Customer Ratings & Reviews

Not as good as promised, I had to return this maybe because it was an open box

Receiver is fried after a power surge despite using Best Buy sold surge protector....not happy!!!

This receiver right out of the box sounds very decent. Setup was very easy IMHO. They have Easy Setup feature which incorporates a microphone that calibrates for optimum settings. I would say this is a very decent receiver for a budget shopper. The unit has 4 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output to the TV. This receiver also has NFC and bluetooth. If you want to get a 4k setup this receiver will help a budget shopper. One minor issue is you can't manually set the treble and bass so that is why I gave it a 4 out of 5. I like to adjust but Sony probably wants you to use the easy setup feature.

Many years ago (in the late 1970s) someone made an offhand remark to me that I have never stopped thinking about - he said that the best single way to evaluate the quality of a sound system is to see how fully and richly it can produce low frequency sounds at low volume. Most systems cheat their way through this by including a subwoofer to handle all the low frequencies - everything is subwoofered these days. Well…everything except receivers where you provide all your own speakers. And for almost any configuration of speakers you might want to establish, the Sony STR-DH790 receiver has a configuration to help you out - it supports specific profiles for 24 different speaker combinations and placements - every conceivable profile from 2.0 to 7.1. And the comprehensive manual that accompanies the receiver provides a lot of guidance in selecting the appropriate configuration for your individual needs. Since most of my equipment is nice but quite old, the wealth of options was helpful since I have never owned a powered subwoofer. And in the process of experimenting with a few different speaker combinations, the first mode I tried was 2.0 (which we used to just call “stereo”). And in terms of what to expect in overall sound, that’s really the mode that matters the most since people tend to utilize simpler speakers for their surrounding array. And the sound I got in this simplest of modes was really impressive - I got bright and clear treble, fully realized midrange, and even that desirable ability to deliver full and rich lower frequencies at reduced volumes. Admittedly, my speakers are pretty large and date back to a time when speakers were expected to be able to deliver sound across the whole audio spectrum. And this Sony was able to drive them admirably. Modern sensibilities seem to dictate that smaller stereo speakers are the way to go - with the obligatory added subwoofer - but I’m glad that this receiver also allows me to enjoy great sound reproduction from my massive older speakers. Ultimately, as I added speakers to my configuration, I spent the most time trying to decide if the sound of 6.0 would give me a significantly better listening experience than 5.0 - for the time being, I went ahead and mounted everything for the 5.0 experience (which is amazing) while I continue to try more surround-intensive material with-and-without the added speakers. Once your speakers are placed and your surround mode is chosen, this receiver has a switchable sound field control to insure that your non-surround-encoded sources are reproduced faithfully. This prevents basic stereo sources from sounded artificially strung out while allowing surround sources to be faithfully directed to all appropriate speakers. So far, the sound with 5.0 is great - surround effects in movies always sound natural and well-placed. I like that changes in volume, adjusted either manually or by remote control, produce very incremental results - so it is easy to hone-in on a specific volume that suits your listening needs. All other manual and remote controls for this receiver are intuitive and easy to understand (even without the comprehensive manual). Finally, the available input sources for this AV receiver include four HDMI inputs and a surprisingly good bluetooth input. Bluetooth sources will always sound a little thinner than a source played through a direct input, but the DH790 really removes the disappointment I typically feel when listening to selections from my iPod.

It came damaged and I really don't think I like that.

Keep on shutting down repeatedly after few minutes.

I give it 5 stars just for the price & performance. If you want Dolby Atmos this is your best bet for the price. Its more quality sound than volume but its enough for my living room. Even the muti channel on pcm is good.

Pleased with the product but it has no AM radio feature.

Receiver was incorrectly recommended and had to be returned

If you are looking for the latest 4K compatibility (with ample HDMI inputs) and the latest in sound decoding (DTS-X and Dolby Atmos) in an inexpensive compact design cabinet then this is your Home Theater Receiver. High power 7.2 channel capability, HDR 4K compatible and 2 subwoofer outs further compliment the feature set of this receiver. You can configure your speakers in many different ways including 5.2, configurations that take advantage of Atmos specific speakers and full 7.2 with 2 subwoofers (which I have done). Which brings me to my only complaint on the receiver...the main 2 speaker connections are banana plug capable but the rest are not, I guess at this price point, the features I described above are second to none but Sony has to compromise somewhere and that’s on the speaker connections for all the other speakers, which are the typical spring push down connectors that you insert your stripped speaker wire into. I had to remove all of my banana plugs on my other speakers. Setup is easy with the on screen prompts and Sony also makes it easy to calibrate your sound with Digital Cinema Auto Calibration for accurate speaker setup. Overall a great choice for your Home Theater but doesn’t get 5 stars from me only because of the lack of banana plugs in the rear.

This system is terrible! Thought that replacing my old Pioneer system with this unit would be easy. System wouldn't recognize my Bose Accoustmaster 10 system and had to change all of my HDMI cables or in order for the system to recognize each piece ( TV, PS5, DVD, & Roku). Still having sound issues with this system. Will Not buy another Sony Receiver.

Unable to calibrate my speakers ... repeated attempts result in error messages. I tried manually setting the speakers but it won't save the changes. Unit turns on / off with my Sony tv sometimes and other times won't. Very frustrating and wish I had bought another brand receiver.

So I got this receiver for my loft because I already have a $900 Marantz in my living room. I have to say that this receiver for less than half of the price does exactly plus some than what my Marantz or previous Denon did. The start-up is easy and the onscreen display makes it very easy to adjust balances, frequency, etc. I can tell you the sound is not as crisp and balanced as my Marantz however the average person and my wife cannot tell any difference in sound. The features that this has are the same as the high end receivers. Atmos, 2 sub outs, ARC, Bluetooth, and lots of power. The one complaint I have is that the surround speaker inputs are the old clip ones vs. banana plugs like higher end models have. If you are in the market for a new receiver then this is the one for you!

Replaced a 6 year old Denon. Atmos is fabulous! Grabbed a few old speakers that were lying around for the height channels. Tested out with Last Jedi, Spider-Man Homecoming, and every other Atmos-enabled disc. Sounds absolutely crystal clear with my bookshelf Polk speakers. Even my wife, who normally couldn’t care less about audio, is really impressed with it and had me demo all sorts of movies, and with my 230 blurays, that’s a LOT to test! Works great with Netflix, Xbox, PS4, and all my other electronics junk. With everything plugged in via hdmi, everything turns on and switched perfectly. Told everyone at work about it, and several are interested in upgrading their old systems. If you want a good system, this is it.

I bought one of these in January 28, 2020 and today March 19, 2025 it died after a horrible screeching sound coming out of the subwoofer. Up until today it was awesome. Great power and fidelity for this price point which was $299.99. I was expecting it to last longer than 5 years, but in fairness it is powered up an average of approximately 14-15 hours a day, so it has a ton of hours on it. That's about 27,375 hours. Honestly for 300 bucks that's not bad. In fact, I like this unit so much I am considering buying another one. They're 79.00 dollars more now which when I consider the performance and longevity is pretty cost effective.

Good sound but seems to have a hint of compression in some formats, if this is from the source it could use some dynamic range expansion compensation. Also seems to run a bit warm so be careful to provide proper ventilation, I don’t think it would like a square wave torture test. The STRDH790 is smart, it provides all the decoding and digital connectivity and is the best reason to buy at this price.

Super powerful. Can be hard to play straight through (same sound send to each speaker. It Likes to do the built in EQ sound which isn’t always the best. Also could use more speaker jacks. I’m giving 5 stars because it’s a fantastic entry unit and does exactly what it says it should!

Our new home alread came with surround sound speakers but we needed a receiver. We are so happy with the purchase. Great sound! We connect easily to tv/ surround sound, bluetooth, radio,etc. The sound is just amazing! Easy set up and great price!

Great sound with multiple settings. Very easy to set up. You can easily connect to any Bluetooth device with a good connection. It has multiple hdmi ports for all your devices and also includes earc for connecting to a compatible tv with an earc port.

I replaced my old Denon receiver with sony STR DH790. Very impressive sound. I am loving my home theater more now. Remote works in any direction which I really liked it when compared to my previous denon receiver. Bluetooth turns on the receiver. Setup was very easy except no banana plugs to rear and center speakers. I don't understand why sony removed banana plugs when they had them in previous DH770 model. That is the only reason I am giving one star less.