Sony or Onkyo?

[digigriffin]

On reading the reviews I was convinced to go for the the Sony STR-DA2400ES, however my local hifi shop says Onkyo TX-SR606.

The hifi shop appear to look down on sony products?

The only place to see or more importantly hear the STR-DA2400ES would be the local sony centre if they have one available.

Even then a my local sony centre cannot offer the demo facilities.

If I buy online I would be buying blind.

I am booked into the hifi shop for a demo for panasonic Blu-ray, onkyo receiver and kef 3005SE/B&W MT20 speakers.

Not sure how to make an objective decision about this?

 

[digigriffin]

I have now been to my local sony center and that was a complete waste of time.

No they had no idea about the str-da2400es, other than it was new and they had not seen one.

They could order me one but I would have to commit to buying it before having seen a demo or even heard it.

They though it was unlikely that they would get one in to demo as hardly any new stuff was coming in for demo these days.

Looks like it will be the onkyo for me then.

 

[professorhat]

Sounds fair - if Sony are going to shoot themselves in the foot by not letting you audition a product, they don't really deserve the sale.

 

[Anonymous]

Personally hate Sony, would never buy any of their products no matter how good. Ask you local shop to do a demo using the Onkyo against the Denon 1909.

 

[Gort1951]

I hate sony as well especially what they've taken out of the str-da3400es and str-da5400es, no 5yr es warranty and nearly double prices in the UK.

 

[Anonymous]

I hate Sony because their receivers are unreliable, they put 1080p in front of colour, contrast and motion when making TVs, and their games consoles are gimmicky and only sell because they have DVD/Blu-ray built in.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the Wii's not gimmicky at all.

 

[professorhat]

Nintendo_Fan:I hate Sony because their receivers are unreliable, they put 1080p in front of colour, contrast and motion when making TVs, and their games consoles are gimmicky and only sell because they have DVD/Blu-ray built in.
Interesting - yet in another thread, you've just recommended a Sony receiver to someone!!

 

[Anonymous]

All this hatred for Sony? Wow.

Personally, I think Sony are one of, if not THE best high-street brands on the market. Granted, their TV's never impress me but their dvds, amps, speakers, hi-fis etc are the best on the market in their price range. A lot of their stuff is better than competitor products of twice the value.

To each their own though.

 

[Anonymous]

Nintendo_Fan:I hate Sony because their receivers are unreliable, they put 1080p in front of colour, contrast and motion when making TVs, and their games consoles are gimmicky and only sell because they have DVD/Blu-ray built in.

err... The Sony TV's are probably the best LCD's that you can buy, with fantastic colour, contrast and motion. And sorry but did you just call the PS3 gimmicky? how on earth is it gimmicky? I am guessing that you have a Wii then, and everyone knows just how serious and fantastic that is. I have one and have not played it since Christmas.

 

[Sliced Bread]

My experiences with Sony have been pretty poor:
* Sony HiFi - Broke down
* Replacement Sony hifi - Broke Down
* £500 Sony DVD Player - Broke down -> Sent for repair, took 6 months. -> Broke down sent for repair for 2 months -> Broke Down sent for repair took 2 months -> Broke down opened it up myself and found sand in it!!!!! My kit never leaves my rack and is looked after very very well. -> Went in bin
* Sony Receiver -> Remote broke

I look after my kit very well so I cannot believe that I have had so many problems, but what is worse than that is Sony's after sales support...it is terrible...it takes a very long time to get anything back from repair, then when you do it is repaired very poorly.

I just feel like an idiot for returning to them so many times. There's keeping an open mind, but I think I went too far.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me 4 times...

 

[Anonymous]

I received a Sony 2400 last week and it sounds excellent. Got it for £369 from Play (now £400 I believe) so excellent value. In my opinion looks more attractive than the Onkyo - but couldn't comment as to which sounds better. But for £369 I'm very pleased and sounds better than my old Sony DB930. I am yet to fully understand some of the features yet though. Hope that helps.

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Nintendo_Fan:I hate Sony because their receivers are unreliable, they put 1080p in front of colour, contrast and motion when making TVs, and their games consoles are gimmicky and only sell because they have DVD/Blu-ray built in.Interesting - yet in another thread, you've just recommended a Sony receiver to someone!!

Sony is only good for budget products, i.e. cheap HD Audio/Blu-ray. ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

TomW93:
Nintendo_Fan:I hate Sony because their receivers are unreliable, they put 1080p in front of colour, contrast and motion when making TVs, and their games consoles are gimmicky and only sell because they have DVD/Blu-ray built in.

ÿerr... The Sony TV's are probably the best LCD's that you can buy, with fantastic colour, contrast and motion. And sorry but did you just call the PS3 gimmicky? how on earth is it gimmicky? I am guessing that you have a Wii then, and everyone knows just how serious and fantastic that is. I have one and have not played it since Christmas.

1. Sony LCDs might be good value for money compared to other LCDs, but Panasonic plasmas offer far better contrast and SD performance for your money. It is amazing how they managed to make a 37" plasma for less than £600 that's good enough to beat LCDs that are almost double the price in contrast and standard-def.

2. Of course the PS3 is gimmicky! You're FORCED to buy it with a cheap, outdated Blu-ray player AND and pointlessly HUGE hard drive! I'm still not even finished with the Wii's puny 512MB memory!

3. Yes, the Wii is also quite gimmicky, but not as much as the PS3. Yes, there are tons of rubbish games, but Metroid Prime 3 and Super SmashÿBros.ÿare better than anything on the PS3 (O.K, maybe except MGS4, but that's about it for great PS3 games).

4. The Xbox 360 is also a true gaming device with fantastic online and solid downloadable content and amazing Fighting games such as Ninja Gaiden 2 and Street Fighter 4.

5. Classic Nintendo and SEGA consoles are the best, as they ditch hi-tech graphics and pointless gimmicks forÿtrulyÿphenomenalÿclassics from Mario, Sonic, Zelda, Metroid, Megaman, Street Fighter, Contra, Castlevania and many MANY more.

 

[Anonymous]

If you were a true gamer you'd appreciate what all the platform manufacturers have done for the console industry. Pound for pound the the tech you get with a Wii is outrageously over priced compared to the rest. I have all the consoles and have done for years and years, they all have their benefits and downside. Grow up.

 

[Anonymous]

Are you saying the Wii is rubbish or all consoles are good? Make your mind up and justify your choice.

 

[Anonymous]

Your clearly not aware that sony have made some seriously good high end hi fi over the years!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Nintendo_Fan:
professorhat:Nintendo_Fan:I hate Sony because their receivers are unreliable, they put 1080p in front of colour, contrast and motion when making TVs, and their games consoles are gimmicky and only sell because they have DVD/Blu-ray built in.Interesting - yet in another thread, you've just recommended a Sony receiver to someone!!

Sony is only good for budget products, i.e. cheap HD Audio/Blu-ray. ÿ

Absolute nonsense. Sony is a company that produces at both ends and in the middle. I've just bought my second AV receiver from Sony. The first was very good and never once let me down, my new one is a real machine. Not sure if £700 is budget to you - to me it's mid level as they are plenty machines below and above. My Sony screen is a joy and they have made and improved on it solidly for 18 months - the new ones must be astonishing and really close to a good plasma.

For me, you can pretty much rely on Sony. Onkyo had a great year last year - how many non AV people would even have heard of the company before the 605 came out! However, this year, we are starting to see some 4 star products being dished out. Sony on the other hand has been flying. I would be very surprised if the 2400es is not better than the 606. The awards mag is out this week.....

 

[Anonymous]

I'm saying 'you don't know what you're talking about'.

 

[Anonymous]

Livers:I'm saying 'you don't know what you're talking about'.

I do. I have a Super Nintendo and a Nintendo 64 plus the games I play the most are VERY serious games like Zelda and Metroid, and not casual stuff like PES and Halo.

 

[Anonymous]

Nintendo_Fan:TomW93:
Nintendo_Fan:I hate Sony because their receivers are unreliable, they put 1080p in front of colour, contrast and motion when making TVs, and their games consoles are gimmicky and only sell because they have DVD/Blu-ray built in.

err... The Sony TV's are probably the best LCD's that you can buy, with fantastic colour, contrast and motion. And sorry but did you just call the PS3 gimmicky? how on earth is it gimmicky? I am guessing that you have a Wii then, and everyone knows just how serious and fantastic that is. I have one and have not played it since Christmas.

1. Sony LCDs might be good value for money compared to other LCDs, but Panasonic plasmas offer far better contrast and SD performance for your money. It is amazing how they managed to make a 37" plasma for less than £600 that's good enough to beat LCDs that are almost double the price in contrast and standard-def.

2. Of course the PS3 is gimmicky! You're FORCED to buy it with a cheap, outdated Blu-ray player AND and pointlessly HUGE hard drive! I'm still not even finished with the Wii's puny 512MB memory!

3. Yes, the Wii is also quite gimmicky, but not as much as the PS3. Yes, there are tons of rubbish games, but Metroid Prime 3 and Super Smash Bros. are better than anything on the PS3 (O.K, maybe except MGS4, but that's about it for great PS3 games).

4. The Xbox 360 is also a true gaming device with fantastic online and solid downloadable content and amazing Fighting games such as Ninja Gaiden 2 and Street Fighter 4.

5. Classic Nintendo and SEGA consoles are the best, as they ditch hi-tech graphics and pointless gimmicks for truly phenomenal classics from Mario, Sonic, Zelda, Metroid, Megaman, Street Fighter, Contra, Castlevania and many MANY more.

It has taken a year for better blu-ray players to come out at a reasonable price. Would you say that the PS2 was gimmicky because it had a DVD drive? Also you comment about have a large HDD is really quite idiotic, I had to replace mine because I ran out of space.

 

[professorhat]

Nintendo_Fan:
Livers:I'm saying 'you don't know what you're talking about'.

I do. I have a Super Nintendo and a Nintendo 64 plus the games I play the most are VERY serious games like Zelda and Metroid, and not casual stuff like PES and Halo.

Crikey, it's like being back in the playground again...

 

[shado]

I personally think that Nintendo were very clever with the Wii and exploited the console to the full with popular add ons at a price that brings a fun console to older and younger generations hence its popularity and sales. My son swears by the X Box as it created Halo. The console war evolved to the likes of PS3 and this X box to keep up with the next generation PC and have comfortably created their own niche/market and who are we to go against technology. But it is nice to see a product that goes against the grain holding its own, well done Nintendo.

As for Sony products I had the excellent APM 22 ES Speakers for 10 years and sold them to a friend where they are still going strong and a mid Range DVD Recorder bought approx 5 years ago with no upscaling or Hard Drive still working well in my Sons Bedroom so I have no problem with Sony products

 

[Andrew Everard]

Nintendo_Fan:VERY serious games

...if that isn't a contradictio in terminis

 

[Anonymous]

TomW93:
ÿIt has taken a year for better blu-ray players to come out at a reasonable price. Would you say that the PS2 was gimmicky because it had a DVD drive? Also you comment about have a large HDD is really quite idiotic, I had to replace mine because I ran out of space.

Not everyone needs this stuff though. And anyway, why couldn't they just keep it sepearate?