Page 1 of Sony S735 vs S300

Guys,

I`ve been reading alot about these two players and to be honest I`m stuck as to which one to opt for! The S735 sounds like a quality player and has just about every connection you could possibly ask for. The S300 however is a complete Home Cinema i.e. I wont have to purchase an additional amp or speakers, which would save some money. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Also, if anyone could explain how I would get DTS surround sound from either player and what else I would need to purchase to achieve it that would be great also.

Thanks in advance,
Rosso.

Rosso,i think you mean the DAVS300 yes?
If so then that is the `all in one` system thats been around for a while now.
Comparing the two is irrelevant,as on e is made to play movies,the other is home cinema in a box!
But if you must know,read on.
The Sony s735 was well recieved by the hifi press,and after owning one for over a year,i can happily say it is still one of the best players on the market today.Shop around and you`ll find one at a pretty reasonable price.
The davs300 however is different.It offers dvd,tuner,and dolby/dts 5.1 out of the box with everything you need to get started.Whilst no as sophisticated as a dedicated amp and speaker set-up,the s300 performs very well for the minimal outlay.The dvd performance is in the same league as one of Sony`s entry level machines(by no means a bad thing),so its pretty much guaranteed that the quality will be good.
The sound is also perfectly respectable,providing that a)you don`t live in a church,and b)you dont expect Odeon quality levels of sound. The sound can best be described as lively and punchy.
One thing to mention is that yes,the 735 has pretty much every connection you could imagine,but built in decoders aren`t much use now there are so many cheap multichannel recievers knocking about.The performance is great though,with a superb picture and spot on sound quality.Great remote as well,and it looks ever so classy in that brushed alluminium finish.
Asfor dts? Well discs in the uk are still a bit thin on the ground,but what`s available is a good example of the format.The davs300 has a built in decoder for dts in the amp so no worries there.The 735 on the other hand must be connected to a multichannel reciever to extract the digital soundtracks contained on the dvd.However if you have an old pro logic reciever kicking about that has a 6channel input,then the sony can decode dts sound as well.
Both are great pieces of kit,but be aware that they are now being replaced by new models.However that doesn`t mean that they are crap-you should be able to pick either up for far less than their original RRP.
Hope this has cleared up for you.

All the best

Westy

cheers westy.

just another quick question please...
I have a technics Dolby Pro Logic hi-fi which has the 5.1 inputs on the back. if i was to match up the 5.1 ports on the back of the sony dvp-735 to the equivalant ports on the hi-fi would this produce the DTS surround sound I`m after??? and could i get DD surround from this set-up also???

This would save me a fortune on new speakers if it was possible.

Cheers again,
Rosso

If the inputs say dvd 5.1ch in(or thereabouts) then you`re in luck my friend.
Plus the Technics will sound a bit better than the Sony as it employs proper speakers rather than small tailor made sattelites.
You still seem confused by the whole dts thing though.Dont forget only discs encoded to play in dts will be output,Dolby Digital is the surround standard on all dvd`s.So the answer to your final points are yes and yes.
As a big plus, the 735 has one of the best decoders in the business,with a great deal of flexibility over the surround parameters-just stay away from the virtual surround modes and you wont go far wrong!
On this premise it looks like the 735 would be the recommended purchase here,get on the upgrade path later.
Any problems give me a shout.

Enjoy!

Westy

Westy your a star.

Thanks again,
Ross.

Westy: I have the Sony DVA S300 as well. When I play DVDs/VCD`s, of course, the sound comes out of the system speakers. How can I get the sound to come out of the system speakers when just watching normal television shows or movies? Is there some buttons on the remote I can push to make this happen? I seem to remember when the folks set my system up for me, they were able to get the sound to come out of the system speakers only for certain channels and not others. Thanks for your help in advance! Zimmy