10 reviews for Sony STRDH190 2-ch Home Stereo Receiver with Phono Inputs & Bluetooth Black

1. 

   5 out of 5

   racar45 – January 23, 2020

   I was pleasantly surprised with what you get, for such a low price. FM tuner, Bluetooth, Phono input with ground, 4 inputs for other components, with one of those having an output jack as well, remote control, and a 2 year parts/labor warranty from Sony. I have a JVC turntable connected to the phono input, my television connected to input 1, a Teac cassette deck (for playback only) connected to input 2, a Sony single disc CD player connected to input 3, a Tascam CD player/recorder connected to input 4, (using the 1 and only output jack offered there) to have recording capability, and a vintage pair of Boston Acoustics 8 ohm floor speakers. I agree with others that the speaker connection terminals have a very small opening, and not really designed for heavier gauge speaker wire. A google search provided this info: “Thick wire (12 or 14 gauge) is recommended for long wire runs, high power applications, and low-impedance speakers (4 or 6 ohms). For relatively short runs (less than 50 feet) to 8 ohm speakers, 16 gauge wire will usually do just fine.” For my setup, my speakers are 8 ohm, and located much less than 50 ft. from the receiver & each other, so 16 gauge wire worked out fine, and fit in the terminals easily. Freshly spliced 14 gauge wire should fit, if inserted carefully. 12 gauge wire would be too thick to use, and may likely break the speaker terminals. It has it’s own proprietary FM wire antenna included, and you cannot use any other type of antenna (there are no other FM antenna connections). I picked up over 30 channels, but I’m likely within 15 miles of most of them. If you live far from your FM broadcast stations, the small wire antenna could be insufficient. There is a power button, volume control knob, and input selector knob on the front of the receiver, along with a few other settings. Most adjustments however, are made from the remote. The inputs are labeled Phono, FM, Input 1, 2, 3, & 4 on the display & the remote, but you can customize them to display whatever you like, from the amp menu, accessed from the remote. I changed mine to TV, Tape, CD Play, & CD REC, quite easily. You can adjust the balance and other settings, from the same amp menu, from the remote, including increasing the output volume of the phono jack, if so desired. You can adjust the volume, bass & treble, store 30 FM preset channels, access Bluetooth, and numerous other features from the remote. The instruction manual is clear & concise, explaining all of the many features, without being overwhelming. Keeping in mind that this is a 2 channel “home stereo receiver”, it more than meets my audio needs. It produces a clear, nice quality sound, that you will likely not find in another $128 “new” receiver. If you’re looking to vibrate the walls, or need to feel the bass instead of just hearing it, then you probably need to spend more, and look elsewhere. Otherwise, it really is quite nice. I’m pleased so far, and hope it will prove to be durable. It looks great, and appears to be a quality made item.

2. 

   5 out of 5

   Professor MIKE – February 22, 2020

   This little receiver already has sterling credentials but I appreciate it so much I thought I’d add my two cents worth. I’ve been in the business of selling high end home audio since 1977 and it’s inconceivable that a $125 receiver in 2020 could offer so much functionality and reasonable performance. No, this model won’t challenge any state of the art competitor, but for the money, it’s a STEAL! If you want a music in your kitchen, bedroom, patio or garage, this guy should fit right in. Pairing it with my iPhone 7 took less time that it took me to type this. I was shocked at how hefty it felt as I lifted it out of the carton. It’s a real class A/B amp so you’ll need to give room to breath on its rack shelf. I don’t play LP’s anymore but its even got a built-in phono stage! And 100 watts of RMS power will drive most speakers. The remote is full function and you’re probably gonna put on a few more pounds ’cause you won’t need to get out of your comfy chair to do anything . . . except turn the LP over in the case you listen to those. My advice: BUY IT!

3. 

   5 out of 5

   U MAD BRO – April 17, 2020

   have had this hooked up for a couple days now and love it. This unit replace and old rca home theatre receiver from 2003, i use this primarily to listen to records and cds. The new sony is powering two 4 inch bookshelf speakers and two 8 inch floor speakers. AND IT IS LOUD. im not even sure what the max volume is but when i turn it up to 50 on the dial it is too loud to listen to. And the sound is noticeably better the the old amp. the built in phono amp is the main reason i bought it. One thing im not sure about is why the volume is lower on records than on cds at the same volume reading? Another thing that I notice is the sound quality from the bluetooth is not as good as the records and cds. the remote and menus are easy to use, i put in some FM presets, not sure if i will ever use them. receiver is over in the corner of the living room and the remote works well even though its not directly facing where the remote is being operated from. all in all im very happy with this unit.

4. 

   5 out of 5

   E. Johnson – June 27, 2020

   Needed a good inexpensive receiver for a classic turntable that didn’t have a preamplifier. I’ve only had it a week but have been very happy with it. The sound is great and it hooked up to my phone with no problem what so ever. It’s not meant for Extreme Audiophiles or people who want a ton of customization. The minimal interface is not a selling point, I’d always prefer knobs to a remote, and there aren’t many options to tweak the sound. It’s a cheap solution for my turntable problem and replaces those pesky, moody bluetooth speakers that I had relied on in the past few years.

5. 

   5 out of 5

   TAM – July 2, 2020

   The rating is for the unexpected sound quality despite the low price and requisite lowered expectations. The Bluetooth features (control, pairing, and sound quality) are first-rate. You can power on the receiver using your compatible mobile device if you wish that feature to be activated, which keeps the receiver in stand by mode. and you can enhance the sound quality (think of it as HD Bluetooth audio) by allowing AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) if your paired device transmits using that codec; it’s well worth it if so. Also, the phono preamplifier is very good compared to separates which I have compared it to. A big plus for the phono input is the fact you can increase the gain to match the other line level inputs. Lastly, the FM tuner is very good in that it pulls in many area stations without crosstalk and too much interference. It is not an afterthought by Sony. It is a quality tuner, though FM only and not AM. All in all, this modest receiver surprised me in many ways. It’s more powerful than the NAD I was considering and less than 1/2 the price. It may not have the audiophile reputation of the latter, but Sony deserves commendation for this entry level 2 channel feature full excellent sounding receiver.

6. 

   5 out of 5

   1point21gigawatts – August 22, 2020

   You can use a subwoofer with this receiver, as long as it is an “in-line” subwoofer, like the Polk PSW 10, which basically allows you to run the wire for one of the normal speakers through the subwoofer. Check the manual for the subwoofer to see how to do this. This receiver does not have a dedicated subwoofer output, but that doesn’t matter when you have an “in-line” subwoofer.Second, I have four 6-ohm speakers connected to this (as well as two Polk PSW 10 subwoofers) which are the Pioneer SP-FS52 speakers. I can play all six speakers at the same time and it sounds great and is plenty loud and clear. Maybe someone else will tell me that I shouldn’t be doing this but it is functioning perfectly so far. Sweet set up!

7. 

   5 out of 5

   Ator28 – September 5, 2020

   I just hooked mine up. I have it attached to a pair of DM305 Bowers and Wilkins speakers. The speakers are really just bookshelf speakers on a pedestal. The sound, however, is great. It has a rich warm sound with plenty of bass as well as treble (both adjustable). It is also more than powerful enough for the mid sized room the unit is in.Sooo…. This is a VERY basic unit. There are no real frills. It attaches easily to my iPhone via Bluetooth (how I normally listen to music so audiophiles can start to gag now) with a few more inputs. The unit will auto detect a paired Bluetooth device and wake up. This is exactly what I wanted, but if you want sub outputs, DTS processing hdmi or digital inputs you need to get something higher end. While this unit does get plenty loud, if you are looking to hook it up to monster speakers and try to anger the neighbors, again you should look for something a little bigger.I am very happy with this unit and am glad I settled on it. Hope this helps.

8. 

   5 out of 5

   sminla – September 5, 2020

   Hard to find a good stereo amp these days and this is a steal at the price. Is one of the few that had all of the following features that I really needed:- 4 sets of stereo line inputs (plus a fifth 3.5 mm jack for a portable on the front panel)- Phono level inputs with ground- 2 sets of A/B speaker outputs (but see caveat below) and unlike a previous model, this one happily CAN control speaker outputs via the remote- Bluetooth pairing to portable or computer- More than adequate power level- Decent aesthetic and hefty build qualityMain quibble is that while the speaker impedance can be set to 8 or 6 ohms (and you can use the 6-ohm setting for 4-ohm speakers in a pinch), this applies to ONE set of speakers only. The A/B outputs are essentially just a parallel connection to the same output with a switch in front of it. So if you have both on at the same time driving 8-ohm speakers the amp will essentially be seeing a 4-ohm load, with the limitations that that implies. But at normal listening levels and with 8-ohm or higher impedance speakers, it really doesn’t matter a bit and really for the price I’m almost embarrassed even to bring this up!

9. 

   5 out of 5

   MO HandymanMO Handyman – September 6, 2020

   My college student grandson said he wanted a stereo system that included a turntable. I had the speakers and a turntable that I could give him but not a receiver. All of the receivers I could find did not have a phono input, which meant a separate phone pre-amplifier would be required to use the turntable. Except this one. The price was reasonable, and as a bonus, he can play all of the music on his phone using the ‘Bluetooth connectivity – his phone paired with the receiver easily on the first try. The volume on the phono input is adjustable so there isn’t much difference in volume when changing form radio, Bluetooth, CD or phone inputs. He really likes it.

10. 

    5 out of 5

    Matthew Z. PierceMatthew Z. Pierce – January 11, 2021

    Easy to set up. Has a phono preamp. Good sound range. Nice equalization. Just a great, basic, quality receiver for your average folk who wants good sound but doesn’t want to open a line of credit on your house due to expense. I’ve had mine for about three months and it works great with my Pioneer PL 990 record player and my AIWA XC 37M CD player. Nice Bluetooth connection and plays nicely when the volume is turned up…