Sony BDV-E300 Theater System
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- Main Speakers Power Output: 70 Watts
- Included Components: DVD Player
- Number Of Speakers: 5 Speakers and Subwoofer
- Subwoofer Power Output: 100 Watts
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This "dream system" is a dissapointment
Pros
Looks good. picture quality is great. Plays SACD's.
Cons
Mine was broken! No SVCD or MP3 discs. Only average sound quality.
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Sony wants you to pay a premium because it's a Sony and it looks cool. if you do your research you can find a better system for less money.
Up until buying the "DVD Dream System" DAV-C900, I was a big fan of Sony products. For just a little more money, you got more features, and better quality/reliability, or so I thought.
If you're new to home theater, or just want to set up a system with a minimum of fuss and bother, a Home-Theater-In-A-Box (HTIB) might be a good choice. The advantages are that you save money over a traditional component set-up, and they come with everything you need right out of the box. Also, many HTIB's (such as the DVD-C900) combine the receiver and the DVD player in one unit, so they take up less space.
I bought mine from Crutchfield. They may not always have rock bottom prices, but they have a reputation for providing great technical support and having a good return policy. That reputation is well-deserved.
Setting up the DAV-C900 was a breeze. Just position the speakers where you want them to go, plug in the color-coded speaker wires, and connect your TV and VCR. The C900 has component video connections on the back, which you will want to take advantage of if you have a high-end TV. If you don't, use the S-Video connection. As far as sound goes the system has the standard 5 surround sound speakers and 1 passive subwoofer (meaning it does not have it's own amp). The 4 satellites have neat metal stands, but they are not height-adjustable. The center speaker has little legs so it will sit on the top of your TV. The remote is pretty cool looking, and it glows in the dark, but it does not light up like some others do. But the system is fully compatible with SONY and other 3rd-party universal remotes, so you could always upgrade your remote later.
Things I liked about the DAV-C900.
1. Using the component video, the picture on a 32-inch WEGA TV looks FANTASTIC. The DVD player is not progressive scan, but the picture, especially on a high-end TV, is awesome. I didn't realize what I was missing.
2. The DAV-C900 will play Super Audio CD's (SACD), which according to Sony is the next generation of CD's. (Sony also claimed that the mini-disc was the successor to the CD but that never worked out). SACD tracks sound much much better than a regular CD (at least on the 4-track demo SACD that comes with it). I have not had the chance to sample other SACD's. Unfortunately right now there are not too many albums in SACD format, but that might change.
3. The DAV-C900 looks really cool. It matches the WEGA line of TV's.
Things I didn't like about the DAV-C900.
1. First and foremost, it never worked right. CD playback would work fine, but it would shut itself off about 90 minutes into a DVD. If you tried to turn it back on, wavy lines would appear on the TV and then it would go off again in a minute or so. You had to wait an hour to watch the rest of your movie. The guy at Crutchfield said it sounded like either the DVD laser was having a problem (there is a separate laser for DVD and CD playback), or a cooling issue.
2. The sound quality is good, but not great. CD's certainly sound better then they do on my computer or bookshelf stereo, but for $700 I expected better bass, and better quality at high volumes. The subwoofer does not have it's own amp, which is probably the main reason the bass is not going to knock your socks off. The small speakers tend to sound harsh when they are pushed, especially during action sequences. (like the fight scenes in Gladiator).
3. The DAV-C900 will play VCD's, but not SVCD's. For those of you that don't know, a VCD is something like a DVD but you burn them onto regular cheapo blank CD's. You can fit about 75 minutes of video on a CD, and the quality is about as good as a VCR tape. A SVCD is like a VCD, but the sound and picture quality are much better, almost as good as a DVD in some cases. If you have no interest in making VCDs or SVCDs then you wouldn't care about this.
4. The DAV-C900 will not play MP3 discs.
5. It will not accept a digital optical audio input. (Which might be useful if you wanted to add a large CD or DVD changer at some point).
Conclusion
All in all I think the DAV-C900 is a decent system with good looks, but it's over-priced from a features/performance standpoint. I'm going to give SONY the benefit of the doubt that the broken unit I received was just a fluke, but even if you don't consider that I still don't think this product is worth it, unless you can find it at a serious discount.
Some other brands you may want to consider instead are Onyko and Kenwood.
--
Postlude.
I returned my DAV-C900 to Crutchfield without a problem and replaced it with an Onyko HT-S650 matched with a Philips 5-DVD Changer.
If you're new to home theater, or just want to set up a system with a minimum of fuss and bother, a Home-Theater-In-A-Box (HTIB) might be a good choice. The advantages are that you save money over a traditional component set-up, and they come with everything you need right out of the box. Also, many HTIB's (such as the DVD-C900) combine the receiver and the DVD player in one unit, so they take up less space.
I bought mine from Crutchfield. They may not always have rock bottom prices, but they have a reputation for providing great technical support and having a good return policy. That reputation is well-deserved.
Setting up the DAV-C900 was a breeze. Just position the speakers where you want them to go, plug in the color-coded speaker wires, and connect your TV and VCR. The C900 has component video connections on the back, which you will want to take advantage of if you have a high-end TV. If you don't, use the S-Video connection. As far as sound goes the system has the standard 5 surround sound speakers and 1 passive subwoofer (meaning it does not have it's own amp). The 4 satellites have neat metal stands, but they are not height-adjustable. The center speaker has little legs so it will sit on the top of your TV. The remote is pretty cool looking, and it glows in the dark, but it does not light up like some others do. But the system is fully compatible with SONY and other 3rd-party universal remotes, so you could always upgrade your remote later.
Things I liked about the DAV-C900.
1. Using the component video, the picture on a 32-inch WEGA TV looks FANTASTIC. The DVD player is not progressive scan, but the picture, especially on a high-end TV, is awesome. I didn't realize what I was missing.
2. The DAV-C900 will play Super Audio CD's (SACD), which according to Sony is the next generation of CD's. (Sony also claimed that the mini-disc was the successor to the CD but that never worked out). SACD tracks sound much much better than a regular CD (at least on the 4-track demo SACD that comes with it). I have not had the chance to sample other SACD's. Unfortunately right now there are not too many albums in SACD format, but that might change.
3. The DAV-C900 looks really cool. It matches the WEGA line of TV's.
Things I didn't like about the DAV-C900.
1. First and foremost, it never worked right. CD playback would work fine, but it would shut itself off about 90 minutes into a DVD. If you tried to turn it back on, wavy lines would appear on the TV and then it would go off again in a minute or so. You had to wait an hour to watch the rest of your movie. The guy at Crutchfield said it sounded like either the DVD laser was having a problem (there is a separate laser for DVD and CD playback), or a cooling issue.
2. The sound quality is good, but not great. CD's certainly sound better then they do on my computer or bookshelf stereo, but for $700 I expected better bass, and better quality at high volumes. The subwoofer does not have it's own amp, which is probably the main reason the bass is not going to knock your socks off. The small speakers tend to sound harsh when they are pushed, especially during action sequences. (like the fight scenes in Gladiator).
3. The DAV-C900 will play VCD's, but not SVCD's. For those of you that don't know, a VCD is something like a DVD but you burn them onto regular cheapo blank CD's. You can fit about 75 minutes of video on a CD, and the quality is about as good as a VCR tape. A SVCD is like a VCD, but the sound and picture quality are much better, almost as good as a DVD in some cases. If you have no interest in making VCDs or SVCDs then you wouldn't care about this.
4. The DAV-C900 will not play MP3 discs.
5. It will not accept a digital optical audio input. (Which might be useful if you wanted to add a large CD or DVD changer at some point).
Conclusion
All in all I think the DAV-C900 is a decent system with good looks, but it's over-priced from a features/performance standpoint. I'm going to give SONY the benefit of the doubt that the broken unit I received was just a fluke, but even if you don't consider that I still don't think this product is worth it, unless you can find it at a serious discount.
Some other brands you may want to consider instead are Onyko and Kenwood.
--
Postlude.
I returned my DAV-C900 to Crutchfield without a problem and replaced it with an Onyko HT-S650 matched with a Philips 5-DVD Changer.
