Sony DAV-S500 Review

Overall Rating

Easy to set up, easy to use, combined CD, DVD & tuner into 1 item

Poor quality, will switch to CD/DVD mode when you eject a disk even if you are listening to the tuner. Tuner looses its pre-sets and one speaker works intermitantly

Bought the Sony DAV-S500 on the back of reviews in magazines. Initially very pleased, it was simple to set up and displayed good picture quality with reasonable sound. However Sony build quality is not all that it once was or what the name instills. The tuner keeps forgetting the pre-set stations and one of the speakers (Front Left) works intermittantly.
My last Dolby B system was still performing faultlessly when I upgraded to the Sony

Members' Comments onnickdavy's Review

• lynxpraline on 4th Nov 2003

  I bought my Sony DAV-S500 just over a year ago (and did not go for an extended warranty) and have been experiencing exactly the same problems with my front left speaker. I have a feeling it's not going to be cheap to rectify the problem, any ideas?

• nickdavy on 5th Nov 2003

  I have fixed it myself, at least it seems to work now.
  
  1. Take the cover off and extract the circuit board that the speakers connect into, trace where the speaker connections are soldered into the board.
  
  2. Re-solder those joints for the defective speaker.
  
  I did this over a week ago and so far so good, I assumed it was a bad solder joint, I might be wrong and simply taking the board out and replacing it might have fixed it (or not). I have my fingers crossed that the fault will not return.

• hamd1 on 14th Nov 2003

  Does he realise that his system might well be slightly faulty? actually he probably hasn't got his speaker polarity correct. sony don't make inferior products, don't rip sony man, there miles better than any other make.

• nickdavy on 16th Nov 2003

  Dear Hamd1.
  
  Yes they do, they made my DAV-S500
  
  It worked fine for over a year before playing up. If I had connected the speakers incorrectly (difficult with the colour coded plugs it uses) dont you think I might have noticed it not working before.
  
  Dont answer, I know that:-
  
  a) it stopped working properly
  b) it now works fine since I re-soldered the speaker connections
  
  Regards
  
  Nick Davy
  
  PS just because you like Sony doesnt mean they cant sell a duff product manufactured by the cheapest factory they could find.

• lynxpraline on 4th Dec 2003

  Yes thanks Nick, I tried the re-soldering 3 weeks ago and my left speaker now seems to be working fine. I'm not sure if the gentleman from Glasgow understands that no brand is perfect and to blindly push a brands name serves no positive purpose to anyone. Anybody in 'the know' these days understands that Sony are no longer what they used to be in the build quality department.
  
  LP

• sehgal on 10th Feb 2004

  This seems to be a general problem. My left speaker also works intermittently, and shall try the soldering solution.

• stevo555 on 18th Oct 2004

  Hi,
  
  Did everyone who had the "left speaker problem" find that it was fixed by resoldering? My DAV-S800 (same base unit as the S500 I think) has just started playing up with this exact problem, and I'm a tad nervous about taking it to bits. However if it's definitely the answer then I would rather give it a go than pay someone else to do it.
  
  Thanks,
  Stephen

• jimijames on 4th Nov 2004

  I had exactly the same prob with my S500!!!! I took it to a Sony service centre and was told it was caused by over heating. The heat had dried out the heat sink(?)(the bit which helps the heat dissipate) and the solder. Something like that anyway.
  
  My point is, be careful that your systems are not over heating. Mine used to get so hot, I could hardly touch it. Make sure it has plenty space above it.
  
  The Sony tech. also said they often have probs. with first gen systems. He said the next gen. (s550?) is much more reliable.
  
  All a bit dodgy if you ask me!
  
  The repair cost about £50!

• nickdavy on 5th Nov 2004

  If it was a car with "first generation problems" there would be a recal and it would be fixed for free, not £50. I agree that the system can get hot especially if not turned off after use. Sony have obviously got (or had) a design problem, I for one have lost confidence in their premium branding.
  
  Nick

• jimijames on 8th Nov 2004

  I agree. If I had known that so many people had exactly the same problem, I would have kicked up a stink with Sony, and certainly not paid for the repair! I'm annoyed with Sony and will think twice before buying from them again!

• philmay on 18th Dec 2004

  Just for the record, I too have a problem with the front left channel after two years of operation. Amazing that it is that same channel on every system. It seems like soldering is the answer, so I will give it a try.

• pgordon001 on 30th Jan 2005

  Very interesting to hear all these comments on the left-speaker issue, as I thought it was only my problem cables. Before I make things worse by taking the unit apart, how easy is it to take the circuit board out and re-solder? Otherwise I will bite the bullet and take it to a repair shop.

• pgordon001 on 31st Jan 2005

  All I had to do to fix this annoying left-speaker fault was to take out the relevant circuit board, and I noticed there was some surface brown build-up on the back of the board (where the solder connections are). I simply cleaned off this brown surface layer (the worst was on the front left speaker connections surprise, surprise) and everything now sounds perfect. Just be careful when taking everything apart!

• nickdavy on 31st Jan 2005

  If you feel confident with a soldering iron and take care when taking the unit apart, it's not difficult. If you dont feel confident then it may be better to pay someone to do it, personally I would (and did) do it myself.

• philmay on 31st Jan 2005

  You need a star screwdriver to open the case but the soldering is straightforward.
  
  It looks like a simple design flaw. The connector unit is soldered to the circuit board and also bolted to the back of the unit. The repeated expansion/contraction of the case in that area, which gets very hot, simply wiggles the connections until they start to come away. Remarkably consistent, in that it takes almost exactly a year to break one of the joints.
  
  I just re-melted the solder at each joint of the connector unit to the board and it fixed the problem.

• Tenko on 18th Mar 2005

  Cannot believe this! I have the DAV s800 system and after around a years operation guess what.....the front LH speaker cut out intermittently. I only found this site whilst searching for a replacement amp on ebay ! I have cleaned connections, checked wiring, you name it. I definitely will be getting the iron out!
  
  Thanks to all

• Paulussie on 5th May 2005

  Yes, had the same problem as everyone else, left hand speaker first intermittently cutting out and then pretty much permanently. I fixed the problem by resoldering the connections as suggested. Great sound!
  There is a downside though. I really struggled to get the cover off the unit. It took me half an hour and a couple of cuts on my hands. I had turned the unit over and over in many, many ways just to get the damn cover off. I always thought that you can do that with consumer electronics, provided that you have disconnected it (which I had). Turns out that some of the cogs in the player assembly are kept on their little axles by gravity alone. So they dropped off and rattled around. By the time I figured out what was going on the optical bits had been damaged.
  I now have a unit with sound through all its speakers, but no way to play DVDs or CDs. It'll cost me NZ$350 to have it fixed. I won't. I am utterly disappointed with Sony's design effort, to say the least. I'll buy something else and it won't be a Sony.

• barnemw on 6th Dec 2005

  I had the same problem with the left speaker. Opened it up but was unable to resolve.
  
  I've now bought a new separates system, Yamaha, and would not touch this type of system from Sony again.

• gord1969 on 8th Dec 2005

  I am having the exact same problem with the front left speaker. What I have been doing, everytime I notice that no sound is coming out of it , is reaching to the back of the unit and jiggling the connection for the front left speaker. This seems to work for a little while at least. After reading the other comments I will try to take it apart and fix it.

• gord1969 on 8th Dec 2005

  I also have the same problem with the front left speaker. I am going to see if Sony will fix it for free seeing how this is happening to everyone.

• cdaniels on 24th Jan 2006

  Gord1969, Did you get anywhere with Sony or did you have to resort to the DIY method of repair?
  
  I too thought I was alone with my front left speaker problem 'till I stumbled across this thread!!

• Tenko on 26th Jan 2006

  Well I hate to throw cold water on it but... I carried out the soldering trick with great success during the middle of last year. It worked fine for a few months and then failed again. I tried the same soldering operation again but this time it did not work. I then tried soldering wires from the circuit board to the back of the rear connections (to bypass the problem area on the PCB) but this also did not work. When the unit is turned on the front LH speaker is OK for the first 5 minutes and then becomes intermittent again once it warms up. I think the problem has just been moved somewhere else and I cannot find the cause at the moment. Urghh

• gord1969 on 26th Jan 2006

  When I contacted Sony Canada they said that they did not have any information about others experiencing this problem. They said that if I took it into a Sony approved service centre to have it fixed and then faxed them the receipt along with the original purchase receipt that they may be able to give me a partial refund (since it was no longer under warranty).
  
  I decided against this and had a friend, who knows more about electronics, solder it for me according to what I learned from these comments.
  
  I don't know if I was just lucky or not but it has been working fine since. I'm not sure if it will help or not but I left the screws at the back a little loose to allow for the metal to expand when it heats up so this doesn't happen again.

• cdaniels on 26th Jan 2006

  If I get a few extra months out of it for free then it'll will have been worthwhile taking the time to fix it. If it fails again later on then it'll just be a good excuse to justify some nice shiny new kit ;o)

• nickdavy on 26th Jan 2006

  I notice the comments about the fault returning, after mending mine in November 2003 the fault has never re-occured

• Tenko on 27th Jan 2006

  That's just where I am at now ............. justifying buying new kit and after only a couple of years operation of the old. Trouble is would you dare buy Sony again ? The DVD system was bought along with a 32" Sony TV and guess what, that was faulty on arrival !!! I used to swear by Sony but I am fast losing the faith.

• cdaniels on 27th Jan 2006

  I soldered mine last night and all seems to be working ok for the moment. Great minds think alike - I actually left the screws out of the connector block for the same reason. Fingers crossed I'll now get a few more years service out of it.

• lynxpraline on 21st Mar 2006

  I had the problem return as well but only happens after unit is on for about 2 hours (annoyingly at the end of most movies!!!). since I got it almost 4 years ago I'm just going to get some new kit, and move it into spare room as a luxury (or not!) really can't be bothered with getting a dated, badly manufatured kit working properly again! I will not be getting a sony again for this sort of equipment, no matter how good it looks the build quality is pathetic!!!

• nickdavy on 18th Dec 2007

  Well 4 years later and the front left has gone off again! Time to get out the soldering iron or maybe the credit cards.
  

• laney18 on 25th Feb 2008

  Do you find that its just the front left speaker connection, or the left headphone channel as well? I've just got a DAV-S500, admittedly I hadn't read all the posts on this site as I probably wouldn't have bothered and just carried on saving for the Logitech Z-5500 system that I really wanted, But anyway, I get the left speaker and headphone channel dropping out, so I'm just wondering if its the speaker connections that need soldering, or if its something more serious

• nickdavy on 23rd Apr 2008

  Well that's it, the Sony has been replaced with a Panasonic and not before time. The front left speaker problem eventually drove me mad, Sony did themselves no favours when they made the DAV, it certainly changed my opinion of their brand.

• isi75 on 8th May 2008

  I've resoldered the speaker connections of my DAV-S500 a year ago, but still the left speaker drops out often. Also, i don't think the root of the problem is the left speaker connector, because there is still some noise coming out of the speaker and on certain "sound fields" (DSP Sound Effects) there is music (silently) on the left box. So I think the problem must be earlier in the chain of sound-processing on the main-board ?! Any clues?? Greets Stefan from Austria.

• isi75 on 19th Aug 2008

  update: resoldered the speaker connectors on the main-board again and now it works. the left channel is present... maybe the solution lies there, maybe it's ok now by accident... i dont know =P it works for 3 months now.

• johncar11 on 21st Jul 2009

  This may be a few years late, but I just picked one up from a friend for $50 bucks.
  I'll admit it's better than TV speakers, but the DVD player doesn't work and my problem is with the front RIGHT speaker.
  
  I'll look into cracking it open and soldering/cleaning it.