Sony DAV-S550 Home Cinema System Best Buy

looks can be decieving - 28 Mar 2008

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

The trouble with a lot of reviews is that the people who write them do so not long after they have set up the system and watched one or two movies and are punch drunk with excitement from the mind blowing looks and sound of their first home cinema! And to be honest i have fallen into this trap myself with other purchases! But on this occasion i can honestly write after years of experience with the beautiful sony DAV550..My review might be a little late as its now off the market ..but im sure there will be PLENTY of second hand models on the market....I have experienced all the previous reviewers problems and more! and what really P's me off is that i sunk all the wiring for the rear speakers into the plaster in the walls thinking i was going to have years and years of trouble free entertainment...after all it is a sony!!

Just dont expect it to last... - 24 Mar 2008

0 out of 0 found this review helpful.

OK, this is a lovely looking system and when it works, works very well.
The problem is, is that this range of systems has a known reliability issue.
After a short period of use (I'm told by 200hrs and definately by 400hrs) it stops working. Essentially this tends to be just after warantee expiry! It either totally fails to read discs, or more annoyingly, fails about 3/4 of the way into a film. It seems to be something to do with the laser and its ability to read dual layer discs - i.e. all feature length films. Realigning via the 'secret' engineers menu doesnt solve the problem. I would hesitate to buy Sony again due to my experience with 2 systems with similar problems. Shame cos it looks so good.

One proviso....... - 11 Aug 2006

3 out of 4 found this review helpful.

Great sound, great looks, but I had to send it back twice because it kept gliching on DVD playback - always towards the end of the film. Out of warranty now, and it happened again - stuck a bigger fan on and all is well.

Superb packages!!! - 22 Feb 2004

1 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Fantastic system, great depth in sound. This unit on What TV & HIFI Home Theatre System of the year 2002 and after hearing the sound I can understand why.

The unit is very sleek and easy to setup also, it has loads of options for the enthusiasts too giving you the options to configure the soiund according to where you sit in you living room in relation to each speaker.

Not for the music lover - 19 Dec 2003

11 out of 14 found this review helpful.

This was my first purchase of a home theatre system and it looks great, especially the small and stylish surround speakers and the fantastic luminous remote. It is also easy to set up.

However, it just fails to pack a punch where audio (cd / mp3) is concerned. Sound quality is fantastic for movies but if you're a music fan you'll be disappointed by the lack of depth in the sound. Another slight problem is that it is slow to react to commands, especially when skipping tracks / scenes which does get annoying after a while.

I would recommend this system as a first-time home theatre purchase as it represents excellent value for money and looks the part. For those of you who are music lovers, those with a large sitting room or high performace expectations, not for you!