Sony STRDH520 7.1 Channel 3D Audio Video Receiver

A: CAVEAT: this is a stricly consumer-level review. I do not have any expertise with home theater components - I am just the person responsible for buying them and hooking them up.

I finally had more hdmi things than I had hdmi inputs on my tv; that is the main reason I decided to replace my old Denon AV receiver (so old it has composite inputs as the "fancy" ones - no component) that sounded great and worked just fine.

I hate hate hate spaghetti wires. And dust. But the price I got this at was not to be missed (it was cheaper than an hdmi switcher I was looking at), and I couldn't run the Hopper (best DVR ever) through the Denon, so what the heck. Figured it was worth a try.

Set up was easy and ended up getting rid of a lot of the spaghetti I dislike. Sound is totally serviceable. I actually have a completely different stereo for listening to records, so take that for what it is worth. I am currently using this with only two speakers, because the room my home theater is in is so very small, but I tried it with 5, and it sounded great. Really great for the price point.

3D works great - no problems.

Mostly, I love how easy...

United States on Aug 10, 2013

minnell: This AV receiver is one I did not expect to buy. I had been looking mostly at Harman Kardon and Denon, which are both high priced but brands I have no issues with. Sony, on the other hand, is a company I've been weary of lately (mostly because their newer products feel poorly designed and cheaply made). This receiver is not what I expected from Sony. It is enclosed in a very nice full metal casing, has 7.1 channels (130 Watts per channel), a very nice remote, and excellent performance. I decided to buy this mostly because the Harman Kardon and Denon receivers felt a bit overpriced for what I needed. I have a JBL Cinema 500 sound system (only 5.1 channels) and didn't need a "top-of-the-line" receiver to use with them. This was an excellent deal! Although, on a side note, I feel like this is the only area where Sony still feels relevant. I connected my speakers (which was very easy), chose my setup using the display on the front (more on that in a minute), connected my consoles, and was up and running with no issues--a painless process (10 minutes or less).

Now, here are the only real issues I have with this receiver, but they can easily be justified because...

United States on Dec 19, 2012

Brian: Receiver arrived within a couple weeks. Removed from box and hooked it up with no issues. Easy to set up and within an hour everything was connected and working. Very satisfied with the receiver and would definitely recommend it to others.

Canada on Oct 17, 2012

Long-Suffering Technology Consumer: The overall sound and features of this receiver are an excellent package at this price. And if you are pairing this with other Sony components via HDMI, it smartly synchronizes input sources, volume and power settings resulting in an awesome user experience.

Getting this receiver up and running was relatively easy. Mine replaced a 13-year old Yamaha model that still worked well, but did not have an HDMI connector or surround sound speaker input in sight (but proudly displayed its "Phono" and "Laser Disc" inputs from the last century!).

I placed the STRHD520 in a system to deliver audio and video from a cable provider's HD/DVR combo box, a  Sony Blu-ray player  and a  Sony LED television . Each of these devices have HDMI interfaces. Each was input into the receiver, and single HDMI cable then passed audio/video to and from the the television. While this receiver can accommodate multiple/surround sound speakers up to a 7.1 configuration, my set-up is rather old school: simple L/R (2.0) stereo. The receiver actually has a dedicated control button on its front for this (pay attention to it: you'll...

United States on Dec 14, 2011