Comments on Sony STR DH 500 Receiver

[admin_exported]

Hi there, I am currently in the market for an entry level AV receiver to setup my first home cinema system.

I am more or less brand loyal to Sony, certainly on my AV components, and have come across the Sony DH 500 receiver on Richer Sounds for just £150. Like the old saying goes, it seems to good to be true but the only down side I can see (with my limited knowledge) is that whilst it has 3 HDMI inputs it does not have HDMI audio ouput. Is this something I should really be concerned about?

I will be connecting Sky+ HD and a Xbox 360 so the inputs are sufficent for my needs but what about the Audio output? Will I just get audio in analogue but still in 5.1 surround sound or worst still if I am viewing via HDMI get no audio at all?

Hope someone can help!

Thanks

Chris

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[d4v3pum4]

You would need to assign the optical inputs to the video inputs (if assignable) so that they match. Alternatively connect the HDMI direct to the display and use the amp for audio only. Connecting both Sky+HD (optical or digi-coax dependent on model but all have optical) and the Xbox 360 via optical will get you Dolby Digital 5.1.

Personally I would avoid bottom-of-the-range amps such as the DH500 but if your budget is £150, you're not going to get much choice. Don't discount other brands though such as Onkyo, Cambridge Audio and Yamaha who also excel at the budget levels. HDMI audio would make your purchase more future proof for when/if you add a bluray player. All modern BD players should have full HD audio decoding on board, so an amp that accepts LPCM over HDMI is all you need. You might find a 2nd hand Sony STR-DG810 or 910, Yamaha 761/861 etc. on ebay which have this feature and should sound better than the DH500 (esp. the Yamahas).

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your reply, that has certainly cleared up things in my head. Thinking logically I think trying to do it on the cheap isn't the best way forward if I want fair quality with ease of use.

I am now on the hunt for the Sony STR DH 800 receiver and with a bit more saving some nice Keff Egg speakers.