Sony SCD-CE595 5-Disc CD/Super Audio CD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)Sony hit a home run with this, the best SACD player on the market for the average guy making the switch to super audio. When I changed from stereo to SACD I first bought one of those player that does both SACD and DVD. Nyet!
I don't care much about DVD and music is a large part of my life. I have collected classical recordings for 35 years and wanted to hear what those hybrid SACDs had to offer in SACD. My first experience was a nightmare; then I bought this machine.
Today I've listened to the Bach "St. Matthew Passion" highlights, Berlioz' "Symphonie Fantastique" and, now, Bach's "Two and Three Part Inventions" by Glenn Gould. Each of these SACDs delivers something a little different -- the Bach was made last year and is true surround sound; the Berlioz was recorded in 1959 and is three channel without surround sound; the Bach, recorded in 1964, is SACD in stereo only.
But each of these recordings, when played on this machine, sounds like they were made yesterday. This machine is easy to set up, easy to use, delivers great sound and has five disk trays so you can load it and play it all day long.
This is an excellent machine for people that want to hear SACD disks and doesn't cost much at most places. You'll like it and you'll really like the sound it produces for you.

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Sony BRAVIA DAV-HDX265 Home Theater System Review

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(More customer reviews)I spent weeks listening to high end audiophile systems and was dismayed to learn that to be happy with these systems I had to spend over $3000 on amp and 2 speakers, which I had no intention of doing. On the way home I bought one of these for under $300 and was shocked to find I liked it better!
The sound is quite good, amazing on DVDs and very good on CDs. The speakers are attractive and unobtrusive. However, there are some drawbacks:
1. no digital audio input. Multi-channel audio is limited to the built-in 5 disc changer, no chance for upgrading to new DVD formats or to connect a digital input from a satellite receiver.
2. the style of the main unit left me wanting something different (your tastes may vary)
3. the speaker wire uses proprietary connectors- need a few more feet than are included in the box? you'll be splicing.
4. I read that the digital audio connector to computers only plays windows formats- no iTunes connectivity.
5. The 5-disc changer loads one at a time and takes a long time to switch; I found myself forgetting what was in each slot and it took a long time to switch around and find out.
But, like I said the sound is very good. So if you can live with the feature limitations this is a very very good deal for the price.

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Sony STR-DH700 7.1-Channel A/V Receiver (Black) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my second Sony Receiver in a row. In fact, the only reason I even upgraded my STR DE697 7.1 receiver was because it didn't have HDMI inputs--aside from that deficiency I was completely satisfied. So after researching the Yamaha (RX-V464BL), Onkio (RX-V463BL), and Sony (STR-DH700) I stuck with Sony and purchased the STR-DH700 7.1-channel A/V receiver. Now, most will say I'm crazy for not going with the Onkio, but I've always been pleased with Sony and I wanted to 1) save some $$$ and 2) avoid a steep learning curve (I'm very used to Sony's products).
PROS: My favorite feature has to be the quick set up for the speakers. With the push of a button in just 30 seconds my speakers were auto calibrated via the calibration mic. GREAT FEATURE!
CONS: The music settings i.e. Jazz, Stadium, Hall, etc. are useless to me due to the fact the subwoofer is excluded from all the settings in this mode except Portable (setting for MP3 players). I'm not sure why Sony did this, but it really stinks since my Polk front channels are rather small and depend on my 8" sub for quality sound. Again, this is my only complaint and because 99% of what this receiver is used for is cinema I'll survive!
Overall I'm very pleased with this entry level receiver. For an extra $100 I could have gone with the STR-DH800 which includes Dolby® TrueHD Decoding, but since I'm only running a 3.1 set-up I figured I'd be okay. I would; however, suggest paying the additional $100 between the STR-DH500 and DH700 because the HDMI connections in the DH500 only carry video, so you'd have to run separate cables for audio.
My Set-up:
TV: Vizio XVT series 42"
RECEIVER: Sony STR-DH700
BLUE RAY: Sony BDP-S360
SPEAKERS: Polk Audio surround RM10 set w/ PSW111 Subwoofer
UPDATE: 2 May 2009 - I'm attempting to edit this post again. Basically, the issue with the music sound fields was due to my assumtion that the auto-calibration would set the speaker size. WHAT WAS I THINKING? Once I changed the speaker settings from LARGE to SMALL everything worked like a champ!


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Sony DVP-CX860 301-Disc DVD Player Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Contrary to what others have said, my experience with this DVD mega-changer has been excelent.
I think some of the problems mentioned stem from the user not understanding how the machine works. For example, a person in one of the previous reviews said,
"It also likes to drop the one you had in the easy slot (the 'plus one' slot) into other available slots, and I have to go looking for it"
This only happens if you turn the player off physically at the machine (also, if there is a power failure during,say, a thunder storm) instead of a power down with the remote. Powering down with the remote allows the disk to be removed from the dvd drive and placed back on the carosel.
Picture and sound are excellent on my 53" Sony rear prujection tv.
The only complaint i have is with the disk explorer feature. But then i bought a good number of my dvd's years ago before title info was included on dvd's, anyway.

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Bulky, powerful, and full featured, the Sony DVP-CX860 DVD player holds up to 301 of your favorite CDs or DVDs in one place, letting you easily switch between Mozart and Moulin Rouge without even leaving the couch. The unit employs Sony's Disc Explorer management system to make order out of the chaos, organizing discs by genre, title, or other method via an onscreen interface. The system even offers separate folders for each family member to make things easier. An added bonus is the disc-flip mechanism, which automatically corrects for CDs and DVDs that were inserted backwards, while also accessing both sides of a two-sided DVD.
The player is compatible with audio CDs, Video CDs, and DVDs, and is also equipped for connection to an A/V receiver with built-in Dolby Digital and DTS decoders for rich 5.1-channel surround sound. Other features include Sony's exclusive Digital Cinema Sound modes, which provide customized audio for everything from dialogue-driven films to big-budget action spectacles, along with SmoothScan high-speed forward and reverse and SmoothSlow slow-motion forward and reverse.
The system also offers a 10-bit/27 MHz video digital-to-analog converter for superior signal transfer, along with 24-bit/96 kHz linear PCM audio decoding. To ensure better connectivity, the player includes a component-video output, two S-video outputs, and two A/V outputs, along with two digital outputs (one optical and one coaxial).
What's in the Box DVD player, A/V cord, S-video cord, remote control, two AA batteries, user's manual.

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