Other Amplifiers

I bought my STR-DH190 receiver to put in my "man cave" pool room. I respect SONY products, but I realized this 2-channel stereo receiver was a budget item, seemingly so inexpensive it must just be an entry-point-only receiver. I was shocked by its quality, sturdy construction, versatility and audiophile sound. It has Bluetooth connectivity, and a phono input for turntables. I hooked up a CD player, turntable, reel-to-reel, cassette deck, iPod, sub woofer and two sets of high end bookshelf speakers. The fronts are SONY Sscs5 3-Way 3-Driver Bookshelf Speakers. The rears are Polk. The sound is shocking, and everyone who hears it can't believe how it rocks. Now that this receiver is actually on sale at almost a "give-away" price, I'm tempted to buy another one as a backup in case one of my other systems needs a replacement receiver. It is Bluetooth ready, so I pair an Echo Dot with it for streaming. It is an amazingly versatile and reliable product. Highly Recommended.

Speaking as a self-described "audiophile" (but a true audiophile with deep pockets would likely laugh), this was one of the best gifts I've given to myself in recent years (as I have a fairly large music library of nearly 600 albums of 1/3 vinyl, 2/3 CDs and some cassettes). Bought mine back in March--used to be $200, but when I saw it for $150 any hesitation went out the window and I grabbed it. I have been in love with it ever since. Fabulous sound and power (do you really need more than 100 watts per channel?), great remote control (not used to that, believe it or not), and it lives up to Sony quality. Powers my vintage components perfectly: > MCS Series 6202 Belt-Driven Turntable (had it since early 80s) > Nacamichi BX-300 Cassette Deck > Sony DVP-NS725P Disc Player (DVD but used mainly for CDs - audio-only connection) > LG TV connected via optical-to-analog adapter > KEF Reference Series 103/3 Stereo Speakers Interesting observation about the way the ports are labeled on the back: what would traditionally be identified as a tape deck port (with IN/OUT) is just "Input 4," and while it's connected to my tape deck for playback, the REC-OUT is connected to a USB audio adapter to digitally record anything (mostly vinyl of course) to my laptop for mastering and iPod/digital library access. The Bluetooth connectivity is awesome as well with powerful range - great for playing music from mobile devices (phone and iPod Classic with BT adapter). The front line-in 3.5 port, identified as a "Portable" is also a great feature. At first, I was surprised that there was no input for optical, however since digital-to analog adapters are inexpensive and readily available, I think it's best to leave it that way. Would rather have the option, rather than an optical-only port that would otherwise go unused unless one had a component that required it. HOWEVER, if I were to make any improvements, it would be to add a USB Out port (preferably on the front), for digital recording on a PC. However again, since adapters are inexpensive and accessible, and for the price I paid for this device, I ain't gonna complain. Front level analog balance, bass and treble controls would also be nice, but you have access to all that through the menu. If you feel due for a simple, powerful and awesome stereo receiver/amplifier upgrade without breaking your monthly budget, this is a winner.

I didn’t have any great expectations for this Sony receiver, I guess I’m a bit skeptical of things at first. But, wow was I surprised, and I was not disappointed in any aspect or functionality of this receiver. (1) I tried the FM tuner while listening through the headphone jack: outstanding. Easily volume control through the Sony remote. (2) I tried my iPhone pairing still through my headphones: excellent. Immediately paired with the Bluetooth of my iPhone to the Sony. Great sound. Easy to adjust sound volume and to use forward and backward either using the iPhone or the remote. The two times I paired it with my iPhone I simply pushed the “Bluetooth” button on the Sony remote, went to my iPhone Bluetooth settings, saw the Sony receiver was ready to connect and selected “connect” on my iPhone. I did not use the “pairing” button on my Sony receiver. (3) I finally connected a pair of JBL speakers. First I turned off the receiver (not sure if I needed to, but.. I tried the FM first, then I paired my iPhone again. Both are Awesome! I don’t have a turntable, so I can’t report on it. Haven’t hooked up my Yamaha CD disc changer, because it’s old and the remote doesn’t work anymore. If I can get a replacement remote for it, then I’ll give it a try. In conclusion, the sound is superb with all of the above connections that I tried. And everything was simple to setup. I think the best sound was when I connected my bookshelf speakers. I’m sitting here right now streaming my Apple playlists and I’m blown away by the quality of the sound. I have an old 2011 Yamaha receiver, though it hasn’t worked for about 4-5 years, so I’m close to ecstatic to have an excellent new receiver that also has Bluetooth. Update 4/8/23 I have just hooked up my Yamaha 5-CD changer and it works and sounds superb. The reason I have no trouble with the FM reception is probably because I am within 10 miles of the radio towers of the stations I listen to. So, the fact that this Sony comes with a proprietary FM antenna is not a problem. I only use the remote to adjust the receiver, so I can’t respond to reviews that state that the dials seem cheap. If you have had problems with your speakers, I highly recommend reading the instructions thoroughly to verify the impedance of your speakers and hook them up as described in the manual. I did have one speaker that did not work when I first hooked up my two speakers, but I quickly found that one of the speaker wires was not connected properly, but it took me about 30 seconds to rectify. Update 6/19/24 More than a year later I realized that I had not tested the headphone jack on the front of the receiver. So, after attaching my wired Bose QC25 headphones into an extension cable I plugged the cable into the front of my receiver. Then I paired my iPhone via Bluetooth to the receiver and began streaming my music. The sound quality was so much better than the sound that I was getting from using my JBL speakers. I’m sure it would work with any decent wired headphones. Give it a try, or maybe you already have. I speculate that it takes less watts to power the headphones than it does the speakers. Now 5+ stars! Update 7/22/24 My Bose QC25 headphones died, so I replaced them with Sony MDR7506 headphones and they work great, as you might expect when combining Sony headphones with a Sony receiver!

My Situation: I had a (good) 35 year old Sony receiver running my outdoor patio speakers - decent outdoor speakers installed with the house when it was built about 10 years ago. My annoyance was connecting an iPhone or iPad to the old stereo which I did with lightning to 3.5 mm wired connection. This of course meant someone's phone or an iPad had to be sitting inside by the stereo - which was a pain, especially when batteries were running low. The old stereo also had lots of buttons and plenty of confusion when anybody but me was using it. It was a pain and generally a sorry setup. My first thought was to just replace my outdoor speakers with wireless, Bluetooth speakers. First, there is VERY little choice here and I settled on the Pyle 5.25 Inch outdoor speakers. Speaker replacement was going to take a little more work getting power run but I figured the Bluetooth functionality would be worth it. Got the speakers, tested them before installing and the sound quality pretty much sucked, even compared to my existing speakers that had been outside for 10 years. Bluetooth wasn't great either. Returned. Next, I had the bright idea to just get a Bluetooth amp. This would allow me to replace the stereo mess in my cabinet with a very compact amp and I could just connect my existing speaker wires into and then connect an iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth. Again, very few options available. After reading (too many) reviews and (too much) searching, I settled on the Fosi Audio BT20A. I REALLY wanted this to work because the idea of replacing all my old stereo equipment with one tiny device was very appealing. Despite upgrading to 100 watts (I think the old Sony was 65), the sound quality was again a noticeable downgrade. PLUS, the Bluetooth connection was ridiculous. I could barely get outside with my phone before the sound started crackling. Returned. After another round of (too many) reviews and research, I decided to just replace with entire old Sony receiver (and equalizer) with the Sony STRDH190. I didn't want another big, clunky receiver, I was a little annoyed that Sony doesn't have a good app to run the receiver, and I didn't like that I couldn't turn the receiver on/off remotely from my phone. However, the STRDH190 works great. The sound is much stronger than I was getting before and the Bluetooth works GREAT - super easy to connect and I can walk around out by the pool and the connection stays strong. And that's what I wanted - good sound and good Bluetooth. The unit looks nice, although that doesn't matter so much because it's still sitting in a closed cabinet. Overall, the solution isn't perfect but Sony is quality stuff and I'm happy with the 2 big issues I needed covered - good sound and good Bluetooth connectivity.

I bought a Sony stereo in 1993, and it lasted until last week. It was accidentally broken. I ordered a new Sony stereo and received it in two days. It works perfectly, easy to setup and use. Great sound as expected.

I had been using my Marantz model 22 receiver now for a couple years now with the TV, dvd player, and youtube music from my tablet. I like lots of knots and switches on my audio gear, I'm an engineer. I was getting tired of the seemingly endless up and down to adjust volume and whatever. And my inputs on the Marantz were maxed out. I searched Amazon to see what was available as a possible replacement that had a REMOTE. This Sony caught my eye. Relatively inexpensive, plenty of inputs, and specs I could trust, not a 3x4x5 box offering 220+220 watts of unlimited power! Ordered it and been using it for over a month now. Only 2 knobs, how good could that be? Well, it's remote let's me control everything without getting up. Plenty of output power, 100+100 watts of true RMS power. I didn't plan on using the Bluetooth but I tried it with the tablet, keeping the tablet by me, and it really impressed this old audiophile. I really don't have any negatives about it, even the fm sounds great. It was heavier than expected but not as much as that old Marantz. I even popped the cover. The build quality was what I consider good. I only wish I could find a service manual with the schematic for it.

This is an excellent stereo receiver. My component works perfectly. I really like the ease of getting it to work.

Do not allow the extremely low price on this Sony STRDH 190 stereo receiver to in any way prejudice you against considering it as a wonderful entry-level stereo receiver. I have purchased thousands of products on Amazon over the past 25 years, and I cannot think of any item that pleasantly surprised me more profoundly than this one. I also purchased the matching (style) Sony turntable PS-LX310BT which works perfectly with the STRDH 190 receiver. Sony's lowest priced receiver now sells for the astounding bargain price of only around $200, though I caught it on sale for closer to $150... and as impossible as this is the believe, it has in recent years gone on sale for as little as $99(!) I have no idea how Sony makes a profit at these price levels. Now I know, most people would think, "there is just no way a $200 receiver is high quality"... but I am telling you, that is dead wrong in this case, and you should prepare to be blown away by what you get at this crazy low price point. This is NOT a no frills unit. It is feature packed. It has connections for TWO PAIR (four total) speakers, and PLENTY of clean no-distortion power to drive all four speakers to loud and clear volume levels. It also has an A/B speaker switch to play through speaker set A, or speaker set B, or all four speakers at once. It has a phono stage pre-amp which is actually very good. Seriously, it is much better than the phono stage pre-amp built into my Emotiva integrated amp for which I paid $1,000. It plays vinyl loud with no distortion. You will NOT need an external phono pre-amp. It has excellent Bluetooth wireless connectivity built in... no trouble getting it to instantly recognized sources and play them perfectly. You can play all the music on your iPhone or other digital device, wirelessly. It has a huge allotment of extra connections, ... a whopping FOUR inputs... so you can also hook up a CD player, and another external device of your choice, and another one after that, and another one after that! (WOW). And that's is not counting your PHONO input which is actually a fifth input connection. Astounding accommodation of external sources at this (or almost any) price point. If you are a dinosaur who listens to FM ... it's got an FM receiver with 30 station presets, and an output to hook up a proper external FM antenna, and a long-wire FM antenna is included in the package Sony says the "HiRes" audio produced by this unit is "superior to CD quality"... though I am not sure how to measure that claim, especially if the extrnal source you are using is a CD player. It comes with a very high quality remote control, with real buttons, and many features. You can actually program each of your external sources to appear in the illuminated display as the specific names you want, rather than a generic default source name like "CD". The low price may raise an eyebrow, and the fairly light weight (much heavier on one side than on the other curiously) nature of the unit may also cause doubt... but only until you set it up and start listening, and your jaw drops. I would put this sub-$200 receiver up against any receiver on the market priced under $800, (and probably several of them priced at twice that much!) and I believe you will not be disappointed in the sound quality of Sony's entry-level unit. You certainly will NEVER find another receiver anywhere near this price point with so many features and inputs... all of which work flawlessly. This is the greatest bargain in the world of affordably-priced HiFi equipment. It is easily worth multiple times the asking price.