Customer Ratings & Reviews

This receiver replaced one that failed. This new one pumps out the bass to my 100 watt subwoofer. The bass vibrates half my house now. The power driving this unit is also excellent as I have a 6 speaker set up. The sound is very much cleaner and crisper with this Sony receiver. I would definitely recommend.

I needed to replace a burnt-out receiver and did not need anything more than a 5.2 channel receiver. I owned a Sony brand receiver that lasted 15 years with proper ventilation and supplied power. Using a 1200 watt line conditioner and making sure that the receiver had proper ventilation was the key to the receivers' longevity.

Very satisfied with the amplifier. Gives terrific sound with the new wall mounted speakers.

I have an excellent Yamaha receiver that has worked well for years. In our new media room we installed home theater seating, an Epson PowerLite 1080 projector and a pair of B&W tower speakers. My receiver was not AV/HDMI ready so I had to wiggle the connections manually, which was especially difficult with HDMI inputs where I had to split the audio to go to the receiver while the video was sent to the projector. So i got this Sony receiver, which was a snap to set up. It comes with a microphone that analyzes the acoustics of the room to configure it. In 10 minutes we were watching a movie. For the price, the sound is pretty amazing. It is really hard to justify spending more money on a receiver unless you have some very special needs. This receiver has enough HDMI inputs and outputs for me, subwoofer out, power is more than sufficient for 99% of people, and it looks well built. We have had it for about 6 weeks now and I am very happy with my purchase

I had to replace my 7.1 Samsung Amplifier after a lighting strike took out all my HDMI ports. I went back and forth if I should save some money on a 5.1 or replace with another 7.1. Looked at different brands also. decided to save some money since I now live in a small apartment and did not think the 7.1 would be of much benefit. I could not be happier with the Sony 5.1 Amp. sounds great saved me over $100 off the 7.1 and other than that has all the same features. The HDMI selection works great and that was more important for me than the sound, but I was amazed as the sound is actually better than my older 7.1 Samsung. Setup was also very easy. plug in the mic hit the setup button all the speaker balance was set in minutes. I have not had to go back a make any changes. I did have to tweak the setting on my older uint. So, I have no complaints at all.

I bought my Wife a 70 inch Vizio TV for Christmas and realized I needed to go all in and replace my old Sony receiver that had no left channel and no hdmi input or output Jack's! Couldn't allow myself to hook up New school TV with Old school audio!!! Anyways, this receiver does everything I need at a price that just blew me away. It was on sale for $149 Bucks : ) You could spend a lot more money on a receiver, but this one sounds great, easy to operate and looks great in my rack. Only thing I didn't like was it comes with a simple "get started" sheet to hook it up, but you need to go online and register the unit to download the actual operation manual! Otherwise, it's 5 thumbs up from me@

When my 8 year old (and significantly more expensive) Onkyo A/V receiver developed a problem with its video output I decided to look into buying a new unit that would support 4K pass-through. After much research I settled on the Sony STR-DH550, and it was the perfect choice for me. Truth be told, my Onkyo was a great A/V receiver but it's capabilities were way beyond what I actually needed. Due to its age, the Onkyo had no 4K capabilities and the cost to repair it would have been about the same as buying a new unit with newer technology. So I sat down with myself and thought about what it was that I really needed to achieve the results I wanted. My surround system is 5.1 so having a receiver that could drive 9 speakers really was of no benefit to me. I have a fairly good size collection of DVD's and Blu-Ray disks that don't use the newer Atmos surround effects, so that was something that at this point I don't really need either. I find that the Sony STR-DH550 has more than enough power to drive my speakers (my subwoofer is a 10" with it's own 250W built-in amp so the receiver doesn't actually drive the sub) and it has a great amount of flexibility/adjustability that allows me to set the levels for all of my speakers exactly the way I want. The built in speaker calibration function works well and is very easy to use. After running the calibration program I did some additional manual tweaking of the individual speaker settings to get the sound stage I wanted and it sounds great! I think even better than what I had with the Onkyo. The on-screen menus are very basic but I find them easy to navigate and easy to change settings. Both sound quality and picture quality are excellent. I am on the Comcast Xfinity X1 platform and running it through this Sony receiver gives excellent results. The remote control is fairly basic and easy to use; the only drawback is that the buttons are not backlit. This receiver is a "bare bones" entry level unit, but for the price the features are really good and it meets all of my needs with flying colors. Since this is an entry level model there are some limitations with the available connections, i.e. there is no input for a turntable, and the composite inputs (i.e. for a VCR) do not output through the HDMI cable connection to the TV. I do still have a VCR due to a large collection of video tapes, so I purchased from a third party a composite-to-HDMI converter that allows me to connect my VCR through a HDMI input which will then route the output through the HDMI cable to the TV. This was an inexpensive and simple solution for my VCR that works great. So, in conclusion, if you're looking for an inexpensive great receiver to drive your 5.1 surround system, has great sound and picture quality, is capable of both 3D and 4K pass-through, and you don't need a lot of extra "bells and whistles" then this is a unit that you should give some serious consideration.

After upgrading to a oled 4k tv I needed an update on a receiver. I bought this one and a denon that cost a couple hundred more for basically the same features. This receiver wins hands down. The sound is very good for the price. I have monitor audio gold 60s on the front and Polk surround rears, Polk sub, and a Polk center. It powers them effectively enough for my use. THIS RECEIVER HAS ARC! So you only have to use one hdmi to the tv if you’re utilizing the smart functions on your tv but want surround sound. 10/10 I’d tell anyone to buy this if they don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on a quality receiver.

After having this receiver for about a month now I can definitely say it was a great purchase. It has plenty of power and sounds great with my speakers. Easy set up with very easy instructions. I love the plug in speaker calibrator that it comes with. It even made it easier to set up properly. Sounds way better than the Onkyo I had before.

I was assured that this receiver would work great as a music 2 channel stereo receiver and that the added channels would be an additional bonus for my TV surround sound. But my main reason for purchasing was to play music. It didn't have enough bass so I purchased a sub woofer to compliment the receiver. The sub woofer appeared to be a plug and go setup but I couldn't get it to work. I called Sony's tech support and spent over 2 hours on the phone just to get the sub woofer to work. The receiver didn't have real bass, treble, and no balance features and when we got the sub working I even lost the concert, auditorium, jazz, rock, etc., settings. So I had absolutely no controls over my sound. By this time I was so fed up that I returned the receiver to Best Buy and now I am shopping for a good 2.1 channel receiver. But like the heading to my review says that if you buy this as a surround sound receiver, it may work great for you.

Went to the store to buy a Denon and they were out of the one I wanted so I went for my other choice a Sony, rather that wait. I am very happy I did as this unit is awesome. It sounds great, lots of power to irritate my neighbors, easy to set up and it performs flawlessly, it is very user friendly. When I turn it on the room comes to life especially the sports action in full surround sound. Sony has always made really high quality products and this item is a reflection of that quality and a great addition to my home theater setup. The microphone that comes with it makes it so simple to get the speaker level where you want it to be and it can still tweaked if needed or wanted. The on screen programming make it a breeze to set everything up. I have no complaints about this Sony STRDH550 and would buy it again.

Our previous surround system stopped working so I began researching a cheap, dependable replacement. This Sony Receiver has worked perfectly. I had it working within minutes out of the box. The included microphone will set the 5 speaker volumes for you, but I tweaked them to my personal preference in the menu setups because I needed more out of the surround (rear) speakers. It requires a powered sub-woofer. It does a great job with any HDMI device or RCA connector I have run through it: TV, laptop, blu-ray player, etc. It will automatically turn off after a few minutes through the laptop if it does not detect any video streaming (like if I am just browsing a webpage), but I am sure this is a menu setting somewhere. Very satisfied with this quality sound and picture for a $200 receiver.

The good: The receiver was easy to set up. The sound is great. That is after all why we buy Sony products. The bad: The remote control even with the instructions is impossible to figure out. I did not know that to set additional settings like AM and FM presets that a TV screen was going to be required. Since the stereo is set up away from a TV I will have to wait to drag TV over to do programming. Wish I had known that in advance since no other review mentioned it or the issues with setting up and using the remote control. Additionally one has to go online to download a manual. For the couple of bucks it would be nice if manufacturers would still supply complete paper manuals so we do not have to run between computer and stereo to figure out settings.

The Sony 5.1 (with 4 Polk bookshelf speakers suspended from the ceiling and center channel) was purchased to add to our bedroom flat screen and give us a little more punch than the old sound bar. We have not added the subwoofer, yet, and we are only in for $300 by taking advantage of Best Buy's Black Friday sales. We have a great sound and is outstanding for our streamed movies. Our living room AV system runs rings around this Sony (Pioneer 7.2 with Klipsch) so, if you are looking for a truly high end sound you are not going to get it with the Sony. If you want a great sound for a smaller room and don't want to spend a lot of money... Get the Sony.

Excellent receiver. My last one only lasted a year. Too many problems with it. The volume moved in halves. Press too hard on the volume control and it moved so fast I was way past the level I wanted. Programming was a nightmare and the power was not there. The Sony had what I wanted in a receiver. Two fiber in-ports, one for the TV and one for my PC. The wattage really powers my JBL upscale speakers. The sound is super. Programming is a breeze. All my FM statins come in. I have found the brand for life.

I replaced a 15 year old RCA surround receiver with this, that had been great but was beginning to hum, and had no HDMI inputs. I was initially a bit skeptical, thought it might just be cheap, but we didn't need 7.1, as our room is wired for 5.1. After setting it up and listening, my wife and I are really happy with it, it sounds great and has great features. Best of all, it's very easy to use for my wife, who isn't a techy at all! We've had it installed for a few weeks now, I just hope it lasts as long as the old RCA!

This Sony is only the 2nd unit I have owned in the last 30 years, I only upgraded to this to get the advantage of HDMI switching for my home theater setup. Sound is excellent, surround spot-on, easy to setup, and Sony quality and consistency, at a great price. Very happy with this and since they never really change the look of their components it fits right in with my older components perfectly! Thanks Sony and Best Buy for carrying this at such a great price!

Great sound and options for such a budget receiver. Holds it's own and pushes the sub and tower speakers I have well. Not the easiest menu to use, but overall it's not too bad. Definitely recommend unless you have a super complex setup, but this thing will even allow 2 subs as far as I know, and plenty of options to customize EQ, speaker sizes, and easy to turn off/on center channel speaker when just needing the stereo speakers and sub.

I got this receiver for my wall mounted directional surround sound system in my living room. I was replacing an old unit, and the difference is outstanding. I didn't want to spend too much for a receiver because, well they all do the same thing. Some have a few more bells and whistles then others, but over all its about sound. This receiver delivers great sound and has some neat features. I had Best Buy price match and got this one for a small price.

Couldn’t pass up this receiver when marked down to $114. Open boxed of course but excellent condition and for a beginner receiver, it gets the job done. BestBuy’s reputation for high prices are from people who don’t do their homework and don’t wait for there favorite products to be discounted. Great price for a great receiver that will have your friends and family thinking you spent big bucks on an expensive sound system.