Item #STRAZ7000ES

Sony STR-AZ7000ES

13.2 Channel 8K AV Receiver
Item #STRAZ7000ES

Sony STR-AZ7000ES

13.2 Channel 8K AV Receiver
$3,298.00
In Stock: Free 2-Day Shipping
Contact Us

Overview

The High Notes
13 Channels of Audiophile Level Power

13 Channels of Audiophile Level Power

The amplifier section in this receiver impressed even our hardcore stereo fanatics. And it's no surprise with the massive power supply and amp section. Your speakers will come to life with this level of power
Incredible Surround Sound Effects

Incredible Surround Sound Effects

We have never seen a receiver ask for so much information about the distances in your room. You'll input your ear height, screen height, and ceiling height the normal distance you are from each speaker, but also the distance each speaker is from the screen and from the floor. All of this allows the Sony processor to do an incredible job placing surround effects all around you for immersion you have to hear to believe.
Built Like a True Tank

Built Like a True Tank

Sony ES receivers are truly built like tanks as you will be able to tell from the incredible 48 pounds this unit weighs. The 5-year parts and labor warranty from Sony speaks for itself

Sony STR-AZ7000ES 13.2 Channel 8K A/V Receiver

The top-of-the-line STR-AZ7000ES has 13 powered channels you can configure in a variety of ways. But, it also bumps up the power to 140 watts per channel and comes in at almost 50 pounds with an even bigger power supply than the AZ5000. The two additional channels can be front wides or a third pair of height speakers.

If you like the idea of the Dual Center Speaker, you just lose the middle-height speaker option to make that happen, which might be a better choice in a lot of rooms.

All of the amp channels have preamp outs as well so you could add extra power if needed down the road, but with the big amps inside you would probably never need it.

It could also be the heart of a whole house audio system as you can configure height 3 to power zone 2 and surround backs to drive zone 3 and still have nine channels for your home theater.

The STR-AZ7000 is one heck of a beast of a home theater receiver that will be able to give you a super immersive experience with its 13 channels built in and be able to drive just about any speaker you can throw at it.

STR-AZ7000ES 13.2 Channel A/V Receiver

Sony ES Receiver Audio Features

First, we like the fact all of these are rated with the FTC power spec for both channels driven from 20-20,000 Hz at a low distortion number. Sony has made the jumps from each model very logical with the AZ1000ES starting out at 7 powered channels and maxing out a whopping 13 powered channels for the AZ7000ES.

All four have Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Chromecast built-in, Spotify Connect, and Apple AirPlay 2. Google Assistant works with them all and they all now have the “Works with Sonos” official certification for seamless integration with a Sonos whole house music system.

You can set them up using a web interface, the great on-screen display, or just the front panel.

For immersive surround they all support Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. To help those who may not want to run cables for some speakers, they all support adding Sony’s wireless SA-RS3S and SA-RS5 Wireless Surround Speakers, as well as SA-SW3 & SASW5 Wireless Subwoofers. While we feel you would much prefer to add speakers that match your main brand of speakers, this is a pretty cool option for apartments or living spaces where it is impossible to run wiring for surrounds and you could use either of the wireless surround speaker options to at least get more immersion than you would without them.

In that same vein, they also all let you use the speakers in a compatible Sony TV for your center channel. We would not really recommend this unless you do not have any space for a true center channel speaker.

They also all have a phantom rear speaker mode that you can turn on to simulate rear speakers. This is not a simulation of your main surrounds, but the rears in a 7-channel bed layer system.

Another neat feature Sony receivers have had for a while is an adjustment if your fronts, center, or both are in the ceiling. This uses DSP to pull the image down so it sounds less like an in-ceiling speaker.

Finally, they all have a new feature called center channel lift. You will need to have both front heights turned on for this, but once we thought about this one, it's another reason all those distance measurements make perfect sense. Our favorite home theater systems have the center speaker directly behind an acoustically transparent screen so the voices sound like they are coming right out of the screen but most people have to place their center speaker under the TV or screen. When you turn on the center channel lift it will use both your center channel and front height speakers to effectively move the center channel image up higher. More on how this actually worked in the performance section.

STR-AZ7000ES 13.2 Channel A/V Receiver

Sony ES Receiver Video Features

For video, you get 8K & 4K/120Hz HDMI Connectivity with HDMI 2.1 and HDCP 2.3 with support for HDR, Dolby Vision, HDR10, Hybrid Log Gamma, and IMAX Enhanced. Gamers will love that the 4K/120 inputs support ALLM and VRR for the best in low latency gaming.

The on-screen menu for setting up the inputs is a home theater geek's dream come true. It is a big grid that lets you assign video and audio to any input with the ability to create similar ones using the same video but different audio. This is cool for those of you who like to watch sports but hear the local announcer. They also have offset levels and default surround modes for each one. Plus you can store two configurations. You can take lip sync up to 300 milliseconds and assign this to each input as well. In another pretty neat touch, you can turn on or off the subwoofer for each input and even give it a 10db boost for that input if you wish.

Tips & Tricks: How To Perfectly Set Lip Sync Calibration In Your Home Theater

Then you’ll get to the speaker settings which is by far the best setup we have seen. Here is where you will be scratching your head wondering why you have to input all these numbers. Like all home theater receivers, you input the distance from your speakers to your main listening position. Then, you jump to another screen where you input the speaker distance from the screen. Next, you go to another setting where you input the distance each speaker is from the floor. You also input the distance your ears are from the floor and the ceiling height of your room. All this extra data allows Sony’s Digital Cinema Auto Calibration IX and 360 Spatial Sound Mapping to work more precisely. In theory, this should allow them to better place the immersive objects within the surround field.

Another thing we love in the interface is the visual graphics under the speaker pattern section. With all of the possible speakers out there that can be used for height and surrounds, menus can get confusing when you have to choose the type without a visual reference. With these models, Sony makes it perfectly clear whether you have an in ceiling speaker, an upward firing speaker, or a free standing speaker mounted on the ceiling aimed at the listening area. The menu lets you set up any possible combination of these. This just takes away any possible confusion, which is great!


Reviews

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)