Bought a Cheap Sony STR-DA1200ES receiver. Is it any good?

Richard

I have the 2400es, and soundwise, it's a fantastic amp. Good with music and movies, and I would think a reasonable step up from the 1200es, and available for little over £100 if you're lucky. The 5400es would be another step up, and if you could pick one of these up for a good price, you'd be a very happy man. 

Hey Gerard,

Cheers for your input, matey. I've no doubt your amp is superb. It definitely looks the part from the photos I just looked at. However, I was talking more about amps that are in the £800 - £1000 price bracket when released. I'm guessing your amp was in the £1500 - £2000 price range when released? If, or when I do upgrade, i'll defo be going down the 'last years model route' myself. I'm finding myself a lot less interested in having the next new thing, and more inerested in getting a bargain, these days!

Out of interest, matey, how would you describe the differences in sound btween the Sony and the Yammy?

I never would have guessed bretty

Cheers for the response BigBernard, looks like whichever one I manage to get I should be in for a treat though the big question now is can i keep biting my lip until Easter or will my Magpie syndrome take over as usual 

str-da2400es on ebay at the moment 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sony-STR-DA2400ES-7-1-Channel-100-Watt-Receive...

It's hard to explain but the sound is just much bigger and fills the room effortlessly.

I used to have one of those a few years ago only reason I changed it was it did not do hd audio however I think you can decode via analogue inputs if I remember rightly, I am sure some one else will post how you do this ! 

Nice one BigB, gonna watch that like a hawk and pray to the AV gods that nobody else notices it and i get a bargain

I get you, mate. Cheers. I'm really happy with the 1200ES, but at the same time, im sort of loving the second hand prices for receivers on E-Bay, right now, so I may well try at leat a couple more, more expensive ones out. Ideally, I'd like to try out a higher end Yammie, Denon and Pioneer. Not Onkyo though, only because I know they wouldn't do well in my closed-front AV cabinet.

That coud be the one for you, mate. From what I can tell, it's the same amp as mine, amplification- wise (7 x 100w) but it decodes HD audio, which I believe you were after. It'll probably go for around £180 - £220, so still a good price, especially as since I bought my 1200ES, i've been seeing others go for £150 (too much for a 6 year old amp tha was £400, new, I reckon).

Anyway, keep us posted on what you end up getting, fella!

Well, I think it's too late already for people not to to notice it, it's got 5 bids, but you could get a bargain if you're lucky.

I don't think it'll go for as high as bretty thinks, I'm thinking around £120-£130, but I may well be selling mine quite soon, so I'm very interested to see what it does end up at.

Really!!?? MMmm, interesting. If I can get around £200 for my 2400, I think I'll definitely be selling it and getting a Yamaha RX-A1020 (if I can still get it for £699 that is). The Denon AVR2313 is also on my list now, though I'm not sure how much better it'll be than the 2113.

I have the bigger brother of the two Sony's you guys keep posting about - the da5400es.

Now this is amazing, brilliant amp. The problem being is that not many of them pop up on fleabay, although I am thinking of putting mine on there possibly soon.

The only reason being is that I am thinking of upgrading to an Arcam av amp (a risk I know). The 54000 is awesome as a movie amp and very good in 2 channel too (but not as good as an Arcam which I crave).

If you ever see one, get it - it's a cracker. 

Hey, I was reading an article online a while ago that was discussing the Denon range. It basically said that sound-wise, the 2113 was identical to the 2313. The 2313 has extra connectivity and the other bells and whistles. I can't remember the name of the site it was, I'll have to do some googleage for it.

Oh, if a 5400 comes up on E-bay, i'll defo be bidding! I just had a look at some of the online reviews and it looks like it was the absolute daddy of it's day, in the sub £2000 market.

I think your right bretty, it's probably very similar.

I think the Yammy 1020 is top of my list at the moment, but it all depends if I can still get it at £699, and more importantly, if I get some money in.

Self-employed, and owed a lot of money.