Just how much A/V receiver can they contrive to give us for $500? The current answer, at least from Sony, is "Lots!" The no-baloney brand's new STR-DG910 hits the pavement with three 1080p HDMI inputs, transcoding of component (and composite) analog video to HDMI, XM sat-radio readiness, automatic speaker setup with a supplied calibration microphone, a Digital Media Port for use with an optional iPod dock or Bluetooth dongle, and seven 100-watt amplifier channels, and a good deal more.

Sony crams all this in at this price, at least in part, by omitting some items we've come to consider pretty much standard on receivers in recent years. For example: Although the Sony STR-DG910 A/V receiver is amply equipped with composite- and component-video inputs and outputs, it has no S-Video connections whatsoever. Surprising at first, on reflection this seems perfectly sensible, since component has pretty much superseded Y/C hookups altogether.

Even more radically, the Sony eschews multichannel analog inputs, which means that some systems wouldn't be able to present multichannel SACD (or DVD-A) recordings at all, given that some current and most earlier players furnish no high-resolution multichannel digital output, and this receiver does not decode SACD's DSD-multichannel stream as do some higher-end models. (Is this tacit admission from Sony that SACD is, practically speaking, moribund — or at the very least, pining for the fjords?) The DG910 further lacks any second-zone capabilities, which however rarely exploited are a receiver staple at this level.

Nonetheless, the STR-DG910 still packs in a lot of good stuff. But "stuff" is only good if the underlying performance is there to back it up, so I was anxious to get the receiver up on my rack and under power.

SETUP
As is usual these days, I began by connecting the STR-DG910's supplied microphone and firing up its auto-cal routine. This one begins with a nice European-railway-station chime to alert you that the cal train is leaving the station, and it uses fast-acting chirp-sweeps for test signals. Initial results in my room were well off-target, so I tried another microphone position and got levels within a 3-dB window of correct — except for the subwoofer, which was at least 10 dB hot, making for obviously excessive bass. This is better than no setup adjustment at all — a state that many a budget receiver finds itself in — but far from the best results I've gotten from auto-cal routines on other models. Clearly, a manual fine-tuning of levels was in order.

Trying to make these adjustments was exasperating, however. Despite following the manual, I could not initially get the receiver to cycle it's internal noise signals while permitting channel-level adjustments, nor did the receiver provide any on-screen displays, forcing me to attempt navigation of the menu system from the front-panel readout — a process that was far from intuitive. I ended up using noise signals from a test DVD to complete level setting using my SPL meter. Only later did I discover that the manual omits a critical step for setting levels: You're required to press the "Menu" button while the test signal is active to regain access to the Level menu.

It also turns out that you can, after all, display the menus on your TV — a fact the manual divulges only in a marginal note — if you activate the OSD (on-screen display) in the Video menu. The Sony's OSD is an opaque, full-screen text display, and to cycle it on and off you have to go back thru the Video menu. (Jeez, would a direct-access "OSD" remote-key have been be too much to ask?) Bottom line: The DG910's setup tools are usable, but I wouldn't want to be a first-time home theater buyer trying to use them unaided.

The Short Form

Price: $500 / sonystyle.com / 800-222-7669

Snapshot

First time setup can be a bit complicated, but 1080p HDMI source selection and XM, iPod, and Bluetooth expandability make for in impressive feature set in this affordable receiver.

Plus

•1080p-capable HDMI inputs •Transcodes component- and composite-video to HDMI •Affordable Bluetooth, iPod-dock, and XM expansion

Minus

•Cumbersome remote and on-screen menu/display •Unintuitive setup •Real-world power a bit short of price-range competition •No second-zone outputs

Key Features

•100 watts x 7 (per channel, 8 ohms, 1% THD) •3 HDMI inputs (up to 1080p) •Converts component- and composite-video to HDMI •XM satellite radio-ready •Digital Media Port accepts Sony Network Walkman, iPod dock, or Bluetooth adapter •Automatic setup, cal, and EQ via supplied microphone •17 x 6.3 x 13.9 in; 23.4 lb Full Lab Results

MUSIC & MOVIES
Commencing as always with full-range stereo, I was pleased to find this fairly modest receiver capable of surprisingly fine listening, even under close scrutiny. Playing high-quality SACD recordings (stereo-mix) revealed no prominent sonic flaws, and the DG910 offered enough two-channel power for even serious listening. Cueing up a 5.1-channel DTS disc of the Allman Brothers' classic "At the Filmore East" sets from 1971(!) yielded satisfyingly live-like levels without audible strain, though forcing the issue still closer to actual concert SPL produced a fairly marked steely quality, followed quickly by audible distortion.

Movie-soundtrack reproduction followed a similar pattern, yielding quite impressive quality via my medium-sensitivity speaker suite plus subwoofer. There was plenty of oomph for most real-world domestic use. Playback at true cinema "reference" levels was there, but I did not sense the full dynamic freedom and impact of my everyday setup, which exploits six 200-watt amplifier channels.

Kingdom of Heaven has all the ingredients of a great movie — except for a coherent plot, a great script, and great (or even good) performances. (Picky, picky. In Ridley Scott's defense, we can hardly expect clarity: Even the factual history of the Crusades is ridiculously tangled, with every second self-styled nobleman married to another's sister or, occasionally, his own.) But for visual and sonic spectacle, this one's aces, and the Sony's performance was well up to the task. Even in the big battle scenes — such as the great siege, which the filmmakers manfully inflated despite history's thoughtless lack of gunpowder or explosives — the DG910 had power enough to deliver all the level I would typically ask for, with good clarity and dynamic punch. But, as with music, if I asked for much more, the sound got somewhat squished and, eventually, even a smidge harsh-sounding.

The STR-DG910 includes a trio of Sony's Digital Cinema Sound DSP settings for surround and three (Hall, Live, Jazz Club) for music. None of these was particularly offensive, but I still preferred Dolby Pro Logic IIx Music/Cinema for most two-channel and surround-encoded recordings. The DG910 allows selection of low, medium, or high effect level for the proprietary modes but provides no access to the parameter adjustments found in many other receivers for the DPL II Music and DTS Neo:6 Music modes, which lessens their usefulness somewhat.

Sony sent along its Bluetooth interface for the DG910's Digital Media Port, the TDM-BT1 (about $75). This worked flawlessly with an aftermarket Bluetooth transmitter from accessory-maker Jensen (WBT420, about $25 street). The two "paired" automatically and delivered sound from a CD player that, while well short of wired-quality, was adequate for casual listening.

ERGONOMICS
I found Sony's eight-component master remote simple and for the most part easy to learn. Still, as with every such, there are ergonomic quirks. To command receiver functions beyond volume and muting you must first press the remote's "Receiver" key to invoke self-rule: normal enough. But atypically, the Sony remote automatically reverts to command of the last-selected source component, which means you have to remember to press Receiver again before attempting another adjustment. This seems logical enough on its face, but the way most others handle it — letting the remote stay in its native command mode while leaving the cursor keys able to command the last source — seems better to me.

XM satellite radio worked fine with no setup beyond plugging in my XM mini-tuner gizmo and aiming the antenna generally southerly. But ongoing use is not quite as straightforward as on some other such receivers. The Sony offers no antenna signal-strength display, so aiming is strictly by trial and error (a one-time operation, to be sure). And the valuable XM on-screen display — the only way to see channel, artist, album, and track data all at once without irksome scrolling of the front-panel display — requires a maddeningly slow trip through the menus just to turn the display on and then to select the single XM screen.

BOTTOM LINE
Of course, none of these niggles amounts to much compared to the simple fact that the Sony STR-DG910 A/V receiver lets you plug in a 1080p source — or three — and view it right out of the $500 box, while providing the valuable convenience of single-cable HDMI hookups. It also delivers generally fine performance, enough real-world power for most systems in modestly sized rooms, and an impressive array of extras.

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