Sony DAV-DZ 230

Author's product rating:   

Picture Playback	Excellent
Sound Level	Excellent
Ease of Use	Simple
Range of Features	Above Average
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Picture Quality and Sound
Disadvantages:	None

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

The first thing you have to point out on this kit is the price £180. That is a nothing to pay for what you getting.

On to the kit itself.

Presentation and SetUp: The DVD Upscaler unit is sleek and functional but does have some quirks. Like the way to hook up external sources. (Consoles, Sky etc). Ultimetely you need a TV with an audio out socket which you can connect a red/white RCA cable to, therefore any sound that comes out of the TV will travel into the Surround Sound (Just as stereo though). Then you have to connect these to a scart block (leaving the yellow empty) and stick that into the Scart Out port on the DVD player. Yes Scart out that is right! According to the manual and help stuff when you use the HDMI as the out signal the Scart becomes an input. Besides that bit of fiddling around everything is easy to set up and calibrate.
8/10 (Just connecting external sources took a bit of working out.)

The Picture: The picture is great, tested it on Star Wars IV upscaled to 1080i and it did look very bright and smooth, much better than I expected to be honest.
8/10 (Only lacking 1080p support)

The Sound: Probably the reason you are looking for a surround sound system...and you won't be disapointed. The low end rumbles like a giant with an empty stomach. Great for action movies and the like. The Sub is suprisingly small but the cabinet is well made and looks neat and tidy. I did own a similar Sony system prior to this and the bass was not as clean and the box was much bigger, so this kit is definetly moving forward.
The high end and speech cuts through and is bright and lively but has capacity to hold voices like Morgan Freeman without having to send too much to the sub, so the balance kept in the room. The speakers themselves are very neat and although bigger than some systems they sound great and I think a few extra mm is worth it (you should be looking at the screen anyway!)
9/10 (Low Lows and Clean Highs, Not quite Bose or Bang and Olufson but for £180 its not going to be. Best in its price range and better than some more expensive kits)

Overall 9/10 The price is a key factor but dont let that fool you this is a great setup and you won't be let down!