A Great Stereo Receiver for the Right Application
Pros:
Relatively Inexpensive, Simplicity in a basic stereo 2 Channel Receiver with Two Pair Speaker Controls
Cons:
May not be powerful enough for some listener's volume levels.
The Bottom Line:
Simple clean design and layout on a good basic 2-channel stereo receiver platform that will provide clean quality sound to speakers wired in two different rooms
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I had been searching the net for an affordable yet attractive basic stereo receiver.
Having installed stereo in-wall speakers in both the master bedroom and master bath for music, it was important that this receiver have both switch-able A and B speaker outputs. This would allow one person listen to music in for instance the bathroom showering while the other is still asleep in the bedroom for the simplest multi-room audio system. The Sony STR-DE197 has turned out to be a great stereo receiver for this application.
The front face controls consists of the main power switch in the upper left corner with the on/off orange illuminated speaker A/B controls below. The power switch activates a single convenience outlet on the back of the receiver allowing another component to be switched on along with the receiver. Centered on the face of the receiver is the illuminated display which displays which output device has been selected, on Tuner of course displays the radio station frequency and when a FM station that broadcasts RDS or radio data system information is tuned into on the receiver’s presets, that information is displayed on the receivers a bank of buttons centered on the lower front face corresponds to your selected and saved preset stations.
Adjacent to the speaker controls are the tuner controls for user settings or automatic settings of the presets. Over on the right side is the volume control knob, which you might think was a motorized affair working with the remote, however it stays stationary when the volume is adjusted using the remote control. To the right of the knob are plus and minus buttons for balance, bass and treble adjustments. A bass boost buttons offers just that for enhancing the bass while listening to music at lower levels.
Above the volume and tone controls are the chrome buttons for switching from tuner/cd/tape and other video inputs.
The backside of the receiver consists of the input signal block which provides terminals for a CD player, two pair for stereo video in and outputs and a pair of video 2 audio inputs for use in dubbing. The output block consists of spring loaded terminals for two pairs of speakers configured A and B.
The AM antenna jack and a pair of spring loaded FM antenna terminals complete the simple layout.
The remote control provides all of the ability to control the receiver except for A/B speaker control, which I found to be rather odd. They probably thought the inadvertent activation of speakers might be disruptive. The remote offer quite a bit of flexibility for those who will use this remote to control other input devices. Sony has even made the remote control’s function buttons programmable for a true adaptation to the user’s preferences. The main control buttons on the remote have a slight glow in a darkened room which comes in handy when finding the controls at night. I have not yet tried to use the remote to interface with any other components, but I would imagine it would be relatively seamless.
Locally I found this receiver for sale at the Sony Store at an outlet mall as a refurbished piece for about $119.00, then I also found it new on Amazon.com for just a bit more for a factory fresh unit. Shop around and you too can have this stereo receiver for a fraction of what the nearest competitor has for their “multi-room “audio system.
