Sony STR-DH190 Review: Was I WRONG about this receiver? 

I was skeptical about the phono pre amp in this unit but matched with a turntable with an Ortofon OM 5E cartridge and Wharfedale Denton speakers. Excellent sound.

It's strange that i'm also a child of the 80's and didn't have such bad experiences as you did. My first receiver was an Onkyo stereo tuner, followed by a Harmon Kardon AVR254, then their AVR354, and now i've got a Harmon Kardon AVR 7550HD. All of them have been great products. None failed. A few years ago i was leaving a friends place and i spotted a "dumpster dive speical" sitting on the neighbors trash can, a Haromon Kardon AVR1700... so i grabbed it to see if i could fix it, and to my shock it worked perfectly.

Your review is spot on. I bought one to hold me over until I got my vintage Sansui's (9090db & QR-4500) back from the shop for some restorations. The thing that really impressed me was the soundstage. It's incredible for such a low priced amp. Totally agree about the volume knob too, but the remote does a great job all around so you don't have to fiddle with it. I use it now for bluetooth playback & it sounds great. Turned a friend onto it & he paired it with the Klipsch rp-600's & a Fluance 81 TT. He's very happy as well.

thank you for the review. so funny that you say this. when i bought mine 5 years or so ago i was very surprised about the sound and everything about it. i used it with my old canton speakers and it was nice to listen. a year ago i bought a pair of new Klipsch R-620F for 550 bucks for the pair. now i have a sound system for less then 1000 bucks and it blows my mind. cheers

I’ve had one for a year now, and I love it.

Thank you for reviewing this amp. This is the amp I have and I love it! I bought the amp for the fact it has a built in phono stage. I use the bluetooth quite often with my smartphone. I am with you on the volume knob, it seems cheap, but I am using the remote control most of the time. This is all part of my budget system, I have it paired with a pair of Polk Audio bookshelf speakers, a NAD C538 CD player and a vintage Technics SL-D2 fitted with a new VM-95e cartridge and stylus. I have my computer running into the amp as well. The computer is integrated into the whole system as well. I use it for iTunes and Apple music. Enjoy your channel!

For the same price, on sale, I bought a Pioneer SX-10AE, which is quite similar, but adds 5-way binding posts and a subwoofer out, which are two absolute musts for me. I use it as a shop unit, and it has done very well for over a year now.

I agree with you , I had mine for a few months now . Only downside for me is the price is $50 less now then what I paid . At the time I was looking for budget friendly and get me going. Also , hooked up a preamp instead and that thing works great for me ! Blue tooth works great as well. No complaints from me.

Great review. Had mine for two years as the heart of a second, smaller system, and it's delivered quite well for vinyl, CD, tape(!) and streaming. Yes, you can buy "better" (and I have, for silly amounts of money), but for getting bedrock *good* audio on a budget, it's hard to bet this receiver.

As a child of the 80’s, and a poor teenager in the 90s, I bought with my saved pennies, a brand-new ‘92 Sony STR-D990, Dolby pro-logic receiver. It was pretty sweet at the time, powering a cheap pair of Realistic floor standers. My buddy had a classier-looking pioneer with the amber glowing LCD, whereas the Sony had an active white LCD with digital level meters. It was a cool, yet worthless feature. Yes the case was black, but was built very solid. The volume was motorized and had a red LED light - still works today as it did then. Contrary to your experiences and damning generalizations, all features are 100% functioning 30 years later, one of several systems I have throughout my home. I keep it as my vintage setup because it still has a great phono stage and line inputs sound great. I also bought a Sony CDP-C725 CD transport in ‘93. It too was black, and Sony. It happily works as my faithful CD transport today with its rare TosLink output. I enjoy your channel, and your easy-going delivery is fresh and inviting, but strongly disagree that all the black boxes from that era were cheap garbage. I also disagree that all Sony is bad. Yes Sony made horrible plastic boomboxes and became interested in mass-market budget electronics, and all-in-ones, but they also made some decent AVRs and CD transports.

Your "negative bias" bs is actually spot on. Having mine right out of warranty and channel A has shorted out. Channel B still works but... It is a cheap black plastic box and should be avoided. Affordable doesn't always mean one should buy buy buy.

Thank you. I just bought one. My old Pioneer Amp/Pre-Amp and Tuner from the seventies are just falling apart. Audio cut-outs, etc etc, burned out pots. From watching YT repair blogs probably soldering has gone cold. So, thanks for your review. I have a Fluance TT. excited about trying it out. Thanks for mentioning the volume off set setting.

I had Onkyo's in the late 80's and 90's and they were affordable and lasted forever. I would end up giving them away when I wanted to upgrade. I've had this Sony one for about a year and it is a fantastic value. You would have to go up pretty far in cost to find something better sounding.

I honestly don’t understand why so many people are giving this a good review. I purchased one because so many people were saying how good it was to replace my vintage Yamaha VX 480 which still works fine I just wanted a newer one with Bluetooth and I really wanted to like it but the sound quality was so much different than my Yamaha and by different I mean it was way too neutral to bright no matter if I turn the bass even all the way up to +10 and my subwoofer volume on high there was very little low end especially on music that should have lots of low end and when I played the same music on my old Yamaha I can have the base at zero and the subwoofer knob only halfway up and shake my house lol but I don’t care just about the thump my point is that the music was more naturally sounding and rich but also still had thump when I wanted it to and not on music that shouldn’t the Sony just seemed neutral no matter what type of music you played and I could not get any decent low end out of it at all and I had to return it despite wanting to like it I guess that’s just my experience with it.

Never tried one of the cheaper Sony receivers, but I've still got a Onkyo TX-8020 I got in 2019 for $119. I've been using it for a amp for my main PC, and it sounds fantastic. I've used it in my living room for awhile, and it did a great job there. Got a tube amp in my living room now, but that el cheapo Onkyo will blow your mind for the money.

What speakers do you recommend? Thanks.

I have the STR DH190. Not quite the same level as my other gear, but sounds decent and gets plenty loud. I love the easy BT connection.

I have the DH790. Sony should have added a cooling fan. I put one in myself. The amp inside gets really hot when listing to music loud.

child of the 70's myself, so i am entrenched in the thought of silver face = music and black plastic = home theater, ONLY. but, this amp has changed my thinking, not for a main music listening system, but maybe for the phono input or something in the living room. the man cave, im sticking with my Carver. lol

Do you happen to have a setup video connecting this exact receiver to speakers? I am totally lost trying to connect this receiver to my Sony bookshelf speakers :(

Has no ass behind it without doctoring it up with extra help adding amplifiers and sub woofers compared to the vintage sony stereo receivers.

A few months ago I had my 80's Cerwin Vega speakers redone (they were rotted). However, the guy replaced the 8 ohm woofers with 4 ohm speakers! So far I haven't used them with this Sony. I would love to go throw the huge speakers through the window of the shop but for now i'll just ask you.

Hello. Could I connect a mini Fosi Audio amplifier for a passive subwoofer through the RCA output? Would it cause any damage to the Sony amplifier? I would appreciate your help. Regards.

I was born in '79 and got really into audio in the very early 90s. At that time, for the average poor kid, 2 channel stereo receivers were the only affordable option for really decent clean power. A dollar per watt was doing very well in those days. You could buy plenty of car amplifiers that claimed several hundred watts for $50 at the flea market. But you were lucky to get 12 wpc with 97% distortion. But there were a few jensen car amps that got you close to 100w for around $100, and then there was a vast sea of home stereo receivers, usually around $100, and easily gave you 100 watts. As far as the really vintage wood-grain era of receivers, (pre 1985) which I assume, is your cup of tea, it was a big time crap schute. Most of the old receivers I dug from the trash on my way to school, were completely anemic. Some were pretty good, i scored a fisher that was pretty powerful once. But the early 90s-present stereo receivers always delivered. Don't even get me started on the modern 27 channel theater receivers, where all powered channels have a high pass filter at 100hz. I think you may have had a pre-conceived notion, that these 2 channel receivers were not good, but if you give them a chance I think you'd like most of them. I almost cried recently when I learned that the only inexpensive home receivers that remain on the market are Sony, Pioneer, and Yamaha. But if you like a bass and treble heavy sound, Sony is the way to go. If you're looking for ultra clean more honest power (flat response) the Yamaha is the way to go. If you're in the middle, go with Pioneer.

Good review! I am looking into this amplifier and the older Onkyo TX8220 to replace my vintage pioneer SX-838 amplifier that went dead.

I own 3 of these Sony STR-DH190 in different rooms. The source is the WiiM mini using RCA out. Cannot be happier.

I have an old analog unit from the 70s that is dying a slow death. I got it for free and it's relatively low power, but I love the aesthetic. This review helped me find a replacement while I look into fixing the old one. This one sounds to be much more powerful as well. Thanks for the review! Very informative!

i bought one,super happy with my choice.ACtually bought it for my PS HX 500-perfect match

One thing you forgot: the HD sticker in the upper right corner of the receiver is for real. If you switch back and forth from Hi-Def Streaming music sites to non Hi-Def…you will hear the difference. Is this the Sony’s DAC at work? Or the bluetooth ? 🤷🏻

Hello i have same receiver i use speakers Aiwa 2x 150W 6 ohm, mostly i use for tv especially at Ice Hockey or films , sound is very good but I still think receiver Aiwa has better equalizer at bass sounds effects without using subwoofer , but this one i bought only 237 €

I bought this receiver used in New condition for $10.Its great garage receiver.

This is the best instruction video about this amp...thanks!

Hi, total novice here, so hopefully you can excuse my question. I've just bought this (waiting on it arriving) I will be running 4 speakers, 2 small, 2 large, the two small Wharfedale are 6ohm & the 2 large Wharfedale are 8ohm so which setting do I select once I have them plugged in on A and B ? Thanks for your reply 😎

I love my Somy avr. IT was a great purchase and so affordable to get into atmos or multi channel music.

I sold and repaired and hated them. Used hafler,dynamo 400watt unit.😊 Put midrange in ess amt300 to 2k then hiel 2k up omg ,Stanton cartridge Swedish turntable lab grade arm. I diy over 500 . The Sony is ok adequate for a good streamer preamplifier. 👍

I have one just for vinyl and klipsch tangent 30 speakers. What would you recommend for the next step in an amp just for vinyl?

plastic? are receivers made of all metal typically? i thought they all had a plastic front....

How did you get the phono off set? I clicked the phono and cant get to adjust the volume hmmm

I have this receiver and it keeps shutting off saying “Protect”. Any helpful insight as to why this would be happening would be appreciated. Does anyone know why this would be happening?

I have a Sony receiver that I had from 23 years ago and now the speakers don't work on it so I am going to be purchasing this particular receiver and I'm going to hook my mixing board up to it to one of the input it seems like a new version of the old one that I have

Oh, well, I'm forever digital, but I liked this review

Thanks again for your great channel and reviews Please tell me what you prefer this amp or cambridge axa25? Kind regards and best wishes

Why is there a "Hi-Res" stiker if it's have no DAC?!

Thank you

In my opinion some black stereo equipments from the 80s are decent with brands like Sony, Pioneer, Technics, Marantz. I think the cheap ones you’re talking about are brands like rca, soundesign, yorx, goldstar which should be avoided.

Can you use this as a pre amp to feed an amplifier through the out RCA? Just wondering. I was looking for something with more inputs and volume control but I'm happy with the amp I have, the only problem is that it only has one RCA input.

Bought one couple years ago and thought it was a good deal. I never got the bluetooth going but I didn't really care. The phono section was good but that volume knob just made the whole unit seem cheap. 100 watts per channel was the real selling point and this thing delivered. It's been benched at 117 per side so it's no slouch. I didn't realize until your video that the receiver had a 6 and 8 ohm switch. I had a buyer come buy to have a listen and he was on the fence about purchasing it. Once I cranked up the volume through my Polk rti a5's he was floored and bought it.

Well, I appreciate sending me over here to have a look. Great review, just sort of curious why they didn't include digital in with a quality internal DAC? Again, right now I have a PL-7 TT, 2001 Sony CD juke box with digital out going into a small FiiO BT DAC, both of these have RCA going into my old 94 Sony Amp in which finally I have my two BIC bookshelf speakers attached. So going this route I would simply be amplifying my sources via different amp. I'd like to find an integrated amp that has one pair of analog RCA inputs, at least one digital input (prefer both coax and optical), standard quality DAC for these days, BT, at least a quad OP-A and at least 4 speaker connections that can drive 6-8ohm speakers. Is there such a box like this? See all this running in circles just because I want to by-pass my CD players internal DAC and use external via digital connection. Thank you.

Just got this on black Friday. It is my first receiver and I paired it with Sony SSCS5 Speakers. Sounds amazing to me. Coming from a Bluetooth speaker. Edit: I have audio technica LP120X. Should I use phono preamp on LP120X or sony receiver? Can anyone suggest?

At some parts, I have the volume turned up past my normal max levels and STILL can't hear you...

How do you set the timer on "off" please ?

My pioneer stereo amplifier A-110 recently failed is the Sony STR-DH190 as good as my pioneer amp also would my tannoy E11 speakers run well with the Sony STR-DH190

The FM sensitivity is Zero for FM longer distance stations. I hear they ran all the power at 1,000 hertz to be able to call it 100 W. Per channel. That sounds about right that Sony would have to lie with a technically not a lie excuse. I stripped off a little insulation at the very end of the FM antenna wire and attached it to my outdoor antenna and still don't get a figment of a station.

Which would you prefer for sonic quality -the Sony or the Cambridge AXA 25-if you were just going to add a CD player, schiitt modi and Wiim mini streamer?

coming from a vintage 35w amp that supports 4ohm speakers i have a hard time taking that power figure seriously...

It’s a nice amp, however you can’t get much range of bass from it. This is one thing I was disappointed about, you also can’t connect an equaliser to adjust this. My previous 90’s kenwood amp had such rich, deep bass…it’s sorely missed! (Although probably much to the delight of my neighbours 😂)

Could you help me with an opinion, sir? This receiver have output for cables (to connect passive speakers) and also bluetooth (to connect active speakers, for exemple). Which would you go for? I'd love to get rid of the cables but would the bluetooth connection be good enough?

Thanks for this. Can I use this with wireless/bookshelf passive speakers? Any suggestions for reasonably-priced, wireless/bluetooth bookshelf speakers?

Sony str-dh590 is a huge nononono.. the 190 is goooooood

Beats a blank

Great basic unit but incredibly lacking in bass. Not looking for wall shaking subwoofer bass, just bass. A "loudness" button would have helped. I may be able to live with it but the PS-LX310 turntable has me with Buyers Remorse Disorder.

How does the spund quality campares to your Aiyima mini amp?

*I see RED* Great, comprehensive review

So mr. Forever analog wants a digital input on this receiver?

I got one of these with a set of Sony bookshelf speakers from goodwill yesterday for so cheap I’m kind of embarrassed to put the price here.

Recommended speakers for this amplifier?

Awesome review thx

that one sucks theirs no sub out for any bump

Sounds like a transister radio without external help.

If speakers says 4-8ohms should I set it on 8?

No way to install a subwoofer. No digital input for modern TV audio is, of course, a bummer.

Minor Threat

Which is better fosi bt20a pro vs sony str dh190 ?

Outstanding

His amp has no bass, very poor workmanship, it's not about music, it's just for the trash.

Pure direct button zeroes and turns off tone controls, volume knob is cheap motorized unit, that's why it feels lousy, your turning the remote motor.

You should have continued with your initial assumption. Even if it’s only from a serviceability point of view. For the 2020’s, a good rule of thumb is, if the average working person can afford it, it’s most likely a piece of shit. It really is that simple.

Who are you to be right or wrong?

Thanx for this