I'll be honest: as a brand, Sony has never been my first choice when it comes to home theater receivers. There's just something about Sony receivers that has never sat right with me. They've possibly become many design with no element or just cheaply-made me-too products. I'm not saying all Sony products are garbage - far from it, they make some of the best displays out there, not to mention damn fine Blu-ray players, CD players, home-theaters-in-a-box and beyond. Still, when that came to receivers, it did not appear to be they were serious contenders until now. Sony has recently revamped their entire lineup and, with the introduction of the STR DN1000 reviewed here, it feels like they're finally beginning to really hit their stride.

For the first time, a Sony receiver seems way sleeker, extra sophisticated and decidedly higher-end than its price tag would make you believe. Okay, it's gorgeous, seemingly void of any hard controls or even a clunky display. Its smooth piano black finish is practically seamless corner to corner, meaning the display simple appears on the STR-DN1000's face and the majority of the receiver's manual controls are neatly tucked behind a trap door which shares the same piano finish.

Above the STR DN1000's good looks rests a feature trove of capabilities, start with its four HDMI audio/video inputs, that can program full 1080p/24 video and switch together, in addition to analog-to-HDMI video remodeling up to 1080i. The STR-DN1000's HDMI inputs also support the latest uncompressed surround sound audio codecs, such as Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio, as well as all other legacy surround sound formats, which the Sony STR DN1000 can playback and decode.

Being able to decode a film's soundtrack is one thing. Getting the speakers to play it back as the filmmakers intended is another. For that, the STR DN1000 calls upon its internal amplifier, which churns out a solid 100 watts per channel across all seven of its channels. There are no pre-amp results over the STR DN1000, so including a 2nd amplifier in the future is a no-go, and you can arrange the STR DN1000's 7 programs in several ways. You can even operate the STR DN1000 for the focal point in a Sony S-AIR system, that is a reasonable way to add wireless distributed audio to your home. The STR DN1000's tone might be designed to be effective and sound its very best in any environment, everything from its Digital Movies Auto Calibration program.

For those of you with iPods or other portable devices, the STR DN1000 has got you covered. You can use Sony's own iPod dock (sold separately) for seamless integration between the mighty portable and your home entertainment system or the front-mounted Aux inputs. Either way, the STR DN1000's Portable Audio Enhancer will ensure your MP3s sound their very best. Not into the whole Apple music scene? The STR DN1000 can be fed music from any PC or wireless network via Sony's PC Adapter.


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