Solidly Serious

Sony STR-DN1080 A/V Receiver

- Daniel Kumin

IT’S BEEN SEVERAL YEARS SINCE I’ve had a Sony A/V receiver in my rack, so when the STR-DN1080 arrived on my porch, I was eager to see what the foundational brand’s 7.1-channel Dolby Atmos/DTS:X model had to offer. Sony has been synonymous with consumer electronics for so long that today—in the more specialized corners of the field, such as home theater—it’s easy to overlook the company that was such an early player in the game. But Sony still has an enviable market position, as well as design and engineering firepower aplenty to compete in any sphere they choose.

At $600, the STR-DN1080 is smack in the middle of upper-entry level A/V receivers, the area most folks explore when assembling a first (or second) serious home theater. What that sum buys you today is utterly gob-smacking: not just the Dolby Atmos/DTS:X capability already mentioned, nor a claimed 100-plus watts per channel from seven channels, nor proprietary auto-setup/calibration/EQ, nor both Apple AirPlay and Google Chromecast built in, nor network/Wi-Fi on board (of course), but also Bluetooth with Sony’s proprietary lossy LDAC codec, for which the company claims 96/24 sonic equivalence within its wireless ecosystem (which includes wireless/multiroom speakers, portable hi-res players, and wireless headphones); video 4K and HDR pass through via HDMI 2.0a ports that are all HDCP 2.2 compliant, and a raft of multiroom options, including second zone via HDMI from its “B” HDMI output, itself a nice fillip on a receiver in this range.