Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought the STR-DA5300ES to replace a Denon system in about the same price range that had no HDMI capability. I have a 1080p projection system which requires HDMI for 1080p (otherwise is limited to 1/2 resolution HD, technically known as 1080i) and so I'd been looking for a receiver with decent HDMI connectivity. With six inputs and one output, this receiver fit the bill, and it was 7.1 like the Denon, so I wouldn't have to make wiring changes to the speaker setup.
There's a great deal to like about this receiver, so I'm going to punt and simply say that the fidelity is great, the flexibility is quite high, and overall I feel that I got my money's worth, and then some. Make no mistake: This is a complex, feature-rich hunk of hardware that will take days of exploring before you're comfortable that you know exactly how it works and what options are available to you at any one point in its operation. Please do not take the lack of positive points here as a condemnation of the receiver; it would take me many pages to describe the features and what I like about them. It only takes a few paragraphs to sum up the problems I ran into; so let me do that, as it's your worries you probably want addressed anyway.
Having said that, here are a few things you might like to be aware of before you purchase.
o The receiver upconverts everything; you can go all the way from composite input to HDMI output - but it does not downconvert. This can actually become a critical issue, because the receiver is sold as a 2-zone video unit, meaning it is supposed to be able to drive a second monitor and set of speakers in another room. However, zone 2 is not HDMI, it is component - and that means that anything that is HDMI input cannot be output to zone 2. This is kind of mind-boggling to me, what it means is that my HDMI sources - presently DVD, HD-DVD, PS3, Blueray, and DBS/DVR - are not available to the second zone. That's a *big* "ouch." So whatever else you do, don't buy this receiver for dual zone capability if you're ever planning on using HDMI (and I think you should so plan - HDMI is basically unavoidable.)
o The on-screen menus work just terrific as overlay-on-video on a component monitor, but if you're using HDMI output, as I am, you're in for a little bit of a surprise. Pressing "menu" turns off your current video source and (after a short delay of 4-5 seconds) puts up the menu by itself. The receiver touts the ability to overlay the menus over video, but it will NOT do this on the HDMI output. It blanks your source completely. So keep that in mind, too. You'll learn to pause your media playback, DVR and etc. when using the menus, or you'll miss things.
o There's an "external video" (composite) input on the rear deck of the receiver; that input comes up as a PIP (picture-in-picture) source when you press amp, shift and PIP on the remote. Nice for an alarm system, baby monitor, etc. However, again we run into the philosophy of "must not mess with HDMI", and if you are watching an HDMI source, selecting PIP turns off your source, several seconds later switches to a black screen, and then drops the PIP image on that black screen. You can then move it around and resize it, but your original viewing source is gone, so the entire point of a PIP input is somewhat moot. The PIP input does work as you'd expect if you use component or lesser inputs - it is just HDMI where we see this annoying disruption of source material.
o Although it is nominally a 7.1 channel system, it does not automatically convert 5.1 up to 7.1; so most of the time, your rear speakers are going to be silent, useless. My Denon did this very well, so I really noticed a difference. *** UPDATE: There is a menu option to do this buried fairly deep; it took me two weeks to find it. Told you it was a complex machine!
o The remote has very weak output and/or a very narrow radiation pattern. If it is not pointed right at the receiver, the remote does not work. It is possible this is a problem with my specific remote, but in my case, it is a definite issue.
o The receiver idles quite hot; it consumes considerable power just sitting there. Since it can get *very* hot if running at high volume, you have to mount it with some breathing room anyway, so this isn't a heat issue, really, but it is an efficiency issue. I wouldn't leave this thing running all the time, that's all. Don't let your cat sleep on it unless you want baked receiver.
o In the spirit of HDMI / HDCP (which is mean, stingy, and clueless), the receiver won't output any audio on any jacks except the speaker jacks from any HDMI source. So creating an audio recording from your digital home camera is not possible; likewise, you can't record the output of any other HDMI source, even for your personal use. This is DRM at its worst, presuming you are a criminal and limiting perfectly legitimate activities.
o The FM tuner is pitiful for a unit in this price range. There is no hi-blend (multiplex noise reduction) setting. There is no control over the IF bandwidth. There is no control over muting. There is no signal strength indication. There is no ability to tune off 100 KHz channel steps (fine tune, useful for analog FM transmissions.) There is no center tuning indication. There is no indication of, or audio cue for, multipath (to help you aim your FM antenna.) There is no XY scope output, no demodulator output (for RDS and so on), no IF chain output (for an external demodulator.) If you're any kind of a serious FM listener, you'll probably want to consider an external tuner, because Sony totally dropped the ball here. The receiver does not do HD radio, either. It does have a buried menu option for switching between mono and stereo reception, which can help with distant stations. The good news is that this unit has tons of inputs, and you should have no trouble connecting an external tuner if you choose to go that way.
o The receiver is marketed as having 120 watts RMS x7; so you're probably thinking, "Holy smokes, 840 watts RMS?!?" Well, no. 120 watts RMS for any *pair* of channels. So 240 watts RMS at once, basically, or less, distributed over more channels. The receiver's rated power consumption tells the tale: 480 watts maximum; even if the receiver was 100% efficient *and* took no power to operate anything BUT the amplifiers, that'd only be four channels at 120 watts. The reality is modern power amps tend to be about 50% to 65% efficient, so 480 watts consumption might be good for about 240 watts of audio power, and as it turns out, that's exactly what the specifications, buried on page 143 of the manual, end up telling you.
With these caveats in mind, I have no trouble recommending the receiver. These are not uncommon issues for other receivers, even including the minimal FM tuner and output power limitations, and often, these issues are accompanied by far worse problems. The input flexibility of this receiver is extremely high, and the odds are excellent that it will meet most, if not 100%, of your A/V needs. Images and audio are pristine, the unit is very easy to operate once set up (which can take some time, but you'd expect that with a complex receiver like this), and overall it is one fabulous piece of hardware.
Edit: If you are buying one of these and you have a chance to look at it before you buy, see to it that the serial number is 8805018 or above, *or* that there is a large green dot to the right of the AC power connector in the back of the unit, as viewed from the rear of the unit. Sony has issued a recall for units with lower serial numbers without dots, they've got some HDMI communications problems. Sony will send you a working new receiver *before* you have to send them yours if you have a low serial number problem unit, but avoiding the issue altogether is possible with a simple serial number / dot check.
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Sony STR-DA5300ES ES 7.1 Channel Surround Sound Audio/Video Receiver
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