JerryTimes

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $259.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I was very impressed by this receiver when I purchased it and it worked well for many years. Very good surround and a crisp clean sound out of a pair of very average speakers that I have. I never has the hissing problem that so many have talked about, but recently I have has issues with the 'A' speaker channel shutting itself off. I guess I can't complain since this isn't a high end reciever and everything else is still in tip top shape on it.

Strengths:
Great sound for the money. 5.1 dolby surround.

Weaknesses:
Very hard to find anyone who is willing to repair it.

Price Paid:  $300.00 from circuit city

Summary:
I bought mine in august of 2001. I had no problems until november of 2002 when my video port went out(video 1 out). I can use the audio outputs for sound but there is no picture. I took it back to where i purchased it from and those dimwits cancelled my extended service plan and no one knows why or what happened. But since then i have gotten it repaired and now i don't even use the video ports. Coaxial cable hookup sounds great with my dvd and optical sounds great with the x-box. But over all I am very satisfied with my reciever. Word of caution (don't by audio products from circuit city,they suck!!!!)

Strengths:
Sound and ease of use

Weaknesses:
Subwoofer output is sort of weak. Yo have to really pump up the system to hear subwoofer.

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
Even though it says one shouldn't do this, I'm writing an addition to the review I wrote a couple weeks ago......to fix the "PROTECT" sound cut out a friend of mine suggested I make sure the speaker connects aren't touching at all...I checked this and, even though it didn't look like they were touching to begin with I moved them around a bit the problem stopped and hasn't happened since. Due to my soured Sony history I still fully intend to try and switch receivers under my 4-year service plan, though.

Price Paid:  $599.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I had this SONY STR-DE545 for about 2.5 years. A couple of days ago, it suddently lost the voice, at first I thought my DVD player is wrong. Then I found even the radio won't have sound. LCD displays all ok. I opened the box, re-plug, now I have this "Protect" display after the radio display for 3 seconds... Unfortunately I did not buy service plan. SONY product only last for 2.5 years, it is a shame...

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I consider myself more knowledgeable about A/V electronics than the casual movie watcher or music listener--I know better than to buy all-in-one systems, and I know the value of a better-than-factory-issued cable--but I'm no audiophile by any means. Aside from more mainstream quality brands like Onkyo, Dennon, or Harmon Kardon I've never even heard of a lot of the truly high-end namebrands reviewed in audiophile magazines). This review is a summational vent against Sony products, with my DE-545 experience being the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back." In ten years I've gone through six Sony Discmans, and finally got smart and switched to a Panasonic three years ago--it hasn't given me any problems so far. In 1998 the first-generation Playstation I bought in 1995 broke, and I had to pay $80 to send it in and get it fixed. A friend of mine had all Sony components in his home, and said they performed wonderfully, so I figured I'd give Sony another a try on the home A/V front and bought the DE-545 receiver and a Sony 400 disc changer (unsure of model number) over the course of a year. However, due to my past problems I played it safe and bought 4-year service plans on both items. In 2001 I picked up a Playstation 2--It stopped playing DVD's properly so I sent it in this past Monday (thankfully I get another one for free under the 2-year plan I bought with it). Okay, now the DE-545....the thing has hissed noticeably but bearably since day one, but worked fine otherwise so I didn't mind. Got THE TWO TOWERS DVD on August 26th, and after a couple problem-free playbacks at volume level 10 the receiver suddenly starts cutting off and flashing "PROTECT". Both the manual and other reviews on this site say to turn off the unit and unplug it for a while to fix this. I've done this repeatedly. I've tried different outlets. I've tried different powerstrips. The damn thing won't play the movie past volume level six or seven without cutting out. Thank God I bought the 4-year plan with this product. Hopefully Best Buy will let me exchange it for a comparable model of a different brand rather than forcing me to get it fixed--after ten long years, idiot me has finally learned my lesson. Aside from future Playstations (since there's no choice but to buy a Playstation made by Sony), I WILL NEVER BUY A SONY PRODUCT AGAIN.

Strengths:
Wide options of soundfields; sounds great when it works; despite numerous criticisms I found the remote worked great for me and worked with my other-brand VCR, TV, and DVD players.

Weaknesses:
Recurring lack of quality control with Sony products

Similar Products Used:
None