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

[The Guy who cares]

Well I ran auto room correction with my Sony-az7000es and it worked flawlessly. There Is Zero Hissing and Zero Humming with 360SSM my second Generation Receiver. There is also no Bass Drop like some are saying with 360SSM, infact the Bass is strong. However I don't find 360SSM is night and day difference with it off.

 

[GXAlan]

LThere Is Zero Hissing and Zero Humming with 360SSM my second Generation Receiver.

Can you tell us roughly what the serial number is? (If we are greater than “x” we will be OK?)

 

[The Guy who cares]

Can you tell us roughly what the serial number is? (If we are greater than “x” we will be OK?)

I have no idea what the serial number is, it's not on the Box and I can't see the rear panel of the unit unless I disconnect everything. However the unit is a May, 2023 batch.

 

[The Guy who cares]

Last night I watched a movie "Moonfall" with 360SSM, had no issues, no hum, no hiss I however do find 360SSM sounds a lot like THX, big bold and powerful. However the High Frequencies were rolled off like THX. So for Music Videos I probably will not Use 360SSM as I like a crisper sound for them.

 

[EdJ]

Last night I watched a movie "Moonfall" with 360SSM, had no issues, no hum, no hiss I however do find 360SSM sounds a lot like THX, big bold and powerful. However the High Frequencies were rolled off like THX. So for Music Videos I probably will not Use 360SSM as I like a crisper sound for them.

That sounds great. On my current reciever I switch to 2.1 on music videos and music, not sure which are recorded with more content. Do you think the 360ssm will work well with my 3.1.2 system. I may add a couple more ceiling speakers, but placement of suround are tough. I was thinking about maybe doing a couple of wireless sony speakers in the back to make it a 5.1.2.

 

[The Guy who cares]

That sounds great. On my current reciever I switch to 2.1 on music videos and music, not sure which are recorded with more content. Do you think the 360ssm will work well with my 3.1.2 system. I may add a couple more ceiling speakers, but placement of suround are tough. I was thinking about maybe doing a couple of wireless sony speakers in the back to make it a 5.1.2.

Yeah 360SSM should work fine with 3.1.2. If money is an issue for not having rears. Yamaha NS-AW294 are small Padio Speakers with brackets, their like $100 a pair.

 

[EdJ]

Yeah 360SSM should work fine with 3.1.2. If money is an issue for not having rears. Yamaha NS-AW294 are small Padio Speakers with brackets, their like $100 a pair.

The lack of rears is because its a long room with bad placement for sides. My current receiver denon 920 doesn't have pre-outs. I don't really want to run cables but was intrigued with using sony wireless speakers SA-RS5, versus pluging in a wireless adapter to the AVR like I would if I bought the onkyo RZ50. If those speakers work, it would be great, with the battery I can just move them out on the patio and have better sound, but keep them inside for HT most of the time.

 

[The Guy who cares]

The lack of rears is because its a long room with bad placement for sides. My current receiver denon 920 doesn't have pre-outs. I don't really want to run cables but was intrigued with using sony wireless speakers SA-RS5, versus pluging in a wireless adapter to the AVR like I would if I bought the onkyo RZ50. If those speakers work, it would be great, with the battery I can just move them out on the patio and have better sound, but keep them inside for HT most of the time.

That's makes sense. The Yamaha Speakers I mentioned I have those models for my Atmos Speakers I couldn't cut holes in my ceilings, I live in an Apartment. But the 3.1.2 should be just fine. Mostly Surrounds are mostly Ambient sounds anyway. I think Sonystr-az3000es is perfect for you.

 

[STR-AZ7000ES User]

Well I ran auto room correction with my Sony-az7000es and it worked flawlessly. There Is Zero Hissing and Zero Humming with 360SSM my second Generation Receiver. There is also no Bass Drop like some are saying with 360SSM, infact the Bass is strong. However I don't find 360SSM is night and day difference with it off.

The bass drop is only an issue if you use the TV Center Mode (dual Centers with a TV), it has been documented by a couple users - I use a projector so no bass drop or TV center option for myself (and I am maxed out on all 13 amps 7.2.6)

 

[STR-AZ7000ES User]

I have no idea what the serial number is, it's not on the Box and I can't see the rear panel of the unit unless I disconnect everything. However the unit is a May, 2023 batch.

Serial number is on the back side of the unit - how do you know it is a May batch?

 

[STR-AZ7000ES User]

Had a dealer reach out to me another forum, I am going to send back my faulty unit to Sony for the buyback.

The forum dealer is going to price match my original unit ($2700), so I can essentially swap out units for a new production one. My original unit was bought March 20 (so probably a round 1 batch), I will compare serial numbers and see if the new unit still exhibits the same symptoms. The dealer does have a 90 day return policy as well which should allow adequate time to work through any glitches should the arise.

I still think this was a first run production issue based on Sony's hesitancy to admit fault and mysterious offer to buyback the unit but not even attempt to exchange it, I have also noticed on this forum and a couple others, more "hiss free" units being reported (and an increase in 'ding/dent' sales) - which seems to imply a lot of first runs being returned, while newer units are coming out better.

If it still exists there the plan will probably be going to a Denon A1H as I need a 13 channel Amp AVR and then do Dirac for room, speaker treatment - and that timeframe might work out with Dirac's DL ART room correction.

Fingers crossed that I get a unit from a newer run and the issue is mitigated

 

[Turbo6]

I thought my a90j had an issue with buzzing with center speaker mode using a-center. I sold it and got a z9k. Buzzing still there.

Sony support says it’s the receiver as the a90j and z9k don’t have that as a known issue. They said the buzzing sound is an issue on all of their receivers - some have it and some don’t.

I ordered a 7000 to test out as a replacement and I’ll send the 5000 back.

If anyone wants to find their serial, you can do it from HomeKit. My 5000 serial starts with 1305.

 

[The Guy who cares]

I thought my a90j had an issue with buzzing with center speaker mode using a-center. I sold it and got a z9k. Buzzing still there.

Sony support says it’s the receiver as the a90j and z9k don’t have that as a known issue. They said the buzzing sound is an issue on all of their receivers - some have it and some don’t.

I ordered a 7000 to test out as a replacement and I’ll send the 5000 back.

If anyone wants to find their serial, you can do it from HomeKit. My 5000 serial starts with 1305.

No buzzing in mine, actually it's as Dead Quiet as Yamaha's Aventage Receivers. However one should take extreme care with the Calibration Microphone as the wire connected to it is Razer Thin, any kind of tog probably will break it. After using it it should be placed in a box for safe keeping.

 

[Turbo6]

No buzzing in mine, actually it's as Dead Quiet as Yamaha's Aventage Receivers. However one should take extreme care with the Calibration Microphone as the wire connected to it is Razer Thin, any kind of tog probably will break it. After using it it should be placed in a box for safe keeping.

did you add to HomeKit? from HomeKit you can look at the receiver and see the serial. my 5000 starts in 1305.

the buzzing that I get from center speaker is a ground loop sound. if I unplug my hdmi earc, the sound gets louder. I tried plugging the power in to the same room as the tv and it made no difference. my receiver is located in a rack in a different room with all my network equipment and av stuff. I also get the drop in bass with 360 on. I'm going to order a 7000 to test that against this 5000.

how do you know your receiver is 2nd gen?

 

[STR-AZ7000ES User]

did you add to HomeKit? from HomeKit you can look at the receiver and see the serial. my 5000 starts in 1305.

the buzzing that I get from center speaker is a ground loop sound. if I unplug my hdmi earc, the sound gets louder. I tried plugging the power in to the same room as the tv and it made no difference. my receiver is located in a rack in a different room with all my network equipment and av stuff. I also get the drop in bass with 360 on. I'm going to order a 7000 to test that against this 5000.

how do you know your receiver is 2nd gen?

How do you add to HomeKit?

 

[Turbo6]

How do you add to HomeKit?

open HomeKit and click to add a new device, click through until you see it and then click it.

 

[Spocko]

I'm definitely looking at the 7000ES for its center channel uplift feature (if you have identical speakers above and below the TV, it will matrix them both to center the voice in the middle of the TV), which appears to be unique in the AVR space. Also, are the dual subwoofer outputs independently corrected or is it just a y-splitter for one LFE output?

 

[GXAlan]

I'm definitely looking at the 7000ES for its center channel uplift feature (if you have identical speakers above and below the TV, it will matrix them both to center the voice in the middle of the TV), which appears to be unique in the AVR space. Also, are the dual subwoofer outputs independently corrected or is it just a y-splitter for one LFE output?

Dual center is unique, but not too hard to do with a splitter. Yamaha did this with their separates line without requiring a splitter by having it integrated into the amp. (Single cable from processor).

The center channel uplift feature, available on the previous ZA series as well as the Yamaha setups uses the FRONT HEIGHT speakers to lift the Center Channel.

This is great for setups that need the center channel below the speaker, where phantom center isn't precise enough, and you have good high-quality front-heights.

 

[Spocko]

Dual center is unique, but not too hard to do with a splitter. Yamaha did this with their separates line without requiring a splitter by having it integrated into the amp. (Single cable from processor).

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The difficulty is adjusting the time alignment of the top and bottom speaker so that it's truly "centered" at your seating position. I can do this with all the various settings adjustments on the Alt16 but I'm hoping Sony allows for some adjustment too.

 

[GXAlan]

I had the

The difficulty is adjusting the time alignment of the top and bottom speaker so that it's truly "centered" at your seating position. I can do this with all the various settings adjustments on the Alt16 but I'm hoping Sony allows for some adjustment too.

Yes, I think that is critical for the front height center lift feature and my impression with the Sony and Yamaha is that they account for this.

This was automatic and not exposed to the end user though.