Two valuable features you will enjoy are: (1) It plays the music CD-RW that you make on your PC. Most lower priced Home Theatre Systems I looked at don't have this feature. (2) You can change the sound quality of the system from the remote. You can choose from 10 different sound fields for music and tv, 1 for games, and 1 for your headset.

The Sony Dream Machine is just that ... everything you could want at a price you can afford. An excellent value fully worth a 5-Star rating.


Works great with some complications   November 22, 2003
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

I really like the system, expecially when I play HD into my DLP projector. I just had a problem with some DVDs not being playable, getting the message "program play of title xx prohibited" (where "xx" is some track on the DVD). What a pain! I don't know where the problem came from, but I think it may have been my kids pushing buttons on the remote. To restore playing capability, all I had to do was turn off the "Repeat" mode by hitting the "CLEAR" button on the remote.


Sony got it right   September 27, 2002
 7 out of 11 found this review helpful

I'm not an audiophile, but I was blown away with the improvement of the sound quality of my whole system. I also appreciated the fact that Sony thought about making this easy to use for the whole family. The remote is well laid out and I particularly like the arrangement of the main functions right on the top edge which is exactly where I can see them in my cabinet- no more crawling on the floor to hit tiny buttons behind some cheesy door. Thanks Sony- you continue to impress me.


GREAT DEAL!   May 19, 2003
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I bought the Dream System this passed December and it's been a God-send since. The sound is great for both your DVD's and CD's. The set-up is so quick also. The time that would have been spent trying to find the right receiver and then the correct speakers was saved because of the Dream System. It takes less than 20 minutes to completely set-up. The system does get a little hot though but that is mentioned in the manual. I haven't had a problem because of the heat. This is a great buy, especially since the price has gone down from when I bought mine.


Keep Dreaming   March 3, 2005
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

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.