Customer Ratings & Reviews

Before this receiver Ive tried out the denon avr-x4800h, the avr-x6800h, the avr-x8500ha, Pioneer Elite vsx lx805, the yamaha rx-a1080 and rx-a3080 and this is the only receiver that makes my combination of B&W , Martin Logan, Paradigm, and SVS system sing like it should. So musical out of the box without any autocalibration. IMAX Enhanced DTS:X and Dolby Atmos are just as good. Again out of the box ! I cant wait to do Sony's Auto Calibration to really see it shine !! 360 Reality Audio is a really cool feature and sounds great. It almost reminds of my dads old Pioneer quadraphonic real to real 4 channel system from back in the day, especially listening to smooth jazz, you are definately in the middlle of it. First receiver Ive ever owned that sounded this good out off the Box !! I agree with Andrew Robinson, this is the best sounding receiver out there !! I wonder if the extra power of the 7000es would be even better. Might have to check it out sometime . I'm totally good with what I have now . Sony ES is Awesome !!!

This receiver is surprise me. First of all the sound output is awesome due to its built in 32- DAC. Secondly, I have been accustom to using marantz and onkyo receivers in the past and familiar with DIRAC and was worried about calibrating my system accordingly. Luckily’ the built in calibration system that utilize its 360 spacial is on awesome.. Half the work is done for you and it is FREE. No need to buy dirac live or bass control. With that being said bass control is none existent with gain your only control, but who cares when it measures everything. Lastly, based on calibration regardless of speaker placement or missing speaker this receiver has the ability to make the SOUND like you have a 5.2.4 or 7.2.2/7.2.4 set up in the correct placement even though your placement is off or missing speakers (atmos) need at least two ceiling / upfiring / height speaker. Confused? My front L is about 5 ft from C channel and R speaker is about 7 due to my living room lay out. Surround and rear surround. Went testing this function i disconnected my L surround and R rear surround but had 2 middle ceiling speakers as my height. Then recalibrated system and picked the phantom setting and miraculously sound was coming out from nowhere and sounded like you had the 7.2.2 system. Enough to use 360 spacial calibration. I reconnected my speakers and did another recalibration and i couldn't hardly tell the difference when watching 4k content. The model is awesome for price. If you can get the sony az7000es but if you are on a budget get the 5000 not the 3000 as a minimum. The sony az3000 has missing output's , do your research and decide if you need it or not. I also want to mention my rear surrounds are the wireless speakers Sony SA-RS 5 ( comes with up firing atmos ) because i didn't want to run too much wires. Cons: Display is dim hardly see unless you’re in front of it ( at least its bigger than marantz peep hole ). Wireless function can only support one pair speakers and two wireless subs( I had two wired sub so I didnt care too much about it ). Had issues with the first pair of sony sa-rs5 connection where my right rear surround keeps cutting in and out so i exchange for new pair! New pair didn't cut out or haven't had any issues yet. It has only two sub outs. (Added y connector to one so i could run 3 subs) Lastly EQ is limited gain only treble or bass In conclusion ( MY OPINION ) : awesome and easy calibration that is on par to DIRAC. However, DIRAC is still awesome due to individual speaker fine tuning. Usually reserved for audiophile's. For everyday listeners you will be happy. Plenty of power but in my set up i have an external 3 channel amp for my martin logan xt f200. Didn't want to over use receiver for all 11 channels. Easy to use set up! Inexpensive for the receiver’s bells and whistles! Buy it. Try it. If it’s not for you then return it! Give it a chance you wont be disappointed especially if your still hung up on deciding which receiver or want to try something new. Happy Hunting!!

Went from a Marantz 6015 to Sony i was nervous at first but wow the clarity thats comes from this is great. The interface is modern simple, calibration was easy to setup Sony’s 360 reality audio is immersive i was very skeptical but after trying it out I changed my mind. The thing keeping it from having 5 stars is no independent subwoofers, It’s driving me nuts i will keep testing it.

Excellent high-end receiver i recommend this, it is the best receiver I have bought even over Denon

Well where do I start. The unit build quality alone is impressive and the sound quality is lack of a better word is amazing! Im coming from the STR-AN1000 and before that was the STR-AN790 all impressive receivers. What stood out to me is the clarity of little sounds that in the movie would travel around you and just how precise the receiver would process the sounds. Currently running it in 7.2.2 and with Sonys on screen setup it makes it simple and visually easy and it will suggest speaker arrangements if it to loud in spots or just to close to a speaker. All in all I’m super happy with the unit and I’m loving more time.

Excellent receiver and amazing channel separation and surround sound separation and effects is something else

The ES Series of Sony receivers are excellent, offered at very competitive pricing. The ability to stream digital audio to multiple zones without casting is a unique feature.

When it works, the sound is mesmerizing. Used it with a Bravia A95L, upgrading from a Yamaha Aventage RX-A3080. Subwoofer outputs are not independent, so would need a minidsp 2x4HD to setup properly. 360SSM sounds unreal in the demos. I found the umpiring of normal content to be good too, but not nearly as nice as the demos. The real issue turned out to be the terrible HDMI eARC handshake with my SONY TV. The audio would keep cutting out every few seconds. I should note that the Sony Bravia A95L is notorious for its HDMI handshake issues, but this happening with a Sony AVR seemed unacceptable. Also, I have no problem running it through an AppleTV/Roku, but the Sony Pictures Core App (best streaming app out there) is only accessible on the TV. In short, it's great when it works, but it doesn't most of the time with any TV content. I ended up getting an Onkyo TX-RZ70 which has been pretty flawless, for $2k.

I was deciding bewteen the 3000ES or the 5000ES receiver. The 5000ES has a little bit more power but it also has preouts. It took about a week for delivery. I was all excited only to realize the reciever was dead on arrival. It would not turn on at all. No lights lit up, no sound, nothing. I did some research to see if theres any info online to do a hard boot up, no luck. So disappointed to spend $2100 and get a dead receiver. I returned it the next day. I tried to purchase it again but its sold out. I ended up getting the 3000ES instead and yes this unit works. Maybe Sony should do a little better quality control before sending out products especially a flagship product. It may be just an issolated issue, but i would still recommend Sony recivers.

Outstanding Performance for the price. Strong output equal to units costing much more.

After trying out new high end Onkyo and Marantz models, the Sony proved to be superior in function glitch free coordination with other devices. The Sony spatial measurement system makes for pin point location of sounds from the screen and in space around you. Really wanted to love the others but could not.