Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony STR-DE595 - AV receiver - 5.1 channel

I recently received this Sony receiver and am very pleased with it. The hook up was quick and easy and the owners manual is well-written. I wanted something specifically with Optical sound inputs and this unit has not one, but two of them, along with a digital coaxial input port. The first thing I did upon hooking up this receiver was to play a DVD which I had just recently played on my non-optical receiver that I am replacing.
Let me tell you...I started hearing sounds from this DVD that I never heard before!! I just stood in the middle of the room laughing at the amazing sound that was now coming from my speakers! I now know what true 5.1 surround sound is supposed to sound like. The channel separation was amazing and the multiple output modes (movie, music, concert hall, etc.) were fun to play with. I am able to tell this receiver exactly how far away from the speakers I am sitting and even tell it if the rear channel speakers are sitting high or low. This receiver has a large variety of customizable features that are simple enough for a novice like me to understand and program. The price is great, the features are great and I am completely pleased and cannot imagine upgrading again for a long, long time.

I had this receiver for about 2 years before it died.
Movies sounded fine with this however the clarity of sound was poor (characteristic of SONY). I didn't know how good my JBL speakers could sound until I bought a new receiver to replace this one (only 2yrs old!!!!)
My biggest complaint with this thing was that it completely died after ~2yrs of using it ~1hr per day!
Do yourself a favor and purchase a Pioneer or Yamaha receiver that will not only sound better but they should last for 10+ years!!

Okay well, i have had this receiver since it first came out, i really play the hell out of this thing, i have everything in my room running through it, DVD, computer, TV, CD player, everything. On numerous occasions i have put it up to the MAX volume setting and ran it through my 150W pioneer speakers (they don't sound fantastic, but they can handle a lot of power) and it sounded clean, and you could hear it all the way down the block. To be honest, i sort of abuse this thing and it has shown absolutely no signs of wear and tear in the slightest. None. Music sounds absolutely fantastic through it, as long as you don't try to use any setting other than "PLII Mus" or "Auto AFD" (which plays your main speakers and subwoofer simultaneously). The Jazz and Concert settings etc. are worthless, don't even bother. That, and the fact that the Tone adjustments are virtually useless, only allowing 1 bass and 1 treble point to be adjusted ± 6dB are the ONLY complaints i have. They are extremely minor points, everything that has to work works flawlessly. Whoever said that their music sounds poor through this has absolutely no idea what they're talking about. And by the way, you shouldn't have to adjust the bass or treble on your music, the bass you get is the bass you get; main speakers are not meant to give overwhelming bass, that's what a subwoofer is for. Noobs. The remote is great, it works well, and, while not extremely important, the unit itself is quite handsome. It has far more inputs than most people with only $200 to spend on a receiver likely have things to plug into it. This unit has way more features than comparably priced units, and, despite what others have said, it's quality lives up to the Sony reputation.

For the original purchase price of $200, nothing comes close.

I am an audio professional, but not overly obsessed w/ my home audio. This is a very good system for the price. One must adjust the settings in setup. Leaving the settings all at the default will result in flat low audio for music. Once you adjust the levels to each speaker & set the distance of each, your music will sound very good & your movies even better. A search online shows it's common for ppl to neglect to adjust the setup & complain ab audio from sony receivers like this one. I've had the system for three years & have had no problems. I had to call customer support once to use another sony remote & they were extremely helpful w/ that. There are other systems on par w/ this one & better, but this one is very good for the price.

This receiver i bought last year, so far I have had no problems and I enjoy all the features that it has. I actually have some old AIWA Speakers hooked up to this system, and a Sony Subwoofer which realy gives this system some power, I have tested it with all the great movies ( Lord of the rings, Star Wars, Matrix etc ) and it kicks butt!! My digital cable box which receives Dolby Digital signal also sounds great. Music from either CD or Digital cable sounds good, especially when I have the Dolby Pro-Logic II on music setting.
I paid $150.00 for this and was worth every penny!

UPDATED 2/20/2009**
I've has this receiver for around 5 yrs now and I still love it..I have all Sony Speakers for my Home theater and I love it...in fact the Digital Cinema Setting makes the room sound even better...like your in the center of the action.