Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had recently put together a 5.1 channel home theater system in my bonus room, as well as a Vizio 4k TV, and needed an A/V receiver that could support 4k video as well as 5.1 channels. I had come across this Sony receiver on Amazon and, for under $200, it met all of my requirements on paper. Having owned multiple Sony products in the past, I decided that I couldn't go wrong with Sony's STRDH770 A/V receiver. Here is my review of the Sony STRDH770. Setup: Setting up the STRDH770 was very easy and took very little time (excluding the time it took to plug in the speaker cables). Once all the speaker cables were connected, I chose the Easy Setup option which prompted me to plug in the calibration microphone that came with the receiver (it looked like a small black disk) into the calibration mic port on the front of the receiver. Once I did that I began the speaker calibration which mapped out where the speakers were relative to the listener. The speaker calibration took less than a minute and was extremely simple. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Design: Before I get into the design of the STRDH770, I want to tell you that this receiver is a lot bigger than it looked in the pictures. It measures well over a foot wide and a foot long, and is almost a foot tall. It surprised me how large it was, but I don't think that will be a problem. The STRDH770 has a nice, modern design that looks very premium. There are two large dials on the front to select the input and adjust the volume, however, even though they look nice I was disappointed to find that they were made of plastic and felt very cheaply made. Most of the receiver is made of plastic, however, this shouldn't really be much of a concern since it will just sit next to your TV for most of the time. I am not very upset with the build quality of the STRDH770 especially when it only set me back $200. Overall, Sony did a great job of making a receiver look premium while only costing $200. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- User Interface: The Sony receiver has an extremely simple menu, consisting of 4 different options to choose from - watch, listen, easy setup, and speaker setting. Selecting "watch" takes you to your different video connections, while selecting "listen" takes you to Bluetooth or FM radio which you can listen to by plugging in the tiny FM radio receiver included in the box. You can also connect your phone to the receiver via NFC (Near Field Communication) if your phone supports it. When you first use the receiver I would recommend choosing easy setup, as it is the fastest way to configure your home theater setup. However, if you want to fine-tune your speaker settings you can select "speaker settings" where you can change the audio gains and the distance each speaker is relative to the listener. The user interface on the Sony STRDH770 is simple and basic which isn't necessarily a bad thing, and is what I would expect from a budget receiver. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Features: The STRDH770 has quite a few features for costing less than $200. For one, it supports 4k video with HDR, so if you have a 4k HDR TV this would work well with it. The receiver also is compatible with NFC, which, if your phone supports it, is much easier to connect with than Bluetooth. As far as sound goes, it features HD-Digital Cinema Sound, which, for most people sounds great. The Sony receiver also features a few EQ settings such as Movie, Music, and Night Mode. Night Mode boosts vocals so that you can hear what people are saying while watching something at a low volume. For me at least, this receiver sounds great and is well worth the low price of $200. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Connectivity: One of the best things about this receiver is the number of HDMI ports it comes with. The STRDH770 features 4 HDMI in ports and 1 HDMI out which goes to the TV. Right now I have an Xbox, a Bluray player, and a cable box hooked up to the receiver and I still have one more unused port. I don't see why anyone would need over 4 HDMI ports especially when a device such as an Xbox One S can function as a gaming console, a streaming device, a Bluray player, and a cable box pass through all using just one HDMI port. Also, as an added bonus, Sony included NFC and Bluetooth with this receiver. Overall, I think that, for connectivity, this is the receiver to buy if you have a limited budget. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Conclusion: Overall, I think Sony hit this one out of the park with the Sony STRDH770. For under $200, you really can't go wrong, and I doubt that someone could find a better 7.2 channel 4k receiver for under $300. If you are looking for a great, 7.2 channel receiver that is compatible with 4k HDR video on a tight budget, look no further. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pros: - Great design - Easy setup - Sounds great - Many HDMI ports - NFC Cons: - Plastic If you found this review helpful I would appreciate it if you clicked the "helpful" button below this review. Thanks!