A really useful receiver with part "game brain"!

So here we have the newest in the SONY lineup of their new breed of high end stereo receivers! It is part of their ES line, which was always the top of the line component division. They claim the ES components are manufactured to tighter tolerances and utilize higher end components.

I don't know about the components used in this receiver as opposed to other SONY receivers, but I do know that this receiver is a real piece of work!

This receiver is made for two very specific needs. First, to work in conjunction with a high definition television set that uses HDMI connectors, and second it is set up to handle a BluRay High Definition DVD player!

First things first. Almost all of the current High Definition televisions now have an HDMI connector. This stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. It is a cable that not only carries high definition 1080P video signals, but will also carry multi-channel audio as well. The newest standard in HDMI cables is what they call 1.2 compliant, which means it will carry a higher grade video signal with even better resolution and audio. HDMI is important when discussing this receiver because it is built around the HDMI platform. You can feed the output of a High Definition DVD player into one of the 3 HDMI inputs. The output of the receiver is also an HDMI connector which then connects to the input of your TV. This means you can hook up 3 HDMI devices to this receiver, and the unit acts as a switcher, depending on what source you have selected. This allows the one HDMI cable output to feed the TV with multiple HDMI inputs into the receiver.

While all this is important, the one function this receiver performs is the upconverting of signals to 1080P. Now what does this mean? Well quite simply, no matter what the input source to this receiver, say standard DVD, it will take that DVD signal and process it inside the electronics of the receiver, and feed it out to the TV as a High Definition signal. This process is called upconverting of signals, and is important if you want to maintain a certain standard of picture quality feeding into your new TV. Now that doesn't mean that a standard definition DVD picture is going to look as good as a high def signal; it simply means that it will improve the picture and make it compatible with the HDMI output cable feeding the TV. Makes life a lot easier not having to feed extra audio and video cables from the device to the receiver. Most of this works with the HDMI inputs, but it will of course upconvert any video source feeding into it, even if it is component video or composite video. That is one of the main reasons consumers have been purchasing this receiver. You save the cost of purchasing a separate upconversion unit, since it is built right in.

The operation of the receiver is fairly straight forward. Inputs and outputs selected on the front panel or on the remote itself. You can not discuss this receiver and not talk about what is called the GUI, or Graphic User Interface. This is the way you set up the receiver to handle the type of system you are feeding it with, and to set up the speakers in your room. Many companies have tried menus, graphics and a combination of both to make this complicated set up easier to perform and to understand. SONY went one step further. Since they already developed graphics and a user interface for their new PlayStation 3 System, they decided to use the same interface for the set up of this receiver. Brilliant when you think about it. The graphics and symbols have to be easy to understand and use on a video game, so why not make it easier to do on a receiver as well? So they adapted the graphic interface from the PS3 and fitted it into the 5200 Let me tell you, as someone involved in home theater, this is a massive improvement over previous set up menus. It is quite intuitive and the graphics are crisp and clean, and are shown in a way so as not to confuse the user. Remember how difficult it used to be setting up subwoofer levels, main speaker outputs and balance the levels on all the surround speakers? Well with this Graphic User Interface, it makes it much simpler and easier to understand. The SONY rep told me that consumers have been complaining for a long time about difficult menus and sub-menus for set up, and this is their way of easing the burden. The set up is still involved and does take time, but at least it is not as difficult using the new interface.

This receiver is also optimized for a BluRay input. When you plug a BluRay player into the HDMI input for that specifically, the video and audio have all been preset for that particular device. SONY certainly is pushing their BluRay players. One note here, the output of a BluRay player to the input of a 1080P capable set is absolutely breathtaking! The pictures are sharp and the colors vibrant. The sound is clear and multi-channel. The HDMI system also controls lip sync to assure a lock on both. Even if you do not purchase this receiver, you owe it to yourself to take a look at the output of one of these super DVD players.

For those folks who are worried about the so called Format War of BluRay vs. HD-DVD, you should know that LG has introduced a new DVD player that will play BOTH FORMATS. No matter which format wins, you will still be able to play it on the LG player. Also you can pick and choose from both "camps" as far as the best movies available on that particular format. That was just a note for those people who were thinking about a High Definition DVD player to use in conjunction with this receiver. Some good information never hurts!

Something I try to do in my reviews is list the specs for the specific product, to aid in your purchasing decision. People have told me they like looking at the product specs so they don't have to search for them. Well for all of you who want to read more about this receiver in depth, here are the specs on the 5200:


Specifications
Audio
Impedance: 8 Ohm
Channel Power Rating: 120 Watts X 7 Amplifier Power (8 ohms, 1Khz, 0.7% THD)
Sound Fields: Cinema - 4; Music - 8; Auto Format Decoding - 12; 2 Channel - 1
Zones: 3 Zone/3 Room
Tuner Type: Auto Tuning, Direct Tuning, Station Name, Presets 30/30/30 (XM/FM/AM)

Inputs and Outputs
S-Video Input(s): 5 (1 Front, 4 Rear)
S-Video Output(s): 3 (2 Rear/1 Monitor Out)
Composite Video Input(s): 5 (1 Front, 4 Rear)
Composite Video Output(s): 3 (Rear-1 Monitor Output, 2 Video Outputs)
Optical Audio Input(s): 5 (1 Front, 4 Rear)
Optical Audio Output(s): 2 (Rear)
Coaxial Audio Digital Input(s): 3 (Rear)
RCA Audio Input(s): 5
RCA Audio Output(s): 2
Multi-Channel Input(s): 1 (Rear, 7.1 Channel)
Subwoofer Output(s): 1 (Rear)
AC Outlet: 2 (Rear) Switched
Antenna Terminal (AM Loop): 1 (Rear)
Antenna Terminal (FM 75 Ohm): 1 (Rear)
Headphone Output(s): Yes (Front- Gold)
Speaker Terminal Type: Screw Binding Posts (A & B)
HD Component Video Input(s): 3 (Rear)
HD Component Video Output(s): 1 (Rear)
HDMI™ Connection Input(s): 3 (Rear)
HDMI™ Connection Output(s): 1 (Rear) Repeater

Power
Power Requirements: AC 120V, 60 Hz
Power Consumption (in Operation): 480 W
Power Consumption (in Standby): 1 W

Audio Features
Digital Cinema Sound™ Technology: Yes
Dolby® Digital Decoding: Yes
Dolby® Pro Logic® II Decoding: Yes
dts® 96/24 Decoding: Yes
dts® NEO:6 Decoding: Yes
Dolby® Digital EX Decoding: Yes
Dolby® Pro Logic® IIX Decoding: Yes
Amplification Relocation: Yes
Dolby® Pro Logic® Decoding: Yes
dts®-ES Decoding: Yes

Convenience
AM/FM Memory Presets: 30 FM - 30 AM
XM® Connect and Play™ Compatible: Yes
XM® Memory Presets: 30
XM® Connect and Play™ Compatible: Neural 5.1 Surround Sound Decoding

Convenience Features
Sound Fields: Yes
A/B Speaker Switch: A / B / A+B
On Screen Display: Yes
Digital Cinema Auto Calibration: Yes (Mic- Mono)
HDMI™ Technology: Intelligent A/V Selector

Hardware
Remote Control: Yes- Advanced Learning/Pre Programmed

Speaker
Center Speaker Terminal: Yes

Video Features
Up Conversion: Yes (HDMI Up Conversion from Component, S-Video and Composite to 1080p)

Supplied Accessories
Instruction Manual
FM Wire Antenna
AM Loop Antenna
Size AA Batteries: 2
1 Way LCD Pre Programmed Macro capable Learning Remote Commander® Remote Control
1 Basic Remote Commander

Colors:
Black

From these specs, you can easily see it is a receiver that can handle many types of signals and inputs and outputs. It will handle multiple speaker systems in different rooms, three to be exact. It has plenty of power and the remote control is a universal learning remote that will learn codes of other controls to help eliminate remote end table clutter.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Well, you have a lot of information on this receiver to help you judge if it is right for you. If I may be so bold, allow me to throw my two cents in here, as that is what we are all about, our own "epinions." I can go on for pages about what functions this receiver can perform, and how it works, but that is not what I am trying to do here. I just want to give you a basic idea about the design of the receiver and what it does. To bore you with more and more details is unproductive!

For someone with a High Definition 1080P set, this is a receiver made in heaven. It will handle various devices and feed them all through the HDMI output cable and upconvert at the same time. However, yes there is always a however, as I want to be honest in this review, this receiver is not as sonically pure as some other receivers. What I mean by that is the tonal quality of this receiver is good, but it does not have that slightly "warmer" sound that a Yamaha, Denon or Onkyo receiver has. From talking to many experts in my store, they all agree that an audio purist would not purchase this receiver. SONY does not have that rich sonic sound that some other receivers do, as I said earlier. This 5200ES is more of a utilitarian receiver that performs many functions.

All in all, I think this would be a wonderful receiver if it had that richer sound quality with more purity in the sound. That means not as much of an even standard sound, and more of the warmer higher class audio sound. If SONY can add that sonic purity to this receiver, it would be one that just could not be bettered by anyone. In the meantime, you can't go wrong with this receiver, providing of course you are happy with the sound and the way it handles your particular speaker system. Make sure you can bring the receiver back to the store if you don't like the way it sounds on your speakers. After all you have to be happy with this receiver, and at about $1,000 or so, it is not a cheap throw away!