Sony DAV-SA30 5.1 ch Home Cinema System

Pros:
- Sleek design but I still think the Sony Dav-S550 is better looking
- Technically advanced, incorporates Dolby Pro Logic II, this means that you can turn any 2 channel source eg your TV into a discrete 5 channel surround sound system.
- Unique sound fields available, choose from Movie, Rock, Pop, News, Sports sound settings. Also has a Dynamic Bass Boost that really means what it says...
- Plays JPEG, you can share your digital pictures with everyone on TV, how cool is that. Burn the pictures on CD or CDRW and pop it in. Slide show available too.
- Plenty of formats supported including DVD, VCD, SACD, MP3, JPEG, CD Audio, CDRW.
- Easy set up with colour coding
- Has a SCART socket. This is important because other Sony systems like the Dav S550 rely on S-video or component video. There are NO "video component to SCART" cables available easily, trust me I have searched. SCART with RGB is superior to S-video so this is a big plus.

Problems I encountered so far:
- NO functions of Zoom and A-B repeat which is present in other cheaper systems. I find this surprising.
- The subwoofer tends to vibrate a lot, it actually moves several inches out of position. It actually shakes if you put the DBB option on. Solved the problem by Blu-Tack and adhesives.
- Sound lacks punch. It says total 300 RMS output but it doesn't feel it. Or maybe I need to get my ears checked. The sound is adequate if you put the volume to max.
- No optical input. Arghh!!! Can't decode XBox dolby digital games like Halo. One option is to switch the XBox into the video 2 jack in and then use the Dolby Prologic II

Overall:
Good performance for the price. If you are tight on budget but looking for an impressive system, this comes highly recommended.

Having previously gone for the false economy of a £99 home cinema system, thinking that any home cinema was better than none, and lived with that for a year, I had almost come to the conclusion that 5.1 surround was a gimmick, not that impressive, and something I could live without. This machine forced me to think again!

Not only are all 6 channels of surround crystal clear and perfectly audible, but the bass from the subwoofer makes my entire house vibrate on films, and sounded like a town centre night club on a Friday night when I tested out one of the superb SACDs I bought to play on it.

Picture is razor sharp when the 'RGB' output mode is selected, and the scart connector makes connection to the TV a piece of cake.

But not only does it play DVD movies in 5.1 Dolby, and DTS (this option is not recommended if you have thin walls and easily upset neighbours!), not only does it play SACDs in 6 channel surround, but it also will take any Stereo source and via the wonders of Dolby Pro Logic II, turn it into a surround extravaganza.

So now you can play your standard CDs with a 6-channel effect, and best of all, connect up to your TV or Digital TV box for television programmes in Surround. Particularly impressive on Movie channels (you'd swear you were watching a DVD!), less so on EastEnders but still fun!

I really can't recommend this enough - it has all the features you could possibly want (with the possible exception of DVD-Audio), with stunning sound output and phenominal picture.

And the best bit? It's not that expesnive at all - at least not on Amazon where it seems to be about £110 cheaper than in any shops or other online sites I've seen.

Buy buy buy!!