This receiver had a nasty fall and no power after that. The price was very right, so I decided to look into it and see what was going on. Sony could have used more support and bracing in the construction of this receiver, but to be fair, no stereo receiver designer expects their product to fall off of a shelf. I do tend to prefer the Sherwood receiver compared to this one. The Sony seems a little more powerful, but I’d give the Sherwood better marks for construction quality. And even though it took a lot of asking, Sherwood sent me a service manual for free. Sony customer service was rude about it the first time and theirs will cost .
Video Rating: 4 / 5

US $81.50 End Date: Friday Feb-10-2012 16:52:42 PST Buy It Now for only: US $81.50 Buy it now | Add to watch list

Sony STR-DA5500ES

Like many manufacturers, Sony has two brands of its AV receivers–the standard line (from the STR-DH100 and the STR-DG1200) and the premium, ES (elevated standard) line. Today at CEDIA, the company announced two new models of the ES line, the STR-DA3500ES and STR-DA5500ES. Let’s take a look at the feature breakdown.

Key features of the Sony STR-DA3500ES:

• 7.1 AV receiver, 100 watts per channel
• Four HDMI inputs
• Second zone HD video

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Even for savvy home theater enthusiasts, buying an AV receiver can be a chore, requiring hours hunched over spec sheets trying to figure out what each model offers. From a general perspective, the Sony STR-DH700 looks to offer a good value, as a 7.1 AV receiver with three HDMI …