Reviews for Sony STR-DG820 A/V Receiver

Seventh Heaven

Strengths: Plentiful features; good sound quality; great value

Weakness: Won't fulfill everyone's A/V needs

This is a competitively priced 7.1 receiver that capably handles the latest audio formats. It pairs well with a Blu-ray player, HD cable box, and high-end gaming consoles, providing an array of audio options and crisp, clear audio. While it may lack the video-scaling features of its bigger brother (the 920), it still provides terrific sound quality and a host of connections and audio options.

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For the price, this is a great receiver

Strengths: Impressive feature set including 1080p support plus HD audio decoding and screw binding post speaker terminals, all for about $350.

Weakness: Doesn't upconvert analog signals to HDMI output (you have to move up to the 920 for that). Doesn't have a switched power outlet. Remote is clunky and absurdly large and uncomfortable.

I've got it paired with a Sony KDL-46Z4100 LCD display, a PS3 (as the Blue-Ray player), a DirecTV HD DVR, a Wii, and a set of Harmon/Kardon HTKS-11 speakers. The receiver is a great match for a PS3 and the Sony TV.

Sound seems good to me, but I'm admittedly not an audiophile.

The HDMI Sync feature is great when paired with the TV for everything but the Wii. One button push and both the receiver and TV inputs are set appropriately. Set up was fairly straight forward.

Lack of analog transcoding to HDMI output is very annoying for the Wii (which doesn't have digital outputs). If the Wii is connected to the receiver (say on Video 1), you have to connect to the TV using another set of component cables. No problem, right? Wrong. If you have the HDMI sync feature enabled, and why wouldn't you, as soon as you switch to Video 1, the TV switches to the HDMI input. Basically, you can either get video or sound. Solution was to not use the receiver with the Wii (connect the Wii directly to the TV and then use an optical audio cable back to the receiver). The 920 wouldn't have had this problem, but at $200+ more, it isn't worth it when I have a workable solution.

The lack of a switched power outlet is actually my biggest annoyance. This receiver (like all receivers) gets HOT. I have all the above components (including the searing PS3) in an enclosed tv stand. I'm using a set of computer case fans to circulate air in the back to keep everything cool. It would have been a lot nicer to have the fans connected to a switched outlet on the receiver so they only come on when the receiver is on. The reality, though, is that a switched power outlet seems to be a feature only seen on much, much more expensive receivers.

Given the price though, the features far outweigh the relatively limiteations and I'm very happy with my choice.

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Sony STR-DG820

TestSeek.com has collected 6 expert reviews for Sony STR-DG820 and the average expert rating is 87 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use TestSeek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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Sony STR-DG820

The Sony STR-DG820 is one of five value-priced a/v receivers to be released in 2008. The DG820 has many of the same features and specs as the step-up model Sony STR-DG920 ($600), but notably lacks analog transcoding the HDMI output. At $400, the STR-DG820 has quite a few features and impressive specifications including decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio. Features 7.1 channels, 110...

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