The excitement and realism of 7.1-channel home theater is now more affordable than ever before, thanks to Sony! The STR-DE697 teams up 90 full-bandwidth-rated watts x 7 with a sophisticated 32-bit processor that drives a wealth of surround decoding options. The result is remarkably enveloping 360° surround sound that plants you right in the middle of the movie action.

The 'DE697 offers plenty of digital and analog inputs and outputs for system-building, including component video switching with 80MHz bandwidth for flawless transfer of HDTV sources. Front-panel A/V inputs let you quickly and easily hook up a camcorder, video game system, or a portable audio player. The multibrand remote gives you easy control of all your A/V gear.

Dolby® Digital EX and DTS-ES® decoding let you make the most of the latest DVDs, and you can even set this receiver to automatically transform any 5.1 or 6.1 soundtrack into expansive 7.1 surround sound. Dolby Pro Logic® II and DTS Neo:6 modes can turn stereo music and older surround sources into more convincing surround sound, too. And no matter which type of decoding you're using, you can enhance the multichannel experience even further with Sony's exclusive Digital Cinema Sound (DSC) modes. Based on the acoustic environments of actual Sony soundstages, DSC modes let you hear soundtracks the way the producers and directors intended!

Details:

• 90 watts x 7 into 8 ohms (20-20,000 Hz) at 0.09% THD
• Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, DTS Neo:6 and Pro Logic II processing
• Digital Cinema Sound modes
• 32-bit processor
• multibrand A/V remote
• 5.1-channel input
• component video switching (2 in, 1 out, 80MHz bandwidth)
• digital inputs: 3 optical, 2 coaxial
• optical digital output
• 3 audio inputs and 4 A/V inputs (including 3 S-video and 1 front-panel)
• no phono input
• Control A1II
• 30 AM/FM presets
• 2 sets of main speaker outputs
• banana plug-compatible binding posts for all main-room speakers
• 16-7/8"W x 6-3/16"H x 12-15/16"D