Exclusive Review: Sony 5600ES Receiver With 4-Port Switch

Great review and write-up Joe, it looks like this receiver is the one to beat.

I think the real problem is you’re not using an outboard amplifier with your second zone.

Great write up Joe. This is the first write up that I have read in my 20 years in the industry that has a intense integrators point of view. Look forward to seeing some more reviews from you.

Hey, THAT was very quick! I was looking forward to reading some impressions on this receiver, since I am considering investing in it - but did not expect to see one online so soon. Kudos right there.

A few very interesting points raised, integrators are right to take notice in receivers such as this one. The Ethernet hub is a very exciting feature to use, too. I can see an installation based on Cat5/6 cable, controlled by 5600ES, costing much less overall than what it would two or three years ago.

But I do have one objection on the review: the Faroudja chipset is nothing to write home about anymore. In fact, compared to what Silicon Optix and Anchor Bay have offered for the last few years, DCDi is seriously outdated. Sure, it will upscale to 1080p but will not process and enhance the picture enough for today’s standards.

A receiver of this caliber will most likely get connected to quality sources that do the processing themselves, sure, but I would not let it upscale my DVDs anymore, for instance. There are cheap DVD players out there that will do a much better job (even PS3 will).

All in all, though, it seems to be the only flaw of the 5600 I can think of. Looking forward to seeing it driving a quality home sinema setup, after reading your review!

Will Control4 touchpanels control the Sony Digital Media Port iPort connected to this receiver?

Being able to control the DMP Iport through the touchscreens will not resemble the way that the Iport and Control4’s branded Ipod dock work. Navigate the the dmp iport as long as the it is being shown on your display through the reciever. I actually was not concerned with this as there are solutions for this that are better suited for automation systems that are not directly tied to a receiver.

Nice job Joe! Is the 4 port switch 10/100/1000? Look forward to seeing more articles from you.

The switch is 10/100. But so far i haven’t seen the need for much more than this on the receiver. Since this model does some limited media services i don’t think it would be a huge benefit. On the next model this may be different. I did push the network portion of the receiver way past recommendations and didn’t see any issues to my surprise.

So are the 4 ethernet ports ports connected to a switch? or a hub? You describe it both ways in the review, which is a bit disconcerting.

I agree with Mr. Farkonas, the Faroudja chipset is long outdated and far surpassed by the Silicon Optix and Anchor Bay offerings.

jbrown—It’s a switch. I might have goofed that one up in the editing. Will correct, thanks.

“I did a head-to-head test and there was no visible difference between 3D supplied directly to the display or through the Sony receiver”

Why wouldn’t this be a no brainer?  We are talking about passthrough of a digital signal.

Not exactly a no brainer. Think of other recievers, hdmi, DDC, TMDS, and a couple other things that can change the end result when any device is put between 2 hdmi devices. I have another 3d reciever that i will not name that has a very noticable and undesirable effect on 3d. Tested in same methos with EXACT same config. Passthrough is a very sticky and sometimes misleading term. Well for this reciever it is not so far.

Well, any AVR that uses the repeater architecture to pass through video (i.e. any AVR that does audio processing) sends out the video portion of the TMDS stream bit for bit as it is received from the source (except for differences in encryption.)  As such, the video signal received by the display should be exactly the same, whether received from the AVR or directly from the source.  While data can drop out resulting in sparkles or no picture at all, AFAIK this cannot result in an image that is complete, but lesser quality.  This is why the line I quoted purplexes me.

Is this other component you mention a true AVR that does audio processing, or more of a switch?  What is the exact effect you see with 3D video?  Also, why not name the brand and model if it has this issue?

The other device in question is a higher end avr than the sony. The only reason i don’t mention the name is that i do perspective editorials and reviews with no favorites and no punches held. I also ask permission with request for additional info on the devices i review. I have requested permission to review the piece in question so we will see how that goes.

If you have any questions send me an email, i would love to discuss the issues in a more private format!