Sony STR-DN1040 AV Receiver Review: WiFi, Bluetooth, and AirPlay Oh My!

 

Sony STR-DN1040 Review Introduction

Last year, we reviewed Sony’s bursting-at-the-seams-with-tons-of-features $500 STR-DN1030 7.1 receiver. It had all of the features we could hope for in a budget receiver, but a horrid user interface and sub-par sound quality held it back from going from good to great. So, this year, when Sony contacted us asking if we’d like to review the new STR-DN1040, we wondered if they had listened to any of our feedback (or feedback from consumers) about the STR-DN1030. The answer? Yes! They kept all of the great features from last year, like built-in Bluetooth, WiFi, and AirPlay, and added new functionality like FLAC decoding and a revamped user interface. Although we still have some gripes, the STR-DN1040 is a big step forward.

Features

By looking at the features and build quality of a receiver, you can typically tell who the target end user is. Some companies, like Sherbourn and Integra, target customer installers. Others, like Marantz and Yamaha’s Aventage series, sit more so in the middle between installers and mainstream consumers. There’s an emphasis on build quality while still having a solid set of features. Other manufacturers clearly go after mainstream consumers by packing their receivers with as many new features as possible. I would put Pioneer, Denon, and Sony in that last camp.

The STR-DN1040 is one of the, if not the, most feature-packed receivers in its price class. For starters, it has built-in WiFi for easy connection to the Internet. It also has an Ethernet jack for those who have the option to hardwire the unit. Surely, for most consumers, WiFi will be used.

Once online, the receiver works with a variety of music streaming services and protocols. It supports AirPlay for all those with iOS devices and Windows PlayTo for those sticking with Microsoft. It also has full support for generic DLNA and UPnP devices, allowing you to pull files off of network computers and storage devices. Expanding beyond your personal music library, Sony has incorporated support for a number of streaming services, including: Pandora, Slacker, vTuner, and their own Music Unlimited.

 

STR-DN1040 Front Panel 

STR-DN1040 Rear Panel

For those whose devices lack both AirPlay and DLNA support, the STR-DN1040 also sports built-in Bluetooth and a USB port on the front panel. If your device of choice can’t connect using one of the options listed, then to be frank, it simply deserves to be thrown away (better recycled). It’s time to upgrade.

In terms of inputs for various AV gear, it has a total of 8 HDMI (1 on front, 7 on rear), 2 optical, 1 digital coax, 4 stereo audio, 2 component and 2 composite video. All video inputs upconvert to HDMI, but only 1080p/24Hz HDMI signals upconvert to 4k. 4k passthrough is supported for native UHD content. Options for connecting a display consist of dual mirrored HDMI outputs, 1 composite and 1 component.  All in all, there are plenty of inputs and outputs for most situations. While many manufacturers are scrapping legacy video support, it's nice to see Sony include it.

When packing so much into a budget receiver, common sense dictates that something has to give. And a few things have. There are no multichannel pre-outs for use with an external amplifier, or multichannel analog inputs. Zone 2 capabilities were also sent through the chopping block. The STR-DN1040 still supports zone 2, but only via a set of preamp analog outputs and IR input. Audio support for zone 2 is relegated to analog only. And the analog “TV” input won’t work on zone 2 for some reason, leaving only 3 analog inputs + AM/FM radio. Additionally, neither mobile app controls the extra zone. Even more limiting is that the analog outputs are fixed, with no option for variable output.

The STR-DN1040 has a 7-channel amp rated at 165w 8 ohms/1kHz/0.9%THD with 1 channel driven. So, for those people who dig mono 1kHz pink noise, you are going to be rocking with this beast. Change that to 2 channels driven and a full bandwidth 20-20kHz load and it drops to 100wpc, a respectable amount of power if the amp can actually hit it. There are 7 binding posts on the rear of the unit, with one set assignable for surround back, bi-amp, front height, or front B duties. There are two RCA subwoofer outputs, but they are not independently controllable.

Build Quality

We tend to talk a lot about build quality vs. features (in the intro to this review, for example), and how a manufacturer can’t have both without bumping up the price of a receiver. Sony has tried to break out of that mold with the STR-DN1040. Well, in the marketing material at least.

It would be fair to call a few of their claims of sonic benefits from minor improvements somewhat dubious. For example, Sony claims that adding internal ribs to the feet “…improves overall structural rigidity and reduces vibration, resulting in a more stable signal and sound improvement. Sound emitted instantaneously such as the power of a drum, or a movie sound effect, along with percussive notes and the strike of a piano key, is greatly improved. As a chassis vibration does not remain for long periods of time, high and midrange resolving power is also superior.” I’m not sure Yamaha would even make such claims with their 5^th foot.

Some of the other claims are a little more measurable, like “the board has been redesigned as a linear wide band power amplifier. This allows for a 20% wider frequency range than traditional discrete amplifier circuit boards… [and] improved noise reduction at the board level in the order of 1/10^th.” They continue on the talk about improvements to the screw placement, torque tension, and support frames. While I am truly happy (really, I am) that Sony is taking these steps towards improved build quality, I could do without some of the fluff.

 

STR-DN1040 Internal View

You have to be careful reading some of the literature, or you might end up thinking some of the build quality features are new to the STR-DN1040. For example, they mention an additional side bracket and front panel sub chassis, both of which were present on the STR-DN1030. Still, by glancing internal pictures of both receivers it’s plain to see that some things have been redesigned, like the bottom panel. They also dropped from 2 x 71V 10,000uF caps to 2 x 71V 8200uF. We actually talked (well, emailed) with Kanai-san, the lead engineer and Sony’s “father of audio” for some more info on the new caps. He mentioned that they chose a bigger transformer for the STR-DN1040 which is why they changed the value capacitance. He also said they jumped to a higher quality capacitor. In the end, the new receiver is supposed to sound better. For what it’s worth, I did think it sounded noticeably better than the STR-DN1030, mostly from better handling of transients.

Sony STR-DN1040 Setup and Operation

The menu system on the STR-DN1040 is ported over from Sony’s ES line of receivers. It looks and operates almost identically to the GUI we raved about in our review of the STR-DA2800ES. Navigation is simple and straightforward. 

 

STR-DN1040 Home Menu

Hitting the “HOME” button on the remote pulls up a….well….home menu, where you can select one of four options: Watch, Listen, Sound Effects, or Settings. By selecting Watch, you are presented with a list of inputs that are likely to use your display, like BD, TV, and SAT/CATV. Selecting Listen pulls up relevant inputs for listening to content, like Radio, Bluetooth, Home Network (DLNA), and SEN. The Sound Effects option lists out all of the available DSPs. The receiver defaults to multi-channel stereo, which is annoying, but easy to change. The last option, settings, takes you to all of the advanced settings for the unit.

Running through all of the settings was pretty easy. For the most part, things are organized well. There are some oddities to be aware of though. For example, Fast View (as Sony calls it, but everyone else calls it InstaPreview) only works on 4 of the HDMI inputs. Poking around the input menu, I also noticed that none of the HDMI, composite video, or stereo audio inputs are assignable. However, you can assign component video, digital coax, and digital optical. You can also change the input name, picture/symbol, and if it shows up in the Watch or Listen pages, or both.

Diving into the speaker settings menu, I found the options to be robust. Amplifier assignment was easy. You simply scroll through a list of pre-set configurations and select the proper layout. Speaker level can be adjusted in .5dB increments and distance in 1” increments. Crossover frequency can be set per speaker and adjusted from 40 to 200Hz in 10Hz steps, an impressive level of detail in this price class. Still, there are some limitations. Both subwoofers share a single distance and level adjustment. Additionally, surround and surround back speakers are linked together in the crossover settings only allowing for a single crossover setting for both sets of speakers. I’m not surprised by either of these caveats, and in general am impressed with the level of adjustments the STR-DN1040 has.

DCAC Auto Setup System

Sony uses their proprietary DCAC auto setup system in all of their receivers. While most of these types of systems take measurements at multiple positions, Sony’s only works at one location. This means that it can be more easily fooled by room modes than multi-position systems. Then again, it’s no fun to move a mic around 6 or 8 times and listen to a round of loud test tones at each spot (especially if the results aren’t accurate and you have to run it again).  

Also, instead of using pink noise like most other systems, DCAC uses melodious tones. This allows it to measure up to two speakers at once by combing sounds in the time axis, leading to a very quick start-to-finish run time of about 30 seconds. DCAC checks and adjusts the typical bunch of settings: crossover, level, distance, polarity, and room EQ. After it finishes, you can select one of three EQs: Engineer Reference (matches Sony’s in-house room used for tuning AV equipment), Front Reference (does not apply any EQ to front L/R, EQs other speakers to match response of front L/R) or Full Flat (adjusts all speaker to have a flat frequency response).

  

Sony STR-DN1040 DCAC Results

Purple Trace – Frequency response before DCAC

Black Trace – Frequency response after DCAC, “Flat EQ”

I ran the setup mic two different times with nearly identical results. It didn’t prompt any “out of phase” warnings like many of these systems do, but it did set my small bookshelf speakers to large and bumped up the sub by 10dB. The distance setting for each speaker was okay, about +/- 6” from physical distance, but I’ve had more accurate results with other systems.

For measurements I set the EQ to Full Flat. As you can see from the above graph, it did very little above 500Hz, other than EQ a few dB down at 6kHz for some reason. Between 350 and 500Hz it EQ’ed up a few dB, which I could have done without. Most of its work was done below 100Hz, bumping up the level of the sub by about 10dB. I’m not sure how Sony considers a giant bass boost to be flat (unless the Fletcher Munson curve is at work), but I’ve seen stranger things with these types of systems.

The lack of EQ above 100Hz (except between 350-500Hz) might be because the system measured quite flat to start with, so little correction was needed, or because DCAC purposefully avoids over correcting midrange or higher frequencies. I hope the latter is true. For the most part, I believe that these auto setup systems should focus on correcting problems in the lower octaves because A) those are the frequencies more likely to need correction and B) adjusting higher frequencies can negatively affect the sonic signature of the speaker.

DCAC gave me similar results to my last run in with the system when I review the STR-DA2800ES. I would recommend using this feature with caution unless you have the tools to measure what it is really doing to your system.

Operation

Remote Control

After dealing with the abhorrent remote coupled with the STR-DN1030, I had low expectations for this year’s model. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. There are a lot of buttons packed onto the remote, but the layout makes it easy to find what you are looking for. Discrete input buttons that line the top of the remote (no discrete power) make switching sources east. A giant “HOME” button pulls up the OSD, which, as previously mentioned, acts as the control hub for the receiver. An “HDMI Output” button switches the receiver between A, B, A+B, or OFF modes. Thankfully, Sony has resisted the urge to place a mass of DSP buttons on the remote. Instead, the “TV Channel” button pulls double duty and adjusts DSPs as well as channels. I only have two minor gripes with the remote. First, the volume button is located at the bottom, forcing you to shift your hand to reach between volume and navigation controls. Second, there is no backlight to help see the remote in the dark.  

Sony STR-DN1040 Remote Control

AudioRemote and TV SideView Apps

The STR-DN1040 is unique in that it works with two different mobile apps, AudioRemote and TV SideView. Neither app has full control over the unit; rather, you have to switch between them depending on what you want to do. I believe that Sony is the only company to do this. This dual-app design might suit some people who are only interested in the capabilities of one of the apps. However, for people who want complete control (input, navigation, settings, zone 2) it would be annoying to constantly switch between apps.   

         

Sony Network Audio App

AudioRemote is strictly used to navigate the streaming services built into the STR-DN1040. It can set the receiver to Sony’s Music Unlimited, Pandora, Slacker, DLNA, or vTuner. It also gives you full control over each service and the receiver’s volume. I used the AudioRemote app primarily for Pandora, but it worked extremely well for DLNA. So well, in fact, I would actually consider using DLNA on a regular basis. It was snappy and fluid, easy to use.

           

Sony TV SideView App

TV SideView is half TV guide and half receiver controller. It uses Gracenote to pull up local TV listings and view information related to specific programs, like plot summary and actors. The main purpose of the app is to supplement TV viewing with relevant information, hence the name TV SideView. As far as the STR-DN1040 is concerned, the app offers simple navigation control allowing you to pull up and use the OSD. By using the OSD, you have full control over the receiver, but it can be inconvenient since you have to locate settings buried in the menu that the IR remote has discrete buttons for (ie. Inputs and DSPs). And you have to be looking at the TV to see what you’re doing.

There is a keyboard option to enter text, but it is not currently supported by the STR-DN1040. The app worked well, except when it came to using the directional pad to control the network features. Whenever I would tap “up” or “down”, the curser would jump up/down by two rows at a time, much like an IR remote with the repeats set too high. This is something I’m sure Sony will address with a firmware update at some point.

Overall, I would prefer a single app to control everything. A single powerful app can be more confusing to use at first, but it’s more convenient once you get the hang of it. Still, for those only concerned with the ability to control streaming audio services, the Network Audio app works quite well. For those wanting more advanced control options, the TV SideView app will likely leave you wanting more.

USB

Last year’s STR-DN1030 disappointed me a bit when I tried to play my lossless FLAC files from a thumb drive and I found out it only supported mp3, m4a, 3gp, mp4, and wma codecs. This year, however, Sony has rectified this situation by including support for FLAC and WAV files. I tried out a few 96kHz/24bit WAV and 44kHz/16bit FLAC files, both worked flawlessly. Navigation worked reasonably well, not super responsive, but not annoyingly slow either. However, I would like to see support added for album art and a search function. Oddly, the STR-D1040 doesn’t support NTFS formatted storage devices either, so those with large music collections on an external HDD are out of luck.

Airplay and Bluetooth

Bluetooth and Airplay are of such importance to consumers it feels weird not devoting more space to them, but here’s just not much to say. Airplay only supports audio streaming, but works well. I never had any audio dropouts or other issues.

Pairing my iPhone to test out Bluetooth was extremely easy thanks to a pairing button on the front panel of the receiver. The STR-DN1040 also supports Avrcp1.3 for Bluetooth device control. This means that you can use the IR remote to pause, play, and skip tracks on your Bluetooth device. Finally, the receiver will automatically power on for use with Bluetooth or AirPlay devices, and automatically turn off after a period inactivity.

Sony STR-DN1040 Sound Quality & Conclusion

Two channel listening tests were performed using MartinLogan Theos floorstanding speakers (8” bass driver in ported cabinet cross over  at 425Hz with electrostatic panel.  4ohms nominal. $4995/pr) and an Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player with the STR-DN1040 set in Pure Direct mode. Surround sound listening tests were done with MartinLogan Motion LX16 bookshelf speakers (5.25” bass driver, 1”x1.4” Folded Motion tweeter. $799/pr), MartinLogan Motif center speaker, Definitive Technology BP7006 rear speakers (Built in 8” subwoofers with dual 8” passive radiators), and an Emotiva X-ref10 subwoofer.

CD: Norah Jones: Come Away With Me

The opening track, “Don’t Know Why I Didn’t Call”, had all the ambiance and slight reverb that I am used to. Imaging was spot on, with vocals firmly set in the middle, drum kit about a foot inside the right speaker, and piano across the entire soundstage. On “Seven Years”, Jones’ vocals flowed out from the speakers with an eerily natural and smooth sound. During some of the dynamic peaks in the CD, I thought there was just a little extra edge in the female vocals, but just barely. Overall, the receiver did a phenomenal job. There were no obvious flaws or lack of power. Of course, there wasn’t much for the STR-DN1040 to screw up anyway. With the digital-to-analog conversion happening in the Oppo and the receiver in Pure direct mode, I was able to listen to the best sound quality the receiver is capable of. And my Theos are an easy speaker to drive. I don’t mean to dismiss the 2ch sound quality capabilities of the STR-DN1040, not at all. However, under different situations, with harder to drive speakers, in larger rooms, or using the internal DAC, some shortcomings may have shown up that didn’t present themselves.

Blu-ray: Oz the Great and Powerful

I was really blown away with this movie. The casting is okay (Not sure Mila Kunis is a great fit) and the special effects are good. The cinematography helps strike a nice balance between serious action film and fun fantasy flick, but the sound quality is what really stands out. I really was not expecting the kind of dynamic range from the soundtrack, or the STR-DN1040, that I heard. Part of the reason for the superb dynamics is the DTS-HDMA Near Field Audio Mix. Throughout the movie there are multiple short but intense actions scenes. Your first taste of this sonic delicacy is the tornado scene where Oz is caught up in the middle of a giant twister. Cracks, creeks and whirls emanated from every speaker, filling the room, and a low, rumbling LFE channel shook the couch with force. Even during quick snippets, like the lion attack in chapter 14, sounds panned across the front and rear sound stage. The STR-DN1040 stood its ground and handled every bit of the mix without a hint of strain or distortion. In fact, some of the dramatic scenes were a little too good, like when screaming flying monkeys burst through a cloud only feet in front of your face filling your vision on the screen and hearing through the speakers. The experience was a little….disconcerting. The final coup d'état in the plot and visual effects is the final battle scene where the great wizard finally shows off his power and releases the stars i.e. fireworks. The great Emerald City erupted in a firestorm of explosions and gut wrenching LFE. The entire end battle scene is quite long, but spots of dialogue serve to give your eardrums a break. Obviously, I would not be this impressed with the movie’s soundtrack if there wasn’t a great receiver to give that soundtrack life. Kudos to the STR-DN1040.

     

Blu-ray: Tron Legacy

Tron Legacy is one of the few sequels that’s actually nearly as engaging as the first film in the series. Legacy pushed the envelope in terms of sound and picture, but still had a decent plot that introduced new characters and advanced old ones (I know Rotten Tomato disagrees, but I still like it). One of the highlights of the movie is the musical score masterminded by Daft Punk. From big orchestral movements to bass heavy synthesizer and drum kit driven passages, the STR-DN1040 belted out enough sound to turn my theater into a personal rave club. But it also handled quite scenes well. For example, there is subtle detail in the scene when Sam first discovers his father’s old work station and ventures into the basement under the old arcade. The shuffling of Sam’s feet, creaking of an old door hinge, and background music bleeding through from the main arcade all tumbled out of the speakers creating an immersive and detailed experience. I also never had any problems understanding dialogue during Tron, or any other movies I watched. Probably the trademark scene(s) from the movie is when Sam fights Renzler during the Disc Wars and proceeds to escape after an epic Light Cycle battle. As the final sight scene with Renzler swelled to a crescendo, the bass thumper, every section of the orchestra pounded away, and the STR-DN1040 kept pace.

Suggestions for Improvements

As much as I like the STR-DN1040, it’s not perfect. The lack of a single mobile app for full control, or web browser interface, strikes me as lazy and directly hampered my experience. For example, it was easy to turn on the receiver and listen to network music services using the Network Audio app. However, when I wanted to turn off of the receiver I had to open up the TV SideView app. And unlike the 2-way communication used in the Network Audio app (it can send commands to the receiver and the receiver can send information back), the TV SideView app is only 1-way. This means that you don’t really know if the receiver is on or off without being able to physically see it.

This disjointed mobile app design also compounds the STR-DN1040’s zone 2 handicaps. Neither app has any zone 2 control, and the lack of 2-way communication would make controlling the receiver from a remote zone difficult even if the apps were capable. Furthermore, the inability to assign two of the amp channels to power a second zone, lack of support for digital inputs or network sources, and line-level outputs locked at a fixed volume mean that this receiver is quite poorly suited for multi-zone. But, if you are okay with the limitations, the 2^nd zone functionality it does have (pre-outs and IR In/Out) works well.

My final suggestion is that Sony stop front-loading the volume control on their receivers.

Editorial note: If you are unfamiliar with front-loading the volume, let me explain. Let’s say you have a receiver with a volume dial that goes from 0-100. If you set the dial to 25/100, you would probably assume you are using 25% of the maximum power available. You would also assume that increasing the volume dial by 1 would increase the power by 1%. However, when the volume is front-loaded the amount of additional power from each click of the volume dial is not constant from 0-100. As you turn the volume up, the amount of additional power you get from each click decreases. So, going from 10 to 11 might result in a 5% boost, but going from 70 to 71 might only yield an addition 0.5% of power. With this moving scale you end up hitting the maximum output of the amp far before the volume dial is anywhere near max. This technique was originally ported over to receivers from TVs because consumers were already used to front loaded volume controls on their TVs. However, it can be used to fool consumers into thinking that a receiver is much more powerful than it actually is.

This normally doesn’t bother me too much, but it made adjusting the volume with the sliding bar on my iPhone (in the Network Audio app) a big pain. It also made it more difficult to find the perfect volume for general listening. Unfortunately, this is an all too common practice, and one that Sony implemented last year as well but I never called them on it. However, after bringing attention to it in my review of the Samsung HW-F750 soundbar, I thought it only fair to mention it in this review. To be a little more amicable, it’s not that Sony can’t do this at all, but that it should be toned down a bit. The volume control was over zealous in its desire to blow me out of my seat.

Conclusion

There was a lot that I liked about the STR-DN1030 when I reviewed it last year, like built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, and AirPlay, but a few big caveats held it back. Namely, the sound quality was only so-so, the user interface was awful, network control app was very limited, zone 2 functionality was less than sub-par, and the auto setup system was questionable. With the STR-DN1040, Sony has overcome most all of these issues. The sound quality is much improved and the user interface is now a joy to use. The network apps are better, especially for streaming functionality, but need a little more tweaking. Zone 2 integration is still lacking, but that’s not a surprise considering everything else you get. And the DCAC auto setup system needs some work as well, but Audyssey is the only system on the market that’s very capable anyway. All in all, the STR-DN1040 is a great receiver for single room installations and comes highly recommended from me. This is by far the best Sony receiver I have used in years.

 

 

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Multi-channel Audio Performance
Two-channel Audio Performance
Network Features
Build Quality
Fit and Finish
Ergonomics & Usability
Ease of Setup
Features
Remote Control
Performance
Value