Sony STR-DA7100ES Receiver Review

The STR-DA7100ES features an 1/8" thick brushed aluminum faceplate that has a nice retro, aggressive stance. This is probably a result of the polished aluminum accents on the volume and input knobs and a graceful concave shape which appears just below the angularly recessed LCD display and input LEDs gracing the top of the unit.

With HDMI and Firewire support, the STR-DA7100ES is certainly on par with the industry's shift towards receivers that truly function as the A/V hub within a multi-zone home theater system. The Sony has 2 HDMI inputs and a single output, allowing users to connect a couple of the newer source devices which sport this high definition-capable output. The future should be fun as manufacturers strive to find middle ground in an industry increasingly going digital. As more and more HDMI inputs are expected, something has got to give (we hope it is the composite inputs). Just as you can buy outboard HDMI/DVI switchers (such as the PureLink HDS-41R I'd like to see a product development migration where we see more included digital inputs and legacy users look to analogue outboard switchers.

Why do I even bring this up? Because the rear of the Sony is "jam-packed and jelly tight" with inputs - most of which I'll never use. Let's take a more in-depth peek at what makes this receiver stand apart in a crowd.

Notables: Only 2 component video inputs, separate amps for surround back speakers, i.Link (IEEE 1394) connections, 5 optical and 3 coax S/PDIF inputs, Surround Back speaker amps re-assignable to Zone 2, IR input and repeater jacks, premium (but still plastic) binding posts, gold plated connections, and support for plenty of DC triggers. The HDMI inputs and output and i.Link connections were awkwardly located below the 5-way binding posts.

• Upconversion of all 480i video inputs (composite, s-video, component) to 480p HDMI and/or component (HDMI does not downconvert to component video)
• Video upconversion and processing are defeatable (Note: closed captioning will not work unless video conversion is set to "off")
• HDMI multi-channel audio is supported (DTS, Dolby Digital, DVD-Audio, and LPCM)

• "9.1" proprietary surround mode support for using additional side surround speakers (wired in parallel on the same amplifiers) Note: There does not appear to any explanation of any associated DSP for use with 9.1 loudspeaker configurations

• i.Link with Dolby Digital, DTS, DVD-Audio, LPCM and DSD support as well as a buffer for reduced jitter.
• 3 User presets for DSP and input settings

There are also several features which are targeted to address the needs of the custom installer:

• 3 Zones with independent source selection (analogue only) and 12VDC trigger settings
• Collapsible Setup menu which hides some advanced setup functions
• "Installer Mode" enables and disables the RS-232C port when the unit is powered down
• Extensive Zone and 12VDC trigger customization (see above)

I'd have to say that overall I was very pleased with the feature set of this receiver. An additional HDMI and component video input would be welcome at this price as would a more compatible IEEE 1394 input (though this will hardly be significant next year as new HDMI 1.3 products are released). I'll also speak a bit about the remote control and Sony's control and menu methodologies later in the review.

Some will laugh at me, but I actually had to read through the manual to figure out how to bring up the on-screen display. So "set in my ways" was I, that I was intently focused on finding a "Setup" button. Sony's remote calls it "On Screen" which is not at all counterintuitive, except that it appears under a button labeled "Main Menu". Having failed my first Sony test I proceeded into the SPEAKER SET UP menu where I was able to configure what speakers I was using, their size, distance, and whether my surrounds were located at SIDE HIGH/LOW or BEHIND HIGH/LOW positions. I was also able to set the crossover frequency which is adjustable from 40Hz to 200Hz in 10Hz increments. Distance is configurable in 1 foot steps - we like to see at least 0.5 foot increments on higher end/higher cost products.

One thing Sony does in their Setup Menu that really struck me as super-convenient was their EASY SET UP sub-menu function. Using the remote control you can simply scroll through a series of visual representations of surround sound speaker configurations from 2.0 all the way to 7.1 setups.

Options include those without center channels and the various surround speaker locations (behind versus side, raised, lowered, etc.)

After configuring your speaker and crossover settings you'll want to proceed with getting the correct levels to the listening position. While we give extra credit to receivers providing automated setup and configuration systems, its absence here wasn't really all that significant. The LEVEL menu features a pink noise test tone which can be set to "Auto" or "Fixed" (which is nice as you can park yourself and get an accurate level reading for one channel at a time.) Here, the non-standard Sony approach to configuration reared its ugly head. There is no "follow what I'm doing" mode, so if you want to adjust the center channel, followed by the surround right channel, you have to scroll all the way back to the top to change the "Fixed" setting from 'Center' to 'Surr R'. (The reason I didn't use left of right as an example is because you adjust levels relative to the main speakers which only have a balance control.) Our preference would be to have "Fixed" automatically jump the test tone to any speaker that is being adjusted. The "Auto" mode puts the tone on the speaker for only 1 second, so it is pretty much useless for calibration purposes.

OK, now the good news. Sony included two features which I think are simply excellent for custom installers in particular. Under the LEVEL menu are two items labeled "Phase Noise" and "Phase Audio". "Phase Noise" allow you to play the pink noise test tone in two adjoining speakers at the same time to double check whether they are in phase. "Phase Audio" goes one step further and allows you to use the 2 front channels - sound for checking phase in this manner. This is helpful in checking whether your surround speakers are in phase with the rest of the system.

SB Decoding/Mode
This simply allows you to predetermine how your Surround Back speakers will be implemented when a Dolby Digital EX flag is detected (all 6 of them - lol). Options include Dolby Digital EX, Pro Logic IIx Music, and Pro Logic IIx Movie modes. There are some caveats regarding 6.1 vs. 7.1 systems (namely 6.1 systems will always play Dolby Digital EX on a flagged movie by default) but you should be able to get the general idea.

If you plan to use a 9.1 speaker setup (presumably if you have an extremely long/large room and desire a true surround array) there is an option for indicating this. I am not aware of any particular DSP which results from this setting and your Surround Back speakers must be set to "Dual" for this to become an available option.

"Multi In 5.1 > 7.1" ensures that analogue multi-channel 5.1 sources are made available as 7.1 preamplified signals for use with an external amplifier. This is very handy if you are using analogue inputs for DVD-Audio or SACD.

i.Link can be assigned a video input so that you can use it as a transmission medium with compatible players (Sony only lists the SCD-XA9000ES as being specifically compatible.) We weren't exactly shocked to find that this only potentially works with Sony players.

A Dimmer option allows you to set the front panel gain to 0, 60, or 100 percent brightness. One thing we noticed about the front panel display is that it goes dark after 2 seconds. There does not seem to be a user override for this, nor can you adjust the time for the panel to go black. It was nice to see Sony work to prevent "LED clutter" in the listening room, but it also became quite frustrating when I was looking to get specific information off the display regarding stream info and such. I suspect that under typical use this should end up being a great feature.

A.F.D. 2CH SW
A.F.D. is Sony's acronym for "Auto Format Direct". This cryptically-named menu item is similar to a "Source Direct" mode, and will take a 2-channel input and apply the crossover to send low frequencies to the subwoofer (when set to "Create").

The CUSTOMIZE Menu
This is the "garbage bagel" of settings. Sony took everything else they needed to provide settings for, including some very major items, and lumped them into a general CUSTOMIZE menu heading. Audio, Video, menu options, analogue and digital input assignments, and DSP - all are found here. I, for one, would hope to see, at the very least, input assignments and video processing pulled out into the main menu in future models. 27 sub-items, most of which are key settings, does not make for a sensible organizational structure. There are a lot of important items in here so I'll try to cover them as best I can.

DIGITAL ASSIGN
While the optical and coax inputs are labeled on the back of the receiver, they can be associated with, or assigned to, one of several video inputs. It's a tad confusing on several counts, however, as none of the digital inputs are numbered. For example, I had two DVD players connected at one point and ended up routing "TV/SAT COAX" to "VIDEO 1" to obtain coax to the Video 1 input for my second player. Your "available" inputs are Video 1, Video 2, and Tape in addition to each digital input's default. A somewhat better system, one I'd love to see Sony implement, would involve simple numbered inputs with full assignability.

COMPONENT VIDEO ASSIGN
This submenu sets the assignability of the two available component video inputs. Simply select the input (again labeled as DVD and TV/SAT instead of simply numbered) and select to which video input you would like it assigned. With only two inputs this wasn't nearly as odd as the coax and optical audio configuration menu I had just navigated.

HDMI VIDEO ASSIGN
HDMI Video Assign works in exactly the same way as Component Video Assign but with numbered, rather than labeled, inputs. You can also set whether or not the HDMI audio will pass through the receiver to the HDMI-enabled display.

Missing Features
There were some things we looked for and didn't find. On-the-fly channel trims is a big one. When you are jumping between SACD, DVD, Dolby Digital and DTS you are simply going to want to be able to make adjustments to your center channel and subwoofer without having to go into the main Setup menu and permanently alter your settings. On-the-fly level adjustments are the solution and Sony has yet to implement this in their ES line. Another feature we look for is input leveling whereby you can adjust the input levels of all of your sources to avoid volume jumps when going from input the input. It is also nice to have a feature for limiting maximum volume and setting the default "turn on" volume. This is a great safety feature - especially with receiver sporting a 170W/channel amplifier!

VIDEO CONVERT: ON PROGRESSIVE OUT: ON

VIDEO CONVERT: ON PROGRESSIVE OUT: OFF

VIDEO CONVERT: OFF PROGRESSIVE OUT: OFF

In addition to providing 480p upconversion to all inputs except HDMI, the STR-DA7100ES can also provide basic picture adjustments including Brightness (black level), Color (saturation), and Hue (tint) controls. We really don't recommend using these controls as your display will more than likely offer them in finer adjustment increments.

There are a few objective ways to gauge video processor performance in an AV receiver. One is to compare direct output from a source component to a display with the same output upconverted by the receiver. A second method would be to utilize a third party tool like Silicon Optix' HQV Benchmark DVD and evaluate a 480i input signal which has been upconverted to 480p by the receiver. We did both methods of evaluation using a Denon DVD-5900 which has dual composite and s-video outputs. One set went directly to a Pioneer PDP-42A3HD plasma display, the other set went to the Sony STR-DA7100ES receiver to be upconverted and processed out of the HDMI outputs. Have a look at our findings:

We started with comparisons of composite video to get a worst-case-input, best-possible-output scenario. I desaturated the pictures so it is easier to focus solely on resolution...

 

Here we see composite video sent directly to the reference Pioneer plasma (left) vs. the Sony STR-DA7100ES'HDMI 480p upconverted and processed output.

 

While at first glance it appears the Sony has "cleaned up" the picture, what you are seeing is a subtle loss of resolution as the overall image is softened by the upconversion and deinterlacing process. I can't say that it was noticeable on real world moving video, but high resolution test patterns show the net result to be not unlike a gentle half-pixel Gaussian smoothing of the overall picture. On noisy images this may actually serve to improve picture quality.

Again we see s-video signal sent directly to the reference Pioneer plasma (left) vs. the Sony STR-DA7100ES' HDMI 480p upconverted and processed output.

 

Similar to the composite input, the s-video input is also softened a bit. The original picture detail and scaling artifacts induced by the Pioneer are almost perfectly preserved - just rendered softer than the direct signal

I had consistent problems getting component 480i (non-progressive video) out of the Denon DVD-5900 (our reference DVD player for this review) to show up via the Sony's HDMI outputs. In fact none of the DVD players I had on hand could have their component video outputs (properly configured to output video at 480i) get upconverted by the Sony receiver. This was regardless of the "Progressive Out" setting. There seemed to be an issue with getting the 480i outputs recognized by the video processing circuitry. Switching to any of the other (non-component) inputs resulted in a successful upconversion experience.

Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results

Perfect Score is 130
Sony STR-DA7100ES Benchmark Score: 53 (room for improvement, but hey, this is a receiver!)

Test	Max Points	Component Results	Component PassFail
Color Bar	10	5	Pass
Jaggies #1	5	3	Pass
Jaggies #2	5	0	Fail
Flag	10	5	Pass
Detail	10	10	Pass
Noise	10	0	Fail
Motion adaptive Noise Reduction	10	0	Fail
Film Detail	10	10	Pass
Cadence 2:2 Video	5	5	Pass
Cadence 2:2:2:4 DV Cam	5	0	Fail
Cadence 2:3:3:2 DV Cam	5	0	Fail
Cadence 3:2:3:2:2 Vari-speed	5	0	Fail
Cadence 5:5 Animation	5	0	Fail
Cadence 6:4 Animation	5	0	Fail
Cadence 8:7 animation	5	0	Fail
Cadence 3:2 24fps film	5	5	Pass
Scrolling Horizontal	10	0	Fail
Scrolling Rolling	10	10	Pass
Total Points	130	53

Comments on HQV Testing

The fact that we're even running HQV on a receiver warrants notation. In this changing playing field of A/V components it's getting harder and harder to tell who's doing what. I mean, is it your DVD player, receiver, or display that's scaling that video? With so many redundancies it's getting easier and easier to get lazy and not take the time to see who does the best job at each task. For example, your DVD player may do a better job of deinterlacing than your display, but your display will be able to handle the subtle picture adjustments to tweak your final picture. And do you want to feed it 480i or 1080i? You see? There are lots of choices. With the Sony STR-DA7100ES scoring a 53, it would be my choice to ensure that it is not deinterlacing your video - but at the same time realize that this is a higher score than other receivers I've tested that sport video processing. Send it 480p and disable Progressive Out or pass through 480i and see if your display does a better job. Better yet - test all of your options and then make the call. Sound like a pain? It is - but it's worth it.

Pros

• Easily programmed
• Dedicated TV volume and channel buttons

Cons

• Nonstandard interface that is confusing and awkward
• Limited functions and features
• No numeric keypad
• Bulky
• Missing many standard direct-access buttons

In case my opening statement about this remote was unclear - this is the worst remote control I have ever used in conjunction with a receiver. It is so bad it made me look around inside the Sony box to see if I had the wrong remote control or if some product manager was playing a practical joke on me. The good news? You can buy a nice universal remote control from Logitech, Universal Remote, Philips or another reputable company and you should be all set.

I listed some of the shortcomings of the remote in the Pros/Cons table, but pity stayed my hand from including everything I had to say. There is no numeric keypad. The buttons are not lit. There is no real facility for adding custom controls such as those required to use a complex HD DVR or cable box without relying on the preset available buttons shown on the LCD. In addition, if you are ever controlling a device and select the on-screen display, the remote isn't smart enough to switch over the joystick for use in the menu system - it will still control the source component. To solve this you have to go to the LCD screen and select what the 'CURSOR TYPE' should be controlling. It is this reliance upon the very limited LCD screen (which almost feels like a crutch at times) that makes this remote so awkward to use.

For not having many buttons, the remote is also extremely bulky and heavy. It weighed in at 6.7 ounces loaded, but for some reason (probably its wide stance) felt heavier. What can I say - I love good remotes, but I am equally passionate about those which fail to impress. This is completely 100% subjective and I have learned in the past that the only opinion that counts in the end is the one you have after using the product for yourself.

Because I'm a glutton for 'setup' punishment, I decided to do some comparisons of the Sony STR-DA7100ES receiver against the new Yamaha RX-V2600 to get a feel for how the Digital Drive amplification in the Sony ES sounded compared to a reasonably powered Class AB receiver. This comparison was not scientific, but purely subjective and my goal was to establish whether or not there was a dramatic or overtly noticeable difference between the two amplifier sections. The methodology included sending toslink coax to the Sony receiver and coax digital to the Yamaha - all from a single source DVD player. Levels were matched beforehand using test signals from the AVIA test DVD. Switching was done manually by altering the speaker cables from one receiver to the other. Let's just say that I will not be submitting these results to AES for peer review.

DVD-Audio: R.E.M. The Best of R.E.M.
I selected The Best of R.E.M. so that I could play back some excellent stereo mixes and really hear what each amplifier section was doing. First up was "Man on the Moon". Michael Stipe's vocals were lifelike, with just a touch of that "too close to the microphone" sound that marks many of R.E.M.'s tracks. I could discern a clean, wide soundstage and the finger noises present on the acoustical guitar track revealed that the Sony could bring out the most subtle details in any recording. The decay time on background percussion elements was clean and smooth and I felt the drums were tight and well represented. When I switched back to the Yamaha I'd love to say that my wife could hear the difference pulling into the driveway, but then I'd have to work for a different publication wouldn't I? To be honest I could not put my finger on any specific differences in the sound and will look forward to doing more scientific ABX comparisons later this year in the Audioholics Showcase Home.

What this told me was that Sony's Digital amplifiers weren't producing a significant amount of distortion or artifacts in a way that was readily audible in a non-controlled unscientific setting. It certainly didn't affect my enjoyment of the source content or ability to pick out detail and resolution. After playing several more titles and tracks I put away the comparison receiver and focused solely on the Sony.

"E-bow the Letter" contained some tight, low bass and allowed me to have the Sony really push the RBH Sound CinemaSITE system with a full frequency range track. Acoustic guitars were exceptional in their realism. Patti Smith's backing vocals were rich and deep in this track and I really enjoyed the detail and transparency this song afforded me. "Orange Crush", which came next, offered one more opportunity for me to listen for vocal detail and the tightness of electric bass and kick drums. While the instrument performance on this song track had a rather narrow soundstage, the vocals were exceptionally wide and reverb was room-filling from just two channels. The dialogue and effects sequence occurring three quarters of the way into the song was almost mystifying in its 3-D soundstage (in 2-channel mode, mind you). It quite literally came into the room, causing me to visually verify I hadn't somehow enabled Pro Logic II on the receiver.

CD: Damien Rice O
This CD has some wonderfully raw vocals, drums and guitar in some of the nicest two-channel mixes I've heard. Track 1 "delicate" had Damien's gossamer voice coming through like he was standing in Reference System 2 with me. Cymbal decays were smooth, subtle and shimmery while the snare was crisp - you could easily discern the edges of the fan brush within the track. The Song didn't appear to miss a lick of detail or ability to control a pair of speakers like the SI-6100s with control and precision.

Track 2 "Volcano" features a lot of raw guitar, complete with fret and finger noises. The intimate mix with acoustic bass and strings combined with some very tight backing vocal harmonies sounded refined and almost mesmerizing. The round robin style of verse used at the end of the song made for some excellent material with which to gauge the Sony's handling of a very precise mix. The transparency of this amplifier is commendable and the dynamics I heard were both accurate and satisfying. This entire album sounded very lucid and lively and I quickly got lost in the moment, allowing it to almost play through to completion before I remembered I was supposed to be critically evaluating the Sony. Enjoy the music, right? In any case I finally realized that I had to move on and pulled myself away from this disc.

CD: Jack Johnson Brushfire Fairytales
Track 2 of this album, "Middle Man" shows off some smooth, low bass with wide-panned doubled guitars. Later, Adam Tupol brings in some bongos and the mix gets fuller, but never overbearing (a trait you could ascribe to almost all tracks on this album). This use of "stereo" guitars exhibits a very wide soundstage that also reveals great depth. Instruments sound controlled, and again reverb such as the smooth but noisy decay in "Posters" have all of their nuances in tact. The STR-DA7100ES was able to accommodate multiple layers of detail without skipping a beat, such as articulating a cymbal bell over top of a driving, vocal-rich mix. Additional tracks on this album did much to bolster my confidence in utilizing the Sony as a clean, powerful amplifier for two-channel music. If you want a really up close and personal track with intimate male vocals, check out track 6 "Bubble Toes."

CD: Amos Lee Amos Lee
This album is a pleasure to listen to - even more so when you have a nice, articulate system. The Sony kept pace and passed the full experience from the CD, unmolested, to the RBH Sound speakers in my room. Starting with Track 1 "Keep It Loose, Keep It Tight" and continuing through the rest of the album Amos' vocals are raw and authentic. Guitars and bass aren't significantly processed or "overmixed" and, in fact, the disc retains some dynamics which I am finding harder and harder to locate these days. Amos' vocals were dead center in the mix and up front as if he was singing from directly between my speakers. Track 4 "Give It Up" got a bit funkier with the addition of an organ and a more energetic guitar and vocal style. Even with the additional, and busier, arrangement I still found the Sony offered a clarity and detail that made the tracks all that much better.

DVD-Audio: Seal IV
I wanted to experience some fuller, more compressed mixes with plenty of low frequency, so I queued up Seal IV and settled in for some tunes. The first track I listened to was "Waiting for You" which intros with a bass line and doesn't let up the entire time. Amidst the rather dense mix I was still permitted to distinguish individual instruments and detail. Entry level receivers have clipped the top end and resulted in a more sibilant, less enjoyable rendition of this song in prior listening sessions. Track 10 "Heavenly" was the second track I listened to find out whether the Sony would do a clean rendition of vocals amidst a sea of reverb, percussion, and keyboard synth. The results were enjoyable and I almost became frustrated that I couldn't find a track to trip up the Sony to some audible degree or another (ok, it was more like I was frustrated that the transparency of the Sony left me little to write about...)

We measured the Sony STR-DA7100ES' output impedance vs. frequency at 1W. It stays relatively flat across the bandpass, but does increase dramatically starting around 15Hz and 15kHz. This is a higher than typical output impedance then we are accustomed to seeing, but not surprising given the amplifier topology (a side effect of the LPF of the output stage). Care should be taken however to mate this receiver with a speaker that has a relatively constant impedance profile to avoid frequency response variations or inconsistency in sound.

The damping factor of the receiver was pretty consistent at around 20, dipping down significantly around 50kHz. Again this is lower than typically seen on receivers with linear amps in this price class.

Measuring attenuation versus frequency, we can see the Sony starts to show some gain at just over 20kHz which then drops off as the analog toroidal low pass filters kick in above that point. On the low frequency side we're looking at a really flat response with a gentle roll off below 100Hz (we're talking about 1/4 dB) with a steep fall off below 20Hz.

Wanting to get in a quick power measurement before we had to pack up the unit for Sony, we measured Max unclipped power into 8-ohms and showed that the Sony could easily drive a single channel from 40Hz to 20kHz at around 183 watts (20Hz was showing 162 watts).

At 1Vrms input to the Sony, the output is 2.67Vrms before the receiver limits the output to avoid clipping. This indicated that the Sony STR-DA7100ES' preamplifier outputs can drive most power amplifiers we are aware of to their maximum potential. Max input voltage before clipping was 2.188Vrms at which point Vout at the preamplifier was measured at 5.89V.

All power tests were done with all testing equipment and the receiver plugged into a voltage regulated APC S-15 and S-BATT unit.