Sony STR-DN1030 versus STR-DN1050

[philandsue]

I used to have a Sony STR-DN1030 used for cinema but mainly to drive my hi-fi. I also had an older 800 used for cinema in another room.

When the 1050 came out to rave reviews, I thought I'd get rid of the 800, relegate the 1030 to replace it, and install the new 1050 to drive my hi-fi.

The 1050 was much dearer than the 1030, and had great reviews - it had to be a step up, right?

On first listen I was hugely disappointed - the crispness I had got used to with the 1030 had gone. No longer could I pick out the detail of the instruments. The sound stage was just a muddle. I was gutted to say the least.

I thought I would leave it for 5 or 6 weeks in case the new amp needed time to bed in, then do a back-to-back.

I really wanted to find that I was imagining it, but the back-to-back left me in no doubt. Even my family who usually can tell the difference between any of my hi-fi upgrades agreed in a blind test.

So, while the interface for the 1050 is a huge improvement, and its hi-fi performance is good, I've found it is a step backwards in my system: IPAD apple lossless, ARCAM IR-DAC, KEF Q100 speakers. Maybe the 1050 is better with bigger speakers.

So now the 1030 is back in its rightful place driving my hi-fi, and the 1050 is in the back room. An expensive lesson on testing in your own environment.

 

[simonlewis]

AV recievers are designed for driving several speakers for av, it is not normally you would buy for listening to music, i'm sorry i haven't got much sympathy for you a stereo amp is much better for listening to music but not very good for watching films.

 

[philandsue]

Who said I was looking for sympathy?

I was simply providing insight to the hi-fi performance of one amp versus the other.

I don't suppose there are too many people who can afford or accommodate the luxury of separate amps, so the insight might be of interest.

And if an amp can't drive 2 channels competently, it won't get any better when it's driving 7.1, unless you think differntly of course.

 

[Series1boy]

Who said I was looking for sympathy?

I was simply providing insight to the hi-fi performance of one amp versus the other.

I don't suppose there are too many people who can afford or accommodate the luxury of separate amps, so the insight might be of interest.

And if an amp can't drive 2 channels competently, it won't get any better when it's driving 7.1, unless you think differntly of course.

you will find the 1050 will excel when driving 7.1 setup as this is what it is designed to do irrespective if you have small or large speakers.

if you want to just listen to music and also run your tv, Bluray etc then a stereo amp will be fine, but you'll only get stereo performance.

its only when you get higher up the line in terms of AV reciever such as the Marantz 7009 and, pioneer lx88 and yamaha 3040 etc etc is then you'll get excellent stereo performance.

i would suggest that your 1050 is superior to your 1030, and may be just needs setting up properly to get the same if not better sound from stereo performance.

this is my view any way.

 

[Son_of_SJ]

its only when you get higher up the line in terms of AV reciever such as the Marantz 7009 and, pioneer lx88 and yamaha 3040 etc etc is then you'll get excellent stereo performance.

And even at that exalted level, the reviews of those AV amplifiers say that although their stereo performance is very good, a dedicated stereo amplifier would be better still.

 

[Series1boy]

its only when you get higher up the line in terms of AV reciever such as the Marantz 7009 and, pioneer lx88 and yamaha 3040 etc etc is then you'll get excellent stereo performance.

And even at that exalted level, the reviews of those AV amplifiers say that although their stereo performance is very good, a dedicated stereo amplifier would be better still.

agreed

 

[philandsue]

It's some time since my post on this subject, and in the mean time I've replaced amp and speakers. To get the stereo performance I wanted I tried £1600 AV receivers and, as stated, they were still not a match for a £1000 stereo amp. So I bought an AV receiver with pre-outs (excellent Marantz NR 1504) and a stero amp with a unity gain input (excellent Music Fidelity M3Si) and now have the best of both worlds.

 

[nugget2014]

listening to music is more enjoyable on my sony str-dn1040 than on my old micro system denon rcd-n8..

i need to upgrade my receiver too next year unfortunately..