New Sony HD AV receivers - the definitive guide!

[Andrew Everard]

Gort1951:
What proof do we have of this, has anyone put a uk and usa model side by side and had a listen?

Only that I know very well the amount of work that has gone into the tuning of these products - work which was only carried out a long time after the products announced in the States. But no, as yet we are waiting for a review sample of the 3400ES. Though judging from the spec I don't know why we're bothering and anyway if probably sounds worse than the US one, etc etc....

Gort1951:

Enjoying your working horrible time in Japan? Ah, the long socks !!!!

Not sure what that last bit means - long hours more like, trying to keep up with the news from the show. It's now 4.33am and I'm here and posting, with another three news stories still to be written - guess they'll have to be done on the train later today - and another event to attend today before I travel.

But otherwise yes - it's OK.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Andrew Everard:Gort1951:
What proof do we have of this, has anyone put a uk and usa model side by side and had a listen?

Only that I know very well the amount of work that has gone into the tuning of these products - work which was only carried out a long time after the products announced in the States. But no, as yet we are waiting for a review sample of the 3400ES. Though judging from the spec I don't know why we're bothering and anyway if probably sounds worse than the US one, etc etc....

Gort1951:

Enjoying your working horrible time in Japan? Ah, the long socks !!!!

Not sure what that last bit means - long hours more like, trying to keep up with the news from the show. It's now 4.33am and I'm here and posting, with another three news stories still to be written - guess they'll have to be done on the train later today - and another event to attend today before I travel.

But otherwise yes - it's OK.

The 3400es is a big step up from my old 1200es (which is what the 2400es replaces in the Sony foodchain). The spec might not impress Gort and co but the performance is making Gerrardasnails happy.

 

[Gort1951]

"Though judging from the spec I don't know why we're bothering and anyway if probably sounds worse than the US one, etc etc...."

I didn't say that it sounded worst than the USA model, I said that if you wanted zone 2 then this amp doesn't have it for the UK version. I really can not see what the difference is between the UK 2400 and the UK 3400 is apart from the full XMB version and the £200 price tag.

The long socks - Japanese woman wear long socks, go and rent out Machine Girl and all will be revealed.

 

[professorhat]

Gort1951:I really can not see what the difference is between the UK 2400 and the UK 3400 is apart from the full XMB version and the £200 price tag.
Is that possibly the issue? You're trying to see a difference, when perhaps you should be trying to hear a difference...

 

[Gerrardasnails]

professorhat:Gort1951:I really can not see what the difference is between the UK 2400 and the UK 3400 is apart from the full XMB version and the £200 price tag.
Is that possibly the issue? You're trying to see a difference, when perhaps you should be trying to hear a difference...

Exactly! It is a huge leap in quality from my very good 1200es and as I've said before, the 2400 is basically the 1200 level with the new extras (upscaling, upconversion and HD codecs). I would be very surprised if the 2400 sounds as good as the 3400 even though the spec says they are both 100watts per channel!

 

[Anonymous]

Gerrardasnails:professorhat:Gort1951:I really can not see what the difference is between the UK 2400 and the UK 3400 is apart from the full XMB version and the £200 price tag.Is that possibly the issue? You're trying to see a difference, when perhaps you should be trying to hear a difference...
Exactly! It is a huge leap in quality from my very good 1200es and as I've said before, the 2400 is basically the 1200 level with the new extras (upscaling, upconversion and HD codecs). I would be very surprised if the 2400 sounds as good as the 3400 even though the spec says they are both 100watts per channel!

Not sure I understand you.

So the 1200es is, say, 8 out of 10 good. The 2400es just got a five star review so is this a 9 out of 10 ? Then if the 3400es is better than the 2400es then it must be a 10/10 ?

I am not sure if I am tone deaf or the only one pointing out the Emperors New Clothes but when I went to my local hifi shop to listen to amps they all sounded similar to me. Or maybe I would be happy with the quality of the 2400 but with a few more features.

I am going to try not to sound rude but you remind me of Jeremy Clarkson who's obsession with power has little to do with why people buy cars. Power and performance are not the only measurement, a good comfy seat, satnav or even color can sell.

If Sony removed 3 of the HDMI ports would it still be worth the extra £200 ? Is performance that important, where do you draw the line ?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

LordBrian:
Gerrardasnails:professorhat:Gort1951:I really can not see what the difference is between the UK 2400 and the UK 3400 is apart from the full XMB version and the £200 price tag.Is that possibly the issue? You're trying to see a difference, when perhaps you should be trying to hear a difference...
Exactly! It is a huge leap in quality from my very good 1200es and as I've said before, the 2400 is basically the 1200 level with the new extras (upscaling, upconversion and HD codecs). I would be very surprised if the 2400 sounds as good as the 3400 even though the spec says they are both 100watts per channel!

Not sure I understand you.

So the 1200es is, say, 8 out of 10 good. The 2400es just got a five star review so is this a 9 out of 10 ? Then if the 3400es is better than the 2400es then it must be a 10/10 ?

I am not sure if I am tone deaf or the only one pointing out the Emperors New Clothes but when I went to my local hifi shop to listen to amps they all sounded similar to me. Or maybe I would be happy with the quality of the 2400 but with a few more features.

I am going to try not to sound rude but you remind me of Jeremy Clarkson who's obsession with power has little to do with why people buy cars. Power and performance are not the only measurement, a good comfy seat, satnav or even color can sell.

If Sony removed 3 of the HDMI ports would it still be worth the extra £200 ? Is performance that important, where do you draw the line ?

I was actually taking the mick out of you when I mentioned the power! The 1200es won five stars and product of the year. My point was that sound from the 2400 (not talking about HD audio here as I've not sampled it yet) will not be that much different to the 1200 imo. However, the 3400 is considerably better. So I am saying that just because the 24 and 34 and 1200es receivers offer 100wpc, this does not mean that they sound the same. In the same way that there will be other attributes that the spec will not make evident. Capiche?

 

[Anonymous]

Gerrardasnails:I was actually taking the mick out of you when I mentioned the power! The 1200es won five stars and product of the year. My point was that sound from the 2400 (not talking about HD audio here as I've not sampled it yet) will not be that much different to the 1200 imo. However, the 3400 is considerably better. So I am saying that just because the 24 and 34 and 1200es receivers offer 100wpc, this does not mean that they sound the same. In the same way that there will be other attributes that the spec will not make evident. Capiche?

Mick away, I seldom take offence.

Still not sure how you get "considerably better" from such a high level already. Can you express it as a value from 0 to 100 for each amp ?

 

[Anonymous]

I have found a site advertising the DG820s and they are claiming that it is in stock and ready to go. How will I know if the Sky/V-Box compatibility issues have been resolved?

http://www.totaldigital.biz/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2727&zenid=f0e73256011d6be91a5ba2a1e2c3dfac

Thank you.

W. Pienaar

 

[Gerrardasnails]

LordBrian:
Gerrardasnails:I was actually taking the mick out of you when I mentioned the power! The 1200es won five stars and product of the year. My point was that sound from the 2400 (not talking about HD audio here as I've not sampled it yet) will not be that much different to the 1200 imo. However, the 3400 is considerably better. So I am saying that just because the 24 and 34 and 1200es receivers offer 100wpc, this does not mean that they sound the same. In the same way that there will be other attributes that the spec will not make evident. Capiche?

Mick away, I seldom take offence.

Still not sure how you get "considerably better" from such a high level already. Can you express it as a value from 0 to 100 for each amp ?

It's all relative obviously. I have been really happy with my 1200 and only the lack of HD audio through hdmi has made me upgrade. I don't need upscaling as I've got Sky HD and my BD player will upscale dvd. And no need for upconversion as yet as I will only be using hdmi - if I connect my computer to it through S Video it will come of use.

The 1200 has always sounded really good to me. However, when you listen to something better, you then realise that there is a lot better out there. I've not heard better receivers in action so it's hard to give the 3400 a rating out of a hundred. If I was realistic (there are obviously a lot better machines) and gave it 80, then the 1200 would score 60. The GUI is excellent and I think it's different to the 2400's GUI. At the moment I'm very pleased (even though I paid over the odds) and I've not seen HD Master Audio light up yet!

 

[Anonymous]

Andrew Everard:Actually I said AFAIK I thought you couldn't, but was unable to be definite as our only Virgin person was on holiday. Another poster then replied suggesting I was right.

Has it been clarified yet as to whether or not you get 5.1 from the v+ box via HDMI connection only (without using separate optical) ?

 

[Gerrardasnails]

w_pienaar:
Andrew Everard:Actually I said AFAIK I thought you couldn't, but was unable to be definite as our only Virgin person was on holiday. Another poster then replied suggesting I was right.

Has it been clarified yet as to whether or not you get 5.1 from the v+ box via HDMI connection only (without using separate optical) ?

I think I was proven wrong here and you can.

 

[Anonymous]

Gerrardasnails: It's all relative obviously. I have been really happy with my 1200 and only the lack of HD audio through hdmi has made me upgrade. I don't need upscaling as I've got Sky HD and my BD player will upscale dvd. And no need for upconversion as yet as I will only be using hdmi - if I connect my computer to it through S Video it will come of use.The 1200 has always sounded really good to me. However, when you listen to something better, you then realise that there is a lot better out there. I've not heard better receivers in action so it's hard to give the 3400 a rating out of a hundred. If I was realistic (there are obviously a lot better machines) and gave it 80, then the 1200 would score 60. The GUI is excellent and I think it's different to the 2400's GUI. At the moment I'm very pleased (even though I paid over the odds) and I've not seen HD Master Audio light up yet!

Ok, I am sorry but I goaded you into the scores so I could push home my point. I am going to labour it just this one more time because I hate to lose a debate.

My point is that the 3400 is 50% more than the 2400, not all of that is justified by better sound and a fancy GUI. Now I would of happily purchased the 3400 if it was the same as the US version. If you were happy with your old 1200 then I see no reason why I would not have been happy with the 2400.

On a more productive note I have changed the design of my home entertainment system and am going to get a mac mini to serve as a DNLA server and get a few Sony w4500 tv's to stream media around the house.

 

[Gort1951]

Same here, I would have got the 3400 if it was the same as the USA version. The profit must be high on the 3400 in the UK if you consider the missing trigger, IR, zone2, serial + sat. radio (N. American only). With all that taken out including the 5yr warranty for ES receivers I think sony would make Arthur Daley proud. Not forgetting that the receiver is a lot more expensive in the UK, I'd say we are paying nearly double the price.

You can import one from the USA with a shipping service: Total including usa tax+customs+vat+shipping comes to £540. You'd need a power supply converter as the USA version only has 120v in.

It's temping but then the warranty might cause problems.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

LordBrian:
Gerrardasnails: It's all relative obviously. I have been really happy with my 1200 and only the lack of HD audio through hdmi has made me upgrade. I don't need upscaling as I've got Sky HD and my BD player will upscale dvd. And no need for upconversion as yet as I will only be using hdmi - if I connect my computer to it through S Video it will come of use.The 1200 has always sounded really good to me. However, when you listen to something better, you then realise that there is a lot better out there. I've not heard better receivers in action so it's hard to give the 3400 a rating out of a hundred. If I was realistic (there are obviously a lot better machines) and gave it 80, then the 1200 would score 60. The GUI is excellent and I think it's different to the 2400's GUI. At the moment I'm very pleased (even though I paid over the odds) and I've not seen HD Master Audio light up yet!

Ok, I am sorry but I goaded you into the scores so I could push home my point. I am going to labour it just this one more time because I hate to lose a debate.

My point is that the 3400 is 50% more than the 2400, not all of that is justified by better sound and a fancy GUI. Now I would of happily purchased the 3400 if it was the same as the US version. If you were happy with your old 1200 then I see no reason why I would not have been happy with the 2400.

On a more productive note I have changed the design of my home entertainment system and am going to get a mac mini to serve as a DNLA server and get a few Sony w4500 tv's to stream media around the house.

I see your point but at the end of the day I'm impressed and happy with what I've got. Value is a tough one to equate when you are judging it by individuals. In two years time it will be £300 and great value to some and poor value to others.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Gort1951:
The long socks - Japanese woman wear long socks, go and rent out Machine Girl and all will be revealed.

Ah right, well can only tell you that I am married to a Japanese woman, and currently staying in a house with three more, and there's not a long sock in sight...

 

[Gort1951]

Sounds like your xmas has come early.

Random picture from a google search.

 

[Anonymous]

Is there any information on when WHFSV are going to review the STR-DA5400 ES?

 

[Andrew Everard]

No - we're still waiting for a review sample.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi team,

I'm living in Munich at the moment and Sony Germany are still saying they have no knowledge of the HDMI / Optical Output issue with this receiver.

Are there any official internal sony reference numbers yet that I can give them so they can get hold of the firmware update?

Thanks in advance,

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Like Andy I'm not in the UK (I'm in sunny New Zealand). I picked up a STR2400ES yesterday assuming that this issue would have been fixed/ However the unit I got was shipped in Sept 08 - so it wasn't. And I have the same problem with HDMI/optical mix with Sky HD here in NZ. Sony NZ don't seem to know anything about the software patch.

Any official Sony reference that I can point them too?

Thanks

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

I have found (for those that do not have the firmware update) that you can indeed switch to SKY HD HDMI and then go to SA-CD optical in (as long as you have not assinged a non HDMI video source to it), and the audio switches to the SACD optical input (i.e., DD on Sky) WITHOUT changing the video displayed - so you end up with SKY picture from HDMI and Sky audio from optical.

I know I did not explain that very well - but it does work. Still going to try to get the firmware updated though.

 

[Anonymous]

hi, does anyone know if the current stock of the dg820 has had the firmware update yet as of 17/02/2009. Also can you run a 5.1 setup by just leaving out the surround speakers. many thanks.