The Bottom Line
The Yamaha DVX-S120 is a full featured and stylish home theater-in-a-box system that is great for entry level consumers as well for those wanting a second system for a smaller room or office.
Pros
- Easy setup and operation - excellent owner's manual
- Good DVD player section
- Extracts a virtual rear center channel from both 5.1 channel and 6.1 encoded DVDs
Cons
- Highs sound harsh at times
- Modest power output
- Flimsy connection cables and speaker wire
Description
- Progressive scan DVD player/5.1 channel receiver combination.
- DVD-video, DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW, VCD, CD-R/RW, MP3-CD playback.
- Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Pro LogicII, 6.1 channel virtual decoding, and Yamaha DSP surround modes.
- 45 watts-per-channel x five plus a 100 watt powered subwoofer. All speakers supplied.
- Audio/video inputs for connection of VCR or DVD recorder. Digital input/output for CD/MD recorder.
- Component (progressive), S-video, and composite video outputs.
- Headphone jack for private listening (stereo miniplug) - with Silent Cinema surround processing.
- AM/FM stereo tuner with a total of 40 presets.
- Cables and speaker wire provided.
- Easy-to-use wireless remote control
Guide Review - Yamaha DVX-S120 Home Cinema Station
The DVX-S120 Home Cinema Station comes with a DVD/AV receiver combo unit, all needed speakers, and connection cables to get this system running. The provided cables and onboard connectors are color coded making setup easy. Without cracking open the owner's manual, I was watching a DVD in surround sound in about 20 minutes from the time I opened the box. The DVD player not only played DVD-video format discs well, but CDs, CDRs, CDRWs, as well as DTS music discs, DVD-R, DVD+Rs, and DVD+RWs. The progressive scan output for DVDs worked well; this makes DVX-S120 system a match with HD-upgradable TVs with progressive scan inputs.
In addition, other features I enjoyed were the Silent Cinema surround processing when using headphones, which is great if you like to watch movies late at night without disturbing others, and virtual 6.1 channel decoding, which adds a phantom rear center channel.
However, although there is much to like in this system, the highs exhibit some harshness at times on both movie/music sources, bass is week on Silent Cinema, the provided speaker wire is flimsy, and power output may not be sufficient for a larger room.
I would recommend this system as a good option for those looking for a "starter" system for a small arpartment, or a second home theater system for a bedroom or office.
