Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DAVIS10 - Ultra Compact 5.1 Channel DVD Home Cinema System

having looked at other sony surround systems like the dav dz630 i was seduced into spending almost double the amount on the davis 10 by its tiny little speakers and stylish shiny black player unit.
although only 3 days in, i am pleased i did.

the sound is great to my relatively untrained ears, plenty of bass from the rather large subwoofer unit (had the downstairs neighbours complaining within the first 20 mins) and the tiny speakers pack a punch way above their weight. the other great thing about the speakers is it kept the missus happy as they do not stick out like a sore thumb in the living room. one of the probloems we (she) had with the 630 was the speakers are big and the stands even bigger but no probs with these golf ball sized units. nice!

the only gripe i have is that there is not enough inputs and after having already been forced into spending 25 quid on an hdmi cable that is not included, i have now spent a futher 20 quid on cables, adaptors and switch boxes so i can have my t.v. , laptop (via airtunes) and xbox 360 running through the system as well as the dvd. only one stereo phono (rca) input is not really enough for todays set ups. also if your room is very large there might not be enough power if you like your movies loud ( and have understanding neighbours)

overall i am very happy though and dont regret the extra expenditure at all.

First let me say this is not a review of the sound or picture - I didn't get as far as that. As far as build quality goes this is a nice bit of kit - the DVD player is small with a nice finish and the speakers are weighty and impossibly small. Connections are limited though, if you need more then maybe look at the Sony HT-IS100 - the same speakers without the DVD unit.

I had two problems with it though - the system relies on a system cable between the player and sub which is fixed in the player and can't be extended. I intended to replace an 8yr old sub/sat system (DAV S800) with the sub behind the sofa and the new system has a 3m cable which would not allow me to have it in the same position. My room is such that I don't have the space for the sub to go elsewhere within the 3m limit.

In addition to this there is a midrange boost speaker on top of the sub so putting it behind the sofa, under a table or even more than 0.5m in front of the front satellite speakers is not recommended (you can download the manual from the Sony site). Basically, if you need to place the sub in front of the 3 front speaker you may find it doesn't sound right.

Great looking, well built kit but with position limitations. Sorry I can't tell you about the sound but I didn't get to un-pack the whole thing!

Wanted to match my new Sony W3000 40' with another nice new piece of kit so decided to go for the DAV-IS10. Set up was easy and the speakers are really just incrediable to look at nevermind the sound that comes out of them. Even if you read all the reviews on this system and all of them telling you how small these speakers are, you will still be gobsmacked at how tiny these things really are. As usual, Sony are pretty generous with the speaker cable for all of the speakers and to connect them to the sub is as easy as 1-2-3. The control unit is lovely to look at and use. I agree with one of the other reviews about the volume control having to be above at least halfway to get any sort of decent sound out of the system. I thought it was a fault with mine at first but I suppose it must have something to do with power delivery to speakers etc. I have my volume usuallly set at at least 50 but the higher the better I suppose if your neighbours (and g/friend...) don't mind! The only thing that took me by suprise (and it shouldn't have if I had read the dimensions correctly) was the size of the sub. It is a big boy! Great system though and I'm glad I bought it&would definitely recommend it with a nice HDTV. Got it for under £350 aswell!! I done some serious research on the internet first:)

Within a week of looking for a home theatre,I went for the Sony DAV-IS10, mainly because its Bose like minimalism looks. The speakers are tiny and do have the wow factor. I am using this system in my bedroom. Setup was very straight forward, with minimum of fuss. I have placed the 3 front speakers directly 3 meters in front of the bed and the surround speakers just behind on the window sill.They are hardly noticeable as tested on family members. I am pleased with the sound output, quite crisp and clear and I think its loud enough probably for most people. But as a previous reviewer mentioned you do have to keep the volume pass the half way mark to get the desired loudness. Build quality is impressive, even the tiny speakers weigh enough not to move at high volume. The main unit is also small, hence has limited connections. The subwoofer outputs a very smooth powerful base tone. Also works as the amp (speaker wires connect to sub not DVD unit) Finished in glossy black, pairs up nicely with Sony Bravia TV. I paid only £470 for mine, If i had to pay over £500 for this, I don't think I would have gone for it just yet.

Use the supplied microphone for auto-setup and it does all the work for you, setting speaker levels automatically.

The speakers are so small that they're barely noticable. I've stuck the rear speakers to the wall with blu-tack, that's how small and light they are! The sound is smooth, powerful and room-filling. Those who complain about a lack of oomph must have not set it up right. To put this into perspective, my home cinema back home is a Denon/B&W/Klipsch setup costing over 2000 pounds. Obviously it's in a whole different league but I'm still enjoying the Sony tremendously. If you want a small and discreet home cinema and your living room is not ridiculously large, then you cannot go wrong with this.

As another reviewer mentioned, the sub is surprisingly big, about the size of a tower PC. It's quite narrow, so I've put it behind the TV. Build quality of the speakers is excellent (metal body), but the main unit is plasticky - when installing it I knocked it against one of the glass shelves and a piece of it chipped off!!!

The DVD player is fine, but the upscaling made little difference that I could see. For real upscaling you'll have to buy a serious standalone DVD player from Denon or Yamaha.

My only real complaint is a lack of inputs. There's and optical and coaxial digital input, and that's it. The coaxial is labelled "SAT/CABLE" The analog phono input is shared with the optical as "TV", so you can't use both. If you connect devices to both and they are both switched on then the optical takes priority.