Sony DAV-HDX500/i BRAVIA Home Theater System

I went to one of those BOSE stores where they have a theater setup. When you walk in, they have speakers setup that look very much like this Bravia set. I was impressed by the sound! It was fantastic! Then they revealed that the speakers we saw were props and the speakers were the size of a ring box. More impressive!

Then they told me the price... anywhere from $1999 - $5000. Whoa!

I had a sorry, cheap Panasonic (around $200) theater system which started acting up on me with this awful clicking sound that eventually became unbearable. I was intent on getting something high-quality, but $2000 for BOSE low-end was a bit much... so I figured Sony HAD to be the next best thing! I researched and used the Amazon user reviews as a guide and decided the HDX500/i was my best option in a reasonable price. And boy am I pleased?!

This thing has nice solid bass which can be easily adjusted to be more or less powerful. The setup was really simple (of course after I got it organized to my slew of devices (TV, Computer, PS3, outside Speakers/amp, etc). Great purchase overall, even if I don't get the matchbox speakers!

Only thing I didn't like is the amp is a little too deep. I have a flat screen... so I also have a entertainment system that isn't very deep (12 in). This unit is at least 18 inches deep... maybe more.

Still worth the purchase.

This is a great surround sound system. It was very easy to set up. All connections are color coded.
I'd just recommend a bit higher wattage for larger rooms. The rear speakers aren't as loud as I'd like. Yes the volumn on the rears can be increased but the overall punch desreases because of the wattage. This system is great if you have a romm around 12x12, 15x15. My is 30x15.
Also, this is not a HD dvd player. It upscales the output to HD but it will not play HD dvd's(or bul-ray). With a HD LCD this system has great resolution.

I had read all the reviews of this product and they were true. It is easy to set up if you have a Sony TV. The speakers balance themselves and the sound they produce is very good.

I bought the item from the Warehouse and got a very good price because the outside packaging was disturbed. The item itself was in perfect shape.

Very pleased so far. Sounds great, plenty of power to rock your media room, and was easy to set up. There's an on-screen setup feature that lets you easily customize the setup for your particular room configuration. An included microphone lets you do a push-button fine-tuning of the sound relative to speaker placement. It's cool to see the system report exactly how far all the speakers are away from the microphone.

I also purchased the wireless surround kit from Sony. Setup for this was also pretty simple, and was supported by the HDX500 system.

Remote is typical Sony - lots of buttons. But fairly intuitive thus far.

The digital media port works well with the different generations of iPods we have in the house. On-screen graphics are very rudimentary, however, which is a big departure from the iPod interface.

There are a bunch of different sound fields that could be better described in the on-screen system or in the manual.

I am more than impressed with this system. For a fairly non-technical person, the set-up was extremely easy. The included microphone to optimize the sound with your speaker arrangement really impressed me after hearing about friends who spent hours optimizing their system.

The sound I get from the iPod dock is much better than I expected and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could control my iPod using the remote.

On top of the excellent performance, the system itself is very sleek looking. I had a new year's eve party after getting the system for Christmas and almost every guest commented on how great it looks.