Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony STR-DA2400ESB 7.1 Channel AV Receiver in Black
Sony STR-DA2400ESB 7.1 Channel AV Receiver in Black
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £449.99Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Typical Sony excellence
(5 out of 5) by Mr. John Manning on Jun 16, 2009 (Penarth, Vale of Glam Wales)I didn't want to buy this receiver, since I was very happy with my Sony STR-DA555ES. The growth in HDMI sources forced me to reconsider, and I bought one for its HDMI switching ability, with a little trepidation as to whether the sound quality would disappoint.
I needn't have worried. This receiver is both powerful and musical, (and even a little smaller and lighter than the previous one). I use it in a "4.1" configuration, i.e. front and rear left/right, plus a subwoofer. Much of my usage is for music (SACD). The quality is excellent in all regards.
SKY HD uses an HDMI input, unfortunately not for sound due to some odd thinking on SKY's part, so the audio is input via optical. The receiver ties these together as a single source, (named SAT). Another reviewer has mentioned a video/audio sync problem, and I sometimes see it on this source only. It changes with SKY channel, however, so I'm more inclined to blame the source.
For DVD recording I use a Sony RDR-HXD910 HDD/DVD recorder which does its own upscaling, connecting via HDMI.
The third HDMI input is occupied by a Popcorn Hour A-100 media player, used mainly for high definition (1080p) video, both from a Sony HD camcorder and slideshows created on a PC.
The fourth HDMI input is for a blu-ray player. Having been very pleased with this item, I eagerly looked for a SONY blu-ray player that would also play SACD, DVD, DVD-Audio and CD. There isn't one.
Instead I have obtained an Oppo BDP-83 which does all of the above and more, and very well. It uses all of the generous capabilities of the receiver to fine effect. Unfortunately the receiver does not handle DSD on the HDMI input (from SACD), only PCM which is audibly inferior and also available from the Oppo, so instead for SACD only I use the multi-channel input which handles the Oppo's analogue outputs extremely well.
Stereo audio from my TV is fed into an analogue input.
In conclusion, the receiver handles everything I have thrown at it with aplomb, and is equally capable of room-shaking movie sountracks and delicate classical music. Video switched via HDMI is indistinguishable from that fed directly into the TV, and standard definition analogue inputs are noticeably improved by upscaling.
I have two minor complaints; firstly I feel a DAB radio tuner in addition to the fine FM one should have been a feature. Secondly, I have VERY occasionally had distorted video output (blocky digital artefacts) when switching from an audio-only source to one with video. This is always cleared by switching to standby and on again, taking less than 10 seconds.
In conclusion this is a fine piece of equipment, well worth its cost.
I needn't have worried. This receiver is both powerful and musical, (and even a little smaller and lighter than the previous one). I use it in a "4.1" configuration, i.e. front and rear left/right, plus a subwoofer. Much of my usage is for music (SACD). The quality is excellent in all regards.
SKY HD uses an HDMI input, unfortunately not for sound due to some odd thinking on SKY's part, so the audio is input via optical. The receiver ties these together as a single source, (named SAT). Another reviewer has mentioned a video/audio sync problem, and I sometimes see it on this source only. It changes with SKY channel, however, so I'm more inclined to blame the source.
For DVD recording I use a Sony RDR-HXD910 HDD/DVD recorder which does its own upscaling, connecting via HDMI.
The third HDMI input is occupied by a Popcorn Hour A-100 media player, used mainly for high definition (1080p) video, both from a Sony HD camcorder and slideshows created on a PC.
The fourth HDMI input is for a blu-ray player. Having been very pleased with this item, I eagerly looked for a SONY blu-ray player that would also play SACD, DVD, DVD-Audio and CD. There isn't one.
Instead I have obtained an Oppo BDP-83 which does all of the above and more, and very well. It uses all of the generous capabilities of the receiver to fine effect. Unfortunately the receiver does not handle DSD on the HDMI input (from SACD), only PCM which is audibly inferior and also available from the Oppo, so instead for SACD only I use the multi-channel input which handles the Oppo's analogue outputs extremely well.
Stereo audio from my TV is fed into an analogue input.
In conclusion, the receiver handles everything I have thrown at it with aplomb, and is equally capable of room-shaking movie sountracks and delicate classical music. Video switched via HDMI is indistinguishable from that fed directly into the TV, and standard definition analogue inputs are noticeably improved by upscaling.
I have two minor complaints; firstly I feel a DAB radio tuner in addition to the fine FM one should have been a feature. Secondly, I have VERY occasionally had distorted video output (blocky digital artefacts) when switching from an audio-only source to one with video. This is always cleared by switching to standby and on again, taking less than 10 seconds.
In conclusion this is a fine piece of equipment, well worth its cost.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Finally, a simple to set up sound system
(5 out of 5) by N. Robotham on Jun 22, 20095 minutes to set up to connect to SkyHD, PS3 and latptop: 3 HDMI cables, 5 speakers and a sub woofer. No fiddling around to get simply amazing sound. The fact that it syncs with a Bravia TV means that the remote control seamlessly controls both products.
Thoroughly enjoying a simple, high definition, audio visual experience. Couldn't recommend this more.
Thoroughly enjoying a simple, high definition, audio visual experience. Couldn't recommend this more.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Good Stuff
(4 out of 5) by Stuart Griffiths on Jun 19, 2009Competitively priced and delivered on time. Initial set up easy, connectivity straightforward although speaker connections are a bit fiddly. Performance is excellent and I feel confident I would have had to spend a lot more to get any better. Spoilt for choice re sound field options and somewhat confusing instruction book. Overall performance very good and I am very satisfied.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Two faulty units
(1 out of 5) by Mr. R. Holden on Oct 28, 2009 (England)I really would love to have given this 5 stars but my experience with this receiver has been a disastrous hassle and waste of my time that I'm afraid I can only manage one.
Ordered from Amazon it arrived quickly. It's quite tricky to set up but, to cut a long story short, nothing I did would produce enough volume through the centre speaker so it was almost impossible to hear the dialogue (on any input). A 'problem with the rest of your system then', you'd say, and that's what I thought too. But I tried two other front speakers and 4 separate cables as well as swapping the centre with a front etc but each time the centre channel volume was really low.
Manually adjusting speaker volumes meant having the centre on max (+10db) and all the rest on min (-10db) but even with this the dialogue was overpowered and gave me no where else to go with any other adjustments (e.g. the rears still too loud).
So after hours of tweaking, swapping speakers and getting loads of advice from web forums and a call to Sony, I concluded this was a duff unit. Amazon's returns policy is superb - I used the web based returns function on a Saturday evening and a replacement unit arrived the following Tuesday.
However, on plugging this in it was exactly the same. Amazon were great, collecting both and giving me a refund.
I've now spent a little more on the Yamaha RXV1065 instead. Far easier to set up, much better featured and out of the box the centre channel is full, rich and clear.
I wrote I would have liked to have given this 5 stars as, apart from the centre channel issue, it sounded spectacular! A really engaging listen compared to my 10 year old Yamaha it replaced. The Sony is also a good looking unit as these things go and also has a much nicer remote than my new Yamaha.
OK I've probably been unlucky getting two duff units but I expect more from Sony. I know there are many happy owners of this amp so I'm not trying to put you off but as two units were as effectively useless as not turning on I can't give more than one star.
Ordered from Amazon it arrived quickly. It's quite tricky to set up but, to cut a long story short, nothing I did would produce enough volume through the centre speaker so it was almost impossible to hear the dialogue (on any input). A 'problem with the rest of your system then', you'd say, and that's what I thought too. But I tried two other front speakers and 4 separate cables as well as swapping the centre with a front etc but each time the centre channel volume was really low.
Manually adjusting speaker volumes meant having the centre on max (+10db) and all the rest on min (-10db) but even with this the dialogue was overpowered and gave me no where else to go with any other adjustments (e.g. the rears still too loud).
So after hours of tweaking, swapping speakers and getting loads of advice from web forums and a call to Sony, I concluded this was a duff unit. Amazon's returns policy is superb - I used the web based returns function on a Saturday evening and a replacement unit arrived the following Tuesday.
However, on plugging this in it was exactly the same. Amazon were great, collecting both and giving me a refund.
I've now spent a little more on the Yamaha RXV1065 instead. Far easier to set up, much better featured and out of the box the centre channel is full, rich and clear.
I wrote I would have liked to have given this 5 stars as, apart from the centre channel issue, it sounded spectacular! A really engaging listen compared to my 10 year old Yamaha it replaced. The Sony is also a good looking unit as these things go and also has a much nicer remote than my new Yamaha.
OK I've probably been unlucky getting two duff units but I expect more from Sony. I know there are many happy owners of this amp so I'm not trying to put you off but as two units were as effectively useless as not turning on I can't give more than one star.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Very good but complex
(5 out of 5) by T. Reed on Jul 21, 2009 (Hampshire, UK)I have connected up a full 7.1 surround setup and it works well. Very good sound and video quality but be prepared to read the manual to get it set up perfectly.
It'll do a basic configuration itself with the special microphone that comes with it quite happily. This is a sophisticated piece of equipment so although you can plug and play to start with I think its necessary to keep the book of words to hand for the first few weeks of use to understand it, tweak it, and explore the different sound enhancements it is capable of.
I couldn't find an explicit statement in the book but it appears that you can configure each input so that it has a different spatial reproduction if you want. Some basic tone adjustments work globally and some on a per-input basis which can be a bit of a pain to sort out but its well worth it when you get the job done properly.
It'll do a basic configuration itself with the special microphone that comes with it quite happily. This is a sophisticated piece of equipment so although you can plug and play to start with I think its necessary to keep the book of words to hand for the first few weeks of use to understand it, tweak it, and explore the different sound enhancements it is capable of.
I couldn't find an explicit statement in the book but it appears that you can configure each input so that it has a different spatial reproduction if you want. Some basic tone adjustments work globally and some on a per-input basis which can be a bit of a pain to sort out but its well worth it when you get the job done properly.