Product Description

Sony's worldwide reputation for creating unique, attractive, high-quality, advanced technology products rests on a long line of innovations embraced by people from all walks of life. With a diverse product lineup serving a variety of lifestyles and industries, Sony continuously strives to introduce new products and technologies to meet changing market needs.PRODUCT FEATURES:Total 600W (RMS) output power;S Master Digital Amplifier;S-DIAT wireless surround;Dolby Digital, Dolby Prologic II and DTS Decoder;Playback: DVD, Super Audio CD, CD-R/RW, and MP3.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47378 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sony
• Model: DAVLF1
• Dimensions: 60.00" h x 20.00" w x 45.00" l, 125.00 pounds

Features

• Single-disc multichannel home theater system with support for DVD, Super Audio CD, MP3 CD, JPEG image CD
• 4 floorstanding speakers, wireless audio transmission using Sony's DIAT system, 1 center speaker, and a 170-watt powered subwoofer
• Progressive-scan video output for seamless, flicker-free images on high-definition and HD-ready TVs
• Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic II processing as well as Sony's own Digital Cinema Sound processing
• FM/AM tuner with 20 FM and 10 AM station presets; 2 auxiliary AV inputs, 1 digital-audio input, 1 AV output

Amazon.com Product Description
The first of Sony's Platinum Series home theater Dream Systems, the DAV-LF1 offers wireless speakers and thin speaker construction for flexible placement options, clutter-free setup, and possible wall mounting. The system exudes sophistication and elegance with its glazed metallic frost finish. The design is the direct result of the aesthetic concept that inspired Sony's floating-glass flat-panel WEGA TVs.

The main unit, which houses a progressive-scan DVD/CD/Super Audio CD player, uses the floating-glass design, while the speakers have a thin, brushed-aluminum chassis with optional floor stands for flexible and attractive display options (standard set-up with floor stands, vertical or horizontal wall hanging set-ups).

The DAV-LF1's wireless surround functionality is possible through exclusive DIAT (Digital Infrared Audio Transmission) technology, which enable wireless, uncompressed audio transmission to the unit's front and back speakers. Sony developed DIAT to transmit the audio signals of the most advanced high-bandwidth media (such as DVD, HDTV, and SACD) using infrared light.

Unlike conventional wireless transmission systems based on radio frequencies, DIAT's signals are not pre-compressed, the intent being to maintain the original signal integrity without distortion, even in the presence of noise and radio interference. DIAT's unique design ensures that the system is not vulnerable to interference by other wireless information or equipment such as microwaves and cordless phones.

The system's stellar audio features include a Digital Direct Twin Drive Subwoofer for powerful, well-defined bass; Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic II surround processing for dynamic, enveloping sound; and new, Nano-fine speaker tweeters for impressive SACD multi-channel audio playback. Depending on the disc, Sony's proprietary SACD format provides extended-bandwidth multichannel and/or stereo sound, often presented in a dual-layer format compatible with both standard CD players (at standard resolution) and SACD-equipped players like the DAV-LF1 (for full-resolution playback).

The system's 86 watts per channel (x 5) S-Master Full Digital Amplifier supplies the power needed to render your favorite movies and music with authority, at both loud and very quiet listening levels. Unlike conventional analog amplifiers, the S-Master processes 1-bit audio signals (similar to those of Super Audio CDs) entirely through digital circuitry, preserving signal purity from source to output. This simplification the signal path minimizes distortion and reduces amp-degrading heat. Besides being smaller and sleeker than analog amplifiers of equivalent power, the S-Master amp reproduces music with the utmost fidelity.

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the DAV-LF1 stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. Composite- and S-video outputs facilitate compatibility with nearly any television. (If your older TV has no colored RCA video input jacks, merely a threaded RF coaxial-type audio/video input, you'll need a video modulator/switcher, sold separately.)

For your CD-based MP3 music files, you'll enjoy the system's intuitive graphic user interface (GUI), which readily distinguishes between albums and individual tracks. Pressing the DVD menu button calls up a list of all albums found on a given CD. Select a track, press enter one the remote, and sit back to enjoy your track or album.

The system plays your JPEG image CDs, too, delivering easy navigation and display of your cherished digital photos right on your TV. As with MP3 CDs, playback works via GUI to provide user-friendly navigation. Select from albums and files, slide shows, and rotate images as required.

What's in the Box
DVD player/integrated surround amplifier, 5 speakers, 4 floor stands, a powered subwoofer, a remote control (RM-SP320), remote batteries, a user's manual, all requisite cabling (color-coded).

Customer Reviews

DO NOT BUY UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
I made the HUGE mistake of purchasing a similar system (DAV-LF1H, the same except it has an HDMI output and it's more expensive) because I wanted a small, good looking home theater system for our bedroom. I can't say anything good about it, and the only neutral thing I can say about it is that it's design is "unconventional". Allow me to tell you why I am so utterly dissatisfied:

I recieved the unit with 2 major malfunctions that made it essentially unusable- the DVD player skipped coninuously on even new CD's and scratched the surface of every DVD it played (!!!) and the video was severly distorted from the component outputs (the distortion looked like an MPEG conversion issue, but in any case it was unwatchable).
I contacted Sony about the issues, and they said that my only recourse was to send it to Texas (and pay for the shipping there and back!!!) or take it in to a local repair center. The closest local repair center is 15 miles away from my home. I reluctantly agreed to take it in to the repair center.
The local repair center kept it for 1.5 months, and I had to make many trips to bring them components. It was an enormous inconvenience for me.
When I picked up the unit, the DVD player issue seemed to be fixed but the video distortion was as bad as ever. The repair shop said they didn't even look at that issue, even though it was written down on their work order and I had clearly documented it with Sony.
I called Sony and politely suggested they give me a better option since I had been very patient with this $1300 headache so far. I recieved very rude and disrepectful treatment (the representative continually interrupted me even after I had asked him not to), and they eventually said at the top level of support that Sony's policy is to repair defective units, not replace them. They were not concerned that I had had a miserable experience up to this point, and they did not offer any new options beyond shipping it out for repair and taking it back to the same local shop.

So here I am- 2 months since paying $1300 to get a home theater system that I expected to have working out of the box- with a defective unit dreading bringing it back to the local repair shop. In my opinion, Sony doesn't seem to care about the quality of their own products or the experiences of their customers.
The product itself is VERY overpriced for its feature set. If you are expecting that this premium is going toward higher quality or a better customer experience, you will be dissappointed. It is going to a little brushed metal (most of the unit is plastic and particle board, actually) and a brand name that is looking its reputation for quality by the second (I know many would say its long gone by now).
If you're still thinking about buying it, then a) you're crazy and b) you should definitely buy it from a local vendor, since the unit weighs about 100 pounds and shipping it back so they can give you a new one with the hassle of dealing with Sony will not be a good option.
BTW, the wireless speaker system doesn't work unless 3(!) little infrared tramsmitters and recievers are all set up properly. Our back speakers are usually not working because one of them has gotten knocked over. Very fragile design, indeed!

A warrior forgetting to bring his spear
And that spear is wma format music. Everything else was good, up to the snuff, but once I found out Sony's products do not accept wma format, I decided to "dump the baby". What a stupid, or arrogant company Sony is! Everybody else can claim how good it is, (since they own it, they hate to hear bad things about it). I am honest, as wma becomes more popular and has a better sound quality, I cannot forgive Sony for its stupidity: I finally bought a different much nicer product...

For Home Theater use. Audiophiles beware-No Tone or EQ Settings.
I was excited to unpack this system and give it a try. After set up I played a new remixed SACD (Super-Audio CD) of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon recorded in 5.1 The sound was very disappointing, all mid-range, poor high-end and minimal bass. I tried an older standard CD of Dark Side of the Moon and the tone was the same. I don't like thump but I do like tonal balance. There are is no way to adjust the sound -no tone controls or EQ settings. The only sound control available occurs when you hit presets like "Jazz club" or "Concert Hall" that are absolutely dismal. Adding spring reverb emulation and slap-back echo to the signal to simulate different rooms is appalling.

When I cranked up the volume to neighborhood annoyance levels my cats left but the room filled with sound nicely. The tone was a bit better but still lacked the highs and lows. Calling this a "Dream System" seems a bit boastful.

The DVD surround sound was much nicer. In my opinion this truly is a theater system and was not made to please the audiophile. It is easy to use and I like the wireless feature even though you have to plug one of the rear speakers into wall and send a wire across the back of the room to the other.

The speakers can be mounted on the wall or adjusted for height on their stands-a nice feature. I love the design of the DVD/FM/AM/SAT?CD unit. Nice display and pleasing light blue light. I found having to plug everyhing into the subwoofer on the floor a bit annoying. The optical digital audio jack was crunched during shipping. Maybe when I get that fixed the results will vary.