CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 11/17/2004
- Updated on: 11/07/2009
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.
The DAV-FR1's brushed-aluminum five-disc changer/receiver consumes 16 inches of shelf depth, while its slim 2.75-inch height should let it slide easily into most rack spaces. The style is coolly modern and the display fairly legible, although the Dolby and DTS indicators are far too small to be seen from across the room. Even cooler, the changer's slot-loading disc mechanism eliminates the loading tray; you simply feed each disc into the slot. After you've enjoyed the disc, press Eject, and the DVD or the CD gently swivels out. In the "uncool" column, however, is the slow disc-changing mechanism, which required 30 seconds to play sequential discs. Loading or ejecting multiple discs was a tediously sluggish procedure.Sony's slim remote reserves only the most essential buttons for everyday use and hides everything else under a slip-down cover. The 8.6-inch-tall, gray-plastic satellites and the 14-inch-wide matching center speaker are equally slim--a mere 3 inches thick. Sony offers its WS-WV10D wall brackets for hanging the speakers and its WS-FV11D floor stands for more conventional placement. The subwoofer's silver finish and sculptured front panel visually complement the receiver/changer. The sub measures 7.9 inches wide, 14.5 inches high, and 17.6 inches deep and weighs 21 pounds.
The system delivers 110 watts per channel to each speaker and 100 watts to each of the subwoofer's two woofers. Surround processing runs the gamut from 5.1-channel Dolby Digital to Dolby Pro Logic II to DTS to Dolby EX and DTS ES 6.1-channel processing. We were surprised by the 6.1-decoding capabilities because the receiver has just five main amplifier channels. To take advantage of the 6.1 capabilities, you'll need to hook up a separate amplifier and speaker to the receiver/changer. Oh, and the changer plays Super Audio CDs (SACDs) as well as MP3 and JPEG CDs. Sadly, the receiver has neither bass and treble controls nor an on-the-fly subwoofer-level control.Connectivity options aren't great: just the standard set of video outputs (including progressive-scan component), one optical digital audio input, and two stereo analog inputs. That minimal selection should be adequate for small home theaters, but people with lots of gear will be disappointed.
The satellites and the center speaker feature the same 2.75-inch woofer, but no tweeters. We were disappointed by the lack of tweeters--many HTIBs in this price range feature two-way woofer- and tweeter-equipped satellites. On the upside, the FR1's subwoofer, the same unit found in Sony's pricier Dream systems, has twin 6.3-inch woofers.
Sony's original Dream Systems were beautifully designed but didn't exactly push the HTIB performance envelope. The company has improved its home-theater proficiency with the DAV-FR1, so it's now fully competitive with other compact HTIBs. Continue readingMost helpful user reviews
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