Page 1 of Sony DAV-S500 Vs Pioneer NS-Dv55

Hi looking to buy either one of the above, have seen favourable reviews on both but unsure which one to go for.
Does anybody have opinions on either and which would you go for.

I`ve also been trying to make a similar decision. I started looking at the Sony and was impressed with its specs, but everyone I asked who should know said that the Sony just doesn`t sound as good as the Pioneer. One of the main reasons for this is that the Sony has a passive sub, but the Pioneer has a powered one.... So I nearly settled on the Pioneer... then someone introduced me to the JVC CP-100AL. This is more of a cinema pack with DVD player separate to the receiver. It is also more powerful than the Pioneer and a high street salesperson said it was way better than the Pioneer. I asked the opinion of a techtronics.com salesperson who said he`d heard them both and prefers the Pioneer, but its really a personal preference issue. I think I`ve now settled on getting the JVC... in my opinion it has better connectors and the pack also comes with wall mounts for the speakers!! Another bonus is that if you buy the moded version from techtronics it converts ntsc into pal as well :-)

Hello!After reading your review of the PIONEER NS-Dv55 i wondered if you happen to know any way to make it work as multiregion!i would really appreciate some help on this matter because i am desperate to watch some great region 1 films!!!!!!!!Please please help me!!!!!!thank you!

Walnut,

Once upon a time the Pioneer was the cream of the home cinmea systems-however times move on and in my opinion and ears, the Sony davs-500 knocks spots off the Pioneer.
First, the Pioneer doesn`t have a powered subwoofer. Whoever told you that needs a telling off! If that was the case the system would cost a small fortune! Both systems run their subwoofers passively from the main amplifier, the crossovers in the amp are tailored so the frequency cut off is exactly to the system specifications,i.e. 5 small sattelites and one sub to do all the low stuff.
While the Pioneer is a good looking and indeed good performer, the main problem of the old Sony DAV S-300 was that the sub was very weak, plus the sattelites were good up to a point but then they`d break up.
This time round Sony have revised the power handling of the sattelites to 40 watts rms a peice, and the sub to 80 watts, which should give some serious low end. Plus the Sony is a Sacd multichannel player, so you can get the benefit of high quality Super Audio CD`s as well as dvd`s.
After listening to both, the Sony gets my vote, though i dare say Pioneer have something up their sleeves...
By the way Dave, never trust what a `high street sales person` says. He/she/they have absolutely no clue whatsoever and probably recommended the JVC purely on looks alone-avoid like the plague.

All the best

Westy

This item was edited on Wednesday, 31st October 2001, 11:16

Westy,

As you are the main man on this site I would like to ask your advice. I am in the process of buying a complete system such as the Sony to replace my seperates in my lounge (which are being moved to a seperate room). I am looking at these due to their combined DVD/CD/Radio features and also their ability to play CDR/CDRW`s.

I am looking at either the DAV-S500 or the new DAV-S800 (which I love the look of). Do you have any experience of either of these? Any advice would be most welcome.

Regards

Mike

Mike,

First i`ll tread over a previous statement, "....but Pioneer no doubt have something up their sleeve...", indeed they had! But i`m really disappointed as the new NS DV-77+NS-DV88(both identical, ones silver the other has rosewood speakers), seem no different specification and looks wise to the old dv55. Ok, if it aint broke don`t fix, but in this blooming marketplace it seems daft to launch a product that has very minimal features over its predecessor. Hmmmm, i`l reserve judgement til i hear it.
Anyways, given the choice and provided you have the money to splash, i`d almost certainly go for the DAVS-800 Sony system. I had the pleasure of setting one up a few weeks back for a mate at his parents and i was stunned by the quality. Given all that i`ve said about Sony and their products recently, its encouraging to know that now and again they can weave the magic wand, and the s-800 is great stuff. The elegant looking speakers, superb build, great features, excellent cd replay and overall knockout sound provide ace value for money. And all it took me was about 30 minutes to unpack and set it up, calibrate it with Video Essentials and Ultimate dvd Platinum, then push it to the extreme with all manner of material. I was pleased that Sony went back and improved the subwoofer design, as the DAVS300 was a good unit let down by the poor bass unit(buckled under stress). The 800`s sub is excellent and can kick out some seismic waves of low end, plus the sattelites,(with those oh so elegant stands-meeeow), sound superb and the overall presentation is seamless with all material.
I tested the music out with a US SACD of Thriller by `Jacko and the title track in multichannel SACD form gave us the creepies-the detail in the sound without it sounding fake is brilliant. Plus the whole system looks the absolute business.
The tuner is also very good as an added extra, and the ability to play CDR/RW`S is the icing on a lovely chrome finished cake.
I saw this system at HI Fi Bitz (www.hifibitz.co.uk) for £674.99 with 3 free sacd`s-perhaps you should have a looksie over there?
Hope this has made your mind up mate, let us know how you get on.

All the best

Westy

Westy,

Thanks for that mate. You should be a salesman for Sony with that review!!! I took a look at that site (they say 2 SACD`s) and I have seen it a bit cheaper at unbeatable and techtronics (both around the £630 mark).
How does it compare to the S-500 if I have to look cheaper??

I am new to this lark so please forgive any stupid questions/remarks but what are Video Essentials and Ultimate DVD platinum and what do they do??

Thanks

Mike

The video essentials and dvd platinum discs are basically discs containing a set of calibration tests that ensure your set up performs to its best ability at all times. There are subwoofer placement tips, speaker positioning tips, dts and dolby clips, pretty much anything you can imagine! Well worth getting hold of, try www.ezydvd.com.au for the best bargains.
If your budget can`t stretch then the s-500 will do fine, you`ll just have to buy some mounting brackets for the speakers or some slim stands.
But try and get the s-800 as this is the bees knees i can assure you!

Westy

Westy

Having just looked at your review of the S800, I was just wondering how you think its compares to the Yamaha VS 10 sound wise??

Also how does SACD compare to a DTS encoded music CD?

Hmmm,

Good question Boonie. The VS10 and the Sony are different in the fact that the Yammy has no dvd player and the Sony has one built in. But in performance terms the Sony pips it, but only just. Bearing in mind they are catering for two different markets, its unfair to compare the two.
As for the SACD and DTS cd question, well, after some close analysis, it appears that SACD has the edge purely because it offers a very sweet and open sound, DTS cd`s use a different authoring system so again the two have a different sort of sound. Compare a good sacd against a good dts cd though and its VERY hard to tell any difference. The best thing about dts cd`s is that all systems are compatible providing you have a surround receiver, the now rare DTS CD of the Titanic soundtrack is absolutely stunning to say the least.
As with all formats, there are good and bad examples, and dts cd`s are a provision of the US only.
Still, a good question that i hope i`ve answered for you!

Westy