Bought a Cheap Sony STR-DA1200ES receiver. Is it any good?

[bretty]

Hey,

I bought a Sony STR-DA1200ES off the 'Bay, last night. It's an interim measure, to fill in while i'm getting my cash together for the proper amp upgrade. I got it dead cheap (£70), so I took a punt. What i'm wondering is; what's it like, purely on a sound quality basis? Anyone had one in the past, or still have one today???

 

[Big Chris]

IIRC, it was around £400 new and was favourably received. Not heard it myself though.

 

[Ketan Bharadia]

It should still sound good, if it's working properly. We liked it a lot when it was current.

 

[bretty]

Looks like I haven't bought a stinker, then (as long as it still works). Cheers fellas!

 

[drichardb]

Hi Bretty, any chance you could post some comments on it when you get it? Just out of interest, what speakers will you be hooking up to it?

I only ask as if it turns out to be a decent purchase I may consider saving myself a wedge and getting one off the 'bay myself...

 

[bretty]

Hi Bretty, any chance you could post some comments on it when you get it? Just out of interest, what speakers will you be hooking up to it?

I only ask as if it turns out to be a decent purchase I may consider saving myself a wedge and getting one off the 'bay myself...

Hey Richard. It'll be running THESE SPEAKERS. It should be here tomorrow, so i'll let you know what I reckon of it soon after.

 

[HDNumpty]

Yep - great amp just doesn't have all the hi-def whistles and bells we have come to expect. Particularly good with music and better than some of the more recent (and more expensive) Pioneers IMO

 

[bretty]

Yep - great amp just doesn't have all the hi-def whistles and bells we have come to expect. Particularly good with music and better than some of the more recent (and more expensive) Pioneers IMO

That's encouraging to hear! Cheers, buddy.

 

[drichardb]

Nice speakers bretty, bit of a step up from my ol B&W 601 s3's! Very glad to hear its a good performer with music as that will form a large part of its usage.

Sorry to hijack things but I notice you have the 2400 listed in your sig HDNumpty, how does that compare to the 1200?

 

[bretty]

It arrived today. Ok, first thoughts are:

It's a good looking amp, very weighty and actually massive for a £400 (in it's day) amp. It's too deep for my cabinet!

Set up was an absolute doddle. I easily reset it back to factory settings and got the auto room calibration up and running. It only took a couple of minutes.

Ok, on to the sound. I've only had a little listen so my findings may change, but, I'm a little bit 'hmmmm' about it. It is definitely a more sophisticated sound than what my old Sony delivered. Theres more air around everything and more detail.I listened to Peter Gabriel's 'Don't give up' off his 'Secret World' Blu ray and I heard more texture to the bass and more intricate liitle hi hat licks that weren't picked up by my other Sony. The auto calibration really did a good job of integrating the sub with the rest of the speakers. It sounded strong without being boomy.

But, there does seem to be a metallic quality to the treble, and with it a bit of sibilance. And that i'm not liking!

I'm going to check out a few films tonight to see how it handles dialogue, big action scenes and surround effects.

Will I keep it? Dunno. I like a lot of what it does, but if it turns out that it is a bright amp and not that it was just Peter Gabriel's disc that was bright, then it will prob be heading out the door

Keep ya posted.

 

[drichardb]

not quite the ringing endorsement i was hoping for but if it you decide it's not for you i may be able to take it off your hands...:shifty:

 

[bretty]

Hey Richard,

My comments from last night may not be the full story. I listened for a couple of hours last night, and the metallic quality and sibilance to the treble dissipated. I think the temperature in my gaff may have had something to with it. When I set up the amp, i'd just got in from work and the heating wasn't on, so it must have been barely above freezing so I think my speakers were possibly a bit stiff. I know my hi-fi speakers suffer when it's really cold.

Also, and this could be a massive factor, I just looked through the Auto calibration menu and i've seen that it has set my front speakers as 'Small', which means that the amp doesn't send any bass notes to those speakers; it sends them to the sub, instead. It's too early to give the amp a run, now, but i'm sure this is why is was sounding a bit bright, yesterday.

I'll have a listen after work, and let you know.

 

[bretty]

Ok, so I've had another couple of hours listening time today and..............................all is good!

With the front speakers set to 'LARGE', the sound has changed quite a bit. I replayed Peter Gabriel's 'Dont give up' again and the slight sibilance that was there is gone. The sound has filled out. Unsurprising really, because no bass frequencies were being sent to the front speakers, last night!

I watched a bit of the 3D Bluray of 'Transformers; Dark of the moon' and it was impressive. The film itself is pants, but the soundtrack is a great test for an AV amp. The Sony did a great job. A really great job. Effects were zooming round the room (my satellite speakers are being much better driven than they were by the last amp), and the whole sound was just massive and powerful. Also, dialogue was clear and this is a big thing for me, because my last amp could sound a little muffled, if the voices were deep. The Transformers voices' were sometimes indecipherable on the old amp, but I understood every poorly-written word through the 1200ES.

Basically, for now, it's a keeper. For £70, it was a pukka purchase and I have a feeling i'll have to spend a lot more than it's original asking price (£400) to better it.

 

[drichardb]

interesting....

Since yesterday's post I had done some reading and realised the 1200 doesnt do HD sound but after your enthusiastic post i'm beginning to question wether or not i need it (yet).

Just gotta stay patient now, just had my mum's 60th birthday, got my fathers' 60th in 6 weeks and a short break in portugal to pay for :doh: so i hope there are still some pukka units on the bay come easter...

 

[bretty]

One last update from me.

I gave the amp it's first proper workout with the volume cranked up, last night, with the new Blu Ray of 'The Possession'. It was soooooo good!

Dialogue was clear as a bell, and the soundscape was huge, powerful, tight and clear, without distortion. Whereas my Old Sony would harden up when pushed, this amp just gets louder and louder without the sound quality changing. The amp has just loads of attack, too. I watch loads of horrors, and i'm pretty much immune to their scares, but last night during the film, when a jump scare happened, the accompanying music came at you so fast that me and the missus literally jumped. It made the film really enjoyable even though the film itself wasn't brilliant.

My plan was to get this as a punt, as it was so cheap, just to fill in until I got the funds together for another amp at around the £800-£1000 mark. But the cheap old Sony has impressed me so much that I may just stick with it

I have been thinking about it and I wonder how much extra sound quality i'd get with a newer amp, anyway. On the newer amps, you obviously pay a premium for the newer technologies, such as 9.1 or 11.1 amplification, HD audio decoding, Wifi and the like. For someone like me, who's happy (for now, at least) with DTS and a bi-amped, 5.1 system, maybe I wouldn't see much improvement, if any at all, by getting a new £800 - £1000 amp? I'm sure amps over the £1000 would start to have superior ampification, but in the price bracket i'm talking about, surely the majority, if not all, of the extra cash has gone on the extra channels of amplification and other features, not the quality of the amplification itself?

What do other people think? Am I right or talking poo?

Oh, and Richard, you may have guessed from this post that i'm loving this amp! If you can find one on the 'Bay, get it matey!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

The 1200es was my first AV receiver and it served me well. However, you will notice a big step up with a £800 spend, especially if you buy well - my current receiver cost me £975 and this years model retails at £2k.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

Richard

I have the 2400es, and soundwise, it's a fantastic amp. Good with music and movies, and I would think a reasonable step up from the 1200es, and available for little over £100 if you're lucky. The 5400es would be another step up, and if you could pick one of these up for a good price, you'd be a very happy man.

 

[bretty]

The 1200es was my first AV receiver and it served me well. However, you will notice a big step up with a £800 spend, especially if you buy well - my current receiver cost me £975 and this years model retails at £2k.

Hey Gerard,

Cheers for your input, matey. I've no doubt your amp is superb. It definitely looks the part from the photos I just looked at. However, I was talking more about amps that are in the £800 - £1000 price bracket when released. I'm guessing your amp was in the £1500 - £2000 price range when released? If, or when I do upgrade, i'll defo be going down the 'last years model route' myself. I'm finding myself a lot less interested in having the next new thing, and more inerested in getting a bargain, these days!

Out of interest, matey, how would you describe the differences in sound btween the Sony and the Yammy?

 

[drichardb]

I never would have guessed bretty 8)

Cheers for the response BigBernard, looks like whichever one I manage to get I should be in for a treat though the big question now is can i keep biting my lip until Easter or will my Magpie syndrome take over as usual :twisted:

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

str-da2400es on ebay at the moment

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-STR-DA2400ES-7-1-Channel-100-Watt-Receiver-In-Black-Perfect-Condition-/130836075439?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Home_Cinema_Receivers&hash=item1e767013af

 

[Gerrardasnails]

It's hard to explain but the sound is just much bigger and fills the room effortlessly.

 

[Ian986]

I used to have one of those a few years ago only reason I changed it was it did not do hd audio however I think you can decode via analogue inputs if I remember rightly, I am sure some one else will post how you do this !

 

[drichardb]

Nice one BigB, gonna watch that like a hawk and pray to the AV gods that nobody else notices it and i get a bargain :rockout:

 

[bretty]

It's hard to explain but the sound is just much bigger and fills the room effortlessly.

I get you, mate. Cheers. I'm really happy with the 1200ES, but at the same time, im sort of loving the second hand prices for receivers on E-Bay, right now, so I may well try at leat a couple more, more expensive ones out. Ideally, I'd like to try out a higher end Yammie, Denon and Pioneer. Not Onkyo though, only because I know they wouldn't do well in my closed-front AV cabinet.

 

[bretty]

Nice one BigB, gonna watch that like a hawk and pray to the AV gods that nobody else notices it and i get a bargain :rockout:

That coud be the one for you, mate. From what I can tell, it's the same amp as mine, amplification- wise (7 x 100w) but it decodes HD audio, which I believe you were after. It'll probably go for around £180 - £220, so still a good price, especially as since I bought my 1200ES, i've been seeing others go for £150 (too much for a 6 year old amp tha was £400, new, I reckon).

Anyway, keep us posted on what you end up getting, fella!