Sony DAV-HDX589W Review

   The HAV-HDX589W ($429 list), which we'll review here, comes with the S-Air wireless rear speaker assembly kit. The identically priced DAV-HDX587WC includes a secondary listening station (also based on Sony's S-Air technology) for listening to the system in another room. The entry-level DAV-HDX285 ($300) misses out on the tallboy speakers and wireless accessories, but is upgradeable to either additional function by purchasing those items separately.

    The HAV-HDX589W is a 5.1 system that includes two "tallboy" left and right front speakers, a center channel, and left and right surround-satellite speakers. All of the speakers are made of molded plastic with irremovable grilles. The front tallboys rest on adjustable stands that require a bit of assembly out of the box. 
Up front, the center channel is a bit bulky, perhaps to complement the flanking tallboys on either side. The surround speakers are small, only going about 3 inches deep.

    All of the satellites, along with the subwoofer, use proprietary connection wires that are color-coded for easy setup. The subwoofer and its 6-inch driver are neither powered nor do they have adjustable volume.An LCD screen rests above a set of quick access buttons that correspond to all five discs as well as some basic playback control functionality.The included remote control can be overwhelming at times. It's a bit cluttered and some buttons have too many commands assigned to.

    The manual setup is simple enough to do, but after we completed it, the balance between the satellite speakers and subwoofer was less than ideal. The subwoofer had a big, boomy sound and the satellites provided us with very little bass on their own. In other words, most of the bass came from the subwoofer, way over on the right side of our listening room.Next, we put the DCAC (Digital Cinema Auto Calibration) auto speaker calibration system through its paces. DCAC adjusts the volume level of each speaker and the subwoofer and measures the distance between each speaker.

     Digital Cinema Auto Calibration is simple. Plug in the supplied A.CAL microphone and navigate the onscreen display menus to initiate the autosetup program. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes and all of the measurements are taken from just one microphone position.The DAV-HDX589W lacks bass and treble controls, so it doesn't offer much opportunity to adjust tonal balance. The one "tone" control, the "Dynamic Bass" button on the remote, boosts bass.

    In addition to DVDs and audio CDs, the HAV-HDX589W can play MP3 music and JPEG photo files off a recordable CD or DVD. The unit can also play the increasingly rare SACD format. The five disc-changer is surprisingly fast, although the noise when swapping discs borders on distracting.The HAV-HDX589W provides you with three connection options for hooking the system up to your TV. There are ports for composite, component, and an HDMI connections. The HAV-HDX589W can output DVD video at 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p.

     You cannot bring your own video source into the HAV-HDX589W--only a third-party audio source. There's room for an analog RCA connection or, if you're looking to add a digital source, there are optical and coaxial inputs available.The HAV-HDX589W system is equipped with Sony's "S-Air technology," which powers its wireless rear speakers.The system uses a pair of S-Air cartridges that plug into both the receiver and the surround-speaker receiver. 

    My Rating: 3/5