I was attempting to comment on John's post in hopes that he might receive notification. I keep getting an error. I'll try to post a new review here and hope that it works.

I was looking for some info and found this review of yours. I know it's almost been a year but if you need those parts I have em. I just picked up a DAV-C450 to use for parts for my C900. The 900 hisses like crazy and has power supply issues. Both of these units get crazy hot even when they're not doing anything. If your DVD player still reads disks then count yourself lucky.

So, when I went to pick up the unit, the donators (free off Craigslist) had left it in a box with some speakers, cables and a remote. I don't want these extra bits. Feel free to email me for them. This system used the TS-502's for everything but the sub. I've got 3 I don't want. I've also got the exact remote. The only difference with the 900 remote is that it glows. All functions are the same. As far as I can tell the only difference is the 900 has an optical out. I've also got some speaker cables for you. These systems are all about the surround modes. They're pretty lacklustre without them. Honestly they're pretty terrible, but cheap/free and working and I've heard a lot worse. I use mine surrounding my bed. At low volume it's pretty good.

I joined to post this and have no idea if you'll be notified that someone commented on your review. I also don't know if a moderator (hint hint) would pass the information along. So, I'll do something ridiculous....... jameslkieb@gmail.com

BTW I can't believe the prices these went for new. The 900 listed at a grand. Ridiculous. A couple of bux on craigslist is a lot more reasonable.

This is a nice little system that I picked up on Craigslist for $40. It didn't come with the remote, nor the wires, nor one of the speakers. Since I'm only using the front three speakers and the subwoofer, the loss of one of the rears is not an issue. I have a Philips universal remote that does a pretty good job, though I'm looking for a good deal on an RM-SS450, the remote that shipped with the set. The wires, for some reason, Sony made proprietary in terms of the connectors on the back of the tuner. The replacements would cost more than I paid for the whole setup, so I did some experimenting and came up with a very acceptable solution using ordinary speaker wire and crimp-style wire connectors.

We use this setup in our bedroom, and the power is plenty for that size room (12x15). Even the passive subwoofer is effective. I've read on other sites that some complain about a lack of power, but I have no complaint in that area.

A problem I'm dealing with now is apparently a common one: stuck DVDs. This player can switch between as many as 5 DVDs. I loaded it up with four the other day, but I think no. 4 caused the problem. I've read that early DVDs, with paper labels, were hard on the changer. The labels would come off or tear, jamming up the mechanism. Right now the DVD player is non-functional, but I found online a description of how to fix the problem, and I plan to do that in the next few days.

Prior to this malfunction, the individual DVD slots had worked fine. I think I had used 1, 2, and 3 without incident. The changer is slow, and loud, but those are not issues to me. My biggest disappointment, however, is that the player apparently doesn't support progressive scan. Two Sony techs have told me via email that it IS capable of progressive scan, but the fellow I talked to on the phone said it ISN'T. So the jury is still out on that issue, but I have my doubts about it.

I found the sound to be very satisfactory. I don't want to turn the volume all the way up, when about 15 on the volume scale is plenty loud. As I mentioned earlier, the passive subwoofer seems to me to very effective in our setting. It's power doesn't match the power of the powered Sony woofer I have in our family room, but that room is much larger than the bedroom. There are several sound programs to choose from, ranging from 2-channel stereo to several movie options, with other options in between. For my purposes I find these options to be perfectly adequate.

Connections on the back, besides the six speaker connectors, include component video (Y, Pb, Pr), composite video (yellow), red and white RCA sound connectors, and a digital optical sound connector. There's no HDMI on this early set. To connect my 2007 LCD SPDIF coaxial sound-out connector to the digital optical connector, I'll have to cobble together an SPDIF coaxial cable, a digital optical cable, and an adapter between the two. I've priced those items, and I can do it for under $20.

This is a nice compact unit for locating on a bookshelf or other piece of furniture. If you find one cheap like I did, and carefully check out the DVD mechanism, and then locate the setup in the right size room, I think you'll find that this compact unit is a good performer within its limits.

Different surround modes, fun to change your environment. Small size of receiver allows it to fit and sit anywhere. Amount of button on remote allows manipulation of DVD without going into menu.

Special ends on wire connecting speaker to the unit, to change speakers you'd have to splice onto the special ends, or pay $100 for aftermarket connectors. Remote buttons and print is small. If your remote breaks down, the buttons on the DVD/receiver aren't all there to be able to move around the DVD menus!

For our first 5.1 Dolby surround system, we are very happy with the DVD playback. The centre channel speaker could produce a better, fuller sound. The surrounds and subwoofer do a fine job. The CD's we've played sound great. We haven't taken advantage of the SACD capability because stores in our hometown don't sell them, not even the Sony Store! The remote has been dropped quite a bit. Which may have led to the volume button quitting about 1.3 years later. The other buttons worked absolutely fine. I took it back to Visions where I'd purchased the extended warranty and got the remote replaced in two weeks no charge(they had to determine they couldn't fix it.) While the remote was away, we tried to watch more movies. With the buttons that were on the DVD/receiver we managed to play the DVD, but we could not select any menu items. There were no buttons for up, down, etc. So we bought a univeral remote to substitute and that did not work on the volume control, but at least we could select the menu options. This unit was the best available for price and options when we purchased in May 2002. The price has dropped to around $500 CAD now, so my value rating is low because we'd bought it for more. Overall it's a good system.

Similar Products Used:

Philips MX3900D - just got this one, we'll see how it compares...