Component Review: Sony STR-AV320 Audio Video Control Center

Here we have the living embodiment of budget fidelity. When new this little 2 channel Sony cost a whopping $250 and these days can be picked up at the local thrift/flee market/pawn shop between $10-$30 and for those you you that are impatient you can get them on ebay fairly often for about $50 shipped. Why is this such a good deal, well read on...  

STR 2 Channel Receiver Line
from Sony's 1991 Component catalog from Germany

Introduced between 1990 and 1991 the AV320 was Sony's second from the bottom offering in the 2 Channel "AV Receiver" line between the entry level AV220, the mid tier GX70ES. Like the more expensive GX models the 320 featured a black anodized aluminum face with a large white segmented lcd display for the source and tuner info. It also featured solid (though plastic) feeling knobs for bass, treble, balance, and of course Volume. The rest of the switch gear are solid state aside from the two speaker selector buttons.

Now unlike some of it's competition the ensuing 25 years have been rather kind in the looks department giving it a more timeless and elegant look than most of it's contemporaries. I think that makes this a very appealing choice for a someone that is looking to piece a vintage system together from various makes from various era's but isn't necessarily cool with the concept of blatantly clashing gear. 

AV320 From Rear

 Aside from the looks the AV320 (and it's little brother the 220) feature a decent amount of inputs, 5 in total. This makes them rather well versatile for a modest setup, you have previsions for a CDP, Tape Deck, Turntable, video input (so you can run your VHS or LD player audio through it) and strangely enough a tuner input which since this is a receiver and has a tuner built in makes this just a regular AUX input. It's also rather impressive on the performance front as well, the German catalog lists it as 50wpc at 8ohms but taking a look at the specs in the owners manual it list it as 65 wpc into 8 ohms and 75 wpc into 4 ohms, which is impressive given that I have yet to see another receiver/amp in this price bracket that is even rated at 4 ohms. THD is pretty average for it's bracket at no more than .8% (though that seems to be at 4 ohms), for reference a Sansui 6060 is .4% at 40 wpc at 8 ohm. While I've never had it hooked to a set of 4 ohm speakers it is pulling daily duty powering a pair of JBL P-10 bookshelf's which are rated a 6 ohms and it does a phenomenal job. I can say hands down that this is one of the best sounding cheap receivers from any era that I've had the pleasure of hearing.

The guts of the little beast

Since this is an stereo "AV" receiver from the 90's it doesn't do actual surround but just a simulated surround, which simply means it has some circuitry that adjusts the phase and adds some reverb into the mix to "expand" the sound stage. It's kinda neat and I imagine it was pretty cool back in 91 but it's pretty pointless now and of no real use. It also features what is called Dynamic Bass Sound or DBSFB (no idea how you get that from Dynamic Bass Sound) which is loudness. It's nice at lower levels but can get rather over powering at higher volumes. once you get above 2 I would just say mess with the tone controls and turn loudness off. It also features an Audio Muting setting which is a little strange for a receiver in this era and price point (the 220 just has a blank space where the muting button is on the 320).

Summary: If you are just starting out and want a solid little receiver that you won't out grow for a while or need a compact little amp that can give you some serious clean power and won't look out of place around your older or your modern gear; this is a definite buy.

Pros:

• Low Cost
• Understated Look
• Minny Power House ( almost 80 wpc at 4 ohms)
• Nice array of source inputs
• Has an IR sensor for a remote
• Motorized and Illuminated Volume Knob (Fancy)

Cons:

• Average THD% (Below 1% but above .1%)
• Cheap Binding Posts