned off (what's the point with "auto" mode, sony?). It sickens my heart to think about how many of these receiver are being sold with a vampire energy loss @ 32 watts 24/7. I have mine wired into an outlet switch now that cuts the power when it's off but I know most won't go to that effort to save power. If I can find another hdmi pass through unit with less vampire power then this receiver is going in for a return.

1) Requires access to a T.V to set up radio station presets???=waste of time and energy. 2) 1/8" input (Auto Cal Mic on front) should have been an mp3 player input jack. Which is what I thought it was in addition to what it is, apparently not. If I didn't save 25% on this, I would of returned it because of this alone. 3) Remote doesn't adjust radio station??, cheaper radios even have that simple option. 4) It does recognize Ipod perfectly, except can not press play when listening to Pandora from remote control. Should of paid more for the wireless/bluetooth receiver, my fault.

Overall the receiver is great, however the description is misleading. This receiver does not support HDCP 2.2 meaning it will not play UHD 4K Blu Rays in 4K or any other 4K copy protected content. Took me a bit to figure out why everything read 4K until I popped in a UHD Blu ray. Another annoying issue is that the image cuts out when adjusting the volume with 4K enabled on my Xbox One S. Also everything I described is not the Xbox having issues, when connected directly to the TV everything works fine.

It Has Done EVERYTHING as promised. Just enough HDMI and STRONG CLEAN signals to ALL channels. The UI is simple, yet thorough. A great purchase!

Wow is the only word that comes to mind about this product. I am totally happy with it and the sound is so loud and clear up in your face attitude of a receiver. Thanks Sony & Best buy