Sony STR-DG 720 7.1 Channels Receiver

Despite our best efforts to keep our home theater purchase as inexpensive as possible, my husband and I found a need to upgrade several components. We were thrilled that our new television would allow us to take full advantage of our HD-capable components, but we needed a way to connect them. Our old audio receiver did not support HDMI connections. Though we’re only using a five speaker system, we decided we wanted to purchase a 7.1 channel replacement receiver to give us the ability to upgrade in the future. We purchased the Sony STR-DG720 7.1 Channels Receiver and have been blown away by the sound quality!

Design

This audio receiver is rather large. Measuring 6 1/4" high by 16 15/16" wide by 12 1/4" deep, it is almost double the size of our last receiver. It weighs a hefty 17.6 lbs, making me very happy audio receivers aren’t intended to be portable devices. We were lucky we had purchased a television stand with a deep and wide bottom shelf. I’m not sure every stand would be able to accommodate this receiver with other large components.

Despite being bulky, the unit does have a sleek style. It is available in silver or black. We purchased the latter because all of our other components are black.

Set-Up and Usage

Setting up our new Sony STR-DG720 7.1 Channels Receiver was very easy. Connecting our components was a simple, self-explanatory process. We chose this particular model because it had the most HDMI connections within a reasonable price range; three HDMI inputs and one HDMI output. Our Microsoft Xbox 360 (also HD-DVD player), our Sony PlayStation 3 (which doubles as our DVD and Blu-ray player), and our TiVo all connect via HDMI cables. Though we would have preferred to have an extra HDMI input for future components, three ports is perfect for us. We weren’t willing to spend $500 for a receiver with one extra HDMI port, especially when we have no plans to purchase more components in the near future. The receiver connects to our television through the HDMI output.

This unit offers a number of other connections as well. There is one digital coaxial input. The unit does not support S-Video. There are three component video inputs, one of which we use to connect our Nintendo Wii Console. The unit has two rear composite inputs and one located on the front under the tuner knob. This easily-accessible, front input is great for hooking up a digital camcorder. There is one composite output. The unit also has a subwoofer and two RCA audio outputs. It has seven RCA audio inputs. A headphone jack, located on the front of the unit, allows for easy headphone hook-up for private listening.

Connecting our existing five speaker surround sound system to our new receiver was a breeze. The unit features a Digital Cinema Auto Calibration function, which uses a small microphone to determine room acoustics and adjust for speaker connections, distances from the listening position and sound pressure levels for improved audio quality. Simply plug the included microphone into the auto-calibration port on the front of the receiver and place the microphone in the center of your seating area. In a somewhat loud manner, the microphone determines the correct balance and audio configuration to optimize the speakers for your space.

Our new receiver comes with a remote, but we configured our Harmony remote to control it. We were happy this unit was compatible as our Harmony remote allows us to streamline the control of our home theater system. Manual controls are also provided for many functions of this receiver. Knobs on the face of the unit allow you to switch between audio channels, adjust the volume, and control the tuner. I had no problems controlling the unit using any of these methods, though I do find our Harmony remote to be the easiest due to the number of components we have. It’s easier to press "Watch TV" on the remote than to remember which audio channel our TiVo uses.

In addition to functioning as a regular radio, this receiver is XM radio ready. We have chosen not to take advantage of this capability as we’re happy with the selection provided by our iPods and streaming music sites like Pandora. The unit supports up to sixty station pre-sets; thirty AM, thirty FM. Though more is never a bad thing, I can’t imagine having so many pre-sets would serve as a shortcut for users.
Sound

The sound quality of this audio receiver is excellent. I had been concerned that we needed to replace our speakers, as the sound quality with our old home theater system was mediocre. It’s becoming more apparent that our old receiver wasn’t up to par. We now find ourselves totally immersed in movies and games, even with our old speaker system.

The surround sound is exceptional. The audio receiver provides a crisp sound to each of the speakers. It has really improved our gaming experience, especially with titles like Resident Evil 5 that employ surround sound as an important part of the playing experience. You can hear exactly where the zombies are located around you. It’s very helpful!

We experience the same kind of immersion when we watch television shows and movies. This receiver has multiple surround sound decoders, including Dolby Digital, Digital EX, Pro Logic, Pro Logic II, Pro Logic IIX, DTS, DTS-ES, DTS 96/24, and DTS NEO:6. It has brought our home theater experience to a new level.

Though we don’t typically play music on our home theater system, we often play music-based games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. These games sound like a real concert on our new system. The music is well balanced and you can hear the sound effects in the back speakers, like the crowd chanting. You can clearly hear each instrument, yet they sound harmoniously blended together. Our old receiver distorted some of the audio from this game and you could barely hear the detail of the sound effects like the crowd’s response. We were very impressed.

This is a rather powerful 735 Watt system (105W per channel). The maximum volume of the receiver is far above what we would set it to, at least without disturbing the neighbors.

This receiver features 18 Digital Signal Processor soundfields, including cinema, music, auto format decoding and two-channel for enhanced audio purity. We keep our receiver set to cinema mode, which I feel produces a very clear, balanced sound. It’s not too bass-heavy, providing just enough sound contrast to give the audio a crispness. We’ve played music games on the music setting before, but didn’t enjoy this configuration as much as cinema. Cinema is an all-purpose setting. It works well for games, movies, and television alike.

Overall Recommendation and Price

My only complaint about our new Sony STR-DG720 7.1 Channels Receiver is that it isn’t Energy Star qualified. The sound quality is superb and it has enough inputs and outputs for most consumers.
The unit is protected by a two year warranty for parts and labor. We also chose to purchase Best Buy’s additional performance service plan for added protection. This unit is regularly priced at $314.99 at Best Buy, but was on sale for $299.99 during the week of our purchase. We received ten percent off because we purchased it with our television. The overall price was $270, which I thought was extremely reasonable for such a great audio receiver.