Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DAV-DZ260 - 5.1 ch - DVD Home Cinema System - Black
Sony DAV-DZ260 - 5.1 ch - DVD Home Cinema System - Black
See it at Amazon.co.uk for £169.99Average Customer Rating
(5.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
amazon description not correct
(4 out of 5) by Mr. Alan Evans on Jul 20, 2008this is a great system. however uk players do not play divx and it states this in the instructions when you get it. amazon are saying it is divx compatible when it is not and i have actually contacted them to explain this but they have not changed the description in any way. THIS MACHINE WILL NOT PLAY DIVX IN THE UK. thx
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Astounded!
(5 out of 5) by Scott A. Mckenzie on Oct 10, 2008 (Selkirk)I read the reviews but still had my reservations. How could something so cheap in home cinema standards be as good as what the other reviews would have you believe.
I was really interested in the Sony DAV-IS10 system as I was taken with the size of the speakers but could I justify paying more than double the price of this model.
In the current economic climate I decided to give the cheaper model a try. I am so glad I did.
I used to have a home cinema separates system with Denon Receiver and Keff Egg speakers. Which cost almost £2000. The sound was awesome but believe you me for a fraction of the price this kit gives it a good run for it's money. Of course the separates were better sounding but for £130 kit in a box I am mightily impressed.
Unless you are an audiophile then honestly you can't go wrong with this system for movies and for music!
The set up system is a breeze and the speaker cable lengths are very generous. The speakers themselves are nice looking and although not as small as the DAV-IS10 golfballs they are not exactly massive!
The receiver however is. It is a beast but is somewhat elegant with it.
It has an "audio in" socket on the front of the receiver which is handy for playing your iPod Touch through using a jack plug. It also has a Toslink socket for connecting your games console or SKY+
This really is a bargain. I am amazed Sony can make it so cheap. Do yourself a favour. Buy this product and enjoy Cinema sound in your home!
I was really interested in the Sony DAV-IS10 system as I was taken with the size of the speakers but could I justify paying more than double the price of this model.
In the current economic climate I decided to give the cheaper model a try. I am so glad I did.
I used to have a home cinema separates system with Denon Receiver and Keff Egg speakers. Which cost almost £2000. The sound was awesome but believe you me for a fraction of the price this kit gives it a good run for it's money. Of course the separates were better sounding but for £130 kit in a box I am mightily impressed.
Unless you are an audiophile then honestly you can't go wrong with this system for movies and for music!
The set up system is a breeze and the speaker cable lengths are very generous. The speakers themselves are nice looking and although not as small as the DAV-IS10 golfballs they are not exactly massive!
The receiver however is. It is a beast but is somewhat elegant with it.
It has an "audio in" socket on the front of the receiver which is handy for playing your iPod Touch through using a jack plug. It also has a Toslink socket for connecting your games console or SKY+
This really is a bargain. I am amazed Sony can make it so cheap. Do yourself a favour. Buy this product and enjoy Cinema sound in your home!
45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
Not all is as it seems
(4 out of 5) by Stevie G on Jul 16, 2008 (North East England)Having recently bought the Sony Sony KDL-37P3020 television and acquiring the RDR-HXD1070 DVD/HDD recorder as a long service award from work I thought I'd invest in a home theatre system to compliment them. A bit of research and reading the reviews on Amazon always helps and I ended up plumping for the DAV-DZ260 at £130 (£70 cheaper than Currys so that can't be bad).
I'd been running the DVD recorder through a scart into the tv but decided to add a couple of hdmi cables. The DVD hooked up fine and merrily did its bit.
Setting up the Home Cinema was straightforward as all of the speaker cables are colour coded and everything fell into place. Once I attempted to make the thing work it was a different matter. Switch the tv over to utilise the cinema speakers and - nothing. It wasn't until much later (page 59 of the operating manual) that any mention is made of a separate audio cable being required to carry the TV sound to the cinema system.
To compound that the connections on the back of the TV (phono sockets for sound out) don't match those on the cinema system (coaxial). Yes I could have just ran it on a scart but I'd need to use the TV remote for all of the TV functions except sound adjustment when I'd need the cinema remote which kind of defeats the object I think.
After much trawling through menus and settings on both units a phone call to the local Sony Centre solved the problem. Buy a cheap lead with phono plugs on one end and a scart on the other (£7.97 in Argos or risk it from the £1 shop). Now the system works as it should and films on the TV can benefit from the surround sound.
I may be a bit naieve as I only graduated from a 21" CRT to the 37" flat screen last month, I don't watch DVD's left, right and centre. But I would expect something as basic as needing an extra cable to have the TV sound through the cinema system to be mentioned earlier and, more importantly, for Sony products to have matching connections on them.
Never mind, it's working now after two days of trying.
I'd been running the DVD recorder through a scart into the tv but decided to add a couple of hdmi cables. The DVD hooked up fine and merrily did its bit.
Setting up the Home Cinema was straightforward as all of the speaker cables are colour coded and everything fell into place. Once I attempted to make the thing work it was a different matter. Switch the tv over to utilise the cinema speakers and - nothing. It wasn't until much later (page 59 of the operating manual) that any mention is made of a separate audio cable being required to carry the TV sound to the cinema system.
To compound that the connections on the back of the TV (phono sockets for sound out) don't match those on the cinema system (coaxial). Yes I could have just ran it on a scart but I'd need to use the TV remote for all of the TV functions except sound adjustment when I'd need the cinema remote which kind of defeats the object I think.
After much trawling through menus and settings on both units a phone call to the local Sony Centre solved the problem. Buy a cheap lead with phono plugs on one end and a scart on the other (£7.97 in Argos or risk it from the £1 shop). Now the system works as it should and films on the TV can benefit from the surround sound.
I may be a bit naieve as I only graduated from a 21" CRT to the 37" flat screen last month, I don't watch DVD's left, right and centre. But I would expect something as basic as needing an extra cable to have the TV sound through the cinema system to be mentioned earlier and, more importantly, for Sony products to have matching connections on them.
Never mind, it's working now after two days of trying.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Good performance for the price!
(5 out of 5) by P. Morley on Jan 17, 2009 (Yorkshire)As another reviewer said, this shows you no longer have to pay loads these days to get a decent sound system... I've got the DZ260 connected to a Sony Bravia KDL32-D3000, and here's my view:
Sound: I've never had a surround sound system before, so I'm no expert, but I'd say the sound is very clear with good bass. I've certainly got no problem with it - it really adds to the film experience. For 129.99 (Comet), you really can't go wrong! I'm really into my films and music, and I'm totally happy with what I hear from this system. You get a "Night Mode" which softens certain sounds for evening/night viewing so you can have it quite loud without waking the neighbours (seems to work pretty well) and you can set up speaker volumes separately depending on your viewing position (can do this automatically using the microphone if you like - again, works well). There are quite a few settings to play with, and my only gripe is that it doesn't remember the settings for each "function" (TV/DVD/Music/Radio etc), like my Sony TV does for each AV input. What I mean is, when I know I'll always get a full digital input (DVD), I want it to always be set as DolbyDigital, whereas for Freeview TV, I'll always want it set as ProLogicII. I have to do this manually each time I switch.
Connections: Currently have HDMI from this system to the TV (for DVD picture/audio) and an optical cable from the tv's optical out to this system (so anything playing from the TV plays from this system instead). I've also got an Xbox 360, which isn't directly connected yet because you have to buy the special xbox cable that includes optical out. But if I do that, I'll have to get an optical splitter, since my TV's already taking up the 1 optical in on the DZ260. However, because my TV's linked to the DZ260 via optical and the Xbox to the TV by HDMI, I can get ProLogicII out of the system when playing Xbox. I have to say, it's great! So much so, I probably won't bother with the optical xbox cable!
Picture: I recently had a dedicated upscaling dvd player, which I thought would be better than this combined DVD/audio system. Wrong! The upscaled picture via HDMI from this system is better. Some DVDs are pretty close to HD, in my opinion, whereas some just look a bit better than standard DVD. Either way, I love the picture clarity I'm now getting.
Finally, someone mentioned problems with BraviaSync. Mine works most of the time, although sometimes the TV speakers come on when I switch to DVD mode, although I've set it to mute TV speakers so I can enjoy full Dolby Digital. I think this only happens if I manually switch the TV to the DVD AV channel rather than letting the player do it (since it can do that now I get control via HDMI!). Oh, the remote control is also pretty good, as it allows me to control most of the common TV functions too (because I'm BraviaSync'd).
In summary, good audio and great picture, but more than a few inputs and you'll be using cable splitters etc. I'm a very happy Sony customer, as usual.
Hope this helps.
Sound: I've never had a surround sound system before, so I'm no expert, but I'd say the sound is very clear with good bass. I've certainly got no problem with it - it really adds to the film experience. For 129.99 (Comet), you really can't go wrong! I'm really into my films and music, and I'm totally happy with what I hear from this system. You get a "Night Mode" which softens certain sounds for evening/night viewing so you can have it quite loud without waking the neighbours (seems to work pretty well) and you can set up speaker volumes separately depending on your viewing position (can do this automatically using the microphone if you like - again, works well). There are quite a few settings to play with, and my only gripe is that it doesn't remember the settings for each "function" (TV/DVD/Music/Radio etc), like my Sony TV does for each AV input. What I mean is, when I know I'll always get a full digital input (DVD), I want it to always be set as DolbyDigital, whereas for Freeview TV, I'll always want it set as ProLogicII. I have to do this manually each time I switch.
Connections: Currently have HDMI from this system to the TV (for DVD picture/audio) and an optical cable from the tv's optical out to this system (so anything playing from the TV plays from this system instead). I've also got an Xbox 360, which isn't directly connected yet because you have to buy the special xbox cable that includes optical out. But if I do that, I'll have to get an optical splitter, since my TV's already taking up the 1 optical in on the DZ260. However, because my TV's linked to the DZ260 via optical and the Xbox to the TV by HDMI, I can get ProLogicII out of the system when playing Xbox. I have to say, it's great! So much so, I probably won't bother with the optical xbox cable!
Picture: I recently had a dedicated upscaling dvd player, which I thought would be better than this combined DVD/audio system. Wrong! The upscaled picture via HDMI from this system is better. Some DVDs are pretty close to HD, in my opinion, whereas some just look a bit better than standard DVD. Either way, I love the picture clarity I'm now getting.
Finally, someone mentioned problems with BraviaSync. Mine works most of the time, although sometimes the TV speakers come on when I switch to DVD mode, although I've set it to mute TV speakers so I can enjoy full Dolby Digital. I think this only happens if I manually switch the TV to the DVD AV channel rather than letting the player do it (since it can do that now I get control via HDMI!). Oh, the remote control is also pretty good, as it allows me to control most of the common TV functions too (because I'm BraviaSync'd).
In summary, good audio and great picture, but more than a few inputs and you'll be using cable splitters etc. I'm a very happy Sony customer, as usual.
Hope this helps.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
My Poor Neighbors
(5 out of 5) by E. Kirton on Nov 8, 2008 (London UK)After months of hearing my neighbors annoying music ring through my house I finally thought ill get back at him by kitting myself out with this monster. From the output that I hear from his speakers the max wattage they could possibly be is 100w. Ahahaha this beast is 850w- Now he cant hear himself speak or think, ahahah :)
OK here's the Good and the Bad- my little review:
The Good:
.850W, 1 on the loudest speaker systems that you would ever hear.
. Great DVD quality which automatically Upscales to 1080P
. Base level drops to nothing when there is dialogue, allowing you to hear every word the actor is saying extremely clearly.
. Pro logic 1 and 2.
. Night mode- drops the very high bass levels to suit the quite night.
. Audio port connects to anything with a 3.5mm output- so it connects to your PC, cellphone, mp3 player, nintendo ds, psp, tv, etc.
. 1 Optical output port- this give you HD audio Output, and yes its a little better than the reqular audio output. It works like magic with sky plus HD.
. 1 HDMI Port, allows for dvd upscaling- a massive improvement over standard dvd quality.
. Usb support, the 2GB USb i tried works just fine.
. Bass boast, doubles the bass output from speakers, including the subwoofer.
. OMFG 850w Bounty Killer- lodge must be heard, And the new King Kong is simply a must by with this setup.
. To all gamers- yes it connects to ur pc u just need an audio cable.
. Very Very long speaker wires.
. Looks very expensive and nice
The Bad:
. Very cheap looking and feeling remote control.
. Only 1 hdmi port and only 1 optical audio port.
. Cant play videos using the usb port, it only supports audio and images.
. Images from the usb port are not very good quality.
. Remote takes some getting used to, and there's no eject botton on remote
. 850w means playing it at max sometimes hurts ur ears.
. On screen UI is a bit hard to use- no its not the ps3's UI.
Final words: A must buy system, the good far outweighs the bad, 100/10.
OK here's the Good and the Bad- my little review:
The Good:
.850W, 1 on the loudest speaker systems that you would ever hear.
. Great DVD quality which automatically Upscales to 1080P
. Base level drops to nothing when there is dialogue, allowing you to hear every word the actor is saying extremely clearly.
. Pro logic 1 and 2.
. Night mode- drops the very high bass levels to suit the quite night.
. Audio port connects to anything with a 3.5mm output- so it connects to your PC, cellphone, mp3 player, nintendo ds, psp, tv, etc.
. 1 Optical output port- this give you HD audio Output, and yes its a little better than the reqular audio output. It works like magic with sky plus HD.
. 1 HDMI Port, allows for dvd upscaling- a massive improvement over standard dvd quality.
. Usb support, the 2GB USb i tried works just fine.
. Bass boast, doubles the bass output from speakers, including the subwoofer.
. OMFG 850w Bounty Killer- lodge must be heard, And the new King Kong is simply a must by with this setup.
. To all gamers- yes it connects to ur pc u just need an audio cable.
. Very Very long speaker wires.
. Looks very expensive and nice
The Bad:
. Very cheap looking and feeling remote control.
. Only 1 hdmi port and only 1 optical audio port.
. Cant play videos using the usb port, it only supports audio and images.
. Images from the usb port are not very good quality.
. Remote takes some getting used to, and there's no eject botton on remote
. 850w means playing it at max sometimes hurts ur ears.
. On screen UI is a bit hard to use- no its not the ps3's UI.
Final words: A must buy system, the good far outweighs the bad, 100/10.