Sony STRDE197 Stereo Receiver
See it at Amazon.com for $123.81Average Customer Rating
(3.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First
(1 out of 5)[...] Pass the Torch
First of all the advertised power(100 watts per channel) is nowhere close to what it actually puts out (sounds like about 30-35 to me). Secondly theres no phono inputs nor is there a tape monitor to hook up things like EQ's. So who is this piece of scrap metal actually aimed at? Most of us who are inclined to buy 2 channel recievers probably have a turntable and or EQ. It's way over priced , it would suffice I suppose as a reciever for your garage but then I suspect any 50 dollar boombox would sound as good and probably do more and you'd get a CD player to boot. Avoid this thing like the plague. If your so inclined pick up the Onkyo 8511 which is only priced at about 80-100 dollars more but is light years ahead of this.
(5 out of 5)Just What the Doctor Ordered
If you're looking for an economical FM/AM receiver, with plenty of power to rattle the windows and a straightforward operating approach, look no further. The Sony STRDE197 not only deleivers crisp, clean reception, ease of tuning and the ability to connect audio components such as a CD player and MD/tape deck, it does it with a minimum of fuss.
My 13 year old JVC receiver recently gave up the ghost, I didn't want to replace it with another receiver full of features that I seldom used and sometimes didn't fully understand. I already had a separate surround sound set-up and was looking for something that would allow me to listen to music via FM radio and CDs and with power enough to run two sets of speakers. I found that and more in this Sony product. Even the operating instructions are easy to follow. Imagine!
(1 out of 5)An Inadequate Receiver
I bought this receiver from Amazon, & received it about 10 days ago. Since then, I've tried to play my cassettes of classical music. When used for this purpose, this receiver sucks big time. If I turn the volume loud enough to hear the orchestra playing softly, when the orchestra gets loud the amp shuts down & PROTECT flashes on & off. I have to turn the receiver off, then turn it back on, & lower the volume. Then of course when the music gets soft again, I can't hear it.
(5 out of 5)A great 2-channel receiver for the price.
Gosh, I just don't even know what to say about some of the other reviews. (the negative ones) In short, they are wrong. If you have audiophile tastes, I'm sure this won't measure up. It seems like many people were expecting this to sound like an $1,000.00 amp. It may not sound like that, but it does, however, sound as good as amps 3 times it's price. I have owned many amps over the years, and this one works great in every way. For 95% of the consumers out there, this has plenty of power. If you have specific needs for more wattage, then buy an amp with more wattage for Pete's sake! If you have specific needs for audiophile quality output, then buy another amp for Pete's sake! This amp is made for the every day radio/music listener. it isn't made for people with specific audio needs. Don't listen to the bad reviews on this, seriously. They are written by people who should have known better than to buy this in the first place. They are written by BMW drivers who bought a Toyota and want to complain that it doesn't have BMW performance.
(5 out of 5)Use your head
Some of the complaints concerning this item are valid, but it is clear to me that others did not do their research!
Check the resistance of your speakers. This amp is designed to operate at 8 ohms. 100 watts of power is only 100 watts of power with the right speaker set. and by the way... you must times the watts by ten to raise the volume 10 dBs, so the difference in volume from 35 watts to 100 watts is only a few dBs.
And don't run your speakers in parallel (through the same inputs), this will cause too much current to run through your speakers and overload the amp.