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(More customer reviews)The STR-DA5200ES is the replacement model for the 2005's STR-DA5000ES. And Indeed it is. There are a few minuses here and there, but the DA5200 has definately replaced the DA5000, for good.
Let's begin with the most important improvement of the 5200 over the 5000. Audio.
Although the DA5200 only offers a modest 120W RMS of audio power per channel (as opposed to 5000's 170W RMS per channel), it is obvious especially at higher volume setting that this receiver produces really clean sound. I'm not sure at this point whether the S-Master digital amplifiers have been removed completely from the ES series, but if you pop in a dvd and crank the volume up to about -10db, the difference is like night and day. Gone is the annoying hissing white noise that plagues every ES amplifiers at volume levels beyond -20db.
Also, the engineers at Sony have finally agreed to let their high-end consumer enjoy their proprietary Digital Cinema Audio Calibration (I believe that's what they call it), used to be only available in their DAV systems. The earlier generations of Sony's DCAC is nothing to boast about, using normally a mono microphone and measuring only the distance and levels of the speakers from the listening position. The new DCAC found in the DA52000 would make any home theatre enthusiast drool like mad. The enclosed stereo calibration microphone combined with the built-in software measures not only the distance and level of the speakers, but also the phase, the size and most importantly the frequency characteristics of each speaker. Any home theatre enthusiast knows the importance of using sonically matching speakeres to obtain the "perfect" sound stage, but even speakers from the same manufacturer's line-up tend to differ sonically, especially when they're not off the same size or batch. The center speaker has always been a nightmare for me to match, since my front and surround speakers are identical floor standers. To compensate for the differences in frequency characteristics for each speaker, the 5200 comes loaded with a compensating 6-band parametric electronic equalizer that tailors each of the 7 full range channels separately so they end up sounding the same. There are also 3 preset equalizers that control the bass and treble level for the full range 7 channels of your surround set-up that you can apply over the compensating parametric EQs. The end result in short is sweet, clean and powerful sound.
Also, since this model was released after the release of BlueRay players, its HDMI (3 inputs, which is altogether missing from the DA5000)input supports the input of the basic 7.1 LPCM audio.
And now for the video.
5000 comes with a built-in video converter that up-converts any input source (non-component) into component video. The 5200 went a step further by incorporating the up-conversion feature found in the pricey 7100ES, and more. By incorporating the famous Faroudja DCDi processor, this machine brings every low end video input into the HDMI domain, granted no up-converter can actually generate video lines that do not exist in the source (they only interpolate), but this provides a really convenient video connectivity option for people with TVs with HDMI inputs. The owners of the 5200 can potentially connect any video sources they want to the receiver via component, s-video or composite video and only need to worry about spending money on just one HDMI cable to feed all those video sources into their TV. Neat.
And finally, the look of the new Graphic User Interface of the 5200 is just simply sublime compared to the 5000. Since every feature of the receiver can be controlled via the GUI and the remote commander, you will never have to get up from your seat again to adjust those audio and video settings.. ever.
P.S. If you're a hardcore home theatre enthusiast, you may want to wait for the price drop on the STR-DA5300ES. It has 6 HDMI inputs with the new xvYCC colour support plus decoding support for all the new Dolby and DTS formats (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio), support for Bravia Sync to control the functions of your TV and a DMPORT to playback all your IPOD audio files.
For now I'm looking forward to go home each day to enjoy the sound of my beautiful DA5200 which I only paid a discounted sum of USD850 for. The little monster is worth every one of my hard-earned dollar.
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Product Description:
Deliver the digital world into your living room with the powerful STR-DA5200ES 7.1 channel A/V receiver. The STR-DA5200ES captures input from your audio and visual sources, including Blu-ray discs, DVDs, CDs and portables, and optimizes each signal for the best possible aural and visual quality. Enjoy hundreds of channels of crystal-clear digital radio when you connect the optional XM Connect-and-PlayTM antenna. Optimized for Blu-ray DiscTM and Other HD Sources The STR-DA5200ES is engineered to be the ideal Blu-ray A/V receiver, fully compatible with the Sony® BDP-S1 Blu-ray DiscTM Player. Superior video switching and audio performance ensure seamless compatibility with today's demanding HD sources. HDMI "Active Intelligence" The receiver can detect and receive the best possible video and audio signals from all connected devices?making connection and performance as simple as plugging in a single wire
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