Sony STRDG720 7.1 Audio Video Receiver - Black Review

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(More customer reviews)If you own a Blu-ray player and it decodes uncompressed audio like Dolby TruHD and DTS-HD MA. Then now is is time to buy this inexpensive yet very capable receiver. It was huge improvement from my nine year old Sony 5.1 receiver, which still works well.
I wanted to complement my PS3 and 1080p 65" Mitsubishi with clean uncompressed audio. This receiver met this expectation for me and beyond with the incredible sound it can process. After setting it up, I popped in The Simpsons Movie on Blu-ray which has DTS-HD MA. I could not believe my Sony speakers could sound any better until it started playing. I then tried Spiderman 3 with Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and it sounded amazing when Sandman fought Spiderman during the armored car scene. I was truly convinced that I made the right decision buying the 720 after listening to those tests movies. To every high, there is a low.
The receiver menu took awhile to understand from its manual. I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to adjust my speaker set up settings. After some curse words and taking a break, I finally figured it out. Its still not easy to navigate the menus for minor tweaking to this day after using it for a week! Also I miss the blue light that lets you know when its processing surround sound. It does have a brief scroll telling you what it is processing. But its not the same :(
Bonus!
Harmony does now have the 720 in their database and my 880 remote works great with it.
The 720 is sure a great upgrade for my home theater and I hope it can last just as long as my old one! Be sure to have enough HDMI cables for your home theater set up. I get mine from mycablemart.com and no I dont work for them bcuz I dropped their name. They have 6' 1.3a compliant cables with shipping for under ten bucks!
If you have it set up right, you will not be disappointed with the 720.


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The STR-DG720 7.1 Ch. A/V Receiver delivers the Full HD 1080 experience to a home theater system. This new 1080p A/V Receiver features HDMI with \'Active Intelligence" and 1080/24p signal capability thus making it compatible with Blu-ray Disc Disc, the PlayStation 3 and other HD sources. Need more HDMI inputs— The STR-DG720 features three HDMI inputs that allow the desire for more HD content to grow. Speaking of an enhanced experience, the STR-DG720 decodes uncompressed audio (LPCM via HDMI) so you can hear the original mix of your favorite BD titles. Looking for simplicity— BRAVIA Sync provides a one button operation (via HDMI) of your entire A/V experience with a select number of BRAVIA televisions. Because no room is perfect, Sony\'s Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (and its supplied microphone) simplifies speaker set up and optimizes speaker performance with the push of one button in just 30 seconds. Do you want to connect your iPod or Walkman— Would like to listen satellite radio— Well, the STR-DG720 features a DIGITAL MEDIA PORT connection which expands its flexibility to playback music from various audio sources (i.e. iPod, Walkman, PC, etc?) with one of the various accessories (sold separately) whereas the XM Connect-and-Play Ready feature provides the ability to access XM satellite radio programming in surround sound.

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Marantz SR7002 Surround Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a bit long but I hope reviewers will benefit by my experiences.
Marantz is a name not found at most popular chain type stores, but it is one worth seeking out. I've had Marantz receivers and amplifiers since the 1970s, and that's not because I didn't consider other brands over that time. After research and demoing other brands, I kept coming back to Marantz. I have a Marantz SR7200 surround receiver that has worked flawless since I got it in 2002. But since I recently upgraded to an HD TV, an HD satellite receiver, and a Blu Ray player, I got the itch to upgrade to an HD surround receiver. The SR7200 was working fine, but doesn't have the latest PLIIx, HDMI inputs and outputs, and some of the other high definition sound and video capabilities. So my research began (and I really planned to try another brand this time). I scoured the internet obsessively (as I always do, and did for my TV and Blu Ray player), reading user reviews and professional reviews, and lab tests. I discovered the SR7002 which got very good marks, but another popular brand kept popping up as the recommended choice. It was just under a grand, so I bit the bullet and purchased the receiver. It had all of the latest bells and whistles and was a very good receiver. But for me, the warmth of the Marantz sound and the user friendly set up and menus was just not there. After a few days of use and adjusting, I returned the receiver, spent an extra $130, and walked out with the Marantz SR7002. Very wise choice for me. The SR7002 has a few less bells and whistles of the previous brand I tried, but it certainly has all of what most folks will need. It has plenty of power for my mid to large living room. The set up and menus are straight forward and very user friendly. Just as a test, I compared the quality of video I get when I run the HDMI video signal from my satellite receiver and Blu Ray player direct to the TV, and when I run the HDMI video signal through the SR7002 first, then to the TV. I cannot tell the difference. There is no loss of video quality running through the receiver first. The beauty of that is less cables to use and easier use of switching between functions. And the sound - excellent. For me, there is a warmth and fullness to the Marantz sound that I don't hear with other receivers. I've read the manual a bit more thoroughly now and have tweaked the system slightly the last few weeks and am even more satisfied. The automatic speaker "calibration" system is very simple to use and balances the speakers wonderfully. It calculates the distances each speaker is away from various sitting positions, adjusts volumes, etc. After that I did go in and made some very minor volume adjustments to suit my taste, particularly the sub and the crossover setting to the sub - everyone's speakers and tastes are different. But it's a great way to establish a solid balanced base to make personal adjustments from. The remote is fine too. It is a learning remote, and I've been able to program it to control my satellite receiver, my Blu Ray player, a DVD recorder, a VHS machine, and my TV. Very nice. I will say that I have since gotten a Harmony One universal remote that, after some experience and program tweaking with it, is excellent, and that is what I use. But I still keep the Marantz remote nearby just in case. I really could have gotten by with the Marantz remote just fine and would have been happy, but the Harmony One has other advanced qualities that are quite nice (but that's another review). So after a ton of research and a try out of a recommended brand, Marantz came through again. I'm totally satisfied. The receiver is the heart of any system; so you need to review, research, and try out for yourself; but in my experiences over the years, Marantz has always been a high quality product, and the SR7002 doesn't disappoint. If you want power and high quality sound, in a user friendly system, for just over a grand, this is it.

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Performance addicted? Just call this Marantz your enabler. With THX Select2 certification and 110 watts of continuous power per channel, the SR7002 receiver opens up the home entertainment horizon for the most demanding yet cost-conscious customers out there.Let's look at video capabilities first. You can connect up to four HDMI equipped sources to the SR7002. Direct the one you want to your display and to the SR7002’s built-in surround sound processor. Unlike earlier HDMI connections, these handle multi-channel sound with ease. Still enjoying non-HDMI sources? Rest easy. The SR7002 comes complete with format conversion lets you watch older videos through the super-convenient HDMI format. And there’s a Second Zone audio/video output, too, so you can enjoy your entertainment throughout your entire home.You’ll also find Dolby Virtual Speaker so you can enjoy an immersive surround experience with the dialog clarity inherent in a discrete center channel configuration with just two speakers.And, speaking of clarity, the SR7002 features Audyssey's remarkable Auto Calibration that examines your entire room to make those other seats just as rewarding as the ones directly in front of your display device's screen. Of course, there’s an infrared input and two DC trigger outputs so you can coordinate your entire system for convenient remote operation.You won’t have any problem fitting all this capability into your home either, thanks to a new, compact chassis that will fit more easily into even the tightest spaces. All this plus a three-year warranty.

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JBL CS6100BG High Performance, complete 6-Piece Home Theater Speaker System with Brackets (Black Gloss) Review

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(More customer reviews)A few weeks back, I decided it was time to replace my 12 year old Sony TV and 17 year old "stereo" system with its two cheap speakers.
End result, after lots of research, was the purchase of the following, all from Amazon.
- Samsung LN40A650 LCD TV
- Onkyo TX-SR606
- JBL CS6100 6-Piece Home Cinema Speaker Package
- Logitech Harmony 550 Universal Remote
Also connected are;
- Scientific Atlanta cable set top box from Time Warner
- Sony SLV-D300P DVD/VCR which is 2-3 years old
- Nintendo Game Cube
Installation was in a 20'x30' room.
My goals were to have a high quality TV with decent sound, and keep the entire cost under $2500 if at all possible. Goal achieved, even with the purchase of the incidentals; some speaker wire, banana clips for speaker cables, an optical digital audio, cable, etc.
- Speakers... even if you go to all of the places you can visit to hear speakers, you have no idea how they will actually sound in your own environment. And, speakers are an object thing. My concerns here were that the only review I could find on the audiophile web sites was for the smaller CS480 speakers. the CD480s have a single woofer and tweeter in satellites vs. the dual woofers in the CS6100 package. The reviews of the CD480s indicated that they were a bit bright, a bit lacking in mid-range under some conditions. I don't find that to be the case with the CS6100s, maybe because of the dual woofers. Having all the mounting hardware in the box is a real plus, and they give you two choices of mounts, fixed and swivel. Enough high quality speaker wire in the box for a medium sized room. Sub-woofer speaker cable included. A nice, classy look as well..
The opening sequence from Top Gun (with the windows closed and the wife gone)was the first test. No disappointment here. Next, a bit of Opera. Again, they performned well. Country and classical music, movies with dialogue... these do a very nice job and compare VERY well with speakers which cost twice as much.
A definite "I'd buy again".


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Got your widescreen HDTV for your living room?That's only part of the experience.HDTV sound goes beyond 2-channel stereo, dividing sound into 5 channels.Get yourself a 5.1 channel surround receiver and add these speakers and you've got home theater to enjoy and love!JBL's CS6100 6-Piece Home Cinema Speaker Package is a high-performance home-theater speaker system that beautifully complements your living room.The four satellites, matching horizontal center, and 300-watt (peak) subwoofer deliver unbelievable sound.The satellites and center channel feature JBL's advanced titanium-laminate dome tweeters and dual 3-1/2" drivers for unsurpassed power and realism.The voice-matched center channel speaker uses components that are identical to those used in the satellites for seamless pans.The black, high-gloss finish brings a touch of attractive contemporary design to your home and complements any flat-panel television.Wall brackets are included for the satellites and center channel.

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