Anybody out there heard of a Sony STR-DB line of receivers? They were described to me as hybrid STR and ES receivers -- opinions? They're supposed to be very reasonably priced.

Also, if the news is good, can anybody tip me on some online sites that have the equipment? Most sites I've visited don't yet list the items as available. Thanks.

Well the STR-DB line is the ES's little brother. Fair bit better amplifier quality than the STR-DE models, but not as high as the ES series. They're fairly hard to find; most places don't advertise them.

I've seend the DB line on Sony Canada's website. I am brand new to HT, and just bought a Sony STR-DE935 and Paradigm Titan speakers with surrounds and sub, Sony t-deck, cd, and vcr. No DVD yet. Too much to learn right now.

What do you mean by a "fair bit better amplifer quality", Daniel? I know the ES line is about twice the price. What am I missing? Is it noticeable? Would you refer to my system as Noice, Beginner, Entry Level, Mid range?

Steve, go to www.hometheaterworld.com They sell both the DB's and ES IMHO I would purchase the 333-es it's only 570 dollars there. Good luck

and by the way sell the vcr and get dvd the diffrence is enormous!

I don't know about setting VCRs just yet... I still use mine to time-shift hours of programming every day. Though at CES I saw a lot of DVD-RW recorders that could record from 2 to 6 hours on a single 4.7gb disc... nice!