Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed this little receiver. I love the way it looks, I love the way it sounds…it just sings to me. My only question is….why is the Sony STR-DH590 so cheap?
The Basics
The Sony STR-DH590 is your basic 5.2 channel receiver. I usually say AV receivers aren’t much to look at, but there is something quite sleek and sexy about the Sony STR-DH590. The receiver stands just a smidge over 5” tall, which makes it slim by AV receiver standards. I don’t know if it’s the receiver’s proportions or its faux brushed metal look on the front, but the looks of this thing just does it for me. I dig it. The remote that comes with the unit is simple and intuitive which makes it pretty much perfect.
On its rear the Sony 590 supplies you with 4 analog inputs and two subwoofer outputs. You also get one each digital optical and coaxial. Three of the speaker connections use clips, while the left and right front speaker connections use 5-way binding posts. My one gripe with this receiver is that I wish all the speaker connectors were 5-ways, but I guess we can’t get everything we want in this world.
Across the top of the 590 sets a row of 4 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. The HDMI’s offer support for all types of 4K video goodness including; HDCP 2.2, HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision, 60P, and 4:4:4 color space.
Sony STR-DH590 In Use
Once you yank the Sony STR-DH590 out of the box, the first think you’ll want to do is calibrate it. To facilitate this, Sony includes a calibration microphone. After you plug in the mic, the receiver will blast out a series of test tones that it’ll use to set the proper speaker levels and crossover settings. The entire process only takes a few minutes. Once it was finished, I double backed to take a look at the settings and thankfully everything appeared to be in order.
The 590 doesn’t have built-in WiFi, which isn’t surprising for an entry-level receiver, but it does include built-in Bluetooth which lets you stream music from your favorite app such as Spotify. The Sony STR-DH590 also has a feature called S-Force Pro Front Surround. This may sound like the name of Marvel’s next superhero group, but it’s not. It’s actually a pretty cool feature especially for smaller rooms. Essentially, when enabled, the receiver simulates a surround sound experience with the aid of only two front speakers. I assume this is accomplished via the use of internal software, acoustics, or…. witchcraft. I’m actually leaning towards witchcraft.
Once everything was connected, I went ahead and decided to take the Sony STR-DH590 for a spin and boy does this thing sound nice. John Wick Chapter:3 on Blu-Ray was impressive coming thru this entry-level receiver. Dialogue was clean and precise. The on-screen action was intensified by the ambient sounds pumped out by the 590. Every punch, kick and bullet ricochet sounded dynamic and intense bouncing around my modest listening area. Moving on to Godzilla: King of Monsters, the Sony 590 continued to pummel my ears (but in a good way). The amp punished my subwoofer into submission and the receiver’s ability to create an envelope of sound was impressive. To test out Sony’s S-Force Pro Front Surround I disabled by surrounds and center speaker and let the amp run with just my front speakers and subwoofer. The results were pretty good….not great, but good. With S-Force engaged there were occasions where my ears were tricked into believing my surround channels were still on. In fact, I had to double check a couple times to verify that they were disconnected. So does S-Force work? Yes. Is it as good as a true surround sound setup? No. The bottom line is that if you have the room for 5 speakers do it, however, if space constraints won’t allow it, then S-Force is good option.
