Sony STRDH790.CEK 7.2 Channel Dolby Atmos/DTS: X 4K HDR AV Receiver - Black

Product Information

We like to recommend the Sony StR-DH790 to people who are looking for a straight forward receiver that will work great and provide the main features you’ll want to take advantage of the best of current movies, music, and video games ( >>> Find the current price on Bhphotovideo). relatively unprocessed and want the other speakers to conform, tonally, to them. ‘Engi­neering’ makes the sound match ‘the Sony listening room standard frequency charac­teristics’. (I got that from the online manual. The information you need is split between the printed one in the box and the online manual.) Finally, in ‘Sound Effect’ is a Pure Direct setting.

I'm surprised at the very basic GUI when compared with other Sony AV Amps that I've seen. I think a lot more could have been made with that, especially with some of the finer set-up tweaks like reassigning inputs etc. Out of the box, very easy to set-up, with the only let-down being those cheap speaker terminals. Thankfully, the penny-pinching aspects are restricted to out-of-view areas. The STR-DH790 offers three DSPs, and all of them support a range of audio formats to ensure accurate signal decoding. Equally important, the receiver uses a discrete amplifier design that helps prevent distortion by providing clean power. The amplifier is expertly designed with heat sink technology to help dissipate excess heat to provide a cool running environment. Unmatched video and picture quality Most of the sound-field settings ended up with a rather strong bass, much higher than that normally provided by AV receivers. Who does it right? Yamaha, Denon, Marantz on the one hand, with a more subdued subwoofer level, or Sony on the other hand, with one that’s at least six decibels higher? I brought down the bass level a little, but really, let your subwoofer’s capacity, your own taste and your neighbours’ complaints determine the optimum level for you. With support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, you get surround sound like they have in movie theatres. Rich, lifelike and all-encompassing.

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Turning off the receiver and connected devices simultaneously with the TV (System Power Off function) “STBY.LINK” Many people found the base version of the tuning software to be troublesome and limiting without some specific steps being taken. For example, many people found that by adjusting their main listening area several feet from where they will actually listen improved the automatic tuning results. Others had to tweak settings to get good sound from the Sony STR-Dh790 with DCAC. And the sound? I installed my speakers as a basic 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos layout. As I’ve remarked before, the difference for one listen­er between two overhead speakers and four seems to be minimal. Maintain 4K quality from source to screen. 4K passthrough allows a signal to pass through the receiver without compromising image quality and is HDCP 2.2 compatible. Furthermore, with the 4K pass-through, you can transmit signals from the source device to the receiver without degrading picture quality. The unit also supports the latest HDR varieties including, HGL, HDR10, and Dolby Vision. Sleek and space-saving design

The connection choices for the Sony STR-DH790 are pretty good at its price point. You get 4 analog inputs, one digital optical and one coaxial. Unfortunately, the 790 doesn’t include dedicated turntable or USB inputs. Sony supplies 5-way binding posts for you to connect the left and right channels and the rest of the speakers are forced to use spring clip connections. Four HDMI inputs and 1 output adorn the top of the receiver. Unsurprisingly, the Sony 790 supports 4K video and most of its key features such as HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, 4:4:4 color space, and HDCP 2.2. If you’re looking for a network receiver, then the Sony STR-DH790 may not be the amp for you. It doesn’t have ethernet or WiFi, but it does have Bluetooth. So even though you can’t stream music over your network, with Bluetooth it’s still possible to stream music from your favorite music app to the receiver. Also in ‘Sound Effect’ is a ‘Night Mode’, an ‘Equaliser’ (actually, bass and treble controls) for each channel pair, and ‘Calibration Type’ from which you can choose ‘Engineering’ The more advanced stereo microphone, 16-band EQ system of Sony’s Digital Cinema Auto Calibration could make this receiver more user-friendly and also more valuable for people seeking fine tuning capabilities. Video Capabilities Sony STR-DH790 connectionsthe default), ‘Front Ref’, ‘Full Flat’ or ‘Off’. This sets the reference which the auto EQ curves seek to approximate. ‘Front Ref’ is for those who like their front speaker sound It should be made perfectly clear at this point that all multi-channel AV receivers have circuits of one type or another that limit power output in certain conditions (including when multiple channels are driven, rather than just two), so Sony is doing the same thing as all other manufacturers of AV receiv­ers. (There are some exceptions to this rule, but they’re all extremely high-priced.) Also in ‘Sound Effect’ is a ‘Night Mode’, an ‘Equalizer’ (actually, bass and treble controls) for each channel pair, and ‘Calibration Type’ from which you can choose ‘Engineering’ (the default), ‘Front Ref’, ‘Full Flat’ or ‘Off’. This sets the reference which the auto EQ curves seek to approximate. ‘Front Ref’ is for those who like their front speaker sound relatively unprocessed and want the other speakers to conform, tonally, to them. ‘Engineering’ makes the sound match “the Sony listening room standard frequency characteristics”. (I got that from the online manual. The information you need is split between the printed one in the box and the online manual.) Finally, in ‘Sound Effect’ is a Pure Direct setting. The 790 has a lovely rich tone, that adds an extra warmth to any music. Action scenes and ambience have that extra dimension (now) thanks to the addition of Atmos. Dolby Atmos® processing for use with in-ceiling or "height" speakers for more enveloping surround sound

Overall, the features and functions work well to offer lots of performance and range of tuneability without being cluttered and over-demanding. The 4k resolution passthrough capability means this is an excellent budget choice for outfitting your new 4k television. The range of audio and video features included in this model make it a great choice for people who enjoy watching movies in all their cinematic glory from the comfort of their home. Music plays just fine, with decent sound reproduction across the various genres I threw at the unit. You are a little limited in terms of music inputs, which I’ll touch on later, but I had pleasant experiences listening to both CDs and Bluetooth-streamed tunes during my time with the STR-DH790. TV and had it deliver the sound to the Sony receiver via the HDMI cable using the Audio Return Channel. This arrangement worked almost as seamlessly. IN USE AND PERFORMANCE

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This unit is limited to Bluetooth connectivity, which is one of the only major let downs. That said, the Bluetooth works just fine, and I was able to stream music over the connection with no problems. I was even able to wake the receiver up in the morning by playing music from my phone, which is a pretty handy feature. All of the features, functions, and options don’t count for anything if the receiver isn’t worth having. The only way to properly judge any audio equipment is to hear it for yourself since we all hear things differently. We will discuss our opinions and the opinions we’ve learned about this affordable Sony receiver. Setup