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Sony STR-DG820...More Bang for your Buck

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Sony STR-DG820...More Bang for your Buck

SAEFrog from Wichita, KS

I'm an avid home theater guru and I recently wanted to upgrade my home theater from the Sony STR-DG800 to the STR-DG820. I thought the only differences was that the 820 had 4 HDMI inputs instead of 2 and the 800 only aloud video to pass through the HDMI and not sound. And the 820 has HDMI 1.3 which dealt with the lip sync issues that the 800 had with video/audio timing. Well, the 820 has all these and a little more. It's also Blue-Ray ready for all the new 7.1 sound formats. Because this is the first Sony receiver (beside the expensive ES Models) to accept HDMI sound, I was ony able to play my rear 7.1 speakers as a matrix 6.1 because of fiber optic. HDMI is the way to go and this receiver does it well with no lip sync issues. The biggest difference I notice was actually the sound! On the 800 I would normally listen to movies around volume 55. With the 820, the power is much more and cleaner I'm now listening to it at around 35!!! I have Klipch Reference Series 8 inch tower … Read more

Solid receiver, better than expected

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Solid receiver, better than expected

jonnieoh from Syracuse, NY

This receiver is the hub of my home theater. It replaced my previous Sony receiver, which died after almost a decade of daily use. It was very easy to set up, thanks to the wicked-cool auto calibration feature. It comes with a wired microphone, which you can mount to a tripod and place it at ear level in your seating position. You then hit the auto calibration button on the remote, and it sends out signals and test tones through each speaker, and the microphone picks those up, and from that, can determine each speaker's size, distance, treble, midrange and bass. Then the receiver automatically adjusts the settings for each speaker, so you don't have to. The thing is really smart! It works great. I have already recommended this receiver, and B+H photo video to two buddies. The price was lower than anyone else's, (by like 50 dollars). Read more

great sound at a good price

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:01 GMT

great sound at a good price

Timekeeper from shippensburg Pa.

replaced my sony str-de845 with the sony str-dg820 7.1. very easy to set up, sounds great, well worth the money. Sony make a great product that is affordable. I have used their equipment for 22 years, from cameras to TVs and audio equip. I will continue to buy Sony in the future. Read more

Awesome Receiver

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Awesome Receiver

Joe Tech-guy from Iowa

the options and tuning on this receiver are awesome, the only thing that keeps it from being a 5 star is that the unit will not upscale component (RGB) and Composite (YRW) to hdmi, (although no other unit in this price range will either, you need to go up to the >920 for that option, you'll also get a video menu system for making tuning decisions) the auto level tune with the microphone is great. couldn't be happier. Be sure to set your speaker size (large vs small, or you'll run in to bass issues, also set your crossover {80 works really well}) Read more

Good value for the money

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Good value for the money

Music and Movie Fan from Fullerton, CA

Excellent receiver. This has many of the features I wanted including 7.1 (which Blu-Ray is coded in). 4 HDMI inputs and one HDMI output going to the 1080p flat screen make this the center of my home theater setup. The only downside to this receiver is the remote is from the stone ages. Every time I want to use functionality in to the receiver I have to relearn how to use the remote. Do yourself a favor and buy a Logitech Harmony One remote which learns the IR commands of all your other remotes and replaces them with a single remote. Read more