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

RocShemp said:
Yeah, I was shown that over at AVS Forum. I'm about ready to pull the trigger (even without qualifying for free shipping). I just never heard of Adorama before.
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Adorama is one of the big 2 camera dealers in the US. Authorized dealers, great customer service.

Adorama and B&H are two brick and mortar stores that have survived the onslaught of Amazon, and have a good online presence.
 
Hello, I just bought the AZ5000ES and i am trying to understand the 360SSM calibration better. This may be a dumb question, but, do side wall absorption treatments affect how the 360SSM calibration works as it attempts to create "virtual speakers" along the side walls? I guess the same question would apply for a ceiling cloud - absorptive treatment.
Does it require reflective sound from such locations and hence absorptive treatments need to be removed? Any feedback is much appreciated. Thanks.
 
Initial testing of my new AZ1000es model is pretty positive. Perhaps a bit more amplifier "muscle" than the 2000 vintage DA2100Es it's replacing in the living room. Set-up was a trial for me - but I imagine any 2023 current brand/model would be sorta complicated to set-up correctly. This model is perhaps more simple in layout(no flip-down face)and features but that suits my middle-aged attitude fine. Less is More. The binding posts for speaker connection are perhaps the weakest link on install - needs individual spade lugs(non-paired) as it's way too tight for pins.
-Further dialed-in the Dolby speaker levels the other nite on this ES and can confirm the levels are best set manually. I EQ'd the center & surrounds(.5 db)treble for my room. The Mic-based setup just didn't sound as good until re-setting/adjusting with a tape measure & my DB meter. The iPhone one works fine, an old & handy Radio Shack meter is also groovy. Anecdotally; It sounds terrific here. The 360 & enhancement features might be cool with the TSwift concert movie or something but feel unnecessary for standard viewing.
Cheers
 
Eric Natural said:
Initial testing of my new AZ1000es model is pretty positive. Perhaps a bit more amplifier "muscle" than the 2000 vintage DA2100Es it's replacing in the living room. Set-up was a trial for me - but I imagine any 2023 current brand/model would be sorta complicated to set-up correctly. This model is perhaps more simple in layout(no flip-down face)and features but that suits my middle-aged attitude fine. Less is More. The binding posts for speaker connection are perhaps the weakest link on install - needs individual spade lugs(non-paired) as it's way too tight for pins.
-Further dialed-in the Dolby speaker levels the other nite on this ES and can confirm the levels are best set manually. I EQ'd the center & surrounds(.5 db)treble for my room. The Mic-based setup just didn't sound as good until re-setting/adjusting with a tape measure & my DB meter. The iPhone one works fine, an old & handy Radio Shack meter is also groovy. Anecdotally; It sounds terrific here. The 360 & enhancement features might be cool with the TSwift concert movie or something but feel unnecessary for standard viewing.
Cheers
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Sounds like sony eq sucks. Reviewer related repeated eq results varied wildly. Can't understand how sony could screw that up in 2023.
 
It didn't "suck" - I was able to fine tune it with this or that adjustment to sound better to me
 
Eric Natural said:
It didn't "suck" - I was able to fine tune it with this or that adjustment to sound better to me
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If you need a dB meter and tape measure after eq then you have a problem. I used a Radio Shack db meter in the 80's. Not just picking on Sony. Audyssey drove me crazy. Anthem Room Correction is really good and easy. Dirac is too complicated for me.
 
STR-AZ7000ES User said:
All 8 ports have the same issue, it is not an HDMI issue it is an issue on how Sony handles dead audio. I have had this since day one (and maybe one of the few critical reviews to continually point it out). The issue is the Sony does not know how to handle 'dead space' so it modulates on its own unique sound for 5-10 seconds (like a mini vacuum cleaner). So of course I had to remove menu clicks gets rid of 99% of the issue - but it will still exist say during those 'Hulu' ad break pauses, or during sudden silence in a movie (think of movies like the Quiet Place). A lot of reviewers here seem to give Sony a free pass - and I appreciate you stating it like it is. It exists - it frankly should not be acceptable, and Sony should be able to address it since the receiver is computer based and it is the receiver itself "injecting" the modulation on sudden audio drop outs.
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If this is the case, a future firmware fix could easily address it? I am wondering if the guys who are not hearing it have a pre-existing high enough noise floor in their rooms, where it didn't matter. In my basement room with a very low noise floor, i can hear it. I can also hear a very slight buzz from a server case fan 25 ft away, so i figured i might be overanalyzing it.

I am not understanding what you mean by removing "menu clicks"?
 
multichannel_guy said:
If this is the case, a future firmware fix could easily address it? I am wondering if the guys who are not hearing it have a pre-existing high enough noise floor in their rooms, where it didn't matter. In my basement room with a very low noise floor, i can hear it. I can also hear a very slight buzz from a server case fan 25 ft away, so i figured i might be overanalyzing it.

I am not understanding what you mean by removing "menu clicks"?
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Not at all experiencing anything that you indicate. I do not believe it is Sony issue it most likely is a unit issue that your having. Love the new Sony line. Best AVR I ever owned to date. Note: Arcam user for over 18 years. Also a current Marantz user.
 
Hopefully I'm allowed to post this...but I have been following the Sony ES thread on AVS forum since these were released earlier this year. It's now 175 pages long. There are many, many people who have bought these that have experienced not only the hiss but a whole series of other troubling issues. It's most definitely a Sony problem...but not every unit is faulty. Sounds like you got lucky and ended up with one that is trouble free, I'm truly happy for you. But Sony has remained quiet about admitting all these problems, and have only offered 1 firmware update (maybe 2) that hasn't really fixed much. I know it's daunting to read so many pages but all the problems are listed there. I would buy one of these right now if I was convinced Sony had fixed most of this but...they haven't . So I'll wait...and keep reading.

 
multichannel_guy said:
If this is the case, a future firmware fix could easily address it? I am wondering if the guys who are not hearing it have a pre-existing high enough noise floor in their rooms, where it didn't matter. In my basement room with a very low noise floor, i can hear it. I can also hear a very slight buzz from a server case fan 25 ft away, so i figured i might be overanalyzing it.

I am not understanding what you mean by removing "menu clicks"?
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Not at all experiencing anything that you indicate. I do not believe it is Sony issue it most likely is a unit issue that your having. Love the new Sony line. Best AVR I ever owned to date. Note: Arcam user for over 18 years. Also a current Marantz user.
Doctors11 said:
Hopefully I'm allowed to post this...but I have been following the Sony ES thread on AVS forum since these were released earlier this year. It's now 175 pages long. There are many, many people who have bought these that have experienced not only the hiss but a whole series of other troubling issues. It's most definitely a Sony problem...but not every unit is faulty. Sounds like you got lucky and ended up with one that is trouble free, I'm truly happy for you. But Sony has remained quiet about admitting all these problems, and have only offered 1 firmware update (maybe 2) that hasn't really fixed much. I know it's daunting to read so many pages but all the problems are listed there. I would buy one of these right now if I was convinced Sony had fixed most of this but...they haven't . So I'll wait...and keep reading.

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Probably early release issues. Arcam was notorious to have failure AVR due to lack of testing and better QA of their products. Sony maybe as well with the new ES line. Mine is only a 50 days old and so far so good. I will check out the AVS Forum thread you provided.
 
Hattrick said:
Not at all experiencing anything that you indicate. I do not believe it is Sony issue it most likely is a unit issue that your having. Love the new Sony line. Best AVR I ever owned to date. Note: Arcam user for over 18 years. Also a current Marantz user.
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Ok well, now, i am starting to get the feeling that a certain online distributor may have sold me a defective unit as new (that was already returned by someone). It had some symptoms of a pre-opened unit. I could be wrong about how a factory packaged unit looks like. But, now, i am starting to get real suspicious about what type of replacement unit i will get from this vendor, if i asked for a replacement (go through the hazzle again).

Except for this issue, it does sound freaking amazing. If Sony did a firmware fix, it would be a whole lot easier than hauling this back and forth, ugh.
 
Doctors11 said:
Hopefully I'm allowed to post this...but I have been following the Sony ES thread on AVS forum since these were released earlier this year. It's now 175 pages long. There are many, many people who have bought these that have experienced not only the hiss but a whole series of other troubling issues...
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dude, this is common in forums like this. The only notes you read are negative b/c those who are having issues are writing them. Everyone else who has bought one is too busy rocking out their HTs to post on this thread. They have no issues to discuss.

or they fill the 175 page thread with this most recent & relevant note :
49ers look unbeatable. Purdy is amazing. I assume to get that NBA Atmos you need it via a particular streaming service? Not an NBA fan, just curious.
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Yeah, what a find in Purdy with the last pick in the draft!
As far as the NBA, I stream YouTubeTV through my Roku device. About a week ago I went to see if I left SSM360 on . . .
Peace
 
multichannel_guy said:
Ok well, now, i am starting to get the feeling that a certain online distributor may have sold me a defective unit as new (that was already returned by someone). It had some symptoms of a pre-opened unit. I could be wrong about how a factory packaged unit looks like. But, now, i am starting to get real suspicious about what type of replacement unit i will get from this vendor, if i asked for a replacement (go through the hazzle again).

Except for this issue, it does sound freaking amazing. If Sony did a firmware fix, it would be a whole lot easier than hauling this back and forth, ugh.
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Agreed. Rocking the new Sony, I believe there was an update loaded a week or so ago. Does anyone know if this was true. I would have to read the release notes on what was uploaded. The reason I say that is I noticed that my system went quiet for a bit, but I didn't look at the screen I just walked away. When I came back everything was back to normal.
 
Hattrick said:
Agreed. Rocking the new Sony, I believe there was an update loaded a week or so ago. Does anyone know if this was true. I would have to read the release notes on what was uploaded. The reason I say that is I noticed that my system went quiet for a bit, but I didn't look at the screen I just walked away. When I came back everything was back to normal.
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I believe this is the latest posted back in Nov.
 

Audioholics has some measurements but this is with the QuantAsylum not the APx585. Not particularly premium, but it shows the strength of the 360SS’s contribution to sound over plain THD+N.
 
GXAlan said:

Audioholics has some measurements but this is with the QuantAsylum not the APx585. Not particularly premium, but it shows the strength of the 360SS’s contribution to sound over plain THD+N.
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I watched the review and it was overall a very good review.
 
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