Customer Reviews
Nice System!! 
2004-08-31
I have had this system for about a year now. I don't know why some of these people are giving this system a 1 star. Maybe it's the way they treat their system. The installation was simple (except for the wiring, it'd be a lot easier if Sony came up with the idea of wireless speakers, that'd save a lot of time). I do admit that the CD changing is slow. But I don't care, I keep the Lord of the Rings DVD's on slots 1-3. The other 2 are just there. The sound is alright for DVD's, but isn't so good with CD's. Not enough bass. Another problem is when I was watching Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (3.5 hour movie), the system really heated up. Other than that, the system is very good.
DVD function sucks 
2004-08-18
I bought this system about 2 years ago and within an year it had problems with DVD playback. By tweaking it, I could make it work for a while but it stopped working altogether. Luckily I was still in the warranty time period and the repair shop fixed it fine. But now, I am having issues again with the DVD function. The tuner and other inputs work just fine, though. The DVD tray won't open. There's one CD inside and I can't get it out or get it to play. And since I am not in the warranty period, I am not motivated to get it repaired either. I guess I will just use it as a sound system and buy a DVD player separately. I am not impressed with SONY this time. Looks like many other users have/had similar issues with this "dream" system.
Paper Weight 
2004-08-14
I bought my system (DAV-C450) back in 2002, for about $500. After only 6 months it stopped reading DVD discs, always giving me the "no disc" error. Yet it plays CD's, CDR's, and the tuner works just fine. The only problem is the DVD player (cleaning the lens didn't work). It always got way too hot on top and I don't believe it has a built in fan which I keep fooling myself into thinking might have been the cause of this. I was on deployment in the Navy and never had time to send this thing back in for repair. So my warranty was gone by the time I got back. Either way from what I read, this system was crap and made by sony just to be a temporary kind of device until you get a quality one, but for alot of $$$!! Now I just have it sitting on top of my computer desk as an amplifier system (I use it as the speakers to my PC). Atleast it's good for that, playing PC games with surround sound, but at hell of a cost. Maybe there's a few out there that actually work for what they were intended for, DVD's. I wish I had one of those. I went out and bought a Cyberhome DVD player which lasted me up until yesterday, now it also doesn't read DVD's. Atleast that only cost me about $50 and lasted me 2 years.
Great with one reservation... 2004-04-06
I too have had the "Program play of title xx prohibited now" error and want to thank techiemcd for posting the review that contains the fix, since I couldn't find that info anywhere else. Thanks again, techiemcd!
Other than that, I love the size and sound.
Great for about 12.5 months 2004-02-18
There is a reason that the warranty is only one year long. I bought this system last Christmas and I thought it was fantastic, until last week (Feb. 10) exactly 12.5 months later. It will not play any DVDs. I get a no disc error and it will not play. I've tried everything and I'm not quite sure yet what to do. I think it is convenient that Sony doesn't sell this system anymore. STAY AWAY!!!
Broken 
2008-02-17
I have had this system for about 4 or 5 years. And last weekend the DVD player malfunctioned. I rented a DVD, and it was stuck inside the unit, so we had to disect the thing to get the DVD out. It basically seems like it fell off the track....but it wouldnt eject any of the dvd's in the player, nor would it play them....
It didn't get extreme use. Maybe 3 dvd's per week? Not the kind of quality I was hoping for from Sony. I am not sure if we will be repairing it at all....
no disc 2007-06-06
worked for a couple years so I give it that. It now reads "no disc". :(
Thanks sony.
Not worth it 2007-02-04
I purchased this product back in 2003 and it was fine at first. After about a year, I had some problems playing DVD's where it would start up, go to the main menu and then just stop and move on to the next disc. Sony tech support was no help, but I did find a soloution by randomly hitting buttons, trying everything and anything I could think of to make the system work again - I believe it was some sort of a region problem/setting on the unit that I somehow corrected.
Then, a couple of months later, I was unable to hear sound through any of the aux ports or radio. All sony can say is to send it in for service. My father in law bought a much cheaper panasonic home theatre system about 6 months before I got mine and his has never had any issues and sounds just as good.
Unacceptable 2006-07-26
I purchased this unit in 2003 and it has been OK for the first 2 years. Once in awhile a disc would get stuck. Last week I was using the "shuffle" option and it stopped playing in the middle of a song and I could not get the CDs to come out. I called Sony help line and they told me to ship it to a Sony authorized dealer. It looks like a lot of people have this same problem but the guy at Sony said he never heard of any problems with this unit. I took it to a repair shop and they said a PC board was bad and would cost $295 to replace! They said it was cheaper to just get another system. I'm considering getting a $40 DVD player to plug into the back of this unit so I can still have the AM/FM and surround sound. I am very dissappointed and will probably not buy a Sony product again.
Keep Dreaming 2005-03-03
Sony is perhaps the most popular electronic company on the face of the earth. With fleets of stereos, walkmans, discmans, laptops, tv's, and more, there ain't no stoppin' them now. They've also produced a large number of speakers that have gone up and down in quality. Home Theater systems have bursted so quickly onto the scene in the last few years, and they keep getting smaller, simpler, and cheaper. The only way we've really enjoyed home theater before all of the 5.1 to 7.1 capabilities with DTS and Pro Logic stuff, was in two channel stereo to four channel surround. And that usually was with your large tower stereo speakers and a killer amp. Even though there are much more accurate and powerful home theater components and speakers available, some people don't have the cash or space. So, their next option is for a more compact system that's all in one.
One of the earlier models that Sony offered is the DAV-C450 DVD Home Theater System. Sandwiched into a sincerely small system is a five disc DTS and Pro Logic capable DVD player. Wow, what a start! Each disc can remain inside the player (just like those cartridge or carousel cd players) while you watch one already playing. The power source comes from the integrated player which boasts a built in amp that carries enough juice to give each little cube speaker 80 watts, and totals in peak of 500 watts, so 400 watts goes to the five speakers, and the remaining 100 goes to the slim front ported subwoofer. Funny how little of bass seems to punch out of it. It gives a few hums of base here and there, but there's really only enough bass to make a cat happy. A sub that gives at least some good bass should be powered with it's own amp, and this one is simply powered by a permanent wire that goes from the integrated unit to the sub. You can't call this thing a subwoofer. I call it the humming box. If this thing were cut open, I wouldn't want to look inside. I'd probably cry.
The speakers themselves sound hollow, and not very direct-now, they don't sound TERRIBLE-no. But they sure could use a big upgrade (yeah, I know, what you spend is what you get). What's interesting but not shocking is that the center channel isn't a true and dedicated center speaker. So voice and sound reproduction from the 'so-called' center channel is nothing special-I could use any of the other supplied speakers as a center channel, since they perform and look the same way. But I'll be nice and do as the instructions say, okay Sony? The rest of the gang do their job and no more. Surround and direct sounds are average, and their 80 watts each seem more like 20. The volume capacity is pretty unspectacular, unless you have a pretty small room. In a room of about 10' by 15', the sound was 'just' reaching the back of the room. I had to turn up the volume practically all the way just to be moderately satisfied. Regardless of these 'Happy Meal' speakers, the sound decoding is accurate, and if you have better speakers, try them out with this player. Although this system is capable of giving you a bit of a 'surround theater' feel, the speakers (yes, again) don't spread the sound very well, so you could say that they are "sweet spot stinkers".
Picture quality is more than fair, as long as your tv is a pretty good one. Lines and images are a little crispy, but at least well defined. Colours are nothing to complain about, especially when I slipped James Cameron's "The Abyss" in for a while. Blues were not too loud, and any other images were pretty realistic. Even the faded white pipes on the mini subs or piping in the underwater oil rig station weren't too white, and not too far off from the real thing.
Still, what can you say about a system you spend $450 on? A lot of sales guys in your electronic big box stores will praise these little systems because they are DTS, 5.1, and DVD. So....so what? Have you ever bought a car with power steering, a cd player, and great gas mileage? Aside from those little pluses, it still probably handles like a tricycle, and accelerates like a sloth.
The Sony C450 Dream System is something that parents should consider for their kids in the basement or bedroom, or any of their college bound kids. There are better mini home theater systems out there. If you think this Sony system is the awesome one to buy, keep dreaming.
