Sony STR DN8. 50 7. Channel AV Receiver Reviewed. Lets not mince words here. If youre an AV enthusiast, you probably dont need me to tell you that Sony, while renowned for its TVs and projectors and video game consoles and portable audio electronics and all manner of other goods, doesnt generally make it to the top of the list of best AV receivers. Ive never really known why, though. Before recently, no Sony AV receiver had ever crossed my threshold. Take that into consideration as I discuss my thoughts on the companys STR DN8. AV receiver. Im not judging it against previous Sony efforts, but rather trying to assess how it stacks up in its own right against other similarly priced receivers, many of which Ive had the good fortune to audition. The STR DN8. 50 certainly makes a great impression coming out of the box, with its gorgeous faade, its appreciable weight for such a slim chassis, and the wonderful inertia of its volume knob. Longtime readers may be aware of my particular fetish for volume knobs. Although I might be inclined to snub Sony for the plasticky feel of the STR DN8. Ill admit, though, that the box itself did give me pause, specifically the 1. Wx. 7 emblem emblazoned upon it. If it sounds too good to be true, thats because it is, as evidenced by the fine print just below it 6, 1k. Hz, THD 0. 9, per channel. Dig a little deeper on Sonys site, and youll find that even these questionable measurement criteria are made more questionable by the fact that the receivers output was measured with merely one channel driven to arrive at that number. Bump the test up to two full range channels driven, and even by Sonys own measurements the STR DN8. Swap that hypothetical six ohm load out for more typical eight ohm speakers, and youre getting something like half the power per channel promised on the box. For more information on the relationship between speaker impedance and amplifier power, check out our primer on the subject. Most AV receiver manufacturers play this game when it comes to power ratings, especially with the lower end models. They hype the highest possible spec, even if its not entirely relevant to real world performance. My complaint here is that, while other manufacturers also list power ratings with multiple channels driven into eight ohms, I could find no such spec for the STR DN8. Sonys literature. Rf Hyper Game Cp on this page. In other areas, the STR DN8. Built in Wi. Fi and Bluetooth at no extra cost Check. Apple Air. Play connectivityDenon AVRS720W 7. Channel 4K Ultra HD Network AV Receiver Only at Best Buy Create your very own home theatre experience with the Denon AVRS720W 7. Anthems AVM 60 is a stellarperforming Dolby Atmos DTSXready AV processor supporting 7. HDMI 2. 0a, HDCP 2. KUHD and a rich feature set for. Check. Spotify Connect Yeah, baby. Along with Tune. In and Pandora, to boot. One thing that really makes the STR DN8. Ill discuss more in a moment. The Hookup. In terms of connectivity, the STR DN8. What is the Denon AVRX1200W The AVRX1200W is the most affordable network AV receiver in Denons current range and is available exclusively from Superfi. View and Download Marantz AV8802A owners manual online. AV Pre Tuner. AV8802A Tuner pdf manual download. The extremely versatile Marantz AV7703 surround processorpreamp perfectly and expertly handles any kind of highresolution multichannel audio format. View and Download Marantz NR1506 owners manual online. AV Surround Receiver. NR1506 Stereo System pdf manual download. Turn your home into a smart home with top of the range Home Automation, Audio Visual and Entertainment solution exclusively available from Homemation. RCA ins. The front panel USB input supports hi res audio playback and a variety of file formats, including FLAC, ALAC, WAV, and AIFF. The receiver features five HDMI 2. Audio SA CDCD, but thats merely the default it can easily be reconfigured as an AV input. Even without utilizing that input, I had more than enough inputs to accommodate my OPPO Blu ray player, Dish Hopper DVR, and Control. HC 2. 50 home controller. You can pass 4. K signals through HDMI, but this receiver does not offer video upconversion. For speakers, I primarily relied on Aperion Audios Intimus 5. B Harmony SD 5. 1 speaker system. The STR DN8. 50 is a 7. Front B speakers, front heights, or as bi amp channels for the front mains. Unfortunately you cant use those channels as a powered second zone. Some shoppers may be concerned that this receiver doesnt support Dolby Atmos but, until Hollywood starts delivering some worthwhile Atmos Blu rays, I view this as mostly a non issue although your preferences certainly may differ from mine. After getting everything connected, I fired up the system and was almost taken aback by the beauty of the UI. Granted, the words were all in German, a quirk that Ill chalk up to the fact that this is a review unit, not a retail box. Even still, it took mere seconds for me find the language settings and correct that minor error. With other receivers, this would have been a nightmare, especially given that I only know a few very dirty sounding words of Deutsch. Sonys deft mix of words, graphics, and sublime layout make navigating the menus an absolute snap, though. I cant imagine anyone needing an instruction manual during any step of the setup process or regular use. Not to belabor that point, but its worth giving at least one more tangible example of exactly what I mean. Even something as simple as changing sound modes can be done through the onscreen UI at the press of the Home button. Whereas most receivers may leave the novice user guessing as to exactly what the differences are between modes like Multi Stereo and A. F. D. Auto, the STR DN8. Outputs 2 channel or monaural signal from all speakers and Sound is output as it was recorded or encoded no surround effects are enabled. Right there on the screen and everything. Integration with my Control. I know this isnt a critical concern for most of you, but thanks to Sonys support for SDDP Secure Device Discovery Protocol, the instant the STR DN8. Control. 4s programming software, and with but a few clicks I had complete IP control over the receiver. If thats not your bag, Sony also offers its own control app, named Song. Pal, which can communicate with the receiver either via Wi. Fi or Bluetooth. While it isnt quite as informative as the receivers own onscreen interface, its no less gorgeous and no less intuitive. Despite the fact that I almost universally hate the remote controls packed in with receivers these days, I have to admit that even Sonys own wand style physical remote is quite a pleasure to use. It isnt exactly a miracle of modern ergonomics or anything, but given the simplicity of operating the receiver, the remote simply doesnt need many buttons. The necessary few are clearly labeled and well positioned. No matter which control route you take, the STR DN8. Well, mostly. The STR DN8. Sonys own Advanced DCAC Digital Cinema Auto Calibration calibration and room correction system in lieu of Audyssey or other similar setup routines. Although it proved to be simple to use and sonically superior in virtually every way to Audysseys lower tiered offerings a point well get to in the Performance section it didnt quite nail the basics of speaker setup. Rather than screeching or hissing at you, Advanced DCAC plays a quick series of melodious test tones that are measured from one position only. This makes the automated part of the setup quite snappy, but it also gives the room correction system less information to work with. Amazingly, Advanced DCAC absolutely nailed the speaker distances in my secondary home theater system. Like, seriously, down to a tenth of a foot, the measurements between the microphone and speakers were dead on well, except for the subwoofer, but thats normal given that whats actually being measured is delay, not distances. The crossover points between the satellite speakers and the subwoofer, though Those could not have been more wrong had I simply thrown a bunch of numbers in a hat and let my pit bull Bruno chew them up and spit them out. The 3d. B point of the Aperion systems bookshelf speakers, for example, is right at 8. Hz. The STR DN8. Hz crossover for the surrounds exact same speakers, pretty much exactly the same distance away from their nearest boundary.