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I want to buy the Sony ES STR-AZ3000ES or the ES STR-AZ5000ES!!! But, where the ... is Auro 3D!? I do pay extra for it, just heave it as an optional upgrade. PLEASE!!!
@@gaborszabo2880 Atmos, DTS-X and Auro 3D announce some what around the corner of each other the only one that stick and I think the best is Atmos. The other 2 is just gimmicky BS.
@@denis4072 I have no control, or interest, nor the desire to change your subject opinion. Factually you are wrong. Auro3D is the first, date's 2005, and objectively, and aut of an audio engineering standpoint most refined format. Atmos 2012, DTSX 2015. Dolby is technically the least refined. But does have the money, infulenc, and the access to Hollywood behind it.
Why is no one talking about the high noise floor on this receiver?? I had to return mine after a week due to the constant hiss in any mode outside of stereo
Great video. I’ve been a lifelong Sony fan, getting into home cinema since its inception back in the late 1980s. Started with several Sony all-in-one systems then graduated to their STR-1080DB QS Receiver and eventually the VA 555ES. I loved them all and regret selling them. While all my AV friends were trying Yamaha, Denon and Onkyo amps, and stuck with Sony through the years as they marry form and function perfectly, and just keep going fault free - their amps are so dependable (my friends weren’t so fortunate to enjoy such a glitch free experience!). This new range has sparked my passion for AV again and hopefully one day soon I will have one of these units sitting proud on my AV rack!
After so long without new products, I thought that Sony left the market for good, glad that they didn't. It's great to see that you received the 8000F MKII, can't wait for the review!
I became sold on Sony quality starting in the 1960s. Their AVRs, including the ES models caught my favorable attention with the STR-DN1080 and STR-ZA3000ES. I still have them, they kick a**, and they continue to run strongly and flawlessly. I am very happy that Sony and Sony ES is back in a big way! I will definitely be in line to purchase one of their latest gems.
Love to see that Sony ES is back! Would be great if they came back with a 9000ES separates line and go back the the ES designs from the early 1990's like the 808 ES receiver.
I went the separates route a couple years back. But if i were in the market for a new receiver or even a processor, i would lean towards this new Sony line. Cheers to another fun review. This one was one of my favs.😊
I love Sony. Always have, always will. Their sound has always been music to my ears, from Walkmans to Smartphones to Receivers. If I could afford it, I would buy this A/V Receiver in a heartbeat, just to experience the 360 environment it can create. But for now I'm extremely happy with my STRDN1080. That is tied to Messina Pyramid (surround) / Precision Audio (center) / Polk Audio (woofer) 5.1 array. That I mostly listen to through Panasonic's RB-M500B Deep Bass headphones (teleworking wife...). Happy to see that despite what it looks like on the outside, the guts are mighty inside. Great review, to the both of you.
I am appreciating it more and more these days. Plus, if you have a speaker layout that isn't exactly perfect, Sony's spatial audio and room correction options may result in better sound compared to Audyssey and DIRAC.
We love our Sony headphones. Surprisingly, the older model (bit.ly/WH1000xm4) is the one we prefer most. They're far more comfortable and sound as good as the new ones.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Are the spatial audio and room correction part of the same suite and can you turn them off independently or are they one setting? Essentially, do you have to have spatial audio and room correction turned on together or can you just have spatial audio off but keep room correction on? I know it's a tough question but this spatial thing that Apple and Sony are introducing is new.
@@KristiWright I've got a ? rz50 or sony av3000es, or 5000 maretz 50 to costly, also my left hearing sucks, would u pick a certain one on that if . I've heard u talk about hearing issues? thanks
There we go, fairly priced 13 channel and 11 channel receivers finally. No fuss with external amps or other weirdness. I think the 5000 is going to be my new receiver.
Afternoon Kristi and Andrew, would love to see Sony becoming more active these days. I can still remember their output from the seventies and early eighties, they produced some great kit.
I grew up on Sony in the 80s and after I was an adult in the 90s, Sony products seem to get regular, not so impressive. It seemed like everybody I knew from the late 90s on was purchasing Yamaha receivers. I felt like Sony just kind of took a backseat and didn't at all prioritize receivers any longer. I have the 1080 and I like it for the price but I'd really love a Sony that kind of blows away the Yamaha and Denons.
Andrew, I am very supportive of your Channel having been a reader of your journalistic efforts through the years. I appreciate the authenticity you and your lady bring to Audio discussion. Your knowledge aside, your personable style convinces me we are sitting chatting. A fun, engaging change to belt-fed script in a cyclical intonation I mostly endure :P. I'm one stranger amongst (now) 316,000 strangers... yet I hope the affirmation of a fellow audiophile skeptic holds some value. Never know when a kind word will make crucial difference ... so I make the effort to offer one whenever I feel like it :)
Your effort is noted and very, very much appreciated. I sincerely hope that of the 300K strangers that watch us that they in some way feel the way you do. You made my day, Michael.
I personally purchased the AZ5000ES - I went from a Denon AVR-4500H. I can understand what Andrew Robinson is describing here about when he mentions the "accuracy of placement". When watching movies that I have seen before many times on the Denon, I find myself at times surprised and somewhat in awe of how the AZ5000ES puts a sound into my surrounds at such a clear and pin point placement. I'll be watching a scene that has great surround effects and it has me at times saying to my self - "son of a bitch, wow that was cool". With the Denon I had no functional problems ever and it was rock solid like a Toyota, but at times with the Denon I would always be raising or altering the surround and atmos channel levels to get them to come alive more. With the AZ500ES I have not touched them once after running the calibration. I am not a Denon or Sony fanboy, I am a home theater fan and want the best sound I can get for my situation and so far the Sony AZ500ES has SOUND WISE been better for movies than my previous Denon avr-x4500h.
This may be a game changer. I have NEVER considered Sony when looking for a receiver.... Until now. When I dropped my Yamaha and got the Marantz 7015 for my 11.3.4 system, it changed EVERYTHING spatially. Now, if u are saying that the Sony is miles ahead of the 8015 from a spatial audio perspective??!!!! SONY?!! Then my mind is blown. I was going to go to Anthem from here... But now you've made me sit down and think a bit on what's next. Still can't believe the word Sony and receiver are now in the conversation 🤣. THANK YOU!
@@kingtrance307 After a LONG discussion with my Home Theater Rep. I decided to Splurge and. Go with Anthem. And it has changed my Theater into a MONSTER in my opinion. It was everything they said it would be. 🙌
A few weeks ago I bought a used Sony STR-ZA2000ES, because I saw all Sony's current receivers were discontinued, and I thought they might be getting out of the receiver business. Good to know these will be available when I upgrade.
I bought the AZ5000 based on your review of this receiver. The 360 spatial mapping is great, especially in video games. I have a 7.1.4 system and it has been elevated. Also, good looking out on that laser measure thingy. Made life much easier.
Are you PS5 or Xbox Series X, I’ve heard there were auto switching issues with the Xbox, Also, how would you say it does with Bass? I know the Cinema50 bass was tuned down or just wasn’t there for me
As a long time owner of a Sony STR-D1011 I am certainly a fan of their quality. My big question is, for the same money as the 5000 I can get an RZ-50 along with an Outlaw 5000 amp to cover the LCR and 2 additional Atmos, what would you choose for a home theater? Is Sony’s room correction that much better then Dirac or are we talking just small percentages of differences? Thank you for your excellent reviews, you two are certainly top notch!
My first "Hi-Fi" product I ever got was a Sony ES 5-disc changer in the early-90s (CDP-C79ES). I got it as a b-day gift from my parents and it was way overkill when hooked up to some generic two channel hand-me down stereo. The carousel ended up failing about 10 years and 4 cross country moves later (right at the time of streaming/digital media). I hope this line is a success and pushes Sony into expanding their ES line and maybe competing with Yamaha/Technics in the Integrated with Vu meters market (as I still drool over the Sony TA-N77ES).
Sony’s 360 mapping tech, Dirac Live’s new Active Room Treatment and Trinnov’s newly announced Active Acoustics are all taking living room situations to new heights, being able to correct audio anomalies without acoustic treatment or less-than-mathematically-perfect speaker placement. I’m enjoying what’s to come, especially in my new living room, which is SO not ideal with its ceiling height, sliding door to one side and laminate flooring. 😅 Thanks for the review, Robinsons!
Except Sony doesn’t handle separate sub nor does anything in terms of their room correction - that’s massively lacking. Dirac with bass management hands down better. I would like them adopting Dirac for room correction and applying 360 sound mapping on top
I'm all for lively! I have cherished my Sony receivers. They sound gorgeous. When they're not up to the newest tech, they still sound marvelous for my hi-rez audio. ANY stereo setup I do will use my 5800ES or 5400ES rather than something else. But they were gone for a long time, and I had to go with Denon in my 4k setups. Lively, the Denons are not! And I couldn't care any less about how they look. It's how they SOUND that makes them my favorites.
I think that the last time Sony seriously had their amazing design team at work was with the str da 5800 es receiver. And sadly it was also the last receiver to have the imprinting of sound engineer Takashi Kanai responsible for all Sony audio product and for Sony's sound signature since the seventies. I am happy to see they are back hopefully they'll be back in Europe as well with the new receivers.
I own the Sony TAE-1000ESD digital signal processor preamp, plus all the other ES system components. At the time there was nothing like it, it changed things. Great sound and limitless settings you could perform. It was a blast to use whether you wanted your music to sound like you were in a small club or an outside concert etc.etc. you could duplicate whatever sound you wanted with CD's. Recently I resurrected the system that's been stored for years. Sonys been out of the higher end for some time, it's good to see them back. Sony has far reaching abilities and can do anything it wants to do and can do it well
I've had a Sony HT receiver for years and recently bought a Sony stereo receiver for the living room(with Triangle BRO2's) and they both sound absolutely great. No problems with them either.
I'm impressed with how quickly you got this review posted, given how 2021 and 2022 reviews were delayed by supply constraints. I will compare the Sony AN1000 to the Onkyo TX-NR7100 and Pioneer LX305 for a purchase this spring. Thanks! Hope you review the other new Sony ES receivers. First batch in 8 long years!
I like the modest chassis design changes. As one who cannot afford to forklift my entire system every few years, I appreciate the fact I can replace the AVR without my other components looking like they outdated or from another manufacturer. My older CD and cassette player still mesh.
Here in South Africa, Sony products beyond sound bars are difficult or impossible to come by. Yet they used to be one the the most popular entry level home theatre options on the market here. Hoping these receivers make a return here too
@@phillipbanes5484Nothing is built to last these days sadly... This guy can say what he wants but the build quality of Sony is terrible... I was in a Sony center just over a year ago and the plastics on their receivers were horrible
@@davidcottle7346 The 3800H is 1500 pounds and sports a worse DAC and has worse performance. The older model is not necessarily worse than the new model. It just has a lower model number...
I had the Tan 9000es separates, from the early 2000’s. Have a Marantz 7009 now, I think my next one will be D-class, but I have a soft spot for Sony. Glad to see they are back in the game.
Great review as usual Andrew. I really enjoy the channel and hearing Kristi’s take on things too. The spatial mapping feature sounds very intriguing, love to check it out for myself. The two main drawbacks I see are no Auro 3D (I know the comments about lack of content, bankruptcy etc) and no DTS X Pro. I currently have a 7.2.4 setup and will be adding a center height and VOG, both of which are used by Auro and DTS X Pro. Keep up the great work and congratulations on the beautiful home/review space. EDIT, it appears DTS X PRO is supported after all.
im about to upgrade to this one from my older 5000es 7.2.4. But this one does seem to have dts x pro, at least Sony is advertising it as such . Im moving up from 7.2.4 to 7.2.6 with this one and dts x pro is one of the main reasons
Exactly Andrew and Kristi. I have the old 1100 ES and was expecting the new models to have a great facelift so I was shocked here to see that nothing changed over the many years. Hardly anyone is talking about that which is a bit bizarre. So now I’ll go out and replace it with the new 5000 (due to preouts) and my wife wont know anything has changed. 🤨
Watched with interest - my HiFi journey began with Sony as a kid playing with my old man’s Sony reel-to-reel. That said, the most exciting thing about this detailed review is that Anthem has finally coughed up some gear for you folks to poke at with a sharp stick. Thank you both for your work!
Exciting review. Nice to add options to the AV market like these Sonys. I really do appreciate the discussion with Kristi. She def brings out more insights after your excellent concise reviews. Cheers
For me, the 5000 is really the more impressive choice because the 7000 is over 50% more expensive and the differences seem to be very few, if any, except in power in terms of specs. The predecessor benchmarked well so if the 5000 is at least as powerful then it should be able to match the Cinema 40 in power in 2 channel and beat it in 5 and 7 channel. The Cinema 50 will also fall. With the extra $1,000 you could get an external amp for the LCR but I doubt if you have 5 or 7 channels that you'd need to do that. I think in terms of build the internals of the new ES series looks amazing. I love the heatsink on the HDMI board. In terms of design, what was Sony thinking? But the unit will go into a BDI cabinet with a glass enclosure never to be seen - the Marantz porthole is equally unusable and requires binoculars. I'd like the unit to look nice but I'd rather save a grand. At the very least, they should have added a large display. One thing it brings is the ability to use your TV as an augmented center channel and I was curious to see how that worked with B&W speakers. Did it improve the sound or did it reduce the quality and sound like a mess? The Room correction is really the big question here and that essentially boils down to whether Dirac is better than Sony's Cinema Calibration 9 but in terms of spatial sound, it does seem like Sony has the edge.
I may be wrong, but I think the receivers can only use Sony brand TV's as an augmented center channel. There is a setting within my Sony A80k for this.
they do some questionable things. I have their top 2 flagship models from last ES series(3100es and 5000es) and the price gap was huge between them as well. And also the 3100es got an earc update as the 5000es didnt which still boggles my mind. And I couldnt get an understanding Sony agent to tell me what the reason was. Im going with the 7000es again this time for the dts x pro. im going to be moving up from 7.2.4 to 7.2.6 and i still have my NAD 268 i have to use for the unpowered channels from the 5000es. It seems more like they "underprice" their second place receiver in the ES line ups
Andrew, since you now own a 7000, I wonder if you could address the problems that so many people who own this series of receivers are experiencing-such as spontaneous Loud pops and shutdown-reboots while watching content, relay clickings in standby, hiss when 360SSM is engaged (there are numerous people on the AVS forum experiencing these issues). I was just monitoring the forum for information about setup, etc and thought this was the typical few people complaining, but then, aside from the constant small pops elicited from my speakers when pushing almost any device remote command (blu-ray or streaming device), I got a POP that almost blew out my speakers. The unit rebooted and since then, when the unit is in standby mode, there is a repetitive relay-clicking every 20 seconds. Tried resetting the unit through both the menu and hard reset with the power button, both to no avail. Since many people, myself included purchased these based on your review, would you please make a video to tell people if you have experienced any problems with your unit-other than the soft popping when using my remotes, I never had an issue for 5 months, and then POP. I love your reviews and would love to see a follow-up on the Sony ES receivers. Bye the way, as one would guess, Sony Support is saying these cases are few and there is nothing wrong with the units-I can tell you, this is incorrect since some people have had 2 and 3 units replaced and the problems are still there in the replacements. Thank you.
I bought an STRD590 a couple years ago for our bedroom. I really like it. Really good sounding. I use their sscs3 towers for rear surrounds in my living room, they are decent for 2 channel but they say the bookshelves are actually very good. My thoughts is when they came out with the Core and STRD series is they were taking their first steps getting back to producing legitimate decent audio equipment.
Great to see Sony back. I really can‘t understand the remote Sony gives you with the new Receiver. I started my whole Hi-Fi/ Homecinema experience with a Sony receiver myself. I had a Sony STR-DB 940 QS a few decades back in time and it was fantastic. It had a decent remote with a display scrolling though the Reihers menu etc.
A lot of brands treat the remote (and other design features) as an afterthought likely because the many people in the hobby have accepted this idea that as long as it sounds good, nothing else matters. We happen to disagree and feel it is possible to give the customer both.
I totally agree and there is nothing more important than a good remote. I myself don‘t want to scroll though menus etc. The remote is the tool to have full control and always better accessible than a mobile app.
I guess most of their budget went into R&D... which is good. Their 360 mapping is unique and differentiates them from the competition. Only wished they upgraded the remote
As an Anthen owner, albeit a older one, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming review since I'm in the market for an upgrade. Need that HDMI 2.1. Also looking at the Marantz Cinema series, but it still seems to lack Dirac... Keep the awesome content coming 👌
Hi guys! One suggestion Andrew: when you test receivers, one way that you can test the receiver's processing capability and isolate amplifier power is to run it on all external amplification. For something high end like this most people would eventually be on a path to upgrade anyway, so its quite relevant and interesting to your viewers. (In my case i had upgraded twice on my external amplifier already since having the 4700. Currently using external amp on 5 channel floor layer) In the case of Sony this might be especially interesting because what you are saying is that what makes the sony superior seem to come from its spacial audio processing using atmos sourced content, so that makes us abit hesitant when you say that this 7000 is better than the marantz cinema 50, which has much worse amplification and thus not directly comparable. And while we are on this tangent, the spefication of the 3800h suggests that it supports sony spacial audio codec, could you run a comparison then between the sony and denon/marantz products? Or does Sony only allow decoding of native spacial audio codec on competing products( ie the denon/marantz cannot output in sony spacial audio with native atmos content)? Thanks a bunch and keep up the good work!
I would be interested as well, but for other reasons. My Living room system will probably end up being a 5.1.2 system of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, but for music, I'll have in-room towers that need a decent amount of power (Ohm WT-3000) that take well more power than almost any receiver can provide (even only 2 channel). So finding out how the receivers can handle external receivers would be great.
I have the az5000 and an emotiva xpa 5 amplifier driving my five bigger speakers. The internal amp is taking care of the rest. They seem to work well together. There is nothing extra to do, it just works.
Wow, Sony takes a step up, while Marantz/Denon and Emotiva take a step back. I've been waiting for a receiver worthy enough to upgrade to for HDMI 2.1, it looks like Sony is taking my money.
If you asked me before, I would have recommended Yamaha, Marantz, Denon and Onkyo in this order, but seems that this new ES would be with the top dogs.
I'm totally stoked for the 5000es. I'm thinking of selling my Schiit Freya preamp, Gungnir dac, and Aegir amps to pay for it. My current receiver is a STR-DN1080 and I'm curious how much better the 5000es would be. What speaker setup(s) did you try with the 7000es? Did you do the full 13 channels or something different?
AOTD: I'm not in the market for a Surround Receiver right now (just got a Vincent PreAmp, and wow, pleasantly surprised). The thing I'm excited about is Sony diving back into making stuff that is top-dog: when Sony dives in, that competitive tide tends to lift all boats over time.
I don’t care what it looks like as long as it fits in my A/V cabinet that I paid $3800 dollars for to have a place to hide all this stuff. I want to be able to control it with a remote on my tv screen and never have to see it. Great review! Thanks
Just got my notification from Crutchfield, the 5000ES is finally available. It’s in limited stock so I put in my order today, it arrives Saturday! Can’t wait to install it. Thanks for the review.
@@gregorybond2859 Excellent. Simply amazing. I’m speechless. When playing music in my Yamaha I would always select PURE DIRECT for the best sound (IMO). With the STR-AZ5000ES I now use 360SSM for both music and movies. My Klipsch RP-8000F now sound improved, bass is faster, more solid, bigger punch, mids seem sweeter, perhaps a little bit warmer. Highs are well defined, elegant, so clean. I think Sony has a winner. Wish I could do a side by side compare of the 5000ES with the Marantz Cinema 50, and Marantz ST7015. Those were my possible choices. I ended choosing the Sony because of 360 sound. I think Sony has a winner.
Thanks for another great review! I’m tempted on the 5000ES for the spatial audio feature. Currently rocking the Integra 5.4 and unsure if the 5000ES be an upgrade for a current 7.2.2 soon to be 7.2.4 system.
Great review guys ! Happy to see Sony back in the mix with models on all budget levels. One thing tho, that Nautica bubble display window from Marantz sucked back then still does today over 10 years later. It's useless.
Wow, you guys are so right about the looks of the receiver. It's time to step it up. Look at how beautiful receivers were in the 70s. The world is waiting, and we're not getting much in the way of design.
This was a fantastic review. Rarely does a review want me to run out and grab a new product. But, the 360 is exactly what I've been looking for. Cheers to you guys and, again, thanks for a great review.
I am genuinely glad to see Sony back in the business here. Even design is ok. If anything, I'd like to see more brands taking receivers and amps more seriously, let alone the other components in audio/video world. Technics does a great job going back to its roots and doing a moderns versions of their vintage stuff. If only Sony and other Japanese brands would look back at their components from the late 70's, 80's and early 90's to draw some inspiration to design new equipment, I am sure those would be selling like hot cookies. Just imagine a nice, built like a tank receiver/amp that weights like one too! Some nice Urushi wood side panels on a Pioneer with a heavy use of copper for the chassis construction. Remember that Technics 1000 receiver with 330 Watts per channel? Was the most powerful amp of its days. Yamaha could pull it off by building something special like their Limited Centennial Edition. I keep on saying that do miss the good old days when R&D departments were ran by the engineers and enthusiasts rather than managers and accountants.
Good to see Sony getting back in the AVR game. My very first receiver was a Sony and it gave me many hours of enjoyment. On another note, I'll remain hopeful that the set of "embargo'd speakers" you speak of will be a full Paradigm Founder setup!
I guess we need to have a discussion about what the word embargoed means. LOL. The Founders have been out for a while and are definitely are not under embargo.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews lol, that's bad on me. I assumed you meant that you were forbidden from discussing them by the manufacturer until the official review was completed. Looks like the statement about assuming holds true once again! Haha
Embargoed means that a brand is preventing (most often via a NDA) of any discussion and/or showing of a particular product until that product has officially launched or until the embargo has been lifted.
Double thumbs up for this video 👍👍 Unfortunately these ES receivers can't be bought in Germany so I'm still stuck with a STR-DN1070. Prefer that sound more than the Marantz.
I think the 7000ES will be better. If ones going to spend stupid money on a product that your friends will give you an ear full, whtpy not go for the Flagship model Sony str-az7000es?
Great to see Sony back with a new range of receivers, they have been missing from the market for far too long. They are not cheap, but then again Sony gear never has been. When i can hear one that i can afford i might be tempted, the last Sony one i had was far too bright sounding for me. It will be many months before we see any of them in the UK, i hope they import the more affordable models.
Which one do you recommend, This vs Denon AVR-x8500 ha or Denon AVR-a10 h? From all the reviews, I have found that Sony lacks power when compared to Denon. Is this true?
Why is no one talking about the high noise floor on this receiver?? I had to return mine after a week due to the constant hiss in any mode outside of stereo
@@e36spd I also returned mine for the same issue. None of the big UA-cam reviewers are talking about it but I am reading about it all over the internet. It was extremely annoying and very apparent when 360 spacial sound mapping was enabled which was the entire reason why I wanted the Sony. I hope they figure that out because it did sound great.
I think You said that This Receiver has 2 Output’s for Center Channel Speaker’s? Where would The Second Center Channel Speaker go? I only have One below My HDTV? Please Explain? Thank You. Sincerely, Bruce Marmelstein.
I in the market for my first AV Receiver and currently I am leaning towards the Onkyo TX-NR7100, however, after hearing your Sony review I did consider it a possibility as well. However, it does not have a Phono input. Do you consider that having a built-in Phono input is something important, or simply having an external pre-amp is the way to go?
@@kenbbaker Which one did you go for? I was considering the classic Phono Box by Pro Ject. It's cheap and it should be more than enough! Just need to wait for the Sony STR-1000ES to come out in the EU now 📦
Heated review towards the end but I loved it because I just bought an A4A I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU TRY TO EXPLAIN THE SPECTRUM OF SOUND of these devices. Well done.
Glad to see that Sony is back! I have been thinking about an upgrade for a while and had some hesitations against Marantz Cinema 50 which is also a great product for sure, but the porthole display and 9 amplified channels weren't enough for the setup in my mind (5.1.4 + bi-amping front L+R i.e. 11 internally amp ch required), Cinema 40 and Sony's AZ7000ES are not budget friendly to me, but the model 5000ES seems like the best option now available in the market fulfilling my requirements. Thanks for the great review Andrew, as usual, awesome. Cheers! :)
i recently bought the Sony A90J less than a year ago and decided to build a 7.2 system but any decent Sony AV Receiver i could find capped out around 500 bucks and had very little power, so i went with the Marantz Cinema 60 8K and loving it!
There is one thing not much mentioned that I find extremely important. Speaker connection layout on the back of reciever. I recently purchased marantz 50 reciever that has all speakers connections in one line. Difference is huge, back of reciever looks so much tidy and neat. I am not saying that this is a deciding feature, but for me it was part of decision.
Always enjoy your reviews Andrew. I have been a fan of Sony for many years and have owned many of their of ES components and currently own the ZA5000. It is a beast of a receiver but I am tempted to go with the 7000. The quality of all of these ES line components has been amazing. Thanks for the review.
Sony ES stuff is the bee's knees, when it comes to beautiful design, low noise floor and build quality. I still use all my ES gear from the 80's all the way up to modern day, and it is all great to use and enjoy. I just hope they bring back some more ranges, like CD, Turntable etc. that would be nice...
Nice to see Sony back in the AVR game and I owned their 1080 AVR and it was a great one. But they need to refresh the design of their AVR's. I am rocking a Yamaha AVR based one of your reviews and I LOVE it. So I am all good. But great review Andrew as always.
Sony's house sound has always been pretty unique, from their receivers to portable audio, its very easy to listen to and not fatiguing, while still making all elements in the layers of the audio easily discernible. These are definitely out of my budget which is usually around $500 usd. My DN1080 was a wonderful purchase, however I cannot find them anymore to purchase.
Sony ES HT receivers have always leaned on the Cinema Studio Mixing heritage. It does not surprise me that it rivals DIRAC. Cheap remote may seem like an afterthought, however, try replacing a 10 year old high end receiver remote these days. The Sony remote should be easy to replace down the road.
I had been thinking about getting an Anthem receiver until now. Seeing that Sony has come out with this new line, I think I will wait a bit longer to look at these before deciding.
Sounds really nice and damn those bowers look so great in your room and I’m sure they are killer. Seeing that setup makes me really want those speakers haha. Wonder if this Sony would be an upgrade worth doing from Marantz 7012. Great review as always!
This review got me excited. I told myself mid 2022 that I am going to get a new AV Receiver in 2023 to update my Onkyo 717 which has provided great enjoyment. After your Onkyo RZ50 review, that defined all the features I yearned for and painfully I waited. Then I see your Sony review and my mind was sent into a turmoil. Spacial placement of sound which increases the sound stage is my top feature I seek. Will Sony become the leader against Dirac live? That is the question I have and I am sure now that is in everybody's mind as Sony steps up. A direct one-on-one comparison is needed between the Onkyo RZ50 and the Sony STR AZ-5000 ES BUT if that receiver is not coming your way soon at least consider a direct comparison against the Sony STR-AZ7000 you currently have. Please consider this pair up in the near future. Your findings will be significant this year in an increasingly important area of listening enjoyment. Love you and Kristi's reviews. Never miss them.
I think the new sony recivers look great. And it's good too see them back in the game if they ever really left it. But to late Sony I got the Onkyo Rz50 and that paired with my Outlaw 7000x is a beast!
@@shawnblackmur7887 the 5000 is a lot easier on the ol back. At about 63 lbs the 7000x is as soild as a rock. Whichever one you get it will be money well spent😁
@@mikeschmidt2339 I has a tendency to go to sleep when not in uses for long periods of time. But it may be the surge protector Out than that it is working well😁
Great review very enjoyable video Andrew... Couple of questions. Do you actually feed back to Sony on the centre channel bug you found? Was the musicality of the Sony as good as marantz in your opinion? Thanks again!
Thank you for watching. Yes, Sony has been made aware of the "bug" that I encountered as well as the issue with respect to the display brightness. As for which is best for music, I still really like Marantz's slightly more forgiving tone, but the Sony proved more resolute in terms of detail and placement of instruments which I really appreciated and gravitated more towards in the end.
It's nice to see Sony finally stepping up their game and adding something competitive to the market and being a massive upgrade from their previous offerings...ngl, I've never thought of Sony as "high end" in regards to stereo gear, but this new series of receivers is a surprising and welcome addition to the market...and might actually force their competitors in this price point to scratch their chins 🤔🤔...lol
Thanks for the review. I just hooked up my AZ7000 today. I know I'm still dialing things in but unfortunately... the experience so far has not blown me away like I thought it would. I was hoping that the 360 mapping would put it over the top, but it has a horrible hissing sound when the dialog is quiet. As soon as the 360 mapping is enabled the hissing is almost unbearable, when off the sound goes away completely . (Again, only while this feature is on) Im surprised no one else has complained about this since this is a major selling feature. I'm also running all speakers on external amps so I know that's not the problem. Im hoping when I call Sony they have a solution if not I think I will unfortunately have to return it. I was really hoping this would work out because I was trying to avoid paying the 7K for the Marantz AV10 lol.
What speakers are you using? What volume levels are you listening at? How large or small is your room? There is a rise in the noise floor when engaging 360 spatial audio (the amp appears to increase the overall gain) but in our tests it's not audible from our listening position or from a distance of more than about a foot from our speakers' tweeters, which is why I ask. Additionally, what sound profile are you in?
@robinsonbrand Thanks for the reply. Im using the Klipsch References speakers 7lll...in a 9.4.4 setup. My room is 25'deep x 19' wide 8' ceiling. Its a dedicated HT. The sound is usually between -8 & -3 (I like it loud lol). While the scenes are playing its not a problem but during the quiet times its pretty bad.
I’m excited for Sony for their fair pricing. I think they will sell out quick and be hard to buy later. I’ve upgraded from an ES3000 to the Marantz 7015. And I agree , sound is similar on my RP line speakers .
Now this is exciting and it sounds like the Sony spatial 360 room correction can give Dirac live a battle when it come to home theater receiver room correction. I believe Im feeling that you found this spatial result to be a lot more exciting when it come to home theater than even the correctness of Dirac Live ? Dont mean to put you on point here but I think you love the results of what the Sony brought to the home theater table. Thanks for making my new receiver choice this year a lot harder.
I think DIRAC does a great job in correcting or adjusting your speakers to your room and its many nodes, but spatially speaking, nothing I've encountered from any company has matched what Sony's 360-degree audio manages to do in our room.
I was all set to get an Arcam avr11,but the Sony 5000 has really intrigued me. While I listen to music mostly I always felt my Denon x3300 just did not provide enough immersion in my modest size room. I am also trapped into using up firing atoms speakers for aesthetic reasons and it also sounds like Sony will. help these speakers do a better job. My main concern is how will the Sony compare to the Arcam with stereo music. In either case I plan to use either receiver with my 7 channel Emotive speakers.
If they still allow biamping as in the last models… and all the usual Sony controls; then stereo will be quite good and very configurable - with flexible control of soundfields, sub in/out, eqs, bass. Throw in the ability to use preamp outs as you wish My life with many Sony receivers at all the usual price points has been excellent (stereo, atmos, and in between)
I’m thrilled to have another choice in the receiver market. I’m intrigued by their room calculation method and I am glad they have a bit of power to the amps. I’m hoping they keep this up for when it’s time for me to upgrade again.
Great review again Andrew and Kristi, absolutely pulled me in on this one and it was so enjoyable to watch! I am so freaking happy that Sony finally has a premium line of receivers again! They are so good at it when they make premium audio products and I definitely love it when they do. I completely agree and am slightly disappointed that they should have gone premium with the aesthetics of the chassis design as well, like you said it's a completely missed opportunity. But with that being said, Sony tends to do that with their products so they can spend more of the cost on R&D and the physical electronic of the internals, which in this case and many before, tends to work out well for them and for us in the long term.
I'm looking at a 9 channel AVR upgrade and was leaning heavily into the x3800h. Might have to consider the 3000ES depending on how the pricing and reviews pan out. I'm in Canada so we pay a hefty premium due to the currency rates 😪
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I want to buy the Sony ES STR-AZ3000ES or the ES STR-AZ5000ES!!! But, where the ... is Auro 3D!? I do pay extra for it, just heave it as an optional upgrade. PLEASE!!!
@@gaborszabo2880 Auro 3D went bankrupt.
@@gaborszabo2880 Atmos, DTS-X and Auro 3D announce some what around the corner of each other the only one that stick and I think the best is Atmos. The other 2 is just gimmicky BS.
@@KristiWright The parent company filed for bankruptcy in June 2022, a private equity firm acquired all assets.
@@denis4072 I have no control, or interest, nor the desire to change your subject opinion. Factually you are wrong. Auro3D is the first, date's 2005, and objectively, and aut of an audio engineering standpoint most refined format. Atmos 2012, DTSX 2015.
Dolby is technically the least refined. But does have the money, infulenc, and the access to Hollywood behind it.
I bought the 5000ES, brought my old KEF's back to life. Amazing receiver!!!!
Why is no one talking about the high noise floor on this receiver?? I had to return mine after a week due to the constant hiss in any mode outside of stereo
@@e36spd What makes you directly assert/assume others have the same problem versus a QC issue on just your unit?
Great video. I’ve been a lifelong Sony fan, getting into home cinema since its inception back in the late 1980s. Started with several Sony all-in-one systems then graduated to their STR-1080DB QS Receiver and eventually the VA 555ES. I loved them all and regret selling them. While all my AV friends were trying Yamaha, Denon and Onkyo amps, and stuck with Sony through the years as they marry form and function perfectly, and just keep going fault free - their amps are so dependable (my friends weren’t so fortunate to enjoy such a glitch free experience!). This new range has sparked my passion for AV again and hopefully one day soon I will have one of these units sitting proud on my AV rack!
After so long without new products, I thought that Sony left the market for good, glad that they didn't. It's great to see that you received the 8000F MKII, can't wait for the review!
I became sold on Sony quality starting in the 1960s. Their AVRs, including the ES models caught my favorable attention with the STR-DN1080 and STR-ZA3000ES. I still have them, they kick a**, and they continue to run strongly and flawlessly. I am very happy that Sony and Sony ES is back in a big way! I will definitely be in line to purchase one of their latest gems.
Love to see that Sony ES is back! Would be great if they came back with a 9000ES separates line and go back the the ES designs from the early 1990's like the 808 ES receiver.
As a side note their Mobile ES line is also back in full swing.
I have a STR-DA9000ES, I love it
I went the separates route a couple years back. But if i were in the market for a new receiver or even a processor, i would lean towards this new Sony line. Cheers to another fun review. This one was one of my favs.😊
Thank you so much Max! We always appreciate your contributions to the community. Have a great rest of your day!
I love Sony. Always have, always will. Their sound has always been music to my ears, from Walkmans to Smartphones to Receivers. If I could afford it, I would buy this A/V Receiver in a heartbeat, just to experience the 360 environment it can create. But for now I'm extremely happy with my STRDN1080. That is tied to Messina Pyramid (surround) / Precision Audio (center) / Polk Audio (woofer) 5.1 array. That I mostly listen to through Panasonic's RB-M500B Deep Bass headphones (teleworking wife...). Happy to see that despite what it looks like on the outside, the guts are mighty inside. Great review, to the both of you.
Sonys spatial audio is underrated. i’ve always felt the spatial audio on ps5 with sony headphones is really good. almost too good with scary games 👀
I am appreciating it more and more these days. Plus, if you have a speaker layout that isn't exactly perfect, Sony's spatial audio and room correction options may result in better sound compared to Audyssey and DIRAC.
We love our Sony headphones. Surprisingly, the older model (bit.ly/WH1000xm4) is the one we prefer most. They're far more comfortable and sound as good as the new ones.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Are the spatial audio and room correction part of the same suite and can you turn them off independently or are they one setting? Essentially, do you have to have spatial audio and room correction turned on together or can you just have spatial audio off but keep room correction on? I know it's a tough question but this spatial thing that Apple and Sony are introducing is new.
@@KristiWright I've got a ? rz50 or sony av3000es, or 5000 maretz 50 to costly, also my left hearing sucks, would u pick a certain one on that if . I've heard u talk about hearing issues? thanks
There we go, fairly priced 13 channel and 11 channel receivers finally.
No fuss with external amps or other weirdness. I think the 5000 is going to be my new receiver.
The 5000ES looks like the sweet spot for sure!
And it has HDMI 2.1!
@@KristiWright I thought no one needed that 😂
$3300 for a Sony AV receiver fair? Um okay
@@Bob-hq5lj 13 channels and great sound? Yes. Tell me what beats it for less.
Afternoon Kristi and Andrew, would love to see Sony becoming more active these days. I can still remember their output from the seventies and early eighties, they produced some great kit.
The 7000ES is a return to form for me. There's a lot to get excited about with the new ES line up!
I grew up on Sony in the 80s and after I was an adult in the 90s, Sony products seem to get regular, not so impressive. It seemed like everybody I knew from the late 90s on was purchasing Yamaha receivers. I felt like Sony just kind of took a backseat and didn't at all prioritize receivers any longer. I have the 1080 and I like it for the price but I'd really love a Sony that kind of blows away the Yamaha and Denons.
Andrew, I am very supportive of your Channel having been a reader of your journalistic efforts through the years. I appreciate the authenticity you and your lady bring to Audio discussion.
Your knowledge aside, your personable style convinces me we are sitting chatting. A fun, engaging change to belt-fed script in a cyclical intonation I mostly endure :P.
I'm one stranger amongst (now) 316,000 strangers... yet I hope the affirmation of a fellow audiophile skeptic holds some value. Never know when a kind word will make crucial difference ... so I make the effort to offer one whenever I feel like it :)
Your effort is noted and very, very much appreciated. I sincerely hope that of the 300K strangers that watch us that they in some way feel the way you do. You made my day, Michael.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews Thank you Andrew. Pleased to know I make a difference in the audience!
I personally purchased the AZ5000ES - I went from a Denon AVR-4500H. I can understand what Andrew Robinson is describing here about when he mentions the "accuracy of placement". When watching movies that I have seen before many times on the Denon, I find myself at times surprised and somewhat in awe of how the AZ5000ES puts a sound into my surrounds at such a clear and pin point placement. I'll be watching a scene that has great surround effects and it has me at times saying to my self - "son of a bitch, wow that was cool". With the Denon I had no functional problems ever and it was rock solid like a Toyota, but at times with the Denon I would always be raising or altering the surround and atmos channel levels to get them to come alive more. With the AZ500ES I have not touched them once after running the calibration. I am not a Denon or Sony fanboy, I am a home theater fan and want the best sound I can get for my situation and so far the Sony AZ500ES has SOUND WISE been better for movies than my previous Denon avr-x4500h.
This may be a game changer. I have NEVER considered Sony when looking for a receiver.... Until now. When I dropped my Yamaha and got the Marantz 7015 for my 11.3.4 system, it changed EVERYTHING spatially. Now, if u are saying that the Sony is miles ahead of the 8015 from a spatial audio perspective??!!!! SONY?!! Then my mind is blown. I was going to go to Anthem from here... But now you've made me sit down and think a bit on what's next. Still can't believe the word Sony and receiver are now in the conversation 🤣. THANK YOU!
So did you get the Sony ES?
@@kingtrance307 After a LONG discussion with my Home Theater Rep. I decided to Splurge and. Go with Anthem. And it has changed my Theater into a MONSTER in my opinion. It was everything they said it would be. 🙌
A few weeks ago I bought a used Sony STR-ZA2000ES, because I saw all Sony's current receivers were discontinued, and I thought they might be getting out of the receiver business. Good to know these will be available when I upgrade.
I bought the AZ5000 based on your review of this receiver. The 360 spatial mapping is great, especially in video games. I have a 7.1.4 system and it has been elevated. Also, good looking out on that laser measure thingy. Made life much easier.
So happy to hear that you are enjoying your AVR. Thank you for supporting the channel!
looking at az3000es are u still happy with av5000es?
@@mikeschmidt2339 yes, still happy with it. No issues.
Are you PS5 or Xbox Series X, I’ve heard there were auto switching issues with the Xbox,
Also, how would you say it does with Bass?
I know the Cinema50 bass was tuned down or just wasn’t there for me
@@GizmoDuck34 I have both. I haven’t had any issues that I can think of. Also, I have two SVS sb 2000 pros. Bass management has been fine.
As a long time owner of a Sony STR-D1011 I am certainly a fan of their quality. My big question is, for the same money as the 5000 I can get an RZ-50 along with an Outlaw 5000 amp to cover the LCR and 2 additional Atmos, what would you choose for a home theater? Is Sony’s room correction that much better then Dirac or are we talking just small percentages of differences? Thank you for your excellent reviews, you two are certainly top notch!
My first "Hi-Fi" product I ever got was a Sony ES 5-disc changer in the early-90s (CDP-C79ES). I got it as a b-day gift from my parents and it was way overkill when hooked up to some generic two channel hand-me down stereo. The carousel ended up failing about 10 years and 4 cross country moves later (right at the time of streaming/digital media). I hope this line is a success and pushes Sony into expanding their ES line and maybe competing with Yamaha/Technics in the Integrated with Vu meters market (as I still drool over the Sony TA-N77ES).
Sony’s 360 mapping tech, Dirac Live’s new Active Room Treatment and Trinnov’s newly announced Active Acoustics are all taking living room situations to new heights, being able to correct audio anomalies without acoustic treatment or less-than-mathematically-perfect speaker placement. I’m enjoying what’s to come, especially in my new living room, which is SO not ideal with its ceiling height, sliding door to one side and laminate flooring. 😅 Thanks for the review, Robinsons!
Ealan, get your hands on it and run it through the mills. The more opinions on this, the better.
@@sammy10001 couldn't agree more!!
Except Sony doesn’t handle separate sub nor does anything in terms of their room correction - that’s massively lacking. Dirac with bass management hands down better. I would like them adopting Dirac for room correction and applying 360 sound mapping on top
Hope the AZ5000 receivers will come soon to Europe, love their receivers and tv's after 5 years the wait is over. Finally new receivers! Great review!
I'm all for lively! I have cherished my Sony receivers. They sound gorgeous. When they're not up to the newest tech, they still sound marvelous for my hi-rez audio. ANY stereo setup I do will use my 5800ES or 5400ES rather than something else. But they were gone for a long time, and I had to go with Denon in my 4k setups. Lively, the Denons are not! And I couldn't care any less about how they look. It's how they SOUND that makes them my favorites.
I think that the last time Sony seriously had their amazing design team at work was with the str da 5800 es receiver. And sadly it was also the last receiver to have the imprinting of sound engineer Takashi Kanai responsible for all Sony audio product and for Sony's sound signature since the seventies. I am happy to see they are back hopefully they'll be back in Europe as well with the new receivers.
Yep, I would love to have the ES Series back in Europe 😍
That 5800ES is still a hell of a nice receiver if you don’t need Atmos.
I own the Sony TAE-1000ESD digital signal processor preamp, plus all the other ES system components. At the time there was nothing like it, it changed things. Great sound and limitless settings you could perform. It was a blast to use whether you wanted your music to sound like you were in a small club or an outside concert etc.etc. you could duplicate whatever sound you wanted with CD's.
Recently I resurrected the system that's been stored for years. Sonys been out of the higher end for some time, it's good to see them back. Sony has far reaching abilities and can do anything it wants to do and can do it well
I've had a Sony HT receiver for years and recently bought a Sony stereo receiver for the living room(with Triangle BRO2's) and they both sound absolutely great. No problems with them either.
Appreciate you sharing your personal experience!
The look of these receivers fits perfectly with my 30 years old Sony equipment. I love this, and Sony should never change it.
I'm impressed with how quickly you got this review posted, given how 2021 and 2022 reviews were delayed by supply constraints. I will compare the Sony AN1000 to the Onkyo TX-NR7100 and Pioneer LX305 for a purchase this spring. Thanks! Hope you review the other new Sony ES receivers. First batch in 8 long years!
AN1000 review is live ua-cam.com/video/jikjmJKmhEA/v-deo.html
I like the modest chassis design changes. As one who cannot afford to forklift my entire system every few years, I appreciate the fact I can replace the AVR without my other components looking like they outdated or from another manufacturer. My older CD and cassette player still mesh.
Here in South Africa, Sony products beyond sound bars are difficult or impossible to come by. Yet they used to be one the the most popular entry level home theatre options on the market here.
Hoping these receivers make a return here too
Yeah they are on limited stores...u never checked I guess
@Content-Sensei🔥💀 stores such as? I have checked and Hugh end Sony gear is not readily available even from high end stores
Same problem here in NZ.
@@phillipbanes5484Nothing is built to last these days sadly... This guy can say what he wants but the build quality of Sony is terrible... I was in a Sony center just over a year ago and the plastics on their receivers were horrible
Sony is back in the game in my opinion.
I think they're more than back. Thanks for tuning in!
Now I’ve got to sell my Denon 3700 probably .?
@@davidcottle7346 No, do not sell your 3700h. What did you pay for it?
@@techsamurai11 £1000
@@davidcottle7346 The 3800H is 1500 pounds and sports a worse DAC and has worse performance.
The older model is not necessarily worse than the new model. It just has a lower model number...
I had the Tan 9000es separates, from the early 2000’s. Have a Marantz 7009 now, I think my next one will be D-class, but I have a soft spot for Sony. Glad to see they are back in the game.
Great review as usual Andrew. I really enjoy the channel and hearing Kristi’s take on things too. The spatial mapping feature sounds very intriguing, love to check it out for myself. The two main drawbacks I see are no Auro 3D (I know the comments about lack of content, bankruptcy etc) and no DTS X Pro. I currently have a 7.2.4 setup and will be adding a center height and VOG, both of which are used by Auro and DTS X Pro. Keep up the great work and congratulations on the beautiful home/review space. EDIT, it appears DTS X PRO is supported after all.
im about to upgrade to this one from my older 5000es 7.2.4. But this one does seem to have dts x pro, at least Sony is advertising it as such . Im moving up from 7.2.4 to 7.2.6 with this one and dts x pro is one of the main reasons
Exactly Andrew and Kristi. I have the old 1100 ES and was expecting the new models to have a great facelift so I was shocked here to see that nothing changed over the many years. Hardly anyone is talking about that which is a bit bizarre. So now I’ll go out and replace it with the new 5000 (due to preouts) and my wife wont know anything has changed. 🤨
Watched with interest - my HiFi journey began with Sony as a kid playing with my old man’s Sony reel-to-reel. That said, the most exciting thing about this detailed review is that Anthem has finally coughed up some gear for you folks to poke at with a sharp stick. Thank you both for your work!
Exciting review. Nice to add options to the AV market like these Sonys. I really do appreciate the discussion with Kristi. She def brings out more insights after your excellent concise reviews. Cheers
Thank you, John!
What microphone do you use for your videos? Sound quality is (appropriately) immaculate.
For me, the 5000 is really the more impressive choice because the 7000 is over 50% more expensive and the differences seem to be very few, if any, except in power in terms of specs. The predecessor benchmarked well so if the 5000 is at least as powerful then it should be able to match the Cinema 40 in power in 2 channel and beat it in 5 and 7 channel. The Cinema 50 will also fall.
With the extra $1,000 you could get an external amp for the LCR but I doubt if you have 5 or 7 channels that you'd need to do that.
I think in terms of build the internals of the new ES series looks amazing. I love the heatsink on the HDMI board.
In terms of design, what was Sony thinking? But the unit will go into a BDI cabinet with a glass enclosure never to be seen - the Marantz porthole is equally unusable and requires binoculars. I'd like the unit to look nice but I'd rather save a grand. At the very least, they should have added a large display.
One thing it brings is the ability to use your TV as an augmented center channel and I was curious to see how that worked with B&W speakers. Did it improve the sound or did it reduce the quality and sound like a mess?
The Room correction is really the big question here and that essentially boils down to whether Dirac is better than Sony's Cinema Calibration 9 but in terms of spatial sound, it does seem like Sony has the edge.
I may be wrong, but I think the receivers can only use Sony brand TV's as an augmented center channel. There is a setting within my Sony A80k for this.
they do some questionable things. I have their top 2 flagship models from last ES series(3100es and 5000es) and the price gap was huge between them as well. And also the 3100es got an earc update as the 5000es didnt which still boggles my mind. And I couldnt get an understanding Sony agent to tell me what the reason was. Im going with the 7000es again this time for the dts x pro. im going to be moving up from 7.2.4 to 7.2.6 and i still have my NAD 268 i have to use for the unpowered channels from the 5000es. It seems more like they "underprice" their second place receiver in the ES line ups
Andrew, since you now own a 7000, I wonder if you could address the problems that so many people who own this series of receivers are experiencing-such as spontaneous Loud pops and shutdown-reboots while watching content, relay clickings in standby, hiss when 360SSM is engaged (there are numerous people on the AVS forum experiencing these issues). I was just monitoring the forum for information about setup, etc and thought this was the typical few people complaining, but then, aside from the constant small pops elicited from my speakers when pushing almost any device remote command (blu-ray or streaming device), I got a POP that almost blew out my speakers. The unit rebooted and since then, when the unit is in standby mode, there is a repetitive relay-clicking every 20 seconds. Tried resetting the unit through both the menu and hard reset with the power button, both to no avail. Since many people, myself included purchased these based on your review, would you please make a video to tell people if you have experienced any problems with your unit-other than the soft popping when using my remotes, I never had an issue for 5 months, and then POP.
I love your reviews and would love to see a follow-up on the Sony ES receivers.
Bye the way, as one would guess, Sony Support is saying these cases are few and there is nothing wrong with the units-I can tell you, this is incorrect since some people have had 2 and 3 units replaced and the problems are still there in the replacements. Thank you.
I bought an STRD590 a couple years ago for our bedroom. I really like it. Really good sounding. I use their sscs3 towers for rear surrounds in my living room, they are decent for 2 channel but they say the bookshelves are actually very good. My thoughts is when they came out with the Core and STRD series is they were taking their first steps getting back to producing legitimate decent audio equipment.
Great to see Sony back.
I really can‘t understand the remote Sony gives you with the new Receiver. I started my whole Hi-Fi/ Homecinema experience with a Sony receiver myself. I had a Sony STR-DB 940 QS a few decades back in time and it was fantastic. It had a decent remote with a display scrolling though the Reihers menu etc.
A lot of brands treat the remote (and other design features) as an afterthought likely because the many people in the hobby have accepted this idea that as long as it sounds good, nothing else matters. We happen to disagree and feel it is possible to give the customer both.
I totally agree and there is nothing more important than a good remote. I myself don‘t want to scroll though menus etc. The remote is the tool to have full control and always better accessible than a mobile app.
Using the Sony app is pretty good for me
I guess most of their budget went into R&D... which is good. Their 360 mapping is unique and differentiates them from the competition. Only wished they upgraded the remote
As an Anthen owner, albeit a older one, I'm really looking forward to the upcoming review since I'm in the market for an upgrade. Need that HDMI 2.1. Also looking at the Marantz Cinema series, but it still seems to lack Dirac...
Keep the awesome content coming 👌
Hi guys! One suggestion Andrew: when you test receivers, one way that you can test the receiver's processing capability and isolate amplifier power is to run it on all external amplification. For something high end like this most people would eventually be on a path to upgrade anyway, so its quite relevant and interesting to your viewers. (In my case i had upgraded twice on my external amplifier already since having the 4700. Currently using external amp on 5 channel floor layer)
In the case of Sony this might be especially interesting because what you are saying is that what makes the sony superior seem to come from its spacial audio processing using atmos sourced content, so that makes us abit hesitant when you say that this 7000 is better than the marantz cinema 50, which has much worse amplification and thus not directly comparable.
And while we are on this tangent, the spefication of the 3800h suggests that it supports sony spacial audio codec, could you run a comparison then between the sony and denon/marantz products? Or does Sony only allow decoding of native spacial audio codec on competing products( ie the denon/marantz cannot output in sony spacial audio with native atmos content)?
Thanks a bunch and keep up the good work!
I would be interested as well, but for other reasons. My Living room system will probably end up being a 5.1.2 system of in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, but for music, I'll have in-room towers that need a decent amount of power (Ohm WT-3000) that take well more power than almost any receiver can provide (even only 2 channel). So finding out how the receivers can handle external receivers would be great.
I have the az5000 and an emotiva xpa 5 amplifier driving my five bigger speakers. The internal amp is taking care of the rest. They seem to work well together. There is nothing extra to do, it just works.
If I want to use this receiver just for 2 speakers + subwoofer, can you have all the amp power assigned just to those speakers? Thanks in advance.
@@professorvoluck9311 I hear crickets...!
@@professorvoluck9311 yes there is a stereo mode that allows that.
Can we get a comparison between the Sony av5000es and Onkyo tx-rz50. I'm kinda torn between these two!!🤷🏾♂️
Great news for me. I love that "industrial" look and sharp edges. And I'm looking for a new reciver. So perfect timing.
Wow, Sony takes a step up, while Marantz/Denon and Emotiva take a step back. I've been waiting for a receiver worthy enough to upgrade to for HDMI 2.1, it looks like Sony is taking my money.
Well said.
If you asked me before, I would have recommended Yamaha, Marantz, Denon and Onkyo in this order, but seems that this new ES would be with the top dogs.
I hate my marantz sr6010...... looking at 3000 asap
Anyone have any better sub 2500$ recommendations?
I'm totally stoked for the 5000es. I'm thinking of selling my Schiit Freya preamp, Gungnir dac, and Aegir amps to pay for it. My current receiver is a STR-DN1080 and I'm curious how much better the 5000es would be.
What speaker setup(s) did you try with the 7000es? Did you do the full 13 channels or something different?
I mean the 5000es beats it by far in everything. Itll be a monster upgrade
AOTD: I'm not in the market for a Surround Receiver right now (just got a Vincent PreAmp, and wow, pleasantly surprised). The thing I'm excited about is Sony diving back into making stuff that is top-dog: when Sony dives in, that competitive tide tends to lift all boats over time.
Which Vincent preamp did you get?
Glad to see Sony back at it, it's good to have more choices.
I don’t care what it looks like as long as it fits in my A/V cabinet that I paid $3800 dollars for to have a place to hide all this stuff. I want to be able to control it with a remote on my tv screen and never have to see it. Great review! Thanks
Just got my notification from Crutchfield, the 5000ES is finally available. It’s in limited stock so I put in my order today, it arrives Saturday! Can’t wait to install it. Thanks for the review.
Give us a update on sound.
@@gregorybond2859 Excellent. Simply amazing. I’m speechless. When playing music in my Yamaha I would always select PURE DIRECT for the best sound (IMO). With the STR-AZ5000ES I now use 360SSM for both music and movies.
My Klipsch RP-8000F now sound improved, bass is faster, more solid, bigger punch, mids seem sweeter, perhaps a little bit warmer. Highs are well defined, elegant, so clean.
I think Sony has a winner. Wish I could do a side by side compare of the 5000ES with the Marantz Cinema 50, and Marantz ST7015. Those were my possible choices. I ended choosing the Sony because of 360 sound. I think Sony has a winner.
Thanks for another great review! I’m tempted on the 5000ES for the spatial audio feature. Currently rocking the Integra 5.4 and unsure if the 5000ES be an upgrade for a current 7.2.2 soon to be 7.2.4 system.
Great review guys ! Happy to see Sony back in the mix with models on all budget levels. One thing tho, that Nautica bubble display window from Marantz sucked back then still does today over 10 years later. It's useless.
Wow, you guys are so right about the looks of the receiver. It's time to step it up. Look at how beautiful receivers were in the 70s. The world is waiting, and we're not getting much in the way of design.
Ugly silver box era.. Retro is fad. The future might not even be receivers.
This was a fantastic review. Rarely does a review want me to run out and grab a new product. But, the 360 is exactly what I've been looking for. Cheers to you guys and, again, thanks for a great review.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I am genuinely glad to see Sony back in the business here. Even design is ok. If anything, I'd like to see more brands taking receivers and amps more seriously, let alone the other components in audio/video world. Technics does a great job going back to its roots and doing a moderns versions of their vintage stuff. If only Sony and other Japanese brands would look back at their components from the late 70's, 80's and early 90's to draw some inspiration to design new equipment, I am sure those would be selling like hot cookies. Just imagine a nice, built like a tank receiver/amp that weights like one too! Some nice Urushi wood side panels on a Pioneer with a heavy use of copper for the chassis construction. Remember that Technics 1000 receiver with 330 Watts per channel? Was the most powerful amp of its days. Yamaha could pull it off by building something special like their Limited Centennial Edition. I keep on saying that do miss the good old days when R&D departments were ran by the engineers and enthusiasts rather than managers and accountants.
No other business can do it better
If you had a choice for movies sound Quality only which, would you choose the Marantz 40 or the Sony STR-AZ7000ES
Good to see Sony getting back in the AVR game. My very first receiver was a Sony and it gave me many hours of enjoyment. On another note, I'll remain hopeful that the set of "embargo'd speakers" you speak of will be a full Paradigm Founder setup!
I guess we need to have a discussion about what the word embargoed means. LOL. The Founders have been out for a while and are definitely are not under embargo.
@@andrewrobinsonreviews lol, that's bad on me. I assumed you meant that you were forbidden from discussing them by the manufacturer until the official review was completed. Looks like the statement about assuming holds true once again! Haha
Embargoed means that a brand is preventing (most often via a NDA) of any discussion and/or showing of a particular product until that product has officially launched or until the embargo has been lifted.
Double thumbs up for this video 👍👍
Unfortunately these ES receivers can't be bought in Germany so I'm still stuck with a STR-DN1070. Prefer that sound more than the Marantz.
My STR AZ5000 ES be arriving on the 27th at the end of this month. Can’t wait!
Mine too!
I think the 7000ES will be better. If ones going to spend stupid money on a product that your friends will give you an ear full, whtpy not go for the Flagship model Sony str-az7000es?
I want the Sony-az7000es however I'd love to see a review on Sony-az3000es as it's more affordable
So does this have a major hissing problem or not? Some say it sounds great and some say they returned it because of the hissing.
Great to see Sony back with a new range of receivers, they have been missing from the market
for far too long.
They are not cheap, but then again Sony gear never has been.
When i can hear one that i can afford i might be tempted, the last Sony one i had was far too bright
sounding for me.
It will be many months before we see any of them in the UK, i hope they import the more affordable
models.
U can't sell cheap with high quality
Which one do you recommend, This vs Denon AVR-x8500 ha or Denon AVR-a10 h? From all the reviews, I have found that Sony lacks power when compared to Denon. Is this true?
Why is no one talking about the high noise floor on this receiver?? I had to return mine after a week due to the constant hiss in any mode outside of stereo
@@e36spd I also returned mine for the same issue. None of the big UA-cam reviewers are talking about it but I am reading about it all over the internet. It was extremely annoying and very apparent when 360 spacial sound mapping was enabled which was the entire reason why I wanted the Sony. I hope they figure that out because it did sound great.
It's a huge problem. I am so disappointed in this 7000. How can anyone at this level of sound allow such a fatal flaw.
I think You said that This Receiver has 2 Output’s for Center Channel Speaker’s? Where would The Second Center Channel Speaker go? I only have One below My HDTV? Please Explain? Thank You. Sincerely, Bruce Marmelstein.
I in the market for my first AV Receiver and currently I am leaning towards the Onkyo TX-NR7100, however, after hearing your Sony review I did consider it a possibility as well. However, it does not have a Phono input. Do you consider that having a built-in Phono input is something important, or simply having an external pre-amp is the way to go?
It’s an external for me from here on out - bought a decent one and don’t expect to ever need another new phono/pre again
@@kenbbaker Which one did you go for? I was considering the classic Phono Box by Pro Ject. It's cheap and it should be more than enough!
Just need to wait for the Sony STR-1000ES to come out in the EU now 📦
Heated review towards the end but I loved it because I just bought an A4A
I REALLY APPRECIATE HOW YOU TRY TO EXPLAIN THE SPECTRUM OF SOUND of these devices. Well done.
Glad to see that Sony is back! I have been thinking about an upgrade for a while and had some hesitations against Marantz Cinema 50 which is also a great product for sure, but the porthole display and 9 amplified channels weren't enough for the setup in my mind (5.1.4 + bi-amping front L+R i.e. 11 internally amp ch required), Cinema 40 and Sony's AZ7000ES are not budget friendly to me, but the model 5000ES seems like the best option now available in the market fulfilling my requirements. Thanks for the great review Andrew, as usual, awesome. Cheers! :)
I wonder why did you compare this Sony to NAD M33 (amplifier) and not NAD T778 (receiver)???? How it compares to NAD T778, please?
i recently bought the Sony A90J less than a year ago and decided to build a 7.2 system but any decent Sony AV Receiver i could find capped out around 500 bucks and had very little power, so i went with the Marantz Cinema 60 8K and loving it!
There is one thing not much mentioned that I find extremely important.
Speaker connection layout on the back of reciever. I recently purchased marantz 50 reciever that has all speakers connections in one line. Difference is huge, back of reciever looks so much tidy and neat.
I am not saying that this is a deciding feature, but for me it was part of decision.
Always enjoy your reviews Andrew. I have been a fan of Sony for many years and have owned many of their of ES components and currently own the ZA5000. It is a beast of a receiver but I am tempted to go with the 7000. The quality of all of these ES line components has been amazing. Thanks for the review.
Sony ES stuff is the bee's knees, when it comes to beautiful design, low noise floor and build quality. I still use all my ES gear from the 80's all the way up to modern day, and it is all great to use and enjoy. I just hope they bring back some more ranges, like CD, Turntable etc. that would be nice...
Nice to see Sony back in the AVR game and I owned their 1080 AVR and it was a great one. But they need to refresh the design of their AVR's. I am rocking a Yamaha AVR based one of your reviews and I LOVE it. So I am all good. But great review Andrew as always.
You’ve got me curious about the 360 spatial audio. Everyone said it was great on the HT-A9. I’m an Onkyo loyalist, but you have me thinking 🤔
Sony's house sound has always been pretty unique, from their receivers to portable audio, its very easy to listen to and not fatiguing, while still making all elements in the layers of the audio easily discernible.
These are definitely out of my budget which is usually around $500 usd. My DN1080 was a wonderful purchase, however I cannot find them anymore to purchase.
That model has been replaced with this one bit.ly/3Y5hhK3.
I love my DN1080, wish I had two… and a spare…
Especially at the discount I got it on Massdrop…
@@kenbbaker They had them on massdrop? Damn, i never saw them there.
@@VeerMaharaj - and about 1/2 price - or better
I'm selling my DN1080 if anyone is interested
I have a Marantz SR6015 and i'm not liking the sound, especially in terms of bass. Would you recommend this Sony over the Marantz?
Sony ES HT receivers have always leaned on the Cinema Studio Mixing heritage. It does not surprise me that it rivals DIRAC. Cheap remote may seem like an afterthought, however, try replacing a 10 year old high end receiver remote these days. The Sony remote should be easy to replace down the road.
For a dedicated home theater. Would you get this or the marantz 8015.
I had been thinking about getting an Anthem receiver until now. Seeing that Sony has come out with this new line, I think I will wait a bit longer to look at these before deciding.
Would you choose this over a marantz cinema 500?
Sounds really nice and damn those bowers look so great in your room and I’m sure they are killer. Seeing that setup makes me really want those speakers haha. Wonder if this Sony would be an upgrade worth doing from Marantz 7012. Great review as always!
This review got me excited. I told myself mid 2022 that I am going to get a new AV Receiver in 2023 to update my Onkyo 717 which has provided great enjoyment. After your Onkyo RZ50 review, that defined all the features I yearned for and painfully I waited. Then I see your Sony review and my mind was sent into a turmoil. Spacial placement of sound which increases the sound stage is my top feature I seek. Will Sony become the leader against Dirac live? That is the question I have and I am sure now that is in everybody's mind as Sony steps up. A direct one-on-one comparison is needed between the Onkyo RZ50 and the Sony STR AZ-5000 ES BUT if that receiver is not coming your way soon at least consider a direct comparison against the Sony STR-AZ7000 you currently have. Please consider this pair up in the near future. Your findings will be significant this year in an increasingly important area of listening enjoyment. Love you and Kristi's reviews. Never miss them.
I think the new sony recivers look great. And it's good too see them back in the game if they ever really left it. But to late Sony I got the Onkyo Rz50 and that paired with my Outlaw 7000x is a beast!
And your pairing is still less $$$ then the Sony… I’m thinking of going the same way but maybe with the Outlaw 5000
@@shawnblackmur7887 the 5000 is a lot easier on the ol back. At about 63 lbs the 7000x is as soild as a rock. Whichever one you get it will be money well spent😁
Do u still own the rz50 from if so is it working well no issues
@@mikeschmidt2339 I has a tendency to go to sleep when not in uses for long periods of time. But it may be the surge protector
Out than that it is working well😁
@@markstewart3501 your still using the rz50 can I add an amp for the rf center and lf how did Dirac live work out for u
Great review very enjoyable video Andrew...
Couple of questions. Do you actually feed back to Sony on the centre channel bug you found?
Was the musicality of the Sony as good as marantz in your opinion?
Thanks again!
Thank you for watching. Yes, Sony has been made aware of the "bug" that I encountered as well as the issue with respect to the display brightness. As for which is best for music, I still really like Marantz's slightly more forgiving tone, but the Sony proved more resolute in terms of detail and placement of instruments which I really appreciated and gravitated more towards in the end.
It's nice to see Sony finally stepping up their game and adding something competitive to the market and being a massive upgrade from their previous offerings...ngl, I've never thought of Sony as "high end" in regards to stereo gear, but this new series of receivers is a surprising and welcome addition to the market...and might actually force their competitors in this price point to scratch their chins 🤔🤔...lol
Thanks for the review.
I just hooked up my AZ7000 today. I know I'm still dialing things in but unfortunately... the experience so far has not blown me away like I thought it would. I was hoping that the 360 mapping would put it over the top, but it has a horrible hissing sound when the dialog is quiet. As soon as the 360 mapping is enabled the hissing is almost unbearable, when off the sound goes away completely . (Again, only while this feature is on) Im surprised no one else has complained about this since this is a major selling feature. I'm also running all speakers on external amps so I know that's not the problem. Im hoping when I call Sony they have a solution if not I think I will unfortunately have to return it. I was really hoping this would work out because I was trying to avoid paying the 7K for the Marantz AV10 lol.
What speakers are you using? What volume levels are you listening at? How large or small is your room? There is a rise in the noise floor when engaging 360 spatial audio (the amp appears to increase the overall gain) but in our tests it's not audible from our listening position or from a distance of more than about a foot from our speakers' tweeters, which is why I ask. Additionally, what sound profile are you in?
@robinsonbrand Thanks for the reply.
Im using the Klipsch References speakers 7lll...in a 9.4.4 setup. My room is 25'deep x 19' wide 8' ceiling. Its a dedicated HT. The sound is usually between -8 & -3 (I like it loud lol). While the scenes are playing its not a problem but during the quiet times its pretty bad.
I’m excited for Sony for their fair pricing. I think they will sell out quick and be hard to buy later. I’ve upgraded from an ES3000 to the Marantz 7015. And I agree , sound is similar on my RP line speakers .
I'm a 2 channel guy, but for a receiver, it looks killer monster looks thx guys ...
Now this is exciting and it sounds like the Sony spatial 360 room correction can give Dirac live a battle when it come to home theater receiver room correction. I believe Im feeling that you found this spatial result to be a lot more exciting when it come to home theater than even the correctness of Dirac Live ? Dont mean to put you on point here but I think you love the results of what the Sony brought to the home theater table. Thanks for making my new receiver choice this year a lot harder.
I think DIRAC does a great job in correcting or adjusting your speakers to your room and its many nodes, but spatially speaking, nothing I've encountered from any company has matched what Sony's 360-degree audio manages to do in our room.
Where does the front cover go? Does it fold down or do you just remove it?
I was all set to get an Arcam avr11,but the Sony 5000 has really intrigued me. While I listen to music mostly I always felt my Denon x3300 just did not provide enough immersion in my modest size room. I am also trapped into using up firing atoms speakers for aesthetic reasons and it also sounds like Sony will. help these speakers do a better job. My main concern is how will the Sony compare to the Arcam with stereo music. In either case I plan to use either receiver with my 7 channel Emotive speakers.
Get the lower priced Sony and get a killer 2 channel power amplifier in the future.
If they still allow biamping as in the last models… and all the usual Sony controls; then stereo will be quite good and very configurable - with flexible control of soundfields, sub in/out, eqs, bass. Throw in the ability to use preamp outs as you wish
My life with many Sony receivers at all the usual price points has been excellent (stereo, atmos, and in between)
If using the pre-outs to external amps, can you turn off the internal amps?
I’m thrilled to have another choice in the receiver market. I’m intrigued by their room calculation method and I am glad they have a bit of power to the amps. I’m hoping they keep this up for when it’s time for me to upgrade again.
Question… is there an option to put the receiver in full pre-amp mode where the internal amps are turned off when using external amplification?
Really was hoping you would get to review these. Awesome
Stay tuned, we're not finished 😉
Are the front covers on both the 5000 and 7000 plastic or aluminum? Your video on the 7000 is very informative. Thank you.
Great review again Andrew and Kristi, absolutely pulled me in on this one and it was so enjoyable to watch! I am so freaking happy that Sony finally has a premium line of receivers again! They are so good at it when they make premium audio products and I definitely love it when they do. I completely agree and am slightly disappointed that they should have gone premium with the aesthetics of the chassis design as well, like you said it's a completely missed opportunity. But with that being said, Sony tends to do that with their products so they can spend more of the cost on R&D and the physical electronic of the internals, which in this case and many before, tends to work out well for them and for us in the long term.
Looking for a comparison between the Sony AZ5000ES and the Onkyo RZ50. There doesn't seem to be any direct comparison anywhere.
Look @ Integra 5.4 vs Sony AZ5000ES
Onkyo is standard quality, Integra is elevated quality parts
I'm looking at a 9 channel AVR upgrade and was leaning heavily into the x3800h. Might have to consider the 3000ES depending on how the pricing and reviews pan out. I'm in Canada so we pay a hefty premium due to the currency rates 😪
The 3000Es will have an MSRP of $1,699.99 USD. Not sure how that will equate to Canada prices.
Budget for the 5000ES mate
@@aspjake123 why? Will sound better ?
So my question is… Sony 5000ES for $2,500 or Marantz 7015 for $2,400 for my home theater and 2 channel music listening?