New Sony ES 8K AV Receiver Line STR-AZ7000ES STR-AZ5000ES STR-AZ3000ES STR-AZ1000ES

[bob5200]

The STR-ZA5000ES only lists 500W on the power usage label, but does pretty respectably on S&V real-world testing:

Sony STR-ZA5000 ES A/V Receiver Review Test Bench

Test Bench Two channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1% distortion at 139.3 watts 1% distortion at 175.3 watts Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1% distortion at 103.6 watts 1% distortion at 135.1 watts Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads: 0.1%...

www.soundandvision.com

Someone just needs to pre-order and send to Amir for the truth.

That review is from 2016. Maybe be comparably to the AZ models, may not.

 

[bob5200]

I've heard some really good impressions, but the question is, does it do anything with the bass, not just surround mapping

I cannot find anything on digital cinema calibration IX, other than it's new. The fact the sub outs are parallel connections is a bit disappointing and limiting.

I have a 5.1, looking to go to 5.2, would like HDMI 2.1 to match the next TV, next true 2.1 Apple TV and the new Comcast box. Hopefully Audioholics gets a review out soon including the calibration system and Amir has the x4800h review as well. Won't be an apple to apple comparison obviously.

 

[Deividas]

I'm sure it does, when I use Audyssey I always have to mess with the bass settings, it always sets it super low, I hope Sony's is better than that.

But audyssey changes the response or evens out the curve, I dont know really, but eithout audyssey or with another receiver, tried several, bass is just terrible in my room and with audyssey its quite OK really. Some voodoo magic stuff there.

Also dissapointing is that the sub out is parallel for both subs, after getting a second sub and having them calibrated seperately on Denon I dont wat to go back to a single sub, and calibrating two of them manually is gonna be a pain

 

[Rottmannash]

The AZ7000ES uses Sony's own digital cinema calibration IX and 360 spatial sound mapping, you input the measurements of your room, the distance your sitting from the screen, and height from the floor to your ears in your seated position then it takes three-dimensional measurements of your room using a 3D mic that you position at different height levels in your room. According to the reviews I watched this works incredibly well, and it's one of the best auto calibrations that's available currently.

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The AZ7000ES will not support 15 channels

It doesn't support HDR10+ but almost no movies use that HDR format.

I'm not sure why this comment keeps popping up-there are quite a few movies and series produced in HDR10+. While not as common as HDR10 it does exist and will most likely become the preferred format in the future.

 

[Deividas]

I'm not sure why this comment keeps popping up-there are quite a few movies and series produced in HDR10+. While not as common as HDR10 it does exist and will most likely become the preferred format in the future.

Its not gonna become preffered format, there is one already - Dolby Vision. And actually there is little difference between HDR10 and HDR10+, especially for majority of people who purchase midrange or budget-range tvs and expect HDR to somehow enhance the picture. Samsung just did not want to pay Dolby for DV and thats why hdr10+ was born, it was getting some traction, but not much. And remember, HDR format is just the fuel, your tv is the engine, so its better to get a good tv, do calibration work and its gonna be better then just chasing hdr format logos.

 

[techsamurai]

That review is from 2016. Maybe be comparably to the AZ models, may not.

We all know that AVR power grows exponentially over time

 

[romne11]

Is there a release date for these Sony receivers yet?

 

[RocShemp]

Also dissapointing is that the sub out is parallel for both subs, after getting a second sub and having them calibrated seperately on Denon I dont wat to go back to a single sub, and calibrating two of them manually is gonna be a pain

According to Robert Zohn over at Blu-ray.com:

The built-in calibration application individually configures the sub output independently.

Is there a release date for these Sony receivers yet?

From the same thread:

Sony's first allocation/shipment is scheduled to ship to us the week of Feb 27.

 

[Deividas]

According to Robert Zohn over at Blu-ray.com:




From the same thread:

NICE ! Thanks for the info, the more I read about Sony's the AVR the more I think that its gonna be my next receiver. str-az3000es looks like a sweetspot for me. And the fact that is the one of the cleanest and nicest looking avr IMHO does not hurt either.

 

[Rottmannash]

Its not gonna become preffered format, there is one already - Dolby Vision. And actually there is little difference between HDR10 and HDR10+, especially for majority of people who purchase midrange or budget-range tvs and expect HDR to somehow enhance the picture. Samsung just did not want to pay Dolby for DV and thats why hdr10+ was born, it was getting some traction, but not much. And remember, HDR format is just the fuel, your tv is the engine, so its better to get a good tv, do calibration work and its gonna be better then just chasing hdr format logos.

You do realize many, if not most who post here have SOTA equipment including TVs?

 

[techsamurai]

Its not gonna become preffered format, there is one already - Dolby Vision. And actually there is little difference between HDR10 and HDR10+, especially for majority of people who purchase midrange or budget-range tvs and expect HDR to somehow enhance the picture. Samsung just did not want to pay Dolby for DV and thats why hdr10+ was born, it was getting some traction, but not much. And remember, HDR format is just the fuel, your tv is the engine, so its better to get a good tv, do calibration work and its gonna be better then just chasing hdr format logos.

Actually, have you noticed that there's no comparison of SDR vs HDR with the SDR screen doing 1,000 nits?

I don't know if I posted here already but get an Dell XPS laptop witn an OLED (Samsung panel) which hits 1,000 nits in SDR. Then start Netflix in HD in Chrome (chrome is limited to 720p playback). Now pull up IE Chromium which plays in 4k Dolby Vision and bring up a demo like Our Planet, Altered Carbon and find the bright scenes.

Sync them up and now you can compare (A/B switching) SDR 720p vs Dolby Vision 4K.

Now press alt-tab so you can't tell which window is which. Now try to figure out what you're looking at just using your eyes. It's crazy, trust me.

 

[wseroyer]

Its not gonna become preffered format, there is one already - Dolby Vision. And actually there is little difference between HDR10 and HDR10+, especially for majority of people who purchase midrange or budget-range tvs and expect HDR to somehow enhance the picture. Samsung just did not want to pay Dolby for DV and thats why hdr10+ was born, it was getting some traction, but not much. And remember, HDR format is just the fuel, your tv is the engine, so its better to get a good tv, do calibration work and its gonna be better then just chasing hdr format logos.

Very true high end TV's can do regular HDR just as well if not better than Dolby Vision, Dolby Vision allows lower end TV's to look as good as high end ones without needing the processing power.

 

[wseroyer]

But audyssey changes the response or evens out the curve, I dont know really, but eithout audyssey or with another receiver, tried several, bass is just terrible in my room and with audyssey its quite OK really. Some voodoo magic stuff there.

Also dissapointing is that the sub out is parallel for both subs, after getting a second sub and having them calibrated seperately on Denon I dont wat to go back to a single sub, and calibrating two of them manually is gonna be a pain

The Sony will have bass correction just like Audyssey does, but their three-dimensional speaker correction is something totally different that no other receiver has except for Trinnov.

 

[4MusicFirst]

I’m personally looking forward to seeing how the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping works with my less than ideal surround speaker layout in my new media room with a bar/kitchen in back of MLP. Unfortunately, I was looking forward to the individual subwoofer outputs on the Denon x4800h I was initially going to get. I have two PSA S3012’s for a big media room, so I will be getting some bass traps for up front and finally integrating the miniDSP for individual subwoofer adjustment..

Looking forward to getting the new AZ5000ES and putting it through the paces.. Have owned Denon AVR’s for the past decade.

 

[Abe_W]

I’m personally looking forward to seeing how the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping works with my less than ideal surround speaker layout in my new media room with a bar/kitchen in back of MLP. Unfortunately, I was looking forward to the individual subwoofer outputs on the Denon x4800h I was initially going to get. I have two PSA S3012’s for a big media room, so I will be getting some bass traps for up front and finally integrating the miniDSP for individual subwoofer adjustment..

Looking forward to getting the new AZ5000ES and putting it through the paces.. Have owned Denon AVR’s for the past decade.

I am very intrigued by Sony's new 360 reality audio tech as well. It sounds out of the world amazing on their headphones. Unfortunately, i sunk a fortune on a pre-pro from one of their competitors before i knew about this.

 

[RocShemp]

I remember when I first heard of 360 Reality Audio, I was dismayed that it was headphones only. Well it's also in 2 channel and soundbar systems. But what I always hoped they'd do is implement it in a full home theater. I'm looking forward to hearing it for myself.

 

[mattsrs]

My only concern about these sony receivers is that total power usage listed on the back of 7000 is 540 watt which is way lower than 700 watt+ rating of Denon x4800. I am worried that all channels driven these Sonys will not perform well

 

[GXAlan]

My only concern about these sony receivers is that total power usage listed on the back of 7000 is 540 watt which is way lower than 700 watt+ rating of Denon x4800. I am worried that all channels driven these Sonys will not perform well

The STR-ZA5000ES only has a 500w rating on the back, but had very solid power. You can really only compare within product lines as opposed to different brands.

 

[RocShemp]

I was going to use the AZ7000ES in a 9.2.4 layout, since I am fond of front wide speakers. However, given the combo of 360 Spatial Sound Mapping and 360 Reality Audio, I wonder if I'm better off with a 7.2.6 layout. Any opinions?

 

[GXAlan]

I was going to use the AZ7000ES in a 9.2.4 layout, since I am fond of front wide speakers. However, given the combo of 360 Spatial Sound Mapping and 360 Reality Audio, I wonder if I'm better off with a 7.2.6 layout. Any opinions?

No one knows, but it probably depends if your room is wider or deeper.

If you have a single row sofa, 9.2.4 makes the most sense. If you have two rows of stadium seating, 9.2.6 works.

The original Yamaha pre Atmos 11 channel processors were 11.2.0! They had front and rear presence in the height/wide position.