Sony STR-DN1080 Review and Specs

Sony STR-DN1080 Is a flagship in this AV receiver series. Sony STR-DN1080 specs are one of the most appealing at this price. And here in this Sony STR-DN1080 review we want you to see other interesting facts.

Sony STR-DN1080 review

Features

Sony STR-DN1080 is a 5.1.2 (or 7.1) channel device with support for Dolby Atmos and DTS: X. One of the features that disappeared in the Sony STR-DN1080 is the ability to use wireless rear speakers. It was replaced by the less interesting Phantom Surround Back technology, which allows you to simulate the sound of a seven-channel system in the presence of only five speakers. Its output power is 120W/6 ohms. The AV receiver also has a proprietary multi-room system, now called the Music Center. It has been improved compared to the previous version and now the transfer of music between compatible Sony components is more simple and stable.

Design and build

Compared to previous models, the Sony STR-DN1080 has become, in my opinion, a little more attractive. Appearance of the device is very thorough - it is a black rectangular box with a narrow display. The front panel has two knobs: a larger one for adjusting the volume, a smaller one for selecting inputs. In direct comparison, the Sony STR-DN1080 became a little more compact than the previous version. At the same time, a look inside the device did not reveal large differences - the new device simply got less empty space. Screen graphics in AV-receivers are not often subjected to improvements, and even more so dramatic changes.

Connectivity

As a positive point, this model has six HDMI inputs, while in most competing devices their number is reduced to four. In addition, the Sony STR-DN1080 has two HDMI outputs, which means that it is capable of transmitting 4K video and surround sound to two different residential areas. The remaining connectivity options are quite modest: optical and coaxial inputs, Bluetooth, as well as Wi-Fi and Ethernet.

Setup

In the process of automatically tuning Sony STR-DN1080, you can select one of four equalization modes: Full Flat, Engineer, Front Reference and Off. Having experimented with all four, we stopped at Off, which provided the best sound.

Pros and Cons