Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DAV-S550 Home Cinema System

How things have progressed for the 'Home Cinema In A Box' system in recent years. Just over a year ago people were singing praises to the DAVS500 system, marvelled at it's ability to play SACD discs aswell as DVD-Video and CD.
What we have here is its descendent. The DAVS550 maintains many of the key features of its predecessor, aswell as improving the performance and styling. First and foremost it's equipped with Dolby Pro Logic II, which is Dolby's latest variation on the original Pro Logic theme. This aims to create a 5.1 soundfield from Stereo sources as opposed to the '4.0' soundfield provided by Pro Logic I.
Alongside this the DAVS550 also accommodates for Component Video Outputs which support Progressive Scan pictures with NTSC material (Region 1 discs basically). This is a video enhancing gizmo only usually found in high end DVD players, which thanks to sony has been put into a system where more people have the opportunity to make use of it.
The system is also gorgeous to look at, and is without doubt the most attractive of its kind, with curved steal casing for both the DVD deck and the speakers and a 'Glow in The Dark' flourescent Blue remote control. Alongside this there's two Analogue inputs for connection to devices such as a VCR or Digibox, and an Optical Digital input for top flight connection to a PS2 or a Sky+ set top box.
In use the DAVS550 takes the Home Cinema In A Box performance bars to new heights. Using Eric Clapton's 'Unplugged' peformances as a test disc, the Sony does unusually well with music. I say unusually as systems of its type usually lose a lot of midrange detail to the subwoofer and make music sound bland & flat - but not here, the speakers coping marvelously well. Engage Pro Logic II Music Mode and things go from Good to Better, the surround processing helping a great deal to realise much more detail on a disc.
With movies the Sony excells even moreso, providing accurate surround sound steering and plenty of grunt from the inconspicuous subwoofer.
The picture performance is less impressive. The Composite & S Video outputs are what most will be using to connect the sony up to their television sets, and in use these do disappoint, with large amounts of Grain & Noise visible, especially in Dark scenes. In The Fellowship of The Ring large mosaic blocks are visible in the scenes set inside Gollum's cave as the picture fades to black.
However if you're one of the minority of people that can access the sony's Component Video outputs then picture quality improves a great deal, with vibrant colour fidelity & no traces of noise. The deck providing levels of detail that stand alone DVD players of near equivalent price would be proud of, and that's before you engage the Progressive Scan video mode.
All in all this sony is a fine system. If you can't access the component video outputs no need to worry, as Component Video to Scart converter cables are available from Cable Specialists, and do work tremendously well. Aside from the little picture niggles then, this system is nigh on perfect.

I've used the dav-s550 for a week now. I am satisfied with the sound the system produces, especially the clearness of the sattelite speakers. The subwoofer is a passive one; therefore quality of the lower tones is somewhate intermediate.
I'm pleased with the amount of features on the dav-s550; in addition to regular formats, both MP3 and SACD discs can be played.
The remote control is versatile, but is equipped with buttons just somewhat too small for easy operation. A pro is the ability to program the remote for your TV. I've successfully transformed it to the all-in-one remote for my receiver/DVD/TV.
The package comes with an extensive manual, which is easy to read.
The design of the system is quite nice, a sleek, rounded design made me choose for this set instead of a JVC set.

Strengths:
Good quality of sound through sattelite speakers.
Many functions; programmable remote control; stylish design.

Weaknesses:
somewhat underpowered subwoofer; small buttons on remote control.

Just received my new sony DAV S550, my first home cinema system. Previously i was using a playstation 2 as my dvd...

This sony replaces the older style DAV range, and makes some big improvements. Firstly, the normally large and clunky speaker that comes with these types of systems is replaced with a really quite petite and stylish subwoofer, though it doesnt lack power, in fact it is very effective.

The five little speakers that come with this system are also really nicely designed, with a very solid and heavy, quality feel. The main unit also looks really cool, and the remote control glows in the dark, which im finding very handy.

This system will play everything you want... DVD's, CD's, Radio, etc, and it is remarkably easy to set up, even for the less technically minded.

Performance to my eye is great, and you really get an extra dimension when you hear the sound effects coming from all sides....

Its not the cheapest syatem on this type, but for someone who wants a really good system without buying separates and having twelve miles of cables in your living room, and who appreciates this sony design, you should definately consider it.

The S550 was my first foray into the murky world of Home Cinema. Previously, I had been piping my TV into my hi-fi via standard audio-out connection which, to a point, was satisfactory. I alweays hankered after a decent surround sound system though...

The first thing you notice when you unpack it is that it's actually pretty small but the build quality and aesthetics are excellent - the speakers are solid but small, the main unit a glorious swathe of brushed aluminium and the sub woofer is like a piece of modern art.

Set-up was relatively easy but, given my particular requirements, the documentation could have been easier to follow. I had to route my cable box into my combined DVD/VHS box, out to a splitter, into the S550 and then out to the TV. Throw a PlayStation 2 and a GameCube into the equation and you quickly run out of connectivity options. That said, the actual S550 itself was easy enough to set up and configure and didn't require much 'tinkering' to optimise.

So, how does it actually sound? One word - fantastic. We watched Oceans 11 on it last night and it was a whole different ball game in full 5.1 glory. The sound was rich but crisp and totally immersive. The woofer is strong without being over-powering but if I had one minor criticism it would be that the rear speakers don't carry much bass (one may be able to adjust this - I haven't read ALL the manual yet!) but they aren't tinny.

Overall, this is an excellent unit with superb audio quality. As a DVD player, it features all the stuff I would want. As an audio tuner, it's adequate (AM and FM with presets). As a CD player, it's got CD/CDR/CDRW playback with MP3 capability (but not MP3PRO!) and it copes with the SuperAudio CD format (can't comment - haven't tried it yet). It's a great package in that it performs very well and ALSO looks like the proverbial canine's dangly bits.

Quality through and through - heartily recommended!

Before I bought this unit I was looking at getting a surround amp and speakers and running this from the optical out of my PS2. I decided on the DAVS-550 because of the good things I had heard In home cinema magazines as well as recommendations on the web.
Setup is incredibly simple, and due to the colour coding of all the speaker connections its almost impossible to get wrong. The first thing I did when I got the unit was to test it out with some scenes from films that I knew have excellent surround mixes (Starwars episode II, Saving Private Ryan, Lord of the Rings etc...) and I have to say I really wasn't disappointed, The depth of sound you get from this unit is exceptional and really immerses you in the film.

I have owned this unit for around 2 months now and have watched a wide range of films on it, I would definitely recommend this system to anybody.