Denon AVR-2809CI Home Theater Receiver

Denon AVR-2809CI Home Theater Receiver is a 7.1 AV receiver with video upscaling to 1080p of analog sources using a Faroudja DCDi chipset, decodes high-definition audio sources (Dolby TrueHD, dts HD-MA), and features 4 x HDMI 1.3a inputs with Deep Color support. A notable upgrade to the previous-generation is the addition of Audyssey’s Dynamic Volume processing along with the already present Dynamic EQ option. Dynamic Volume is found on all ten models; it’s a feature that levels the volume to

Onkyo TX 8555 Stereo Receiver

Onkyo TX 8555 Stereo Receiver

Recent years have ushered in a new era in flat-screen displays, high-definition video, and sophisticated multi-channel audio. But there’s still a vital role to be played by the dedicated audio system. This streamlined two-channel receiver lets you focus solely on your music or get high-quality sound from movies, broadcasts, and gaming. The TX-8555 is packed with proprietary Onkyo amplifier technology and housed in a sturdy, vibration-resistant chassis. Whether it’s channeling your iPod, SIRIUS Satellite Radio, XM Satellite Radio, CDs, or other traditional audio sources, the TX-8555 translates your music with effortless power and finesse. It even offers Zone 2 capability, so you can simultaneously play a separate audio source in a second room. The TX-8555 also has a Phono input so you can connect a stereo turntable without adding an optional pre-amp accessory. Connectivity to your iPod or to your XM satellite radio subscription requires purchase of optional accessories. Zone 2 Pre Out Subwoofer Pre Out Phono Input Massive Power Transformer Heavy-Duty Extruded Heat Sink for Maximum Heat Dissipation Speaker A/B Drive Direct Mode Pure Audio Mode IR Input/Output Independent Treble, Bass, and Balance Control XM Ready and SIRIUS Ready – requires subscription and antenna 40 FM/AM Random Presets Preset Station Naming (Up to 8 Characters) Direct Access Tuning with 10 Key Buttons Headphone Jack Audio Mute (via Remote) 3-Mode Display Dimmer (Dim/Dark/Normal) Sleep Timer (via Remote) Battery-Free Memory Back-up Non-Resonant Feet Compatible with RI Dock for the iPod Banana Plug-Compatible Speaker Posts RI (Remote Interactive) Remote Control Dimensions (W x H x D) 17 1/8

Sony STRDG920 7 1 Channel Audio Video Receiver

Sony STRDG920 7 1 Channel Audio Video Receiver

Experience Full HD 1080 at home with this powerful receiver. The STR-DG920 7.1-Channel A/V Receiver creates a video-centric entertainment hub for the most demanding HD experience. It integrates the latest audio and video technologies while making operations simple to command and easy to follow. Speaking of advanced technology, inside its chassis is a video processor that can upscale all video sources (less than 1080p) up to 1080p. Sony’s Digital Cinema Auto Calibration simplifies speaker set up and optimizes speaker performance in just 30 seconds, with the push of one button. This full-featured A/V Receiver expands its ability to playback music from various audio sources with the DIGITAL MEDIA PORT and one of the various accessories. The XM Connect-and-Play Ready feature provides the ability to access XM satellite radio programming in surround sound. With One Touch Play, operations that took several steps have been reduced to one. Sony’s original Digital Cinema Sound(TM) technology uses exclusive DSP technology to recreate the precise environment of three Hollywood Dubbing Stages where your movies are created. Mic – Mono Digital Cinema Auto Calibration Advanced Learning/Pre Programmed Remote Control Screw Binding Posts (A & B) Speaker Terminal Type Ports – 3 Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Inputs (Rear), 1 Component Video (Y/Pb/Pr) Output (Rear), 5 Composite Video Inputs (1 Front/4 Rear), 3 Composite Video Outputs (Rear-1 Monitor Output, 2 Video Outputs), 4 Optical Audio Inputs (1 Front/3 Rear), 1 Optical Audio Output (Rear), 2 Coaxial Audio Digital Inputs (Rear), 8 RCA Audio Inputs (3 Dedicated/5 Audio/Video), 3 RCA Audio Outputs (Rear- 2 Audio/Video Outputs, 1 Output), 1 Multi-Channel Input (Rear, 7.1 Channel), 1 Subwoofer Output (Rear), AC Outlet, 1 Headphone Output (Front- Gold), 3 HD Component Video Inputs (Rear), 1 HD Component Video Output (Rear), 4 HDMI Connection Inputs (Rear), 1 HDMI Connection Output (R

User Ratings and Reviews

4 Stars Capable receiver, nearly useless manual…
I compared a number of receivers. Price was important. I didn’t want to spend over $400 on a receiver. Also of importance in my decision was having a broad choice of options for connecting legacy video sources (S-VHS VCR, Laser Disc etc). I wanted plenty of component and composite inputs and I also wanted video up-conversion to 1080p for these older sources. The Sony STRDG920 had all of this. It also has 4 HDMI inputs(one for my new BD-player and one for my near-future Dish Network HD receiver plus, two extra for future expansion).

My old system was connected via S-video connectors and I was a little disappointed that the 920 didn’t have any s-video inputs, but that was not a deal breaker. Up-conversion (to 1080p) of analog composite video is not perfect but certainly better than than watching it at native resolution. This was important given my hundreds of VHS and Laserdiscs in my collection. Having all my video sources going into one box and only one HDMI cable outputing to my Veira plasma was great in that it reduced the clutter behind the TV.

I’m very disappointed with the manual. It has no index and is laid out in a very illogical manner. What it lacks is a step by step setup procedure to walk you through the various features of the receiver (especially audio). When I first set up the receiver I was getting very flat sound coming out of the speakers compared to my old Sony receiver and was very disappointed. It was more than a week later that I discovered that you could individually adjust bass and treble for each speaker. Tone control was buried in one of the menus. What a difference. There is no lack of amplifier output. In fact I blew out the foam surround of my subwoofer (13 years old) while watching Star Wars II. The foam was rotting but you have to be careful with movies because there is such a wide variation in volume for spoken scenes vs action scenes.

The 920 has an seemingly endless choice of digital surround decoding codexes, so it will handle virtually anything that you throw at it. It easily decoded my old Laserdisc player (pre-AC3) into very dynamic surround. The on-screen setup menus are fairly easy to navigate, although there are a number of sub-menus that contain key setup features that are not well explained in the manual (see above). All in all, the 920 gives you alot of bang for the buck, you just have to figure out how to use it!

4 Stars Works as Expected
Worked as Expected. Easy to set-up with GUI. Up-Conversion from lesser resolution sources such as TV / Game Consoles / DVD looks excellent in 1080 resolution (nearly equal to Blue-Ray).

1 Star Sony Support is the worst
Purchased this item from amazon.com and it arrived deffective. HDMI output did not work, Video out did not work, GUI Mode Menu not showing up in the TV. Return and received a second unit. This last unit was great, everything working properly but the left front A speaker was not working. Try new speaker cable, new speaker and still does not work. contacted Sony Support and the best they can do is for me to bring it to a repair center to be fixed. A brand new A/V receiver worth 600 dollars and out of the box needs to be repaired. I am very disappointed at sony customer service and at amazon for selling/delivering deffective products. Also, This unit overheats a lot. I had to put a fan next to it so it cools down a little bit. I doubt I will buy any Sony product again and even using amazon.com again.

3 Stars I love reading instruction manuals but…
The manual for the STR-DG920 makes no sense to me. I know this isn’t an av forum but I’m hoping for a little advice from my fellow purchasers of this receiver. I’ve got it hooked up to my Samsung 47″ LCD (1080P) via HDMI. I have my wii (standard wii composite connection) and my dvd player (rca cable & component video cable) and my Pioneer Inno XM Player (rca cable red/white only) hooked up to the receiver. General use seems to work well but I’m not certain I’m getting all the bang out of my buck. Do I have to hook up component video cables between the receiver and the TV in order to up convert to 1080p? I guess it’s a great receiver because of the expandability it offers but its way to complicated for those new to the world of HD / AV / 1080P / home theater.

5 Stars Paired with SHARP Aquos LC46D62U & Polk Audio RM6750
Paired with SHARP LC46D62U & Polk Audio RM6750’s this receiver does everything most anyone will need over the next several years. I studied receiver specs for months. Compared capabilities, checked cost fluctuations, visited “ultra high end” home theater dealers, spoke to many so called AV experts, some were called sales associates, combined systems together in sound rooms, paired receivers with speakers,TV’s with speakers and receivers. I did this at all the usual retailers i.e., Best Buy and a renowned local “high end home theater dealer.”

Bar none – there’s no better value than this! I bought it through Amazon delivered for under $385.00.

And, there are caveats to my “Bar None” statement – BE VERY prepared to learn the capabilities of this receiver. Learning comes from both trial and error and trying to understand the “vague” instructions. This system took me hours to “mess” with and learn. If you have the time and you enjoy a challenge, this receiver’s for you. It has all the normal Sony setups with A, B and C (Cinema Sound Enhanced) CSTEX, AUTO FORMAT DETECT “AFD” and all of Dolby’s current and future formats, Neural THX, True HD “lossless”. 4 HDMI’s inputs for more hookups than most of us need, optical toslinks etc, XM Radio, DM Ports etc., etc. and a whole host of other inputs and outputs that better confirm the best value.

Anyone who has owned Sony lately now knows, Sony really needs you to buy there stuff so you can be “Bravia Synced” to them and our planet. This is probably very cool if all you ever want to own is Sony – I like the Sharp Aquos LCD’s picture (black really is black) connected to this receiver with a Sony BDPS-550 Blue Ray Disk Player. Automatically the 2 synced together the Sony Blue Ray Disk Player and the Sony Receiver they seemed to become like, well, best friends. You would think that the Sharp is the odd man out and it is – but not in a bad way. Sharp truly holds it’s own to the Sony components and has no problems handling the processes of everything and anything the two Sony pieces push on/in or through it.

The power and performance of the STRDG-920 is impeccable – after you have done all that’s required to make this receiver perform at it’s best. – Here’s what I did – I invited a neighbor over to test the systems capabilities and try to tell the difference between Pirates of the Caribbean in Blue Ray, and Pirates of the Caribbean in regular DVD. I let him watch the 1st ten minutes of each. Low and behold my neighbor actually thought the latter was the Blue Ray. Both Blue Ray Disc Player and the STRDG-920 systems perform an up-conversion to 1080P. The standard definition Pirates of the Caribbean contains an enhanced audio over the Blue Ray version, the STRDG-920 automatically detects the “best” processing of all formats of audio, in this case an enhanced Neural / THX format helped to fool him. Visually – the up-conversion is remarkably comparable and to me extremely difficult to detect over the Blue Ray.

I expected this remake of my system would cost somewhere between $1500.00 TO $2500.00. All of these components through Amazon came to less than $1050.00 – included in the remake were this Sony Receiver STRDG-920 $384.00, Sony BDPS 550 Blue Ray Player $306.00, last years model Polk Audio RM6750 $246.00. Other parts and accessories like $50.00 in speaker wire, $25.00 for 2 HDMI cables and not yet available through Amazon was $20.00’s beer enjoyed while setting it up.

Buy/More Info

SRS TruVolume(TM) Advanced Volume Control Solution Debuts in VIZIO XVT HDTV and VIZIO HD Sound Bar (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)

TruVolume provides a natural listening experience by eliminating annoying volume fluctuations in television, music, and other audio sources