Value, DTS decoding, plenty of sound for small/medium rooms, ease of use.

Can't really use for A/V switching, no S-video inputs, only 2 A/V inputs, neighbors will be complaining any day now.

This is my first digital system. So far I'm very impressed, for the (relatively) low price I got a complete DD/DTS setup that sounds awesome in the bedroom I have it set up in. I was a bit worried from the demo unit in the store and from the system only having 180 watts that it would not be enough power, but once I got it home I was very relieved - I have'nt even had to turn it up more than halfway. Don't be deceived by the small size, especially if you live in an apartment - this is plenty of power. Overall I'm very pleased with my purchase and continue to be impressed as I throw more DVD's at it to be tested.

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Upgrade from Technics Pro-Logic system.

Look, size, both DTS and Dolby Digital surround, ease of use, sound on movies, tv and tuner

Sound on CDs, doesn't play CD-Rs, no component video outs, no S-video input, no backlit remote

I read a lot of the reviews and when I purchased mine, I bought a powered sub also...which soon went back to where it came from. I found no difference.

Setup was easy and I measured the sound on all the speakers with a sound meter. I really do not know why people feel there is a need for a powered sub. I'm getting a ton of bass from the passive sub. This thing has absolutely shined on titles like The Matrix, Saving Private Ryan (DTS), Jurassic Park, Gone in 60 Seconds, U-571 (DTS), all with great separation, full sound and booming bass. All this filling a basement of a house.

One thing this system lacks is sound quality on the CD side. It doesn't play CD-Rs and that sucks and the CD side lacks in fidelity. So I invested my powered subwoofer money into a CD player with an optical output. Wow! It is a day to night difference! The sound is really full and clean. Great bottom end with the bass and good highs with the satellites.

In my findings, this is an excellent unit for the price. Use it as a secondary system. If you have a smaller room, use it as a primary starter system, but spend the money on a separate CD player. That's only my advice.

Of course, you won't get the sound of a separate system (duh), but you don't pay that kind of money either. You absolutely get what you pay for with this system. I think with our technological advancements in home theater we tend to get a little spoiled. I disagree with the powered sub idea, but hey, that's why we have opinions and in my opinion, you won't need one, but to each his own.

If you want REALLY great sound from a home theater system, spend $2,500-$5,000 and get a separate component system. If you want great sound from a home theater system that can ride shotgun in your car for $600, get the DAV-S300. It is so worth the money.

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No all-in-one products like this one

Compact; Nice looking; All-in-one; Good sound; Doesn't go overboard with in/outs; S-Video output.

DVDs sound soft; Weird speaker connections; CDs don't sound that great.

This is a very nice little system. Hookup was a cinch. I still have wires all over the place though. The speakers are very small so they can be placed or mounted just about anywhere. They also have threads for wall brackets which make mounting more convienient.

DVD playback is excellent matched with a WEGA. Picture is bright, sharp, and smooth. DVD controls are easy to figure out.

The sound is good for such a small system. The speakers put out fine for my small apartment and the sub also holds it's own. One of the few gripes about the sound is that the level may be fine for DVD, but when switching to a different source (like radio), you'll blow off your ears off If you don't lower the volume.

The CD player didn't sound all that great. I seem to get better sound through a set of Altec Lansing ACS48 on my Mac. The likely reason for that is because I have an equalizer so i can tweak the highs and lows. That would be about the only thing that could be added to this system -- an equalizer of some sort.

For the price, you can't beat this system. You get DVD/CD/Tuner/HT speaker set for under $500. And everything is compact enough to fit in my small apartment. Before I finish though, I guess there is one more thing that could've been added to really make this thing rock -- PS2 capability ;0)

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None.

Value for money
Compact
Easy to setup
DVD sound and Picture

Deep case compared to VCR

Note: Price paid is UK £ sterling.

For the money this is a capital deal. Granted it cannot play Compact Discs or FM radio like a true separates system -- this is not meant to be an alternative to this. However, if you would like to "upgrade" your television set with a DVD player and surround sound without turning your Living Room into a Hi-Fi Shop Showroom, then this is for you.

Two caveats

1) The optional Sony satellite speaker stands should be purchased if you can stretch your budget. Shop around and buy them with the money saved on the list price of the DAV-S300.

2) The case goes back a bit further than you might expect by looking at the pictures of it. Not a major problem, but check that the cabinet where you would like to keep it has space. Perhaps it should have been made a little wider instead?

Value for money
Compact
Easy to setup
DVD sound and Picture

Deep case compared to VCR

Note: Price paid is UK £ sterling.

For the money this is a capital deal. Granted it cannot play Compact Discs or FM radio like a true separates system -- this is not meant to be an alternative to this. However, if you would like to "upgrade" your television set with a DVD player and surround sound without turning your Living Room into a Hi-Fi Shop Showroom, then this is for you.

Two caveats

1) The optional Sony satellite speaker stands should be purchased if you can stretch your budget. Shop around and buy them with the money saved on the list price of the DAV-S300.

2) The case goes back a bit further than you might expect by looking at the pictures of it. Not a major problem, but check that the cabinet where you would like to keep it has space. Perhaps it should have been made a little wider instead?

Great Video, Price, Looks

Audio (That's why I use my Bose system instead)

More than a review I would like to make a question. I'm new to the DVD world, I just bought this system and I find it wonderful. My question is: I already have a Bose Lifestyle 25 system and I want to connect it to this DVD, where in the DVD I should plug the Bose system to get the best audio possible. Your help is fully apreciated, feel free to E-Mail me.

compact size & style

sound quality

I have read through all the reviews of this unit, and I cant believe that no one has mentioned the annoying noise that the DAV-S300 makes when playing DVDs. I thought at first I was hearing things, then I thought the DVD may be bad, then I checked all my wires and hookups, then I checked for sources of interference. Nothing fixed it. Whenever a DVD is playing, you can hear the disc spinning through the speakers (even though the unit itself is very quiet while playing) -- it is like having a small crowd of crickets with you for every movie viewing. Terribly annoying. And once you hear it, its hard to get it out of your head. You can test this -- go to any electronics store and have them play a DVD on this system, then mute the volume. Put your ear up to any speaker and listen for the crickets :) I tried this on 4 different "Dream System" setups in 3 different stores all with the same result. I took the thing back immediately.

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Onkyo Envision

Size, easy setup

Poor speakers, poor subwoofer

I bought this as my first home theatre equipment mainly because of size and price. I started to load a CD and was very disappointed at the music performance. Then I loaded a DVD and was impressed of the clear picture but still a little disappointed about the sound.

My first step was to substitute the subwoofer to an active sub. Thanks Sony for the separate sub pre-out. What a difference in bass performance.

The next step was substituting the front speakers. I think that if they had been configyred with separate tweeters they had performed much better. I decided to build my own speakers and integrate them into my TV-stand. I bought four Seas 5 ¼” elements and three tweeters.

Now I’m completely satisfied with the sound quality on both music and movie. Of some reason I get lower output when playing CD compared to DVD. Of that reason I will still use my hifi equipment when playing at high output.

Ease of setup. Looks Nice. Great price. DTS/Dolby Digital. Compact footprint.

Weak subwoofer. Center speaker is too small.

This is a solid product for the money. I was seriously looking at the JVC TH-A10, which sounds and looks much nicer. However, the JVC is also over 2x the price. In the end I could not justify the JVC price for a bedroom unit.

The setup was a breeze. Everything was color coded, well packaged and labeled. I purchased some Bose speaker stands ($79) and they fit the sony speakers nicely.

The remote with the Sony is fairly decent (tho is could be backlit).

Using the tuner without the remote is pretty annoying and trying to scan through the frequencies takes forever. The on-screen GUI is pretty solid and easy to navigate.

I was told the Sony would play CD-R's. Well, I dropped in a CD-R music CD and it didn't work. I tried a CD-R Video CD and that didn't work either. For fun, I copied the CD-R Video CD onto a CD-RW and it worked perfectly. The CD-RW was a Memorex with silver backing. I don't know if this is a dye issue or what. I'm going to try various CD-R's and see if I can find some that work.

It's a great deal for an apartment, bedroom, or other small size room. If your looking for this to fill a large room, I think you would be better of with seperate components. All in all you can't go wrong for the money.

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Panasonic SCTH80

Excellent movie playback and sound

Poor CD/tuner

This was my first DVD player. I thought the sound and picture from movies was pretty impressive.

However, I played a few audio CDs (often classical music) and found that the subwoofer distorted low resonant notes (even when set to minimum) making it very difficult to listen to, and generally spoiled enjoyment.

The tuner is not too good either, as speach sounds dull. Perhaps a graphic equalizer might have been a good idea? Surprisingly, there is no RDS.

Engineers have told me that such a system is optimized for DVDs and the audio CD and tuner have just been added on as an after-thought, which results in poor quality.

Display far too small. Remote too messy.

If all you want is to watch movies, then this is great, but if it's a music system you want too, then think very carefully before buying.

I think next time I'll go for good quality separates instead.

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