Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DAV-S500 Home Cinema System

If you are short of space and have got a partner who does not like massive speakers everywhere this is the ideal solution.
Good looks excellent features and a more powerful performance than the 300 makes this a great Dvd experience,compared to it's rivals this is far superior and has just won an award in a leading magazine.
my advice is if you are looking for a simple way to get decent surround sound this is it for the money outstanding value.

Four weeks ago I bought this Sony machine and it has outstripped my expectations.

The sound from SACD disks is astonishing - just as warm and musical as vinyl but without the crackle. On some jazz SACDs you can hear the pianist humming to himself.
The only drawback is that SACDs are still rare - why don't Sony reissue their whole back catalogue?

To get the best out of the excellent DVD you will need a special S-video to Scart cable - this gives much better results than the composite video. Another tip is to connect the audio output from you set top digital box to the Sony audio inputs - either optical or phono. You can then play TV sound through the system, using whatever sound effects you choose. If you have a VHS player with Scart output you should also buy a Scart to 6 phono cable to plug into the back of the Sony.

I recently bought the sony davs500 and all I can say is WOW!! I went into about four different high street shops just so I could get a demonstration of all the available systems and this one (for the price) blew me away, forget getting a dvd player, throw away your stereo (tapes are out anyway) with its dvd function, tuner and surround sound you will never go to the cinema again - I am now shopping for a sony w/s tv to make this system complete - Buy it, you know you want to.

Just bought the Sony DAV-S500 -superb sound and quality in a compact and stylish unit. The stereo has gone from the lounge its that good. Listen to some noisy DVD's like Top Gun and it sounds like the planes are flying through your living room. I'd hate to think what the DAV-S800 sounds like.

The shops try to sell you separates (more commission on them ???) but its very messy having all those different boxes whereas the Sony gives you a very neat option

The DAV-S500 is a superb piece of kit from Sony, proving once-again that Sony's affordable electronics dwarf other big makes. Great sound, great picture, great all-round DVD player.
But, like with all things both good and bad, there's a drawback. Even though they're pretty trivial, the Remote is a little on the fiddly side, with semi-important buttons represented by little buttons, featured among unimportant buttons. (Mainly the 'Function' button(i.e. DVD, Video 1, Video 2, Tuner), and 'Mute'.) Also, placing it in a medium/big room would improve the sound, and it could resound more & surround the listener. Having it in a small (i.e. bedroom-sized) room, the sound is a little too direct & (for want of a better word) non-surrounding.
Despite these minor problems, though, this is a great system, and would slot discretely into any (not small) room with ease.