SONY STR-DA50ES - READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!

[Tony Filson]

I'm very disappointed with the STR-DA50 for the following reasons:

1. The remote is awful. Even AFTER sending the unit back to SONY it still is VERY HARD to read, back lighting goes off too soon, the unit NOW does NOT work with my OTHER SONY products like my VCR's. If you are even slightly off axis the remote is of no use at all. Now I need to send it back a second time!!!!

2. The equalizer is inappropriate and using it on the remote is a nightmare. The roll off is not accurate.

3. There is a LONG delay in DTS mode causing the loss of the beginning of a song with DTS CD's When you switch from one mode to the other in and out of DTS you experience the SAME delay.

4 . At times the unit does not respond when you first turn it on. You must turn it on-and-off a few times or randomly press buttons until the unit decided to give you output.

5. The BASS pre-out to the subwoofer does NOT work and SONY can't tell me why. Switching the unit in the speaker setup (subwoofer -YES/NO) has no effect as also does the LFE settings.

6. A lack of ON SCREEN Commands is bothersome and the inability to use RCA, Composite and or Component loops with VIDEO is difficult if your VCR has RCA plugs, your TV is component and your cable box is coax,

7. FM reception is below Avg. AM is not usable.

8. Sound quality is POOR. With Canton CT-1000's in the front and Paradigm monitors in the rear with a Canton center the sound harsh and brassy with MOVIES. The amp lacks real punch and is NOT by ANY means a HIGH END unit. The sound stage drifts a GREAT deal even when using top material such as the DTS Dances with Wolves, And the Diane Krell DTS Music CD's. This same speaker setup worked VERY well and sounded 100% better with off the shelf CARVER equipment. In stereo mode there is no resolution, transients are SLOW, the music does not sound FULL. Even after adjusting the internal EQ the unit never performed better than a $250 or $350 JVC or RCA 5.1 unit. This has MANY features, but the SOUND and build quality is VERY poor. With the EQ - sound field and bass boost unit off you should be getting a direct (pure sound) and you do not, with coax or analog coming from a SONY CD player or even the wonderful PANASONIC A-310. The MUSIC lacks real definition with the SONY unit, but sounded wonderful on the CARVER and the YAMAHA DSP.

9. SONY is not responsive in customer service. Hooking up and un hooking all this equipment is a PAIN in the A….. Why SONY would put out such a piece of S… is beyond me. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!

[Bobby Henderson]

I had thought about buying a Sony 50ES receiver a few months ago, but for around the same amount of money I went for the Yamaha RX-V995 instead.  The only complaints I have with this receiver is that the learning remote is kind of hard to figure out.  I haven't had any other problems.  To note the DTS CD performance gaps on the Sony 50ES, one thing the Yamaha receivers do is to check any PCM bitstream source for DTS encoding before engaging it.  Not only will the DTS tracks engage properly, but you will also avoid any white noise bursts from a receiver trying to decode the DTS bitstream as PCM.  The Yamaha receiver even has two different light-up DTS logos on the display to differentiate DTS CD and LD audio streams from DTS DVD streams.

 

Sound quality with the V995 receiver is very good.  Bass output is fantastic and the receiver gives you options to route the LFE channel, or Left-Right mains, or even both LFE and Mains to the subwoofer.  Kind of handy for some of those Dolby Digital and DTS 5.0 movies lacking a discrete LFE channel.  This is also one of the few receivers that gives fully equal functions (including bass management) to all surround sound modes, including DTS.

 

Bobby Henderson

[Lion_Hunter]

I have had a DA50ES for about 3 months now and have not had one days
problem with it.

Tony Filson <to...@filcro.com> wrote in article
<7qj5nr$2...@chronicle.concentric.net>...

all this equipment is a PAIN in the A... Why SONY would put out such a
piece of S. is beyond me. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!

----------

[Gene]

I have to agree with everything that you said. They deleted features from the remote to make the battery last longer. I am especially upset with Sony's repair policy. Unresponsive is an understatement! The lack of response from Sony has convinced me to never buy any of their products again unless they change their ways. You can't find a human to describe the problem unless you are fortunate enough to live close enough to a service center to drive to it. The dealer has been no help either, but I expect it has more to do with Sony's poor customer service policy. They might just as well sell their ES line in Walmart as a high end audio-video store. The service would be about the same. The product is crap and so is Sony.

Tony Filson <to...@filcro.com> wrote in message news:7qj5nr$2...@chronicle.concentric.net...

[Steve Ridall]

I have a 9000ES which has a similar remote....

On the good side it's wedge shape makes it a great doorstop..

Steve

> hooking all this equipment is a PAIN in the Aů.. Why SONY would put
> out such a piece of Sů is beyond me. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!

[UBS Man]

They'll stick the ES designation on anything nowadays. A few years ago ES
meant something. I think the current stuff is not even made in Japan
anymore.

Steve Ridall <rid...@camtech.net.au> wrote in message
news:37D9995A...@camtech.net.au...

> I have a 9000ES which has a similar remote....
>
> On the good side it's wedge shape makes it a great doorstop..
>
> Steve
>
> > Tony Filson wrote:
> >

> > hooking all this equipment is a PAIN in the A... Why SONY would put
> > out such a piece of S. is beyond me. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!

[Tony Filson]

I got the SONY 555ES today as a replacement for the defective STR-DA50ES.
This is after 3 repairs on the DA50!!!

The 555ES unit is "DEFECTIVE" too No sound from the bass pre-out AND THE
LEFT FRONT, and the balance does not work, also DTS does not kick in for
quite some time causing you to miss the beginning of DTS music CD's

SONY SUCKS!!!!!!!! SONY SUCKS, SONY SUCKS, SONY SUCKS!!! FUCK YOU
SONY!!! YOU ARE A BUNCH OF SHIT SHOVELING RIP-OFF ARTISTS

UBS Man <outo...@accessld.net.NOSPAM> wrote in message
news:Z%cJ3.77$34....@news21b.ispnews.com...

> They'll stick the ES designation on anything nowadays. A few years ago ES
> meant something. I think the current stuff is not even made in Japan
> anymore.
>
> Steve Ridall <rid...@camtech.net.au> wrote in message
> news:37D9995A...@camtech.net.au...
> > I have a 9000ES which has a similar remote....
> >
> > On the good side it's wedge shape makes it a great doorstop..
> >
> > Steve
> >
> > > Tony Filson wrote:
> > >

> > > hooking all this equipment is a PAIN in the A... Why SONY would put
> > > out such a piece of S. is beyond me. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!
>
>