SONY STRDH500 or SONY STRDH800

danemc · 02-12-2009, 16:23

Opinions wanted please...

Not sure which AV Receiver to go for, this is what I've got:

Sony Bravia 40" HDTV
Sky+HD
Sony Blu-ray
Sony VAIO laptop that I hook up via HDMI for films etc.

It's my first 5.1 system

Chosen these speakers and sub: ONKYO SKSHT528

So do I go with SONY STRDH500 or SONY STRDH800

I guess what I'm asking is, what are the main benefits to me of spending the extra, over just going for the 500...

chrisjr · 02-12-2009, 16:52

Either of them would do the job very well.

The main differences between the two are

The 500 is 5.1 and the 800 is 7.1

The 800 does the newer HD audio formats that are present on Blu-Ray disks.

These HD formats may well not be recognised by the 500. Though the DTS HD format is backwards compatible with the "standard" DTS format the 500 can decode. Not so sure about the Dolby Digital equivalents however.

So if you go for the 800 you might want to contemplate adding an extra pair of surround speakers to your chosen package

martysport · 03-12-2009, 09:14

I have the 800 (it's my 5th AV amp, I 1st got the AV bug in 1993

)

It is an awesome bit of kit!!!! If you have bluray then you would be stupid NOT to get it

Even in DD5.1 sources (like Sky HD and normal DVD's) the sound is so much better and even stereo from other TV programs is outstanding using Dolby ProLogic IIx

EDIT: I forgot to say that the 500 doesn't do audio over the HDMI cable so if you are gonna play movies via your laptop you would have to have another cable for the sound with the 500 (but NOT with the 800

)

danemc · 03-12-2009, 10:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Either of them would do the job very well.

The main differences between the two are

The 500 is 5.1 and the 800 is 7.1

The 800 does the newer HD audio formats that are present on Blu-Ray disks.

These HD formats may well not be recognised by the 500. Though the DTS HD format is backwards compatible with the "standard" DTS format the 500 can decode. Not so sure about the Dolby Digital equivalents however.

So if you go for the 800 you might want to contemplate adding an extra pair of surround speakers to your chosen package

thanks for you reply chris!

Quote:

Originally Posted by martysport

I have the 800 (it's my 5th AV amp, I 1st got the AV bug in 1993

)

It is an awesome bit of kit!!!! If you have bluray then you would be stupid NOT to get it

Even in DD5.1 sources (like Sky HD and normal DVD's) the sound is so much better and even stereo from other TV programs is outstanding using Dolby ProLogic IIx

EDIT: I forgot to say that the 500 doesn't do audio over the HDMI cable so if you are gonna play movies via your laptop you would have to have another cable for the sound with the 500 (but NOT with the 800

)

cheers marty, always good to hear from people who have the things; and seeing as it's your 5th i could probably save a fair bit of money over time if i go for this first time

so thank you!

also - really appreciate the edit - that will swing it to the 800 as i just hook my vaio straight upto the hdmi atm, so would want the same functionality

cheers guys - will order today

danemc · 03-12-2009, 10:55

sorry guys, what else will i need to order in addition to the amp and speaker package?

do i need optical cable for the sky box etc or will hdmi do the job just as well?

and speaker wire - do i need to buy that too or will it come with the speakers?

sorry - proper n00b questions i know

martysport · 03-12-2009, 11:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by danemc

sorry guys, what else will i need to order in addition to the amp and speaker package?

do i need optical cable for the sky box etc or will hdmi do the job just as well?

and speaker wire - do i need to buy that too or will it come with the speakers?

sorry - proper n00b questions i know

You will need an optical for Sky as the retards at Sky made the boxes so they only output 2.0 over the HDMI cable

As for speaker cable get some decent cable (but there is no need to pay through the nose for it!!!!!!!!)

SOmething like this is ideal

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15m-Oxygen-Fre...item4cebd1a58b

I dare say 'others' will tell you that you need to pay £5+ a meter but IMHO thats bollox

Normally speaker cable supplied in packages is kinda shite.

As for my 5th amp

times change so 5 amps over 16 odd years isn't too bad

1st was just a Dolby ProLogic amp (JVC) that developed a fault so I replaced it with another Dolby ProLogic amp but by Kenwood. 3rd amp was a proper 5.1 DD/DTS amp then I had a 6.1 and now finally this 7.1

chrisjr · 03-12-2009, 11:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by martysport

You will need an optical for Sky as the retards at Sky made the boxes so they only output 2.0 over the HDMI cable

As for speaker cable get some decent cable (but there is no need to pay through the nose for it!!!!!!!!)

SOmething like this is ideal

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15m-Oxygen-Fre...item4cebd1a58b

I dare say 'others' will tell you that you need to pay £5+ a meter but IMHO thats bollox

Normally speaker cable supplied in packages is kinda shite.

I can sell you some oxygen free air to go with the oxygen free speaker cable if you want. Ensures the purity of the sound isn't compromised by all that nasty oxygen in the atmosphere getting back into the cable

Or you could go for this cheap stuff...

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

And of course you will need a Toslink lead to connect the Sky box

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

Not to mention a proper mains lead...

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

Does make you wonder....

And I love the explanation of the Cyro treatment used on the mains plugs!

martysport · 03-12-2009, 11:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

I can sell you some oxygen free air to go with the oxygen free speaker cable if you want. Ensures the purity of the sound isn't compromised by all that nasty oxygen in the atmosphere getting back into the cable

Or you could go for this cheap stuff...

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

And of course you will need a Toslink lead to connect the Sky box

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

Not to mention a proper mains lead...

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

Does make you wonder....

And I love the explanation of the Cyro treatment used on the mains plugs!

The sad thing is some idiots buy that crap

I wounder do NASA astronauts use oxygen free air

A fool and his money are easily seperated

s_mirage · 03-12-2009, 11:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by martysport

The sad thing is some idiots buy that crap

I wounder do NASA astronauts use oxygen free air

A fool and his money are easily seperated

Oh, watching people try to justify using obscenely expensive power cables when you point out all the dirty, impure cable the electricity passes through before it reaches the socket is a sight to behold. As are their reactions when you want to do a blind comparison.

danemc · 03-12-2009, 12:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by martysport

You will need an optical for Sky as the retards at Sky made the boxes so they only output 2.0 over the HDMI cable

As for speaker cable get some decent cable (but there is no need to pay through the nose for it!!!!!!!!)

SOmething like this is ideal

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15m-Oxygen-Fre...item4cebd1a58b

I dare say 'others' will tell you that you need to pay £5+ a meter but IMHO thats bollox

Normally speaker cable supplied in packages is kinda shite.

As for my 5th amp

times change so 5 amps over 16 odd years isn't too bad

1st was just a Dolby ProLogic amp (JVC) that developed a fault so I replaced it with another Dolby ProLogic amp but by Kenwood. 3rd amp was a proper 5.1 DD/DTS amp then I had a 6.1 and now finally this 7.1

much appreciated! if we were in the pub your next round would be on me! cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

I can sell you some oxygen free air to go with the oxygen free speaker cable if you want. Ensures the purity of the sound isn't compromised by all that nasty oxygen in the atmosphere getting back into the cable

Or you could go for this cheap stuff...

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

And of course you will need a Toslink lead to connect the Sky box

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

Not to mention a proper mains lead...

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

Does make you wonder....

And I love the explanation of the Cyro treatment used on the mains plugs!

haha nice one - top linkage

chrisjr · 03-12-2009, 12:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by danemc

haha nice one - top linkage

And it gets worse....

http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD

Sometimes i do wonder if Russ Andrews is for real and actually believes all this BS or is just laughing up his sleeve and happily trousering tons of cash from gullible idiots.

martysport · 03-12-2009, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Sometimes i do wonder if Russ Andrews is for real and actually believes all this BS or is just laughing up his sleeve and happily trousering tons of cash from gullible idiots.

Must be a piss take

I had a quick look and everything I looked out was out of stock

(I admit I didn't look at every item for sale

)

chrisjr · 03-12-2009, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by martysport

Must be a piss take

I had a quick look and everything I looked out was out of stock

(I admit I didn't look at every item for sale

)

Does seem to be an awful lot of "will be delivered in 3 to 5 days" or similar on that site.

Which sort of makes you wonder if he hasn't just got a load of bits in a shed that he knocks up when some idiot (sorry I mean customer

) places an order

danemc · 03-12-2009, 12:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by martysport

Must be a piss take

I had a quick look and everything I looked out was out of stock

(I admit I didn't look at every item for sale

)

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Does seem to be an awful lot of "will be delivered in 3 to 5 days" or similar on that site.

Which sort of makes you wonder if he hasn't just got a load of bits in a shed that he knocks up when some idiot (sorry I mean customer

) places an order

come on lads, give the guy some credit, with stock at that price he's not gonna carry that much is he!!

would love to know what he buys it in at, he's probably being spanked by someone else for it!!

s_mirage · 03-12-2009, 13:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Does seem to be an awful lot of "will be delivered in 3 to 5 days" or similar on that site.

Which sort of makes you wonder if he hasn't just got a load of bits in a shed that he knocks up when some idiot (sorry I mean customer

) places an order

Wouldn't surprise me. There was a thread on head-fi (which happens to have a lot of posters who believe this nonsense) a while ago where someone had a supposed $150 cable torn up by their cat. IIRC it turned out that it was just some ordinary cable wrapped in a hosepipe filled with some metal powder.

chrisjr · 03-12-2009, 13:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_mirage

Wouldn't surprise me. There was a thread on head-fi (which happens to have a lot of posters who believe this nonsense) a while ago where someone had a supposed $150 cable torn up by their cat. IIRC it turned out that it was just some ordinary cable wrapped in a hosepipe filled with some metal powder.

And what about the crazy idea that cables are directional! So you had to make sure they were plugged in the right way round otherwise the sound would be all screwed up.

Obviously whoever thought that one up has no idea what Alternating Current means.....

And using green marker pens on the edges of CDs to absorb light from the laser deflected across the surface of the disk so it can't get reflected back and interfere with the beam from the laser. Someone should have been paying more attention in physics at school.

Have we dragged this thread sufficiently far off topic yet

s_mirage · 03-12-2009, 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

Have we dragged this thread sufficiently far off topic yet

Yes, on topic, ok, erm....Get the 800, I have one, it's good and offers the potential to upgrade your system to 7.1 if you choose. AFAIK provided your blu-ray player decodes both Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio you could still get hi def sound through the 500 though.

danemc · 03-12-2009, 14:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_mirage

Yes, on topic, ok, erm....Get the 800, I have one, it's good and offers the potential to upgrade your system to 7.1 if you choose. AFAIK provided your blu-ray player decodes both Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio you could still get hi def sound through the 500 though.

just reserved the 800 and the speakers at richer sounds to collect tomorrow - to be fair the lad mentioned the need for an optical cable - felt good sounding like i knew a little bit though (i know a little can be dangerous etc

not getting ahead of myself, but thanks to this thread) by agreeing with him and saying it was Sky's fault

cheers marty!!

he said i should look at the ONKYO TXSR577 at £299 as he believes it's more punchy etc, but again, I mentioned my Sony setup and the laptop sound part and so he said we'd have a chat tomorrow.

Quite pleased with my choice though now it's been sounded out on here

martysport · 03-12-2009, 14:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by s_mirage

AFAIK provided your blu-ray player decodes both Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio you could still get hi def sound through the 500 though.

No sound on HDMI on the 500

I just downloaded the 500 instructions and it says you need to connect the optical cable if using a bluray player.

Anyway if he's orderd the 800 it makes no differance (the 800 is a much better machine anyway)

chrisjr · 03-12-2009, 14:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by danemc

just reserved the 800 and the speakers at richer sounds to collect tomorrow - to be fair the lad mentioned the need for an optical cable - felt good sounding like i knew a little bit though (i know a little can be dangerous etc

not getting ahead of myself, but thanks to this thread) by agreeing with him and saying it was Sky's fault

cheers marty!!

he said i should look at the ONKYO TXSR577 at £299 as he believes it's more punchy etc, but again, I mentioned my Sony setup and the laptop sound part and so he said we'd have a chat tomorrow.

Quite pleased with my choice though now it's been sounded out on here

I would ask Richersounds to set up a couple of systems for you, especially speakers. I would never ever in a million years buy a set of speakers without listening to them and some alternatives.

After all they have by far the biggest influence on the sound of the system. So get it right before flashing the plastic

danemc · 03-12-2009, 15:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisjr

I would ask Richersounds to set up a couple of systems for you, especially speakers. I would never ever in a million years buy a set of speakers without listening to them and some alternatives.

After all they have by far the biggest influence on the sound of the system. So get it right before flashing the plastic

Yeah will do. Cheers again mate

bunnyds · 03-12-2009, 15:59

I've always stuck to Sony kit and have the 800, only two things wrong with it;

1, It has recently started buzzing, most annoying when you have it switched on with no TV on.

2, The HDMI/Optical issue around Sky HD DD transmissions. Seems you can't specify both inputs at the same time with the 800.

martysport · 03-12-2009, 16:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by bunnyds

I've always stuck to Sony kit and have the 800, only two things wrong with it;

1, It has recently started buzzing, most annoying when you have it switched on with no TV on.

2, The HDMI/Optical issue around Sky HD DD transmissions. Seems you can't specify both inputs at the same time with the 800.

1. Check your cables

2. Yes you can

danemc · 06-12-2009, 21:08

just to wrap this one up for anyone else who comes across the tread in future - i went into richer sounds on deansgate on friday, and they had set the sony up with the onkyo speakers etc so i had a listen, and am very impressed.

can't wait to get it all setup (at xmas)

money well spent, and another reference for the staff at richer sounds - good lads!!

Dino M · 06-12-2009, 22:05

I have to say that I always use Richer Sounds, as the staff at their branches do seem very well trained and their knowledge of the products they sell is very good. I have only even been into two branches, but the staff at both were very good.

02-12-2009, 16:23	#1
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	SONY STRDH500 or SONY STRDH800 Opinions wanted please... Not sure which AV Receiver to go for, this is what I've got: Sony Bravia 40" HDTV Sky+HD Sony Blu-ray Sony VAIO laptop that I hook up via HDMI for films etc. It's my first 5.1 system Chosen these speakers and sub: ONKYO SKSHT528 So do I go with SONY STRDH500 or SONY STRDH800 I guess what I'm asking is, what are the main benefits to me of spending the extra, over just going for the 500...

02-12-2009, 16:52	#2
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Either of them would do the job very well. The main differences between the two are The 500 is 5.1 and the 800 is 7.1 The 800 does the newer HD audio formats that are present on Blu-Ray disks. These HD formats may well not be recognised by the 500. Though the DTS HD format is backwards compatible with the "standard" DTS format the 500 can decode. Not so sure about the Dolby Digital equivalents however. So if you go for the 800 you might want to contemplate adding an extra pair of surround speakers to your chosen package

03-12-2009, 09:14	#3
martysport Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Exciled in France Posts: 363	I have the 800 (it's my 5th AV amp, I 1st got the AV bug in 1993 ) It is an awesome bit of kit!!!! If you have bluray then you would be stupid NOT to get it Even in DD5.1 sources (like Sky HD and normal DVD's) the sound is so much better and even stereo from other TV programs is outstanding using Dolby ProLogic IIx EDIT: I forgot to say that the 500 doesn't do audio over the HDMI cable so if you are gonna play movies via your laptop you would have to have another cable for the sound with the 500 (but NOT with the 800 )

03-12-2009, 10:29	#4
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr Either of them would do the job very well. The main differences between the two are The 500 is 5.1 and the 800 is 7.1 The 800 does the newer HD audio formats that are present on Blu-Ray disks. These HD formats may well not be recognised by the 500. Though the DTS HD format is backwards compatible with the "standard" DTS format the 500 can decode. Not so sure about the Dolby Digital equivalents however. So if you go for the 800 you might want to contemplate adding an extra pair of surround speakers to your chosen package thanks for you reply chris! Quote: Originally Posted by martysport I have the 800 (it's my 5th AV amp, I 1st got the AV bug in 1993 ) It is an awesome bit of kit!!!! If you have bluray then you would be stupid NOT to get it Even in DD5.1 sources (like Sky HD and normal DVD's) the sound is so much better and even stereo from other TV programs is outstanding using Dolby ProLogic IIx EDIT: I forgot to say that the 500 doesn't do audio over the HDMI cable so if you are gonna play movies via your laptop you would have to have another cable for the sound with the 500 (but NOT with the 800 ) cheers marty, always good to hear from people who have the things; and seeing as it's your 5th i could probably save a fair bit of money over time if i go for this first time so thank you! also - really appreciate the edit - that will swing it to the 800 as i just hook my vaio straight upto the hdmi atm, so would want the same functionality cheers guys - will order today

03-12-2009, 10:55	#5
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	sorry guys, what else will i need to order in addition to the amp and speaker package? do i need optical cable for the sky box etc or will hdmi do the job just as well? and speaker wire - do i need to buy that too or will it come with the speakers? sorry - proper n00b questions i know

03-12-2009, 11:04	#6
martysport Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Exciled in France Posts: 363	Quote: Originally Posted by danemc sorry guys, what else will i need to order in addition to the amp and speaker package? do i need optical cable for the sky box etc or will hdmi do the job just as well? and speaker wire - do i need to buy that too or will it come with the speakers? sorry - proper n00b questions i know You will need an optical for Sky as the retards at Sky made the boxes so they only output 2.0 over the HDMI cable As for speaker cable get some decent cable (but there is no need to pay through the nose for it!!!!!!!!) SOmething like this is ideal http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15m-Oxygen-Fre...item4cebd1a58b I dare say 'others' will tell you that you need to pay £5+ a meter but IMHO thats bollox Normally speaker cable supplied in packages is kinda shite. As for my 5th amp times change so 5 amps over 16 odd years isn't too bad 1st was just a Dolby ProLogic amp (JVC) that developed a fault so I replaced it with another Dolby ProLogic amp but by Kenwood. 3rd amp was a proper 5.1 DD/DTS amp then I had a 6.1 and now finally this 7.1

03-12-2009, 11:12	#7
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by martysport You will need an optical for Sky as the retards at Sky made the boxes so they only output 2.0 over the HDMI cable As for speaker cable get some decent cable (but there is no need to pay through the nose for it!!!!!!!!) SOmething like this is ideal http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15m-Oxygen-Fre...item4cebd1a58b I dare say 'others' will tell you that you need to pay £5+ a meter but IMHO thats bollox Normally speaker cable supplied in packages is kinda shite. I can sell you some oxygen free air to go with the oxygen free speaker cable if you want. Ensures the purity of the sound isn't compromised by all that nasty oxygen in the atmosphere getting back into the cable Or you could go for this cheap stuff... http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD And of course you will need a Toslink lead to connect the Sky box http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD Not to mention a proper mains lead... http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD Does make you wonder.... And I love the explanation of the Cyro treatment used on the mains plugs!

03-12-2009, 11:17	#8
martysport Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Exciled in France Posts: 363	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr I can sell you some oxygen free air to go with the oxygen free speaker cable if you want. Ensures the purity of the sound isn't compromised by all that nasty oxygen in the atmosphere getting back into the cable Or you could go for this cheap stuff... http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD And of course you will need a Toslink lead to connect the Sky box http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD Not to mention a proper mains lead... http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD Does make you wonder.... And I love the explanation of the Cyro treatment used on the mains plugs! The sad thing is some idiots buy that crap I wounder do NASA astronauts use oxygen free air A fool and his money are easily seperated

03-12-2009, 11:27	#9
s_mirage Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 378	Quote: Originally Posted by martysport The sad thing is some idiots buy that crap I wounder do NASA astronauts use oxygen free air A fool and his money are easily seperated Oh, watching people try to justify using obscenely expensive power cables when you point out all the dirty, impure cable the electricity passes through before it reaches the socket is a sight to behold. As are their reactions when you want to do a blind comparison.

03-12-2009, 12:16	#10
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	Quote: Originally Posted by martysport You will need an optical for Sky as the retards at Sky made the boxes so they only output 2.0 over the HDMI cable As for speaker cable get some decent cable (but there is no need to pay through the nose for it!!!!!!!!) SOmething like this is ideal http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/15m-Oxygen-Fre...item4cebd1a58b I dare say 'others' will tell you that you need to pay £5+ a meter but IMHO thats bollox Normally speaker cable supplied in packages is kinda shite. As for my 5th amp times change so 5 amps over 16 odd years isn't too bad 1st was just a Dolby ProLogic amp (JVC) that developed a fault so I replaced it with another Dolby ProLogic amp but by Kenwood. 3rd amp was a proper 5.1 DD/DTS amp then I had a 6.1 and now finally this 7.1 much appreciated! if we were in the pub your next round would be on me! cheers Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr I can sell you some oxygen free air to go with the oxygen free speaker cable if you want. Ensures the purity of the sound isn't compromised by all that nasty oxygen in the atmosphere getting back into the cable Or you could go for this cheap stuff... http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD And of course you will need a Toslink lead to connect the Sky box http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD Not to mention a proper mains lead... http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD Does make you wonder.... And I love the explanation of the Cyro treatment used on the mains plugs! haha nice one - top linkage

03-12-2009, 12:31	#11
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by danemc haha nice one - top linkage And it gets worse.... http://www.russandrews.com/product.a...HLRQUHNMJQGZGD Sometimes i do wonder if Russ Andrews is for real and actually believes all this BS or is just laughing up his sleeve and happily trousering tons of cash from gullible idiots.

03-12-2009, 12:34	#12
martysport Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Exciled in France Posts: 363	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr Sometimes i do wonder if Russ Andrews is for real and actually believes all this BS or is just laughing up his sleeve and happily trousering tons of cash from gullible idiots. Must be a piss take I had a quick look and everything I looked out was out of stock (I admit I didn't look at every item for sale )

03-12-2009, 12:43	#13
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by martysport Must be a piss take I had a quick look and everything I looked out was out of stock (I admit I didn't look at every item for sale ) Does seem to be an awful lot of "will be delivered in 3 to 5 days" or similar on that site. Which sort of makes you wonder if he hasn't just got a load of bits in a shed that he knocks up when some idiot (sorry I mean customer ) places an order

03-12-2009, 12:58	#14
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	Quote: Originally Posted by martysport Must be a piss take I had a quick look and everything I looked out was out of stock (I admit I didn't look at every item for sale ) Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr Does seem to be an awful lot of "will be delivered in 3 to 5 days" or similar on that site. Which sort of makes you wonder if he hasn't just got a load of bits in a shed that he knocks up when some idiot (sorry I mean customer ) places an order come on lads, give the guy some credit, with stock at that price he's not gonna carry that much is he!! would love to know what he buys it in at, he's probably being spanked by someone else for it!!

03-12-2009, 13:25	#15
s_mirage Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 378	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr Does seem to be an awful lot of "will be delivered in 3 to 5 days" or similar on that site. Which sort of makes you wonder if he hasn't just got a load of bits in a shed that he knocks up when some idiot (sorry I mean customer ) places an order Wouldn't surprise me. There was a thread on head-fi (which happens to have a lot of posters who believe this nonsense) a while ago where someone had a supposed $150 cable torn up by their cat. IIRC it turned out that it was just some ordinary cable wrapped in a hosepipe filled with some metal powder.

03-12-2009, 13:39	#16
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by s_mirage Wouldn't surprise me. There was a thread on head-fi (which happens to have a lot of posters who believe this nonsense) a while ago where someone had a supposed $150 cable torn up by their cat. IIRC it turned out that it was just some ordinary cable wrapped in a hosepipe filled with some metal powder. And what about the crazy idea that cables are directional! So you had to make sure they were plugged in the right way round otherwise the sound would be all screwed up. Obviously whoever thought that one up has no idea what Alternating Current means..... And using green marker pens on the edges of CDs to absorb light from the laser deflected across the surface of the disk so it can't get reflected back and interfere with the beam from the laser. Someone should have been paying more attention in physics at school. Have we dragged this thread sufficiently far off topic yet

03-12-2009, 13:48	#17
s_mirage Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 378	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr Have we dragged this thread sufficiently far off topic yet Yes, on topic, ok, erm....Get the 800, I have one, it's good and offers the potential to upgrade your system to 7.1 if you choose. AFAIK provided your blu-ray player decodes both Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio you could still get hi def sound through the 500 though.

03-12-2009, 14:30	#18
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	Quote: Originally Posted by s_mirage Yes, on topic, ok, erm....Get the 800, I have one, it's good and offers the potential to upgrade your system to 7.1 if you choose. AFAIK provided your blu-ray player decodes both Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio you could still get hi def sound through the 500 though. just reserved the 800 and the speakers at richer sounds to collect tomorrow - to be fair the lad mentioned the need for an optical cable - felt good sounding like i knew a little bit though (i know a little can be dangerous etc not getting ahead of myself, but thanks to this thread) by agreeing with him and saying it was Sky's fault cheers marty!! he said i should look at the ONKYO TXSR577 at £299 as he believes it's more punchy etc, but again, I mentioned my Sony setup and the laptop sound part and so he said we'd have a chat tomorrow. Quite pleased with my choice though now it's been sounded out on here

03-12-2009, 14:38	#19
martysport Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Exciled in France Posts: 363	Quote: Originally Posted by s_mirage AFAIK provided your blu-ray player decodes both Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master Audio you could still get hi def sound through the 500 though. No sound on HDMI on the 500 I just downloaded the 500 instructions and it says you need to connect the optical cable if using a bluray player. Anyway if he's orderd the 800 it makes no differance (the 800 is a much better machine anyway)

03-12-2009, 14:41	#20
chrisjr Forum Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Reading Posts: 27,916	Quote: Originally Posted by danemc just reserved the 800 and the speakers at richer sounds to collect tomorrow - to be fair the lad mentioned the need for an optical cable - felt good sounding like i knew a little bit though (i know a little can be dangerous etc not getting ahead of myself, but thanks to this thread) by agreeing with him and saying it was Sky's fault cheers marty!! he said i should look at the ONKYO TXSR577 at £299 as he believes it's more punchy etc, but again, I mentioned my Sony setup and the laptop sound part and so he said we'd have a chat tomorrow. Quite pleased with my choice though now it's been sounded out on here I would ask Richersounds to set up a couple of systems for you, especially speakers. I would never ever in a million years buy a set of speakers without listening to them and some alternatives. After all they have by far the biggest influence on the sound of the system. So get it right before flashing the plastic

03-12-2009, 15:50	#21
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	Quote: Originally Posted by chrisjr I would ask Richersounds to set up a couple of systems for you, especially speakers. I would never ever in a million years buy a set of speakers without listening to them and some alternatives. After all they have by far the biggest influence on the sound of the system. So get it right before flashing the plastic Yeah will do. Cheers again mate

DS Forums

SONY STRDH500 or SONY STRDH800

03-12-2009, 15:59	#22
bunnyds Inactive Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Carole's Forest of Chin Posts: 3,439	I've always stuck to Sony kit and have the 800, only two things wrong with it; 1, It has recently started buzzing, most annoying when you have it switched on with no TV on. 2, The HDMI/Optical issue around Sky HD DD transmissions. Seems you can't specify both inputs at the same time with the 800.

03-12-2009, 16:56	#23
martysport Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Exciled in France Posts: 363	Quote: Originally Posted by bunnyds I've always stuck to Sony kit and have the 800, only two things wrong with it; 1, It has recently started buzzing, most annoying when you have it switched on with no TV on. 2, The HDMI/Optical issue around Sky HD DD transmissions. Seems you can't specify both inputs at the same time with the 800. 1. Check your cables 2. Yes you can

06-12-2009, 21:08	#24
danemc Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Manchester Posts: 110	just to wrap this one up for anyone else who comes across the tread in future - i went into richer sounds on deansgate on friday, and they had set the sony up with the onkyo speakers etc so i had a listen, and am very impressed. can't wait to get it all setup (at xmas) money well spent, and another reference for the staff at richer sounds - good lads!!

06-12-2009, 22:05	#25
Dino M Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,550	I have to say that I always use Richer Sounds, as the staff at their branches do seem very well trained and their knowledge of the products they sell is very good. I have only even been into two branches, but the staff at both were very good.