OK...Rotel and Denon were the clear winners of the last poll. Here's Poll #2.

Pros and Cons: Sony ES, good looks, and the DVD player is a 5 disc changer, and plays SACD's. BUT...it's Sony. I'm not a big fan of Sony - and it doesn't playback DVD-A. Onkyo, I've owned and enjoyed numerous Onkyo products, so I trust them. The player is universal. Only drawback would be that it's basic black, which isn't really a bad thing. Yamaha...never owned a Yamaha product before. The player is universal, so that's a good thing.

Consider this the other semi-final match. I've included the prices for the pairs this time. (These are not MSRP prices, they're the best prices I could find on the web.)

in the price range your looking you will probbably get about the same quality whatever way you go,it really depends on personal preference, i was never a big fan of sony until i checked out the es line,two different worlds,other than the remote im very happy with mine...ron

You know, Craig, Ron makes an excellent point about remotes.

I do not know *anything* about the remotes of the ensembles you are considering here. However, if any of them have a clear and compelling edge (or fatal flaw) in the functionality and usability of the remote, that could be a $200 factor (for the cost of a new universal remote).

In all likelihood (did I spell that right? Sure looks wrong.) we'll be getting my brother a nice fancy universal remote that can make this whole HT experience as simple as possible. So remotes aren't really an issue.

I Didn't find a five disc changer to be a great inmprovement over a single disc player. What about the Sony DVP-CX777ES 400 disc unit. here is an example.

The changer is sweet...I hadn't seen one that cheap. At that price, certainly I'd swap out the 555 for the 777.

Craig, pick one of each. Go with the Sony 777 megachanger and the Yamaha 1400.

Sony appears to be taking an early beating.
Poor Sony.
If this is a semi-final, shall i assume the finalists have yet to come in another poll?
How come no Harmon Kardon choices?
And darn it, what about Arcam?
Geez spiff, not even a hint for Parasound or Odyssey?
What were you thinking?

Sony does indeed seem to be taking a beating.

No HK, because I'm trying to keep the receiver and player from the same brand and HK doesn't really have a contender in the dvd dept. I did think of them though.

Arcam, Parasound, and Odyssey are WAY out of his price range. Unlike me, he won't even think of buying used. And to be honest I think separates would be a bit of a waste of money on his needs.

Seems to be a late flurry of Yamaha voters though, eh?

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Seems to be a late flurry of Yamaha voters though, eh?

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spiff, are you becoming Canuck on us?
Superb effort!

Well I am from Maine which wasn't all that far away.

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Well I am from Maine which wasn't all that far away.

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You heard the Brunswickers talking through the fence eh?

Sony ES stuff seems relatively nice, especially their high end players. Remember that sony is mainly the one doing all this SACD and cd stuff so they know what theyre doing. Good chance theres sony parts in the onkyo and yamaha's.

I figured the player would be decent. My concern was more with the receiver from Sony.

I voted Yamaha to break the tie.
I really don't know why since i own Onkyo myself. Coin flips.

Curious to know if the Yamaha voters think it's worth the extra $180 for the Yammy gear over the Onkyo stuff. Or didn't anyone notice the price difference? Just wondering.

the sony dvp-777es is a great unit-a friend of mine has it and it has a nice alluminum face on it seems to be built very well and has a great on screen display.....ron

I did not vote because I have read about way too many problems with these DVD players. I still say go with Denon.

I noticed the price difference Spiff...I voted for Onkyo. Solid products resonably priced in my mind. Sony receivers scare me. Mine broke three times on me. That was enough of that.

Poll #2
Sony ES
STR-DA3000ES - receiver
DVP-NC555ES - DVD/SACD player
$1215
Onkyo
TX-SR701 - receiver
DV-SP800 - universal player
$1250
Yamaha
RXV-1400 - receiver
S-2300 - universal player
$1430

I had an Onkyo 797 THX receiver, a Sony STRDB1070, but have no experience with Yamaha receivers. The Onkyo is real world much more powerful than the Sony, although both are rated at similar outputs. That having been said, I actually preferred the Sony. I like its DSP modes, its flexibility, especially in terms of cross over settings. At the end, I used the Sony with 3 Onkyo 2 channel amps which more than made up for its lack of power. Short version, IMO, the processor section of the Sony is superior to the Onkyo. The amp section of the Onkyo is superior.

Now, my Sony wasn't an ES series unit. I'd guess the Sony you're looking at has a substantially better output section than the 1070 did.

I think the Sony is more musical than the 797. I've heard the new Integra DTC 9.4 processor with an Axiom set up, driven by an enormous ATI multichannel amp, and that was very musical. If the new 701 has more in common with the DTC 9.4 than with the 797 then it would be a different story.

Anyway, extrapolating from apples to oranges is fun. Good luck.