Customer Reviews

Sony DAV-C450 Dream System

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

This product is a disappointment. Not only does it lack the power to promote adequate sound quality, after a few months the DVD player will stop recognizing that there is a disc in there. Unfortunately, it most likely will occur in the middle of a movie. Also, when this player gets warm after an hour of continuous use it will cease to play and the disc will begin to skip. This product great in theory, terrible in application.

Being a SONY fan, I was happy to see this system at a price I could afford. There is plenty of speaker wire, so placement of speakers is not a problem. The sound is great, and the AM/FM stereo capability is a nice added feature as is the ability to play CD's. What does bother me is the amount of heat generated by the unit. Playing a 2 disk movie, such as Harry Potter, got the unit smoking hot. I had to install it on a sliding tray and leave the door open on my entertainment system just to keep it cool. In fact I'm considering the installation of a cooling fan at the back of the equipment rack. Other than the heat, it seems to be a great deal.

I purchased this system because of my prior excellent experience with Sony products. I was also influenced by the fact that, unlike Bose systems, proprietary wiring is not required. I had the speakers installed by an experienced electronics technician, and the system initially worked well. I commend the sound quality, but the volume/power needs to be stronger for some DVD/CD selections. After viewing about 12 DVD movies, the sound stopped working entirely, and this was just after the warranty ended. It had no sound for the receiver, DVDs, or CDs. I contacted Sony, and the cost of repair is $[money] For a $[money] system, this seems excessive. I'm still comtemplating these repair costs, but it may be necessary to avoid a [money] debacle. I'm definately taking another look at Sony quality.

I got this system a couple of months ago and already I've had numerous problems. First, the DVD drawer occasionally gets stuck and sometimes will not work at all. I have to reset the system to get it to work. Even then it will only be good for a few more opens and closes before it jams up again.
Second, it will not play some DVDs. It will start them, but once it gets to the main menu, it says "Program play of title # (weve seen 4, 10, 20, 33, etc.) prohibited now" and stops the disc. I've found a way to get around this on some DVDs, but it still creates great frustration, which is the opposite of what I want when I watch a movie.
Quite frankly I would expect higher quality than this from Sony. I am going to take this system in to have it looked at, but I am regretting getting it in the first place.
However, I should say that when the system is working the sound is great! Hence, the reason for two stars instead of one.

I really like the system, expecially when I play HD into my DLP projector. I just had a problem with some DVDs not being playable, getting the message "program play of title xx prohibited" (where "xx" is some track on the DVD). What a pain! I don't know where the problem came from, but I think it may have been my kids pushing buttons on the remote. To restore playing capability, all I had to do was turn off the "Repeat" mode by hitting the "CLEAR" button on the remote.

The Sony Dream Machine was easy to install. All the speakers and wires are color-coded, so you can't go wrong. The system is rather compact, so it fits nicely in a smaller room (my living room is 12 x 15). The subwoofer is no larger than your PC's tower, so you can place it just about anywhere without re-arranging all the furniture. The speakers are small, so they fit neatly in a bookcase or on a table. The sound is plenty to fill the room and is a huge improvement over ordinary television or stereo speakers. I admit that I'm not an audiophile and don't require earth-shaking sound, but there is plenty of satisfying sound for me ... and without having to rattle the windows!

Two valuable features you will enjoy are: (1) It plays the music CD-RW that you make on your PC. Most lower priced Home Theatre Systems I looked at don't have this feature. (2) You can change the sound quality of the system from the remote. You can choose from 10 different sound fields for music and tv, 1 for games, and 1 for your headset.

The Sony Dream Machine is just that ... everything you could want at a price you can afford. An excellent value fully worth a 5-Star rating.

Sony is perhaps the most popular electronic company on the face of the earth. With fleets of stereos, walkmans, discmans, laptops, tv's, and more, there ain't no stoppin' them now. They've also produced a large number of speakers that have gone up and down in quality. Home Theater systems have bursted so quickly onto the scene in the last few years, and they keep getting smaller, simpler, and cheaper. The only way we've really enjoyed home theater before all of the 5.1 to 7.1 capabilities with DTS and Pro Logic stuff, was in two channel stereo to four channel surround. And that usually was with your large tower stereo speakers and a killer amp. Even though there are much more accurate and powerful home theater components and speakers available, some people don't have the cash or space. So, their next option is for a more compact system that's all in one.

One of the earlier models that Sony offered is the DAV-C450 DVD Home Theater System. Sandwiched into a sincerely small system is a five disc DTS and Pro Logic capable DVD player. Wow, what a start! Each disc can remain inside the player (just like those cartridge or carousel cd players) while you watch one already playing. The power source comes from the integrated player which boasts a built in amp that carries enough juice to give each little cube speaker 80 watts, and totals in peak of 500 watts, so 400 watts goes to the five speakers, and the remaining 100 goes to the slim front ported subwoofer. Funny how little of bass seems to punch out of it. It gives a few hums of base here and there, but there's really only enough bass to make a cat happy. A sub that gives at least some good bass should be powered with it's own amp, and this one is simply powered by a permanent wire that goes from the integrated unit to the sub. You can't call this thing a subwoofer. I call it the humming box. If this thing were cut open, I wouldn't want to look inside. I'd probably cry.

The speakers themselves sound hollow, and not very direct-now, they don't sound TERRIBLE-no. But they sure could use a big upgrade (yeah, I know, what you spend is what you get). What's interesting but not shocking is that the center channel isn't a true and dedicated center speaker. So voice and sound reproduction from the 'so-called' center channel is nothing special-I could use any of the other supplied speakers as a center channel, since they perform and look the same way. But I'll be nice and do as the instructions say, okay Sony? The rest of the gang do their job and no more. Surround and direct sounds are average, and their 80 watts each seem more like 20. The volume capacity is pretty unspectacular, unless you have a pretty small room. In a room of about 10' by 15', the sound was 'just' reaching the back of the room. I had to turn up the volume practically all the way just to be moderately satisfied. Regardless of these 'Happy Meal' speakers, the sound decoding is accurate, and if you have better speakers, try them out with this player. Although this system is capable of giving you a bit of a 'surround theater' feel, the speakers (yes, again) don't spread the sound very well, so you could say that they are "sweet spot stinkers".

Picture quality is more than fair, as long as your tv is a pretty good one. Lines and images are a little crispy, but at least well defined. Colours are nothing to complain about, especially when I slipped James Cameron's "The Abyss" in for a while. Blues were not too loud, and any other images were pretty realistic. Even the faded white pipes on the mini subs or piping in the underwater oil rig station weren't too white, and not too far off from the real thing.

Still, what can you say about a system you spend $450 on? A lot of sales guys in your electronic big box stores will praise these little systems because they are DTS, 5.1, and DVD. So....so what? Have you ever bought a car with power steering, a cd player, and great gas mileage? Aside from those little pluses, it still probably handles like a tricycle, and accelerates like a sloth.

The Sony C450 Dream System is something that parents should consider for their kids in the basement or bedroom, or any of their college bound kids. There are better mini home theater systems out there. If you think this Sony system is the awesome one to buy, keep dreaming.

I bought the Dream System this passed December and it's been a God-send since. The sound is great for both your DVD's and CD's. The set-up is so quick also. The time that would have been spent trying to find the right receiver and then the correct speakers was saved because of the Dream System. It takes less than 20 minutes to completely set-up. The system does get a little hot though but that is mentioned in the manual. I haven't had a problem because of the heat. This is a great buy, especially since the price has gone down from when I bought mine.

The DAV-C450 has been pretty good--when it works. The sound is great and there have been no performance issues with the DVD player (except for one major issue--to follow). The remote is probably far more complicated than necessary for the features the unit has. But overall, the unit performs pretty well, when it works.

That being said, we had to replace our previous unit after a month because the DVD tray would not open. Our second unit has worked for about nine months and the same issue just began. We cannot get DVDs in or out of the unit.

I've read some other reviews here that suggest that others are having similar problems. This defect alone is serious enough to warrant avoiding this unit.

This is a great system, the name says it all. SONY! You get what you pay for with this system. The name and quality of Sony. Great Sound, and even greater picture when you use the Component Video to the TV. The only downside with this model and all of the Sony All in One units is the over-heating issue. Please keep it in an open area, I have mine in my Sony stand and I think it might burn my house down. But I doubt that will happen. But still, 5 disc DVD, lots of power, and lots of Bass. Great Home Theatre Experience !! A+ to Sony and Japan!! Mr. Roboto would be proud :)