Price Paid:  $850.00 from BestBuy

Summary:
Unlike others, I had Sony DAV-FC9 for about 4 years, and I have to say that subwoofer is the best part of this system, I can't believe that people complaining about the subwoofer... Well I guess they bought it from "ebay" that's why.... Tell you what... the subwoofer shakes my house and lifts my neighbors skirts. It's better than my 2x10" JL subwoofers in my SUV, and it's better than THX in my lincoln. I am using this system almost every day with regular TV and with NETFLIX, and so far had absolutelly NO problems whatsoever .YES I agree, the CD changer is slow, but never jummed any CD's (or something like that)

Strengths:
- Durability ( 4 years,,, almost every day)
- Subwoofer
- easy controls

Weaknesses:
- slow CD/DVD changer

Similar Products Used:
JVC THD60

Price Paid:  $550.00 from costco

Summary:
I've had this unit for over a year with absolutely NO problems. Obviously, its not going to sound as good as an individual component system, but for the money, it sounds great and the sub woofer is more than adequate. My friend also bought one of these and he has had no problems either.

Strengths:
Sounds great for the money. Small, compact, doesn't take up much space.

Weaknesses:
None

Price Paid:  $279.00 from ebay, new

Summary:
Junk!...Junk!...Junk!..Stay away. I truly feel sorry for those who paid more, especially full retail. This was the first and last time i tried to purchase a simple little system. I figured it would work fine for my small apartment for movies atleast. Well, when it comes to sound, it is quite flat. Poor base response, very muddy. In surround mode it lacked any kind of impact to put you in the moment. The disc changing mechanism is awful, so many motions? I don't understand what they are for, when changing a disc, is seems as if there are 10-12 movements, with a very weak motor. But then again all of these comments are a moot point due to the durability of this product, or rather lack there of. It stopped reading DVD's within 30days. It lasted one month of light use!!!Garbage...Luckily i didn't suffer the problem of it eating my discs, like others have experienced. When i purchased i figured it would be a cheap simple system i could use until i buy a house in 5months and can fully appreciate my other equipment. I ended up hooking up my Marantz SR_19 to the speakers and sub. The bass response out of the sub improved dramaticly, speakers were still weak...Regretfully, i forgot to check reviews on it here beforehand, i figured all the Theatre's in a box were the same, efficiency oriented quality, obviously naive.

Strengths:
As a surround system...none. It does still play cd's though. It is pretty though, what a waste...

Weaknesses:
Too many to really list, but i will try.
Durability
Durability
Sound Quality
DVD playback
Subwoofer is sad. Especially when used with this head unit.
Time it takes to change a disc.
No disc exchange while playing.

Similar Products Used:
Marantz SR-19
Kenwood VR-4700
Yamaha-numerous, good bang for the buck.
Jolida 502b
Pioneer Elite
Magnepan
Energy

Price Paid:  $699.00 from Crutchfield's

Summary:
I'm a long-time audiophile from the early 70's, also an electronic tech by profession specializing in computers. The SONY DAV-FC9 is the biggest disappointment (piece of trash) in audio I've ever purchased. I, too, have constant problems with the disk loading/ejecting. I've discovered that if you unplug from electricity for several hours the disk loading problem will clear up ..... only to reoccur again without warning and when you least expect it. Powered subwoofer is subpar, and the column speakers are tinny at best. Coupled with a Sony VCR which died after 6 months, I'll *NEVER* buy ANY Sony product again in my life! So much for Sony "quality", huh? If you bought this item and still have the original boxes, TAKE/SEND IT BACK!

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
Disk loader; subwoofer; speakers

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer VSX-9500S

Price Paid:  $800.00 from From Sony

Summary:
Ive used this for over a year now and unlike the other posts I have had no trouble at all. Been a very reliable system for me.

Strengths:
Easy to set up and use, looks good, sounds good

Weaknesses:
Seems like the Sub is a little weak and when playeing Cd's sound quality isnt very good,