Customer Reviews:
 EXCELLENT UNIT November 10, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
All I have to say is excellent unit for the price. Been looking for a long time for a 7.1 receiver. The prices were out of my reach. Fortunately this unit was well in my reach and it being a SONY unit is a extra plus. I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a 7.1 unit.
Bang for the buck. October 29, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this as an open-box [...]. It didn't come with the auto-calibration mic, but not a big deal. This receiver was so easy to set up using just 3 HDMI cables. I hooked up my PS3 and my cable box(DVI to HDMI) to the receiver and the third HDMI cable to the TV. Other than the speaker wires, there are only 3 other cables stickin out of the back of this thing. No birds nest behind my TV anymore.
If you are not looking to spend a bundle on a receiver, I highly recommend looking into this one. It sounds great. It's easy to set up using all HDMI cables, [...] you'd be hard pressed to find something of similiar quality.
 Nice features/poor sound quality October 15, 2008
3 out of 7 found this review helpful
The Sony STRDG720 has nice features for the price. You cannot find any other new receiver that can process audio over HDMI at this price (at this time). It is easy to use and will fit right in with anyone who is both on a budget AND who does not really care about the audio quality. (Although if you don't really care about the audio quality, why are you buying a receiver?)
That being said, the audio quality is poor. I understand the concept of "you get what you pay for," and some may believe this receiver would exemplify that, but even at this low price it is not worth the lack of quality. I returned the receiver and will be receiverless until a better receiver falls into my price range.
Good Buy Good features October 8, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've had this receiver for 5 days and I'm very happy. The menu system allows very good control over all functions. The ability to hookup and arrange speakers is very flexible. I'm using this with a Comcast digital cable box. The box I started with did not have an HDMI connection, only RGB cables. This combination would not work correctly when my Sony Brava was connected with HDMI; in various combination I could get sound or picture but not both. I had to get a HDMI cable box to make this work. The Brava sync feature mostly work well. If I turn on the TV, the receiver comes on and turns off when the TV is turned off. My Sony DVD player will switch the receiver correctly as well. It can be awkward switching back to TV from DVD.
My only complaint is the manual is simplistic and leave you wondering about how things work.
I think you get a lot of bang for the buck with this product
Poor audio quality October 6, 2008
14 out of 18 found this review helpful
Based on other Amazon reviews, I decided to give the STRDG720 to an 82-year old friend who couldn't hear his TV well. I thought it would be a good application for a budget receiver. My mistake was loaning him my 5-year old Sony 1000ES first ("Elevated Standards" line). He loved the bright, crisp sound of the 1000ES and even started listening to digital music stations on cable. When I swapped in the 720, he said it didn't sound nearly as nice (of course he was right). Even an elderly man with faltering hearing could tell the difference. It sounded thin and artificial. I returned the unit, and he kept the loaner.
The lesson is you can't make decisions based simply on watts/channel and %THD. If you could, why would Sony have an entirely different ES line where the "budget" model costs $500 more than this one?
The hardest part in comparing receivers is knowing the quality of the components inside, which aren't broken out in detail or published. Often there is a direct correlation to weight. The Onkyo 606, which has excellent reviews for audio quality, weighs 7+ pounds more (according to specs posted on Amazon). That weight can be attributed directly to higher quality components.
If you must go with Sony, consider the 820 (I think another reviewer in a different forum mentioned it was high current and contained better components), or jump to the 2400ES. Sub-par audio, even with lots of video bells and whistles, is a deal breaker for me. I've learned you get what you pay for. I think most people just don't know what they are missing. When music or a live concert played on your AVR brings a smile to your face, you know you made the right decision. This was a disappointment, but I am to blame for expecting more in this price range, and especially from Sony, who is not known for audio quality in their lower end consumer models.
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