Sony DAV-FX500 DVD Dream System

DAVFX500 Review

By Bryan  Nov 27, 2006 | 7 out of 7 found this Sony DAV-FX500 DVD Dream System review helpful

Pros: Excellent sound, great bass, surround sound is fantastic, auto calibration surround sound setting, and HDMI port

Cons: Hard to read button functions on unit - CD/DVD changer takes too long to switch, load, and play - Sony proprietary wiring

This stereo is excellent. Installation was easy, the system was put together in relatively short time. Surround sound setup is a great feature. Just place the auto calibration microphone that the unit comes with where you will sit, and let the unit ...run a series of sounds to figure out the layout of the room, and it's done. Very easy. There are a bunch of different sound settings for standard sound, surround, Dolby, etc. I've programmed different ones for different applications (TV, DVD's, Stereo/CD's, etc.) and it's been great. It can really crank on certain movies (Matrix, Star Wars, etc.) Though I haven't used the HDMI port because I don't have an HDTV yet, I'm glad that the unit has the capability and it was one of the reasons I bought the unit. XM ready feature is great, already have an XM unit, so haven't made use of buying the plug-n-play attachment, but I may do so someday. (XM is a GREAT satellite service by the way). I do have to admit there are some small items to pick on. It's nice that the CD/DVD changer is all internal (no tray that pops out), but it takes a while for the unit to switch CD's and play (25 to 30 seconds - I just timed it). Same with ejecting and reloading discs. In certain lights, it is hard to read the unit buttons too, which seems ridiculous, but it can get annoying. You can solve that if you use the remote all the time, I use both equally. The remote is huge, but there's alot it can do. Overall, I love the stereo, I've had no problems with it whatsoever. I would absolutely recommend this unit to anyone looking to buy a packaged home theater system. Read more Less