Sony DAV-S500 Home Cinema System
Average Customer Rating
(4.5 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
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(5 out of 5)HiFi masterpiece
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.
(5 out of 5)Affordable Home Cinema
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.
(5 out of 5)Great Home Entertainment
Not having purchased this product myself it will certainly go onto my wish list.
Having stayed at my sisters house over the weekend, sony have created a great piece of hardware that makes you feel like your sitting at home in the cinema, the sounds is incredible and its well worth the money. If your an avide movie watcher this equipment is a must on anyone's shopping list. The sound is crisp and clear and the base gets the heart beat going. Excellant and i would certainly recommed this to anyone
(5 out of 5)Superb
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.
(5 out of 5)Sony DAV-S500
This is an superb piece of home entertainment electronics.
It simple to install with a easy to follow comprehensive intruction manual and on screen setup options.
The picture quality produced is very good but the Sound output is superb from the small speakers assisted marvelously by the powerful Subwoofer.
Each of the functions (DVD, Video1, Video2 and Tuner)can be set with one of 14 different sound fields.
In fact the Tuner stores the sound field for each one of the 20 FM and 10 AM presets you make!
A good performer and excellent value for a combined player and Digital Suround Sound decoder.