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Official Sony STR-DN850/1050 Thread

240K views 1K replies 319 participants last post by  barinburo 
#1 ·
I just purchased an 850 receiver yesterday. I'm just becoming familiar with the features and functionality.


I'm opening this thread for future discussions about this family of receivers that some say are "a solid improvement on what was already strong lineup from last year". Here are some preliminary reviews:

http://www.cnet.com/products/sony-str-dn1050/

http://www.whathifi.com/news/sony-announces-high-res-str-dn1050-and-str-dn850-av-receivers

http://hometheater.about.com/od/audiocomponentreviews/ss/Sony-2014-Home-Theater-Product-Line-with-Hi-Res-Audio-Support_2.htm
 
#3 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by pschrube  /t/1529747/official-sony-str-dn850-thread#post_24690904


The 1050 specs contains CIS IP Protocol (Microsoft COM Internet Services). What's the importance of this feature?

A TCP/IP tunneling protocol used to transfer data packets. I think this particular protocol wraps packets in a way that allows older equipment communicate with the receiver. If I'm incorrect, I'm sure someone will provide the right answer.



Have you purchased a 1050?
 
#5 ·
I’m really happy with the Sony so far. Previously, I always purchased Yamaha equipment. I must admit that the Yamaha units have a greater sense of solidity than the Sony. For example, the large volume knob on the Sony feels cheap and light when compared with the Yamaha. However, the “bang for your buck” value of the Sony simply can’t be ignored. The Bluetooth connectivity works flawlessly and the sound is quite impressive. I can’t seem to get the volume out of the Sony that I did with my last Yamaha, but it’s good enough.


Overall, I am quite pleased with my purchase and decision to try a Sony product. Looking forward to what others might have to say.
 
#6 ·
Was going to Oder the Sony 840 given it's awesome reviews but instead am going to order the 850 since it is newer with a set of Energy Take Classics 5.1. Thinking it will be a good set up. Will be coming from a Sony home theater in a box. Hoping this is a major upgrade." With awesome sound. Not looking to spend a fortune but this set up should be excellent based on reviewes of the Energy Take Classics
 
#409 ·
Hi Keith,

Hope all is well. I saw that you posted in the Sony DN850 and DN 1050 thread and also purchased the take energy classic 5.1 speakers. I have the same speakers and was looking into a new a/v receiver. Did you end up getting the sony or go with another. If so, what changed you mind?

Thanks in advance,

Best Regards,

Jack
 
#8 ·
I ordered one from Amazon today to replace my crappy Onkyo, that just had its HDMI board die. Wanted to buy from Best Buy to take advantage of free financing, but it was "coming soon". Thought about running by a local store, but I hate going into their depressing stores unless I really have to, so went the Amazon route. Now I check after midnight, and sure enough the 1050 is now available, and shows in stock at all local stores. Whoops! Was able to cancel my Amazon order and will pick up tomorrow. Will post up some impressions once I'm all dialed in.
 
#9 ·
DEN7ER/Typ53b


Looking forward to your reviews. I'm quite impressed with my 850 and the on screen menus are great. I just updated the firmware yesterday and it was painless, but took quite a bit of time.


My receiver is connected an older Paradigm 5.1 system, an ancient H/K CD player, a PS3, and a new Samsung 55H8000 LED television. I am contemplating an upgrade to an Oppo BDP-103 as I don't play games any more. Also, it's annoying that I can't control the PS3 with my Harmony remote.


Like I said, I'm looking forward to your comments about the 850/1050.
 
#10 ·

Hi,

 

i'v got my 1050 on Friday. I've ordered it to replace my Onkyo TX-NR626, which lacks "Spotify Connect"... My setup (3/0) consists of 2 JBL ES 90 and 1 Center JBL ES2 5C, no Subwoofer (But perhaps I'll change it to 5,1 or 7,2 in the near future).

 

Installation of the 1050 was easy.

 

Pros:

 

- clear, volumious sound

- Spotify connect works

- nice OSD

- reacts very quickly via Remote Control

 

Cons:

 

- only usable when TV is turned on

- no Audyssey room calibration; while running room calibration the AVR found an Subwoofer, which doesn't exist; No problems with Audyssey here; ok, the Sub can be turned off, but it's strange I think

- needs more than one app on ipad/iphone to be controlled (not possible to change main,volume via songpal for example), TV Sideview is crap I think.

- Network Standby only in US and Canadian model

 

I think I'll return it and wait for the new Denon Models (X2100). The new Onkyos are no alternative, because Onkyo replaced Audyssey with their own room-calibration-sysrtem..

 

Rüdiger
 
#11 ·
It's unfortunate you're not happy with the Sony. Did you update the firmware? Firmware version s9602.1315.0 (released May 16, 2014) adds:
  • support for the Deezer music services
  • support for the SongPal mobile application (v1.2 onward) availability


Further, this update "improves SongPal mobile application (v1.2 onwards) connectivity". The release notes indicate "SongPal v1.2 will be provided in the middle of May 2014 onward".


Perhaps this update will alleviate some of your concerns?


I'm not sure what you mean by "only usable when the TV is on". My 850 works very well with my H/K CD player and provides great AM/FM reception. The shortcut buttons on the remote and on the front of the receiver mean I can select different sound settings etc. without the need for the on screen display. I agree the OSD is great, but once your receiver is set up, it isn't always necessary to use it.


I would recommend that you calibrate your speakers manually. As some reviews have suggested, automatic calibration "generally doesn't bring out the best possible sound from a home theater speaker setup". I have run the auto calibration numerous times and tweaking the settings manually seems to have helped refine the sound experience. Here is a link to the manual with entries for adjusting your audio settings: http://docs.esupport.sony.com/homeav/STR-DN850_DN1050_guide/en/cover/level2_31.html .


Thanks for the candid feedback. It's what makes these forums great.
 
#12 ·

Hi,

 

thanks for your reply...

 

I installed last Fridays firmware-update and I was able to start songpal and  select the DN1050 without any error-messages...

It's possible to change the volume of my stereo-speakers and the center separately, but not the main/master-volume.

 

Is it generally possible to change the master-volume with songpal?

 

I'm missing feedback from the receivers display as i move with the remote through the menus... That's what I meant by "not usable without TV".

 

Thanks

Rüdiger
 
#13 ·

Hi, 

 

I just recieved the 1050 in Europe!

 

Firstly, setup was flawless with my 2 KEF R500's, the autocalibration worked fine (its just 2 speakers though). 

 

This is my first AVR so I may be a bit biased. The sound quality is amazing! The KEFS are delivering an lovely crisp, clean strong sound across all types of music so very happy with that. I had an ONKYO on loan and thought its hard to now compare I am pretty sure the sound is a lot fuller and more detailed.

 

Even streaming over BlueTooth using google play music and android phone is surprisingly good. I can hear a difference to playing FLAC files however its minimal. I especially like the power On on bluetooth feature to start the avr the moment I connect on BT.

 

Other than that the ARC channel works fine once configured, HDMI passthrough also, although its not a biggie for me as I cannot imagine not wanting the sound out of the avr.

 

Playing FLAC files over networked dnla server works great too, this was important for me.

 

Only thing that has taken me by surprise is that it does not seem to support playing compressed video files (AVI,MKV, ... etc) from my NAS or over dnla or directly. Was I expecting too much? Do other AVR's generally do this? Surely this would be a very minor feature to build into all all these devices since network video plays are a dime a dozen these days...

 

Oh and have not figured out where the NFC tag is yet, anyone know?

 

Anyway, if anyone has any questions, just hit me and I'll try to answer them.

 

cheers

 

./K
 
#395 ·
Hi, 
 
I just recieved the 1050 in Europe!
 
Firstly, setup was flawless with my 2 KEF R500's, the autocalibration worked fine (its just 2 speakers though). 
 
This is my first AVR so I may be a bit biased. The sound quality is amazing! The KEFS are delivering an lovely crisp, clean strong sound across all types of music so very happy with that. I had an ONKYO on loan and thought its hard to now compare I am pretty sure the sound is a lot fuller and more detailed.
 

Anyway, if anyone has any questions, just hit me and I'll try to answer them.
 
cheers
 
./K

Hi Konrad,

I wonder if it makes any difference what connection is used (as I'm using only 2 speakers as well). I used the "Front A" connections, but maybe I had to use the "Front B" connections?
My Dynaudio's are not Bi-wired/amped.

Thanks in advance !!!
 
#14 ·
Congrats! Do you also have a 2nd zone hooked up? I'm wondering what inputs you can send to zone 2 while you have zone 1 playing audio or video.


As to playing video from a file stored on your NAS, I believe if your NAS has DNLA capability, you would need to use another device to act as a server, such as a player (Roku) or a computer that would be hooked up to your receiver. This could be managed with Plex software. If you have a Samsung bluray player that handles apps, you can get a Plex app for it, too. Many NASs don't have this capability, unfortunately (such as Apple Time Machine). Synology NASs do.
 
#15 ·
EDIT 5/26: There is full documentation online now, located here:

https://docs.sony.com/release/STR-DN850_DN1050_HelpGuide_EN.pdf


OK, got my 1050 yesterday and had it swapped in for my doorstop Onkyo in short order. Initial observations...


Compared to the Onkyo, the documentation is TERRIBLE! The Onkyo manual was overkill for me, seemed VERY technical to a fault, and spoke to somebody far more geeky than the typical home theater enthusiast. The Sony manual OTOH is completely watered down and overly simplified, and short on details. For instance, nothing at ALL showing all the different things that are displayed on the front panel, and their meanings. How can something like that be left out? Just not much detail at all, about anything. The troubleshooting section is way short.. especially compared to the Onkyo section, which was huge and comprehensive.


The auto speaker setup is overly simple and it's hard to believe it's doing much meaningful tweaking. After it was finished (in maybe a minute, tops?) I chose "flat" versus some other confusing, not-well-explained options. Configuring everyone was really simple, but partly because it's not as configurable as my old doorstop was. Not necessarily a bad thing. Any tips here on anything else I should try?


Sound? So far, with zero additional tweaking, it sounds great in my brief tests. I don't seem to be getting much output from my surrounds (which are in-ceiling-mounted) compared to before, which may not be "wrong" based on their positioning to relative to the listening position, or I may just want to tweak some settings eventually. Definitely seems more powerful compared to the old Onkyo (TX-NR717). I run RBH towers up front, an RBH sub, and RBH rounds up in the ceiling - very decent, if not super-high-end, stuff from circa 2006.


One thing I noticed right away - my Onkyo would upscale all video to 1080p if so set (and I did have mine set that way), and the output was fantastic. I see now that through the Sony, my DirecTV source isn't upscaled - much of it is 1080i, and a few channels 720p, and that's how it's coming through, with no settings or mention of upscaling anywhere in the meager Sony docs. Should I care? Picture looks fine, so I'm hardly freaking out.. it's just different. 1080p/24 fps Blu-ray looks absolutely stellar, as it should (BD player is Oppo BDP-93). Apple TV looks great too, at 1080p as provided by the ATV box output. The Oppo will upscale DVDs on its own (and does an incredible job of it too), so the only "loss" here is DirecTV programming. If it's a loss at all.


All in all, so far I"m happy - and not worried that the thing is going to crap out like my last to Onkyo turds. No real reviews online yet, but I suspect we'll see some in short order. Curious to hear how it stacks up compared to the 1040, which was largely loved.. in particular Sound&Vision, which I respect greatly, absolutely gushed over the 1040.
 
#16 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by kon5ad  /t/1529747/official-sony-str-dn850-1050-thread#post_24736972

 

Hi, 

 

I just recieved the 1050 in Europe!

 

Firstly, setup was flawless with my 2 KEF R500's, the autocalibration worked fine (its just 2 speakers though). 

 

This is my first AVR so I may be a bit biased. The sound quality is amazing! The KEFS are delivering an lovely crisp, clean strong sound across all types of music so very happy with that. I had an ONKYO on loan and thought its hard to now compare I am pretty sure the sound is a lot fuller and more detailed.

 

Even streaming over BlueTooth using google play music and android phone is surprisingly good. I can hear a difference to playing FLAC files however its minimal. I especially like the power On on bluetooth feature to start the avr the moment I connect on BT.

 

Other than that the ARC channel works fine once configured, HDMI passthrough also, although its not a biggie for me as I cannot imagine not wanting the sound out of the avr.

 

Playing FLAC files over networked dnla server works great too, this was important for me.

 

Only thing that has taken me by surprise is that it does not seem to support playing compressed video files (AVI,MKV, ... etc) from my NAS or over dnla or directly. Was I expecting too much? Do other AVR's generally do this? Surely this would be a very minor feature to build into all all these devices since network video plays are a dime a dozen these days...

 

Oh and have not figured out where the NFC tag is yet, anyone know?

 

Anyway, if anyone has any questions, just hit me and I'll try to answer them.

 

cheers

 

./K
Hi, thanks for volunteering to answer some questions on the STR-DN1050. 

 

I bought a STR-DN1040 a couple weeks ago and still have 10 days before to decide to keep it, or return it, and wait for a STR-DN1050 to go on sale here in Vancouver.  You said "Playing FLAC files over networked dnla server works great too, this was important for me." This is something I can't get the STR-DN1040 to do although getting it to play MP3s was simple. How did you configure your FLAC Files to play over DNLA?

 

Thanks for the assist.
 
#19 ·
I got the STR-DN1050 over the weekend. Hooked up my PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, and Sony BDP-S6200. All are working great. I have the Sony KDL-55W900a TV.


I previously had the Pioneer VSX-1121-K and had major problems because it didn't pass the correct RGB value through each source. The Wii U requires RGB Limited and it would force RGB full all the time.


The 1050 is passing every signal correctly.


I wasn't sure what do set the HDMI Audio delay setting to. I changed it to HDMI Auto (can't remember what the default was but it wasn't on Auto).
 
#21 ·

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum and about to buy either the 850 or 1050. I got experience with amplifiers but with receivers not so much. I read a lot about 'on-screen navigation' but what I would like to know: can I use all the basic music features without turning on my tv? For example streaming Airplay from laptop, play cd's or USB music. I don't care if menu's are on-screen, I just don't want to turn on my tv all the time if I want to listen to my music, it's not classy ^^ Thanks!
 
#22 ·

I have the 1040 and on it navigating Tunes from a USB source or Network would be impossible without using the TV as a monitor. I suspect the same for the 1050 as the screen is simply not large enough to act as a display. What I do is find the album / folder I want to play and then turn the TV off. Of course volume, mute, pause, skip, etc., all work but you just can navigate between folders. 
 
#23 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jinge  /t/1529747/official-sony-str-dn850-1050-thread#post_24744102


Hi guys, I'm new to this forum and about to buy either the 850 or 1050. I got experience with amplifiers but with receivers not so much. I read a lot about 'on-screen navigation' but what I would like to know: can I use all the basic music features without turning on my tv? For example streaming Airplay from laptop, play cd's or USB music. I don't care if menu's are on-screen, I just don't want to turn on my tv all the time if I want to listen to my music, it's not classy ^^ Thanks!

Streaming anything using Airplay does not require the TV to be on. Neither does playing cd's.

USB music depends on if you are plugging the usb into the receiver or your laptop.

If it's the receiver, you'll need the TV on to navigate what's on the USB drive. If it's on your laptop, then you can use Airplay if using iTunes or Bluetooth and you wouldn't need the TV on.
 
#25 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by -Jim-  /t/1529747/official-sony-str-dn850-1050-thread#post_24738895



Hi, thanks for volunteering to answer some questions on the STR-DN1050. 


I bought a STR-DN1040 a couple weeks ago and still have 10 days before to decide to keep it, or return it, and wait for a STR-DN1050 to go on sale here in Vancouver.  You said "Playing FLAC files over networked dnla server works great too, this was important for me." This is something I can't get the STR-DN1040 to do although getting it to play MP3s was simple. How did you configure your FLAC Files to play over DNLA?


Thanks for the assist.

No configuration was needed it just worked out the box. Navigated to the files and they played. I ripped then with rubyripper. Maybe the 1040 did not support it. Try from a usb stick maybe.


Cheers

./K
 
#26 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by DustinF  /t/1529747/official-sony-str-dn850-1050-thread#post_24747811


Streaming anything using Airplay does not require the TV to be on. Neither does playing cd's.

USB music depends on if you are plugging the usb into the receiver or your laptop.

If it's the receiver, you'll need the TV on to navigate what's on the USB drive. If it's on your laptop, then you can use Airplay if using iTunes or Bluetooth and you wouldn't need the TV on.
Yes i agree. Also when you connect using BT the avr automatically powers up which i find kinda cool
 
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