Are Sony AVRs bright or warm?

nhhiep

in general, are Sony AVRs bright or warm? i am deciding between Sony 444ES AVR and HK PA5800 5 channel amp?

I am looking for warm sound to go with RTi8s

Thanks

Sherardp

If you want warm then think Denon. I have a 7100ES that has performed very well. I definitely wouldn't say warm though.

nhhiep

assuming the Sony AVR is bright.
let's say if I used the sony as a pre-amp, then feed to the HK amp. Would i still get bright sound?
is it the pre-amp or the amp that usually determine the sound?

Sherardp

Worst case you buy the Sony and don't like it. Give it a listen and see if it's something you like.

Bernal

Welcome to CP

Tony M

Try and find an Onkyo or Denon instead. or Pioneer Elite...

PerfectCreature

My mother has a Sony home theater with a built in 51 CD disc changer. It has two bookshelf speakers and 3 center channel speakers for the other speakers I find the setup to very balanced. We don't have a subwoofer at all but people think we do. I find that powered my monitor 50s (when the tweeter wasn't crackling) It did it very well and was a warmer sound than the Teac reciever I had been using before.
It really is all about how you hear it. One person could call it more bright or warm then the other depending on what speakers they were using when they heard it or how they heard it...lots of factors are involved.

polkfarmboy

Slightly bright I say

John K.

NH, no competently designed modern receiver, including the Sony, is either "warm" or "bright". For there to be such a sonic coloration in the amplification there would have to be a substantial deviation from flat frequency response over a substantial frequency range. Tests of these units show flat frequency response over the entire audible range and they amplify transparently without adding an audible coloration.

If you're experiencing an unpleasant brightness in some or all of your listening, this would be due to the source materials, the speakers and/or the listening room, but the receiver would have nothing to do with it. A partial correction can sometimes be had by applying a little treble cut with the tone control.

comfortablycurt

John K. wrote: »

NH, no competently designed modern receiver, including the Sony, is either "warm" or "bright". For there to be such a sonic coloration in the amplification there would have to be a substantial deviation from flat frequency response over a substantial frequency range. Tests of these units show flat frequency response over the entire audible range and they amplify transparently without adding an audible coloration.

If you're experiencing an unpleasant brightness in some or all of your listening, this would be due to the source materials, the speakers and/or the listening room, but the receiver would have nothing to do with it. A partial correction can sometimes be had by applying a little treble cut with the tone control.

So, do these tests show why my ears(and MANY others ears) have detected very big differences in the overall sound of different AVR's?:rolleyes:

Going by this theory, a used $20 Sony receiver should sound the same as any external amp, correct? Right.




Sony's are fairly neutral sounding in my experience...I wouldn't really call them bright. Yamaha's are bright sounding. Onkyo's and Denon's are on the warmer side of things, and would probably be the best direction to look if you're trying to tame down your RTi8's. I used to run an Onkyo 606 with a pair of RTi8's, and it sounded great.

F1nut

Anti-hifi insurgent sighting.

cnh

There are most definitely tonal qualities or 'house' sounds to AVRs and to many amps. Tube amps are sought after, for example, for their warmer more musical presentation and not because they are DEAD neutral and lifeless like a ruler flat SS amp.

As to Sonys...that's a hard call. Normal Sonys lack detail and dynamics and power, but the ES series have more of all of that and some have even described them as more 'musical' than some other AVRs. This is only true, today, of SONY's HIGHEST ES model! I am NOT familiar with the model you list..it looks ANCIENT! Does anyone know that one.

Also, yes, in many cases, a pre-amp will affect the sound you hear... process it to reflect its properties. A perfect pre-amp would try to not interfere with the amp's sound if possible.

There are some here though who claim that their amp 'warms' up their AVR? I am not going to take sides on this.

This is fodder for 'discussion'.

cnh

TG Meat

I have some experience with Sony's AVR...I would say they sound a little bright. I had two different AVR's in my system and had the same amp go out after about two years. Both of mine had A/B switching, in both cases the A main left and right stopped working. I thought it was a fluke the first time, then it happened again. Replaced with Pioneer's Elite AVR and have been happy since.

Tony M

+10 on the Sony ES line... I forgot all about it. duh, sorry.

gfong

I have a Sony 5400ES and am using it with RTI A7's and it may be on the bright side but definitely not overly bright. A lot of reviews have stated it is neutral! (That helps eh!) Seriously though, it does really well with SACD and 2 ch stereo music which is a bonus for an AVR.

heiney9

John K. wrote: »

NH, no competently designed modern receiver, including the Sony, is either "warm" or "bright". For there to be such a sonic coloration in the amplification there would have to be a substantial deviation from flat frequency response over a substantial frequency range. Tests of these units show flat frequency response over the entire audible range and they amplify transparently without adding an audible coloration.

If you're experiencing an unpleasant brightness in some or all of your listening, this would be due to the source materials, the speakers and/or the listening room, but the receiver would have nothing to do with it. A partial correction can sometimes be had by applying a little treble cut with the tone control.

Incorrect. In fact this is the worst BS I've ever read.

H9

erniejade

the ES lines are better built then the regular sony lines and to me, sound cleaner. If I had my choice between the Sony and HK as you mentioned,, I would think the HK would be more on the warmer side. To use the sony as a pre and the HK as the amp, I dont think it would benefit from it. The ES amps are usually more on the neutral side of things so it would be life up to the preamp.....

Just my opinion.

dorokusai

The only Sony line worth owning is the ES series....across the board. I'm with Ernie in that they are just flat out neutral to me, just like they should be.

logo896

Id agree with most of the guys, The higher end sony is fine. However id suggest going another way if you can. The denon, marantz or yamaha may even be a good buy for you. I dont know if you have any Fry's by you but thats always a good place to really demo a lot of brands.

bluecomet

I have some Sony ES equipment. The receivers are not bad but I like my higher end Yamaha and Onkyo better. The Sony ES line always made excellent CD players that is where Sony shines IMO.

comfortablycurt

bluecomet wrote: »

I have some Sony ES equipment. The receivers are not bad but I like my higher end Yamaha and Onkyo better. The Sony ES line always made excellent CD players that is where Sony shines IMO.

Agreed. I've owned many Sony products over the years...but anymore, the only Sony product I'd even consider buying would be a CD player. Eventually, I'll own an XA-5400ES SACD player, but that's a bit down the road yet.

jycegrcia

I too think that the Denon is a great product. Denon has long been one of the more respected companies in AVR's and they never disappoints you. I checked Denon with other units but found this as great compared to other. Before Denon I was using Sony AVR which was garbage compared to Denon.

Polk & H/K

Sony is over priced garbage. Try HK, NAD or Denon.

HB27

Horn speakers are my main 2 ch speakers and bright is obvious with a lot of components.
I liked my 555ES Sony. I won't say bright but "revealing" in 2 ch. It was very good for 5.1 use.
The only Sony worth having is the ES series. Same with the Pioneer Elite.
I had a nice Pioneer Elite older model which was GOOD all around but wasn't great in any area.
I'm a Denon fan but with the horns they seem very bright to me. I should say the newer ones do. At least to my old ears.
I'm running an Onkyo TX-DS656 now and it seems like a good mix across the board doing 2 ch and HT equally well.
I actually preferred the HK AVR 154 but sold the only one I had after I got tired of HT. Sellers remorse on that one. I bought it used. I can't seem to be totally sold on HT and I keep going back and forth.

mantis

I have worked with Sony receiver for many years. I like them except there quirky on screen menu systems.
As far as pure sound quality Sony receivers are as good and in most cases better then most. They tend to have solid dynamic range , clarity and warmth to their tone. Years ago they made separates and they where fantastic. I felt they where almost as good as B&K .

I find no reason not to check out Sony receivers. All of them including the NON ES line.

chandler9a

I currently use a Sony 555ES AVR and really like it but would never get anything other than the ES Line. I am working on getting a TA-E9000ES up and running and will probably switch to that when the time comes. If I had to switch I would have no problem going to Pioneer Elit, NAD, Onkyo, or Dennon.

lanchile

nhhiep wrote: »

in general, are Sony AVRs bright or warm? i am deciding between Sony 444ES AVR and HK PA5800 5 channel amp?

I am looking for warm sound to go with RTi8s

Thanks

I had a Sony ES series long time ago, it was an oven, I could cook on top of receiver (got really hot) and the sound was nothing special. supposedly Sony ES series is better than just Sony. But if you really want something good (in audio) just get something else.
Sony is good for Video. I have had so many amps, receivers etc. and Sony ES is not good at all in audio. also the parts they use is not so good as they claim. I work in electronics (repairing) and I was surprised how cheap they are building this (top series).

F1nut

Polk & H/K wrote: »

Sony is over priced garbage. Try HK, NAD or Denon.

Such insight.

lanchile

Polk & H/K wrote: »

Sony is over priced garbage. Try HK, NAD or Denon.

I second that!;)