90 watts x 6 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.09% THD * Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, DTS Neo:6 and Pro Logic II processing * Digital Cinema Sound modes * 32-bit processor * component video switching: 2 in, 1 out (80MHz bandwidth) *
The Sony STRDE597 home theater receiver features 6 channels of power amplification, 100 watts per channel, a wide variety of surround formats (including DTS-ES and Dolby Pro Logic II), A+B speaker switching, and Sony's Digital Cinema Sound system.
The 6.1-channel input allows you to connect to a component that has built-in Dolby Digital processing, like a DVD player. It features 32-bit processing for thrilling, three-dimensional sound, 30 AM/FM presets, component-video switching for two sources (with 80 MHz bandwidth for transfer of HDTV signals), and Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, DTS Neo:6, and Pro Logic II processing. The Digital Cinema Sound system produces the sound that movie directors intended by re-creating the precise acoustics of three postproduction dubbing stages in Hollywood.
The STRDE597 features connections for analog audio (2 inputs, 1 output), optical digital (2 inputs), coaxial digital (1 input), composite video (3 inputs, 1 output), component video (2 inputs, 1 output), composite monitor, and a headphone jack.
Tech Talk
DTS ES: The Digital Theater System ES decoder enables multichannel digital surround sound that is dynamic, spacious, and realistic. DTS ES provides 5.1 channels of standard DTS, plus a discrete, full-bandwidth "back surround" channel, which can be played through one or two speakers.
What's in the Box
Sony STRDE597 receiver, wireless remote control, 2 AA batteries, AM loop antenna, FM wire antenna, printed operating instructions.
1 Incredible Features for a Budget Amp
This amp replaced a ten-year-old Technics Pro-Logic amp that served me well but died suddenly.
The 6.1 channels of 100 watts each deliver a much smoother and clearer sound in my Olson and Technics speakers than the old amp did. Music and movies sound better than I have ever heard in my family room. Other than special releases, I have no reason now to set foot in a movie theatre.
The DSP features are plentiful enough for the average user; after all, who needs 11 different presets just to listen to 2-channel stereo recordings? The three different presets for music are more than enough, as are the three sets for movies. There are also plenty of matrix surround schemes to choose from: ProLogic, ProLogic II Movie, ProLogic II Music, DTS Neo:6 Cinema and Music.
The only drawback to this amp is that it does not have a phono input. I highly recommend the STR-DE597, especially for the price.
2 Surprisingly poor sound
I purchased this receiver in order to obtain optical inputs so I could plug my Apple Airport with Airtunes in and listen to music from my computer. My previous receiver was a Sony STRGX47ES, which I have been happy with. I didn't want all the bells and whistles of the higher-end receivers and assumed the sound would be fine. Boy was I wrong. I plugged it in to my Paradigm Mini Monitors (which I highly recommend!) and the sound was unbelievably poor, direct from a CD. Even my wife, who normally does not notice these things, agreed that the sound was drastically worse than with our old receiver. I promptly boxed it back up to return and have since "inherited" an STR-DE1015G from an uncle, and the sound is easily as good as my old ES model, plus it has the optical inputs.
3 Not bad, but nothing special.
I've been running my home theater on this receiver for about three weeks now.
(1) The sound quality output to my Polk RT loudspeakers is just as good as I've come to expect from Sony. Good for both movies and music.
(2) The design is very clean and fairly simple.
(3) The set-up is not as intutive as the Sony STR-DE525 that I also have, but once I read the manual, it was not difficult. In fact, the "easy set-up mode" is quite...easy.
(4) There is NOT the traditional wide-variety of DSP options on this receiver. There are three proprietary Sony DSP modes for movies in addition to the usual Dolby and DTS options.
(5) The BIG Drawback--I was excited about the "headphone theater" DSP option as I often watch movies with my Sennheiser HD280Pro headphones. However, this mode makes the mids (including voices) muffled and tinny, and distorts the bass. So I'm using the traditional 2-ch. stereo mode for headphones, under which movies sound great. A headphone amp might help and solve the problems here, but I doubt it as it sounds like a processing problem and not an amplification problem, but I haven't tried a headphone amp yet.
Overall, I'd say that this is a good receiver, and is inexpensive since the 6.1 format has now been surpassed by 7.1 format. But if you're planning on running only 5.1, as I do, then this amp is a great value.
4 Excellent value
I replaced a pieced-together home theater system with this as my new system's centerpiece. Before, I had a DVD player that had its own decoder, then output in 5.1 separate analog channels, then ran to two separate amplifiers- one for front speakers, the other for center and surround. Although the Sony has multi-channel analog inputs which could have allowed me to keep my old DVD player, I decided to simplify my system. Now one optical digital cable connects the DVD player to the Sony amp, then the amp sends the juice to all my speakers- much better! The Sony will decode any and all formats including DTS and up to 6.1 channels. There seems to be plenty of power per channel and a remarkable clarity from bass to treble.
I wouldn't call setup easy or simple, but after 2 or 3 tries with the menu I was able to select the proper number of speakers attached. One nice feature is that the amp can be set to A.F.D., which automatically reads the best digital format from your disc and powers the speakers accordingly. So once it's set up you can pretty much not adjust it again except for volume. For those who want custom sound you can adjust the amp to account for how far away your speakers are- the factory default is 10 feet which seems fine to me.
My only complaint is the manual didn't come with instructions for how to teach the remote to control the DVD player- especially frustrating since I bought a Sony DVD player!
Overall, this unit does everything I wanted, is straightforward to operate and provides a lot of power for the money.
