Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Sony STR-DG600 Receiver: Amp Recommendations?

I just purchased a Sony STR-DG600 to replace my aging Harman Kardon AVR-65, now I have all the new Dolby/DTS formats like Prologic II, Neo:6 etc...

The volume on the Sony is relatively low compared to the Harman Kardon receivers, so I was thinking about purchasing an external amp...is this ok to do, and which ones would you recommend to use for the Sony brand receiver?

Thank again guys...Your Help is Outstanding!

The Sony seems to have preouts (outputs) for the right and left surround speakers only (other than the sub preout), so the most you could use would be a 2 channel amp. I don't know that there would be much to gain from adding an amp for the surrounds, but maybe someone with more knowledge than I can address that issue.

When you say the volume is relatively low compared to the HK, can you explain in more detail? Are you saying you can't crank it up as much as the HK,or certain speakers are not producing the same results? Have you calibrated the new AVR?

Hi Guys!
Thanks for replying...

Yes, I have auto-calibrated the receiver...but the volume is relatively low compared to the HK, I can't crank it up as much as the HK,The speakers however, are correctly balanced and calibrated...

any advice on what to do next?

I've never been a big fan of Sony receivers, even the ES line which cost a lot more. I know this receiver is fairly affordable, being had for under $300 with some online etailers. HK makes a high-current design that is normally full bandwidth rated and their guts are going to be a lot beefier. So my guess is that since it is one of the entry level surround AVR's from sony, the internals/electronics/amp sections will not perform as well as more expensive models.

Yes, you could add an amp to drive your mains and let the Sony handle the other speakers. However, for what your going to pay for an amp, you might have been better just paying more and get an entry level Denon, HK, etc...

Maybe someone else will have better feedback.

Would you guys please be able to recommend a receiver that auto calibrates, in the same pricerange that I paid for the Sony STR-DG600?

Mitch,

I think most the people here don't think much of auto-calibration. I calibrated my HK AVR 630 manually, using my trusty rat shack spl meter. As it turned out, the factory settings were actually quite close to my calibrated settings.

Since my HK does NOT have Prologic II and NEO:6..etc.., and my Sony reciever DOES....can I connect an external receiver, such as my HK AVR-65 to boost the level of my Sony's reciever, and STILL use the many different surround formats that the Sony has?..if so how do I connect it?

Only if the H/K has amp ins, which I wouldn't expect.

I'm not sure if you will find anything in that price range that will auto-calibrate, Imo the middle to higher end Denon's do a good job of it, but they may be more than you want to spend.

Mitch, "crank it up" is still unclear. If you calibrated with the new receiver to the same(usually 75dB)level as with the old receiver, then by definition the volume after calibration is the same with the two receivers. If you mean that the setting of the volume control is higher on the Sony than it was on the HK for the same volume, that's not necessarily a cause for concern. Volume controls differ in their calibration as to how quickly they increase the volume and it isn't unusual for a more powerful unit to require a higher volume setting for a given volume than the setting on a less powerful unit. In short, what you've reported doesn't necessarily have any connection with the maximum power of the Sony(as Alan commented, make sure that the Sony is set for 8 ohms, so that the power isn't limited), which should be plenty for your use.

Hello everyone., And thanks for replying...
yes, the setting of the volume control is higher on the Sony than it was on the HK for the same volume.

Since the HK does not have Dolby ProLogicII or DTS:NEO6...is there anyway I can use the Sony STR-DG600's digital decoder to output the digital movie signals like PrologicII or NEO:6, and send it into my HK receiver? since my HK does not have those modes...

I guess I'm not understanding the problem. If the sony has the bells and whistles you want, it should be all you need. As John pointed out, all receivers are different for the volume levels/labels. My Denon starts at -80dB and goes to like +20dB or something. My previous JVC pro logic receiver had a different scale starting at 0. The whole point is that listening to something at 90dB's on one receiver is the same 90dB's on another receiver. How loud are you listening to the music anyway?

I think Ken answered your other question above about trying to use both AVR's.

Okay Mitch, as was said, a higher volume setting shouldn't be a cause for concern and doesn't indicate a lack of power. As Ken pointed out, you can't output from the Sony's pre-outs into the HK because the HK doesn't have direct inputs to its amp sections.

OK guys, I guess you are right...maybe I was thinking that becauase I "foolishly" picked such a low-end receiver, I wanted to get the digital decoder from the Sony, into the HK, so that I can listen to the HK, but get the Sonys decoder...I guess all I can do is start to get used to the Sony sound.

Depending on when/where you purchased the Sony, you might be able to return it and tell them you are not satisfied. That is your choice.

Hi guys, I'm not happy with the subwoofers performance (Velodyne CH-12) on my Sony receiver..the HK with the Velodyne subwoofer worked wonderfully loud....A few weeks ago, I had to return my Monster Subwoofer cables back to Monster, because they started to wear out....so in the meantime, I just hooked up a regular analog coax audio cable to the sub pre out of the Sony receiver to the l&r inputs of the subwoofer...can the Monster subwoofer really make the subwoofer louder and better than when you use a regular audio cable?
Hopefully in a few days, I will get my subwoofer cable back from Monster, and connect it to the Sony receiver, and then see how it handles the subwoofer...
In the meantime, what are some good brands for entry/middle level home theater receiverS?
No more than $300 please!

You want to use a coax cable not an audio cable(red/white), and you don't have to pay out the nose for Monster products.

The subwoofer has a built amp in it, so all the receiver is doing is sending the signal to the sub. There would be no difference between the receivers as long as you have the speaker small/large settings and the crossover settings correct.

As long as you stay with a reputible name like HK, Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Pioneer Elite, etc... just find one that has the options you want and is in your price range. They will all perform well.

Should I be looking for a high current or a low current recevier, and how may watts should I also be looking for?

I've got the following:
Polk 2S245-Center
Polk RT800- Left/Right Mains
Polk RTFX- L/R Surrounds
Velodyne CHT-12 Subwoofer

Thanks again!

All the decent brand receivers are built about the same. HK, Denon, and Onkyo state they are a High Current design. Not sure I know any that state they are Low Current. Obviously, the more expensive models will be built a little better, but if you stick with a good brand name, you should be good to go...

What local retail chains do you have in your town?

Circuit City is where I purchased the Sony SDR-D600 receiver. I paid 292.26 total, which also included the 3-year warranty.
Would anybody be able to look on Circuit City's website and please point out a "decent" receiver in the price range of no more than $300...including the warranty....I really do not want to add anymore money...I just want to return the unit, and pick one up a receiver that has a reputable name and in the same price range as the $300, and better performance than the Sony.. whatever you guys suggest me to exchange it for, I will do so....
Thanks Again All!

Well I see that they have some decent deals if you purchase "Online" only by clicking "Go to cart" to get the final price after deals/rebates. I doubt you would get the same price in the store, you could ask. Not sure if they carry the same brands in the store as online, they don't have Denon, so I guess that leaves HK, Onkyo, and Pioneer. I'm not familiar enough with the other brands they list online.

HK AVR140 Online you can get this for 289 after discounts and rebate. It seems to have all the bells and whistles your looking for, but it is a 6.1 receiver. In reality, there is nothing wrong with a 6.1. Also, it is 40 watts/channel which might be fine depending on your room size and that HK is very conservative in their ratings.

Onkyo SR504 and SR573 might work as well, I think they come in black and silver color. Again, not sure the prices online would be the same as in the store.

Pioneer VSX-816-K does not look to bad either.

Again, I would just go to the store and see what they have in your price range, make sure it has the surround decoding you want and go for it man.

My old HK-AVR65 would lock up automatically on a DolbyDigital 5.1 signal, so that I could not switch to any other modes......this would drive me nuts!!!...does the HK-140 do this also?

'LFE pre-out to l&r inputs of the sub'? I don't think it's the cable, I think it's the signal level. L&R inputs would be expecting signal strengths destined for speakers while pre-out signals are line-level and need to be amplified. Is there an RCA 'line-in' jack on your sub? That's what you should connect to, and a plain old regular audio cable with RCA plugs should be fine.

-Brian n8wrl

I guess I'm not sure when you say "lock up" if your saying the receiver had some technical issues. Or, possibly you just had it set to "Auto" sense the incoming signal. Most DVD's are in Dolby, so that would make sense if it was Automatically selecting Dolby.

Most receivers will let you pick different surround modes, I'm guessing you may have been just doing something wrong, or had the receiver setup in Auto mode or something, not sure.

OK, I just purchased the Onkyo TX-SR504 receiver...lets hope thats a better receiver than the Sony SDR-DG600

Looks like it has a few more bells and whistles compared to the Sony. Hope it works out for you man. Looks like it is over 5 lbs heavier, must be the gutsy internals.

Onkyo's 7.1-channel TX-SR504 home theater receiver is a powerful (75 watts x 7 at 8 ohms) component at a truly affordable price. And if you've thought about satellite radio, this receiver can connect you to XM's 160 digital channels -- including 100% commercial-free music -- in new 5.1-channel Neural Audio surround sound (select programming).

7.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver
XM Satellite Radio Ready (With 40 XM/FM/AM Presets)
Processing Decoding: DTS, DTS 96/24, DTS-ES, DTS Neo:6, Dolby Digital EX, Pro Logic IIx
Power Output: 75 Watts x 7 Channels (8 ohm, 20 Hz-20 kHz, FTC)
WRAT (Wide Range Amplifier Technology) / Frequency Response: 10 Hz - 100 kHz
Optimum Gain Volume Circuitry
H.C.P.S. (High Current Power Supply) Massive High Power Transformer
Connections: HTDV-Ready Component Video (3 Inputs/1 Output), S-Video (3 Inputs/ 2 Outputs)
Digital Audio Inputs: 3 Optical/1 Coaxial/4 Assignable
Pre-Programmed RI Compatible Remote Control
Compatible With RI Dock For iPod
192 kHz/24-Bit D/A Converters
Non-Scaling Configuration
A-Form Listening Mode Memory
32-Bit DSP Processing
Crossover Adjustment (40/50/60/80/100/120/150/200 Hz)
CinemaFILTER
A/V Sync Control Function
Dolby Digital Plus Ready Color-Coded 7.1 Multichannel Inputs
Color-Coded Banana Plug Speaker Posts (Except SP-B)
Subwoofer Pre-Out
Speaker A/B Drive
3-Level Display Dimmer
Late Night Mode
Sleep Timer (90 Minutes; 10-Min Steps)
Front Panel Video Input
Headphone Jack
22.9 Lbs.
17.13" x 5.94" x 14.84"

I certainly wouldn't think so. Perhaps you knocked a knob or a switch when you were disconnecting it?

Thanks Everyone for helping me out, I really appreciated all the time and patience that you gave me, In a couple days I will let you all know how I feel about the receiver's sound quality and performance.

A couple of days? Heck man hook that baby up right now.

WoW!....all I did so far, was I only had enough speaker wire to connect my left,center,and right front speakers, and doing a test-tone calibration..my speakers did not need calibration at all!....default for all the speakers at 75dB was exactly at 0dB!

My HK, and the Sony receivers, I would have to calibrate each speaker, in order for them to get properly balanced...

It's been a couple of weeks...is anybody interested in my adventures of home audio?

We would love to hear how it all worked out.

Believe it or not, but I had to go through 3 AV receivers before I found the perfect one...the first was the Sony STR-DG600...it had a good sound, and cool features, but I had to crank the amp all the way, very close to max, to get a decent sound from my 10x12 room...
From there I returned the Sony receiver for an Onkyo...I thought I was going to get better and man...I was wrong...after hooking up the wires and setting up the menus, I started examining the sound by playing a bunch of cds...the sound was way not too clear, and it was very nasally..its hard to explain, but the sound to me was not clear at all!....so then I returned it to Circuit City, "accidently" bumped into the manager, and explained to her the problem, she said 2 of her kids used Onkyo for 5 years, and they never had a problem with it, and they are very happy...I also told her that everytime I would spin the rotary volume I would hear a cracking sound, she didn't know if it was normal or not, so I found an Onkyo on display, and started twisting the volume knob...the display was working fine...she was very nice and told me to just look around and if I find anything let somebody know...so I looked around, I felt kinda sad that I have been going through amp after amp returning, and there really wasn't any more amps that were in my price range but one...Pioneer VSX-816-K/S...I hooked it up, and MAN was I amazed by the sound quality! My cd's never sounded more alive, and all the sounds were crystal clear and I heard things alot clearer than I ever did...
It had alot of the cool features like the Sony STR-DG600, and at a volume of -30dB I got a LOUD sound!
So I am definately happy with this one, and I am amazed that it was SO cheap and better sounding than the Sony and the Onkyo...but at last finally I found something that I am happy with!
Thank you all for helping with my decisions in purchasing a receiver...especially since the last receiver I had was an HK AVR-65 that only had Dolby Digital, DTS, and the original Pro Logic...
I'm just surprise that Pioneer sounded so damn clear!
One thing though...I'm not sure if the Pioneer receiver is high-current or low current, when I called Pioneer, the guy though since I was using 8ohms speakers, it was high-current..but he wasn't too sure...needless to say, I still love the sound, but it would be cool to find out if its really high or low current...still sound great by the way!

One thing is for sure, the Pioneer has enough current

Mitch, good to hear that you got things straightened out. Don't worry about the "high current" nonsense that you sometimes read about. The amount of current that an amplifier needs to deliver a given power output into a speaker is determined by Dr. Ohm, not a manufacturer's advertising hype. If enough power is delivered(as you're experiencing), enough current is also delivered(power equals volts times amps; Ohm's Law). Enjoy.