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370 of 388 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Adequate, but be aware of numerous limitations, June 25, 2008
Sony DAV-HDX576WF Home Theater System
Overview:
Another "Home Theater in a Box" design (HTIB), the Sony DAV-HDX576WF tries to be all things to all people and does satisfactorily in some areas and poorly in others, so a mixed bag. The basic components are the following:
(1) Receiver (Main Unit). You get a basic 5.1 surround sound receiver facilitating six sources or inputs: DVD, TUNER, AUX, SAT/CABLE, TV, and DMPORT. The DVD player and AM/FM tuner are built in to the receiver. These internal sources in more detail are configured as follows:
* DVD: The internal DVD has five trays to hold five DVDs or CDs. The DVD outputs 5.1 surround sound through the 576 wireless surround sound speaker system, and outputs video three ways: HDMI, component, or composite. You can use the DVD/CD player to play Data-CD or Data-DVD disks that have MP3 song files or JPEG image files.
* TUNER: The internal FM tuner stores 20 stations, and the AM tuner stores 10. Reception is strong and clear if the antennas are positioned well.
The other four sources facilitated by the receiver are external (AUX, SAT/CABLE, TV, DMPORT). Three of the four external sources are audio only (AUX, SAT/CABLE, TV). One is both audio and video (DMPORT), but the video is composite quality only. Of these four external sources, one is accessed on the front panel (AUX) and the remaining three on the back. The types of external source inputs are as follows:
* AUX: front input, miniature stereo phono (audio only)
* SAT/CABLE: RCA stereo (audio only)
* TV: RCA stereo, or digital coaxial, or digital optical (audio only)
* DMPORT: proprietary connection for MP3 player dock (audio and video)
Note that the three output ports on the back of the 576 are: (1) video only, and (2) hardwired internally to just the DVD player = are not configurable to output any other sources (except the composite also can output from the MP3 player). To repeat for clarity and emphasis on the three video outputs:
* Digital HDMI Out (internal DVD only, video only)
* Component Y-Pb/Cb-Pr/Cr Out (internal DVD only)
* Composite RCA Out (internal DVD or MP3 player only)
Finally, you do have one other out port, the miniature stereo phono headphones connection on the front of the 576. Using this connection mutes all the external speakers, naturally.
(2) Speakers. You get a 5.1 surround sound speaker set, the front stereo pair on stands, a ported, passive subwoofer, and two smaller surround speakers that are wired to a small amp that communicates with the main amp wirelessly. Thus, be aware that you need an AC outlet near where you want to put the surround speakers for the surround amp. Connections are bare wires into all speakers, marked for polarity, but color-coded plugs into the main unit that fit only one way to insure proper polarity. The front stereo speaker stands have to be assembled, which takes a little time, with one part about threading the wire into the stand not quite so obvious. Once all connections are made, setup goes fairly well. The autocalibration mic has plenty of cord (perhaps 13-14 feet) to work even a large den. The mic at least gets the estimated distances pretty good, but the individual speaker level settings were way off. I had to go back and redo all levels manually. I did this autocalibration several times just to make sure I had not missed anything, and every time I still had to adjust the levels of the speakers manually. You might have to do this as well.
(3) Wireless Surround. Surround sound to the rear speakers is wireless. The main unit comes with a wireless transceiver that broadcasts surround audio on the 2.4 GHz band to the surround amp wireless receiver. The surround amp is quite oddly shaped, to be honest (over a foot long! 13.5" x 3.5" x 4" LxWxH). The surround speakers, in fact, are wired. That is, these speakers are hooked into this oddly shaped surround amp by running speaker wires from wherever the surround amp is to each speaker's terminals. Hence, the surround sound is only "partially" wireless. Also, seems that Sony has not provided enough wire really to run the speakers, especially not if you have to do something like go up and over a door frame. I had to add a length of my own speaker wire to get to a corner just 12 feet away as the crow flies. Setting up the wireless system is straightforward, and, following instructions carefully, goes without a hitch. You have three ID switches (A, B, C) to choose from to match up among your wireless units (to distinguish from other possible S-AIR units in the neighborhood, but the conflict could hardly occur given limitations of range, unless in a small apartment).
(4) Digital Media Port Adaptor. This is a fancy name for an MP3 dock. The dock is connected to the main unit via a proprietary cable that carries audio and video (composite quality only). Though advertised for Apple iPod, the unit basically really is for Sony products. The main unit's remote controls many elements of the MP3 transport (Play, Stop, Pause, Track Forward, Track Back) and menu (Previous Menu, Next Menu, Up Folder/Item, Down Folder/Item).
(5) S-AIR Receiver. This wireless unit looks like a table radio, and that basically is its function. You have a small, self-amplified stereo speaker system that receives its sound from the 576 main unit. You can set up the S-AIR unit in two modes:
* "Party Mode." The S-AIR joins in with the main unit and tunes in whatever the main unit is doing.
* "Separate Mode." The S-AIR operates independently of the main unit.
Buttons on the top of the S-AIR unit control transport functions of the source dialed in on the S-AIR when in "Separate Mode." For example, if someone is watching a DVD movie on the main unit in the den, someone else in a different room with the S-AIR receiver theoretically could be listening to the main unit's FM tuner and changing stations, or can be listening to a playlist on the MP3 player in the main unit's MP3 dock and controlling transport, such as play, pause, stop, previous and next track. Finally, the S-AIR even can function when the main unit is off (in "Standby" mode). This option is set in the main unit's system menu.
Evaluation:
(1) Audio. The sound is generally satisfactory, being smooth and fairly accurate if the bass is not pushed. Good, flat sound overall probably is the chief factor that sets this HTIB apart from others in the class. Two caveats apply, one minor, the other more serious.
* Subwoofer. First, on the minor side, the passive subwoofer is decent for musical frequencies, even though still a little soft and muddled for my tastes (not quite punchy enough). This subwoofer, however, is at a distinct disadvantage with handling the boom, thunder, and roar of low frequency movie sound effects. Fortunately, I just happened to have a Velodyne CT-100 active subwoofer lying around that has sophisticated circuitry allowing speaker level inputs with audio pass through. So I took the speaker level subwoofer out from the Sony 576 straight into the Velodyne, then passed through the same signal on out to the Sony passive subwoofer. (In this way the Sony amp sees no extra impedence load at all, so is completely unaware of the Velodyne's existence in the circuitry.) I have the Velodyne set to kick in only at those lower frequencies for movie sound effects, and the Sony subwoofer handling just the higher musical frequencies. With this adaptation, I am more satisfied with the audio performance, especially action movies. Your requirements and tastes may be different.
* Equalization. Though the 576's sound is generally OK, just a little dash of EQ would have gone a long way to really making her shine. One distinct downside to the 576 is that the audio allows no EQ settings of any kind anywhere--not even those cheap presets found on many HTIB (such as "Rock," "Classical," "Easy Listening," "Stadium," "Theater"). The user has no option to adjust any EQ. This inability is quite significant given that any room anywhere of any size and configuration will have its own "sound print" (frequency difficiencies) de facto that need to be compensated for to have accurate, clean sound.
(2) Wireless. The S-AIR wireless system broadcasts on the 2.4 GHz band. When some 576 users reported no conflict with their 2.4 GHz wireless computer networks, I thought I was free and clear. Not so. The S-AIR circuitry is supposed to search out a clearer signal in its frequency range to avoid such conflicts, but mine just did not work. I definitely had wireless conflicts with my computer network, and the S-AIR never did get happy until I completely relocated my computer wireless setup. Therefore, I would advise caution about consideration of this HTIB with its wireless surround if you are running anything wireless at 2.4 GHz in the same room or nearby (including phones).
(3) S-AIR Receiver. All sounds very promising with this S-AIR receiver, which is sort of like a remote radio, but reality bites. I found the S-AIR unit in the end a poor system and rather useless. I will mention several critical items that seemed to doom the unit for my use anyway:
* Performance. The S-AIR unit really does not work well. The maximum reception distance is 25-27 feet, and that is line of sight. Somewhere between 27-30 feet, the unit no longer can lock in the signal. I can lock in from my den to my dinette wetbar, which is about 27 feet and line of sight. If I move just a few feet more to the AC socket on the far dinette wall, about 30 feet, the unit simply refuses to lock in. My two cordless phones in the den and dinette are 900 MHz, so not in conflict. To facilitate the wireless of the 576, I moved my 2.4 GHz computer wireless network out of the den due to conflicts between the computer wireless and the...
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78 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very good system and delivers a lot for this price range, May 14, 2008
I have owned this system for about a month now, and did a fair amount of research before settling on this. I am very happy so far with the quality and features and think this is probably the best you can do in this price range. The picture quality is great, the sound quality is even better. I have used it with CD's and my iPod quite extensively, and you can tinker with the various sound modes to find one that works well for you. The iPod dock works great. The surround sound for movies is very good and very powerful - the system has more power than we need for our house which has a pretty large and vaulted living room. Unlike our prior wireless surround system, the wireless speakers on this seem to get a very clear signal and don't have any delay or sound loss.
There are only two differences between this model and the next price down, which is I believe the 279 model. This one comes with the S-Air unit, and on this you get speaker stands for two of the speakers. The S-Air units are $120 on their own, and the speaker stands are at least $60 or so, so I think for another $100 this is a better system. Note that while the instructions say the speaker stands are for the front speakers, you can actually use the speaker stands as your surround speakers in the rear - both the front and rear speakers are identical in terms of wattage and impedance, they are just different shapes, and we wanted the speaker stands to be used for the wireless rear speakers and stand in the corners of the room. The S-Air unit is great too - it's like another speaker, and we have it in our kitchen, and it's wireless too, so you can listen to the music or the news and have it on in another room too. Also, you can control the music from the S-Air - including controlling the iPod attached to the dock, and skip songs and control the volume, etc. We like it so much we're going to buy another S-Air unit for another room. Otherwise, the two systems have the exact same unit and speakers.
We are very happy - it was easy to set up, it has been easy to use, the quality is good. We have our cable receiver hooked up to it, and there is no delay when you want to turn on the surround sound while watching a TV broadcast, which happened on our old Samsung system. Highly recommended so far.
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33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent product, May 17, 2008
I had done a great deal of research and had narrowed my search down to this sony model and panasonic's equivalent. I chose this because of the wireless Air unit and the overall look. My biggest concern when I purchased was the wireless speakers conflicting with my wireless router for the computers and playstation as well as the wireless phones running on the same frequency. I am glad to say there was no conflict what so ever and the speakers sound great. I would high recommend this product to anyone looking to upgrade their sound system and not looking to pay a thousand or more for a component unit. The remote is somewhat confusing but has a lot of features once you get the hand of it.
If you decide on this unit, which i would highly recommend, be sure to flip through the instructions whether or not your use them for actually putting everything together. There are a number of features and some do not include using the rear speakers depending on the input type used. So be sure if the rear speakers do not come on that you have the proper settings selected.
Overall, the sound is great. The speakers are crisp and the bass sounds fantastic. Definately a great deal.
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