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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Great Sound and Amazing Connectivity Options
By N. R. Reddy
Updated 6/5/2013 original post 6/3/2013
Great news first you can stream your music files on Android Phone over wifi(like Airplay though not as good) using AirTwist(from DoubleTwist for 5$). More on this below in the File Steaming section.
I am a first time buyer of A/V receiver. I researched a lot about the receivers for about a few weeks i was actually looking at the DN1030 and I had the following wishlist of features in the order of priorities.
1. Builtin/Cheap Wifi(~20$)
2. Stream Audio from Android/Airplay
3. USB In front for FlashDrive with Charge Power >500ma
4. 2 HDMI OUT
5. 2 Digital Audio In
6. MHL in front(powered HDMI in other words)
7. ARC(Audio Return Channel)
8. Passthrough Input Change while in Standby
9. Preout (totally optional as I know it adds to price significantly. NOT available on DN1040)
10. High HDMI Count
Due to price and desired features limitation my research was focused mostly on Sony, Onkyo and Yamaha. The top contenders were Onkyo and Sony with Onkyo leading with its TX-NR616 ($349 + 25$ Wifi Dongle) and Sony DN1030 was next.
DN1040 sounded good but it was too expensive that I did not even consider it in the features matrix. Luckily last week I saw a deal on Rakuten.com (formerly Buy.com) that was only 449 for DN1040. I checked my feature list and all the top 8 parameters as well as number 10 were a go on this one and added Bluetooth which was not even in my feature list. So I pulled the trigger immediately. And boy am I glad that I did!
(Add 6/10) One other important reason why i bought this is because the STR-DN1030 came out on the top in the mid range receivers in the CNET Review last yr and many other websites recommend it.
My Setup:-
Speakers: Energy 5.1 Take Classic Home Theater System (Set of Six, Black) (i paid 299$)
Speaker Wire: RCA AH16100SR 100 Ft. 16-Gauge Speaker Wire
Banana Plugs: Sewell Direct SW-29863-12 Deadbolt Banana Plugs, 12-Pair(26$ NOTE: Cannot use banana plugs on the speaker side without Speaker mounts)
Speaker Mounts: Videosecu 6 Black Satellite Studio Speaker Mounts / Brackets for Walls and Ceilings 1UP (needed some grinding to fit the speaker but works great for the price)
My Amazon Reviews:
Speakers : http://www.amazon.com/review/R25L9POODXC2X8/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm
Mounts : http://www.amazon.com/review/R2GPNDBZ7HSVSV/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B002WNAFSU&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=
Remote:-
I got the remote to work with my LG 42LH90 TV using the code 503 and Also by LG Bluray Player with code 337. Though a little confusing the remote works okay once you get a hang of it. One major drawbacks i see of the remote is that it cant be used in a truly universal mode i.e you cant control the BD player without having the receiver wakeup. However you can control the TV with out waking the receiver. I have a feeling that it is probably me that is not able to use the remote correctly. Will revise my review as soon as i figure that out.
File Steaming:-
I have used Doubletwist/Airtwist for a few days works pretty well and reliably each time from 2 different Android Devices. But couple of issues to use this you have to enable AirTwist which is heavy on WIFI, depending on how much wifi drains your device battery the runtime of the phone can be less than halved. The worst part is that double twist does not have an option where it only enables airtwist when playing music to External Speakers it has to be switched on/off manually and you know how that goes.
There is another app to use the Airplay Feature of the receiver but primarily for people who are ready to root their devices it is AirAudio on Google Play Store i only tried the free version without rooting and works like charm. Still considering rooting for this. If you want to try it please read the complete play store description of the app beware some devices can get temporarily bricked because of the app. The advantage here (i.e if you root) is you can use any music player or video player and it works. Also appears this following app works similar to the above AirAudio App it is called Airplay on Android AOA Service.
On a personal note first time in 2 yrs i am unhappy about being on android the reason is Airplay. Google seems to be working on an Airplay like protocol and system level support for external playback thing but it is probably a few months and a couple of updates away for all current devices.
To conclude its seems the best way(power and functionality efficient) is to have the tunes stream from a home media server using sony network media app.
Bluetooth:
The blue tooth does work very well too. The pairing is real easy and audio quality seems to be good as well. One thing I liked about their implementation of BT is that you can skip track from the remote. But i personally prefer file streaming compared to bluetooth as the audio quality is better that way and also your phone doesnt need to stay in the range radius for the bluetooth to work.
Music on USB:
I used a USB flash drive and this feature works fine with it. Though i think it could be a little better like faster UI and remember where it was previously on the directory. Also if you hook up your iphone or android it has a 1A at 5V rating for charging.
To wrap up:
The setup was easy everything just works. Looks great and works great. The UI is pretty simple almost too simple if you ask me. The Android Remote App works fine. Streaming from android works flawlessly with double twist (DLNA). I paired it with Energy Take Classic 5.1 the audio is great (I am not qualified to do a comparative study here) and the connectivity option are amazing this is something I can certify Sony has basically thrown in the kitchen sink (well in the world of AV Receivers don't compare it with sonos) with Wifi/Bluetooth/Airplay/DLNA and combine that with Net Streaming Option (Pandora, Slacker Sony Unlimited Music etc)
The only complains I have so far is too few options/granularity when controlling connectivity, more Audio Streaming Options, Video streaming (netflix et all but 59$ roku can fix it). All in all I think it is an amazing receiver (especially for what I paid) will add more details as I explore them.
Features yet to be evaluated
Standby power
Sony Network Media Remote App(this is different from the remote control app)
Standby Switching of Inputs
MHL (BTW it has 1A at 5V rating like the USB)
0 of 23 people found the following review helpful.
A true story about Sony support, or lack of.
By TEXAS ROCKS!
Once upon a time, in a land far away lived a guy who loved Sony with all his heart. He felt like there was no reason to have anything else than Sony. So he went out and bought a TV (Sony), a DVD player (Sony), Camcorder (Sony), Game Console (Sony), MP3 Player (Sony), First, Second, and Third computers (Sony), First, Second and Third digital cameras (Sony), he even bought a new alarm clock (SONY). He told anyone who would listen "all you need is Sony, don't bother with other brands"
Then one day his Game Console had to update. It no longer supported other OS"s and it would only play a very small video format. It would not even play some videos from the same camera it did not to long ago. He had to format his Sony USB memory stick to work with his Sony Game Console, but that put a limit on the file sizes.
Then his Sony camcorder would not connect to his new Sony laptop. The Sony giant said sorry no drivers for you today.
Then one day he had a Sony laptop that was slow and clunky. Someone said it is Vista's fault Upgrade and you troubles will be gone. So he researched and checked with the Sony giant. Sony said sure update it is not an issue see here we have all the drivers you need. He was very happy and bought the upgrade. He applied the upgrade with ease. Everything seemed to be okay, but when trying to load the magnifier it said no way. He noticed that the video driver was bad, not good at all. He asked, looked, and poked around but no driver could be found. He joined a chat and said what about this driver? You said it was there, and I need this driver to see the computer. Sony said sorry no drivers for you today.
So one day he was fed up with all of this. He needed a new TV for his room. He went looking, many to choose. What should I do? I want to watch my videos, but with Sony the answer seems to be, there are no drivers for you today. So a nice man said bring in your other memory stick, not the Sony, try them all out and see what you like. So the next day he did. He walked in with his memory stick, not the Sony, and plugged it in to see which might work. He tried one that said USB, but it only was used to update the TV. Then he said lets try a Sony. But it would not play his videos, and he was tired of there are no drivers for you today. He walked over to a very nice TV. The screen was bright, yes it looked pretty nice. It read plays videos, pictures, and music. He thought, no way! He plugged in his memory stick, not the Sony, and it picked it up right away. It displayed the files in the same folder way of his memory stick, not the Sony. He was surprised because the Sony put the files in any order it wanted. He went in and tried to play his first video. Played with no issues, and a smile started to curl on his face. He said I will beat this TV, let me try a MKV. Played with no issues. He thought this cannot be. He stood there for at least an hour trying to find something, something this TV would not play.
Finally he gave up and said with a huge SMILE I want this TV! I want this TV today! The nice man said this is a really nice TV, have you ever had a SAMSUNG?
He said no, but I bet I will not need any drivers today.
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Editorial Reviews
From the Manufacturer
  Enjoy superior sound while easily steaming music with built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and AirPlay. With 7.2 channels and 165 watts8 of power, driven by the largest capacitors and transformer in its class, its legendary Sony sound that really connects. Featuring 4K resolution pass-through and upscaling, 10 HD inputs and a redesigned menu system with easy setup wizard, this receiver is the ultimate high resolution sound stage for your music, Blu-ray movies, games and more. |  |
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| New Advanced on-screen display user interface | Control with your iPhone or Android devices with free Apps | Audio Return Channel |
1. Requires 3D content, 3D HDTV, 3D glasses and HDMI cable (at least 10.2 Gbps).
2. Requires HDMI cable and LPCM capable receiver.
3. Requires HDTV with equivalent display and HDMI cable sold separately.
4. Syncs with BRAVIA Sync or Theatre Sync products.
5. iPod support is limited to the following players: iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano 1st, 2nd & 3rd generation, iPod 4th& 5th generation & iPod mini and iPhone 3G, 3Gs and 4G models.
6. Requires HDMI cable sold separately.
7. Requires HDTV and HDMI cable sold separately.
8. 1050 Watts Total System power (150W x 7 @ 6 ohms 1kHz 0.9% THD 1ch. driven)
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