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

[rc2776]

raj2776​

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Joined Feb 12, 2007
41 Posts
#818 · a moment ago
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Hello AudioScienceReview members and fellow enthusiasts, I finally bit the bullet and got the STR-AZ5000ES about two weeks ago after almost a decade long relationship with top tier (2nd or 3rd from the top models ... most recent was Denon AVR-X6700H). I was totally prepared to be vowed by this 40lb beast. However, after two weeks I am a bit underwhelmed. I have tried almost every source available from devices such as Apple TV 4K, Nvidea Shield Pro, Panasonic 4k UHD BluRay Player and apps such as Disney / Hulu Plus, Spotify Premium, Amazon Music Unlimited, etc. With my speaker setup (Aperion Verus Grand LCR and Surround with 6 in ceiling 8" Speakers from Polk, 2X Seaton Submersive HP and miniDSP 2X4) and room configuration, the sound quality / clarity sounds similar to my Denon but bass response even with Subwoofer Level Setting at 10 and Seaton Submersives at 60-70% seems to be lacking in a big way.

My speakers are more or less in the right place, except for the fact the the Rear Heights are directly above the MLP, rather than behind the MLP. Hence the SSM enabled or disabled makes very little difference. I have tried a few 360 Reality Audio songs from Amazon Music and did not find the experience to be anything to write home about. If I set the front towers as Large, the Subwoofers go completely silent. And if I set them to small, the subwoofers start getting a signal but I feel they can do a lot more.
Please advise what am I doing wrong. What do I need to do to get to hear the true potential of this "revolutionary" receiver.
A sincere call out to prior Denon owners and their insights on why they feel this new Sony ES series is better for them.

 

[Eric Natural]

Had the az5000es delivered today . . .
Now I just need to get this thing calibrated and yikes! The damn calibration mike was missing.....

If you'd like, I can send you my mic to calibrate - with your word to send it back as I'm already dialed in . . ,

 

[Eric Natural]

Hello AudioScienceReview members and fellow enthusiasts, I finally bit the bullet and got the STR-AZ5000ES about two weeks ago after almost a decade long relationship with top tier . . . With my speaker setup (Aperion Verus Grand LCR and Surround with 6 in ceiling 8" Speakers from Polk, 2X Seaton Submersive HP and miniDSP 2X4)

Possible to take the miniDSP device out of the chain & re-calibrate ? You're applying dsp on top of dsp - maybe the issue

 

[Agapetos]

If you'd like, I can send you my mic to calibrate - with your word to send it back as I'm already dialed in . . ,

That is very kind of you! However, I already sent it back, ended up with a good deal on an arcam so I'm all set. Really appreciate your kind offer!

 

[rc2776]

Possible to take the miniDSP device out of the chain & re-calibrate ? You're applying dsp on top of dsp - maybe the issue

It will be a bit challenging but I can make it happen. I will certainly give it a try in the upcoming weekend.
Weren’t many saying the Sony doesn’t do any subwoofer calibration?

 

[SilverRubicon]

It will be a bit challenging but I can make it happen. I will certainly give it a try in the upcoming weekend.
Weren’t many saying the Sony doesn’t do any subwoofer calibration?

It does not do any low frequency calibration. You'll need to keep the miniDSP in the chain. You may wish to re-calibrate the miniDSP when changing receivers but it should remain.

 

[rc2776]

It does not do any low frequency calibration. You'll need to keep the miniDSP in the chain. You may wish to re-calibrate the miniDSP when changing receivers but it should remain.

Thank you for clarifying. My issue is that my subs are capable of producing gut crushing bass. However, with the AZ5000ES bass level at 10, and the subs turned up 70%, I am getting barely adequate bass. As if, something is sucking out the bass from the system.

 

[SilverRubicon]

I am getting barely adequate bass. As if, something is sucking out the bass from the system.

Been there, done that. Others have reported not having that problem but I did.

 

[alkaizer]

Hi Alkaizer. It has been a while since my initial post and I have spend many hours dialing things in.

Thanks to you I figured out that the only time my bass is getting cut is when I turn SSM on!

So for now I just don't use this feature. This kind of sucks as that was one of the features that most interested me when I went with the Sony.

That being said the 360RA stream coming through my newwork from Tidal on my phone now sounds amazing. In my opinion it even sounds better than a similar Dolby Atmos mixes that are coming from Apple Music on my Apple TV via HDMI. The key here is to use the 360RA option and not the 360 Bluetooth option. I used the Bluetooth for a while before I figured this out and thought 360 was a step behind Atmos. Also be aware that Airplay does not support 360 .

for now i always turn SSM off, the sound for me is better this way. would suggest to do:

1-raise bass to max in EQ to all speakers.
2-do calibration in Present 1 and 2 separately, see if you notice any difference.
3-set speakers to small.

even with SSM off, this AV dynamics can beat other AVs

 

[alkaizer]

Do you still have the issues with the distortion or hissing?
If not, what was the solution?

just dont use SSM. it says if you dont have perfect speaker setup then you should use it. As i have perfect speaker placement, so, no need for SSM.

again, run calibration in Present 1 and 2. you will enjoy the sound. tell me if you still hear notice hiss when SSM is off.

its an excellent AV. looking forward to the next release to upgrade and have option for pre-amp. this should be the end game.

plus the AV runs cold, not many AVs have this advantage.

 

[Eric Natural]

Thank you for clarifying. My issue is that my subs are capable of producing gut crushing bass. However, with the AZ5000ES bass level at 10, and the subs turned up 70%, I am getting barely adequate bass. As if, something is sucking out the bass from the system.

classic description of out-of-phase bass drivers
best of luck

 

[Mustang]

Hello, I asked this on AVS but figured I'd try here too in case anyone has thoughts. Anyone on here had the previous generation and this generation of the ES? I have the STR-ZA3100ES and use a Monolith 7x as my AMP with a MiniDSP HD for my subs. The Sony sounds very good and it has Atmos and 4k HDR which works well with my LG 83 inch OLED.

The newer Sony's seem to use the same or similar case/design and I'm trying to figure what's incremental or are the guts largely the same.

I don't need 8k, WIFI (stream with other devices, or any more channels. My 5.2.4 setup works well on the 3100ES.

Only incremental feature I can think of is the 360SSM which is what I'm very curious about however, it's where the HISS seems to come from so if I can't use it then what good is the newer device? Answer is probably nothing but I'm still curious since I like the 3100ES so much.

Not sure if anyone else on here has had both generations.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

I feel like the literal only reason to own a Sony ES receiver these days is their near state of the art room correction. The amps, DACs, video switching, surround processing, etc is all off the shelf. Reliable as hell to be sure, but not standout in any way.

If I was considering an ES AVR I’d only be doing it for 360SSM, so, that’s my take.

 

[GXAlan]

I feel like the literal only reason to own a Sony ES receiver these days is their near state of the art room correction. The amps, DACs, video switching, surround processing, etc is all off the shelf. Reliable as hell to be sure, but not standout in any way.

If I was considering an ES AVR I’d only be doing it for 360SSM, so, that’s my take.

Imagine you are buying an AVR for your elderly parents/in-laws or less technical family that lives far away. They have good enough ears to not want a sound bar, and already have pre-existing speakers that are respectable. What AVR would you buy that just works and performs as reliably as a Sonos soundbar? That’s the Sony.

A lot of home integrators like it, not because the sound is amazing but because you can set it at forget it. I would say it’s reliability is a step up from Marantz, Denon, and Yamaha having owned all of them. I’m perfectly fine running the HTP-1 or tweaking my Trinnov, but my parents are running the Sony I set up for them which is still going strong.

I had the ZA5000ES and moved to a Yamaha Cx-A5100 then a HTP-1 and then a Trinnov. The previous gen Sony did such a great job that I would still stay that the extra $$$$$ is still only a 25% upgrade. I can imagine the AZ5000 and AZ7000 really being spectacular *as long as* your setup isn’t affected by the hiss. Only way to know is to buy it from a place that allows returns/in home trials.

 

[Dougey_Jones]

My post wasn’t a dig @ Sony, I’m a huge ES fanboy. And agree, they’re easy to use and reliable as all get out. My house is full to the brim with HiFi gadgets and my wife would never let me replace the Sony AVR in the living room because it just works, it literally never fails.

 

[Mr. Widget]

Not sure if anyone else on here has had both generations.

We sell them. I see no need to update.

In the realm of AVRs, my only gripe with the Sony AVRs is that you have no access to the DSP. If you want to make FR adjustments you are stuck with very basic treble and bass controls. It is really too bad because they have a proper DSP in them that is used for automated room corrected etc., but they don't allow the end user or even a CI installer access.

 

[Doctors11]

We sell them. I see no need to update.

In the realm of AVRs, my only gripe with the Sony AVRs is that you have no access to the DSP. If you want to make FR adjustments you are stuck with very basic treble and bass controls. It is really too bad because they have a proper DSP in them that is used for automated room corrected etc., but they don't allow the end user or even a CI installer access.

Is it not possible to make those adjustments from the web interface? Along with raising and lowering the volume of individual speakers?

 

[Mustang]

We sell them. I see no need to update.

In the realm of AVRs, my only gripe with the Sony AVRs is that you have no access to the DSP. If you want to make FR adjustments you are stuck with very basic treble and bass controls. It is really too bad because they have a proper DSP in them that is used for automated room corrected etc., but they don't allow the end user or even a CI installer access.

Imagine you are buying an AVR for your elderly parents/in-laws or less technical family that lives far away. They have good enough ears to not want a sound bar, and already have pre-existing speakers that are respectable. What AVR would you buy that just works and performs as reliably as a Sonos soundbar? That’s the Sony.

A lot of home integrators like it, not because the sound is amazing but because you can set it at forget it. I would say it’s reliability is a step up from Marantz, Denon, and Yamaha having owned all of them. I’m perfectly fine running the HTP-1 or tweaking my Trinnov, but my parents are running the Sony I set up for them which is still going strong.

I had the ZA5000ES and moved to a Yamaha Cx-A5100 then a HTP-1 and then a Trinnov. The previous gen Sony did such a great job that I would still stay that the extra $$$$$ is still only a 25% upgrade. I can imagine the AZ5000 and AZ7000 really being spectacular *as long as* your setup isn’t affected by the hiss. Only way to know is to buy it from a place that allows returns/in home trials.

Yes that is the risk of the upgrade is that I spend the $, the sound is almost the same but I get the hiss. So I either better get one at such a good deal I can live with that risk or spend the $ at a place I can do easy returns. Best option is probably to continue to enjoy the 3100ES which is performing well (just chose it over a Denon 4300 I had) and keep the powder dry for what's next.

 

[GXAlan]

Yes that is the risk of the upgrade is that I spend the $, the sound is almost the same but I get the hiss. So I either better get one at such a good deal I can live with that risk or spend the $ at a place I can do easy returns. Best option is probably to continue to enjoy the 3100ES which is performing well (just chose it over a Denon 4300 I had) and keep the powder dry for what's next.

The best advice I can give you is to keep sitting on dry powder. I have gotten some spectacular deals by doing just that and jumping on unexpected deals. Invest in speakers and subs and even content.

 

[Mustang]

The best advice I can give you is to keep sitting on dry powder. I have gotten some spectacular deals by doing just that and jumping on unexpected deals. Invest in speakers and subs and even content.

Thanks, and I agree. It's how I just got my pair of Rythmik Subs I never thought I would be able to get at the price i did. Being patient isn't easy but can really pay off. Especially when the upside isn't completely clear.