Customer Ratings & Reviews

Let's be clear. I didn't buy these speakers expecting jaw-dropping performance. Instead I was pleasantly surprised, since they are an upgrade to the 4" woofer, 2" paper cone tweeter speakers that came with a Sharp component stereo system that I also purchased from BB. These speakers are pretty decent. The highs are crisp but not harsh and the highs meld in almost seamlessly with the midrange. Acoustic guitar is very nice. Vocals are also smooth but slightly pronounced, since these speakers are reported to have a slight "bump" near the 1KHz. spectrum according to an expert review. Bass, is not boomy or muddy, thanks to the larger cabinet size which (I suppose) results in a lower resonant frequency, thus reducing that muddiness sometimes found on small speakers. It would be nice to have a little more bass, but in the end, the bass is very clean. Overall the sound is pleasant and the speakers offer a great balance between size and performance for the price. The only other con is that I wish they had 5-way binding posts for their speaker terminals so that you could use banana plugs with them. (EDIT: I just realized that those buttons on the speaker terminals are removable so that banana plugs CAN be used with these speakers!) I would consider these speakers "entry-level" for any audio enthusiast looking for a bang-for-your buck speaker with decent sound quality.

For the price, these are excellent bookshelf speakers. I'm using them with an old Sony Minidisc component system and with a retro game setup. They're basically filling the role of flexible jack of all trades. They're competent in mids and highs and even develop some ok bass without having a sub. Compared to the old stock speakers that shipped with my stereo it's a night and day difference, even if the comparison is a bit unfair.

They look amazing, the sound is impressive and they fit just perfectly in my Ikea bookshelf. They are so easy to connect and they fill my studio room with the best sound. These have been recommended by so many reviewers and now that I own a pair of them, I can see why. You won't be disappointed.

I paired these speakers with the Sony 5.2 ch receiver which is connect to my Sony cd/dvd player, and audio technica turntable and it works flawlessly. This is my first stereo ever and I am amazed at how much better music can sound. I originally purchased an Apple HomePod but returned it and got this instead and I’m so glad I did. Volume is loud and the bass is perfect. Buy these you won’t regret it!

If you want a great set of speakers that work for a variety of genres, these are hard to beat for the money. I've used the same 2-channel stereo receiver in various applications over the past 20 years, with a wide range of speakers connected. These might be my favorite. These are amazing, and provide a wide sound stage for the size! If you need a quality pair of bookshelf speakers that can take quite a bit of power, I highly recommend these. Sources we use with these include vinyl, Pandora, CDs, FLAC files via a computer w/ an outboard USB DAC. Some considerations- * Give them a few days of break-in to really open up. * If you find that the bass isn't quite doing it for you, pull them away from the wall. The port on the back needs room to breathe. *Isolating them as I've done does help! This is true of any speaker.

For the price, these can't really be beat. The bass is slightly punchier than expected, but you'll still want to pair these with a subwoofer for full sound. I have these connected to the Sony STR-DH190 receiver in the same family, and they work great when I'm playing records from my turntable or when I stream from my phone via Bluetooth. Either way, the sound is fairly richer than youd expect and definitely a bargain at this price point.

I needed stereo speakers in a small room, so I bought them because of the good reviews. I didn't expect much, but I'm very satisfied. Sound like this at this price point is only Sony can do. The sound image is very good($1000 value) and the resolution is also good.($800 value) The sound color is slightly neutral, but enough to satisfy audiophiles if it plays in small room. As all bookshelf speakers, the bass isn't deep, but when paired with a Sony subwoofer, it's a great match.

These are the first new speakers I've bought in perhaps 15 years, after running through set after set of used speakers found online and in local thrift shops. These are good speakers I'd say, but not "excellent", hence the four-star rating. What's good: -Value...when they're on sale -The bass response: Given the size of the woofers, it's pretty darned good--good enough that I don't always run them with a subwoofer -Laid-back mid-range (my personal preference), and articulate, detailed, but not shrill treble (they are NOT bright, despite what you've read elsewhere)...great for digital material like CDs and streaming -The five-way speaker posts are functional and look great -Flat-black finish with minimal cabinet seams looks elegant What's not so good: -Value...at MSRP or within $50 of it -Fit and finish: --A few random spots of errant glue, on cabinet corners and even a little string of it on one of the woofers, which initially made the cone look like it was creased. I was able to carefully remove it, thankfully. --The plastic surrounding the "mid-tweeters" on both speakers has a hairline crack at the exact same place...about 10 o'clock. That it appears on both speakers tells me that this is a manufacturing defect and probably could not be solved by returning the speakers for a new pair. --Screw heads securing speakers are not evenly driven and a few of them look a little worse for wear. It's possible these screws were over-driven and that led to the aforementioned cracks. --Printed/painted "SONY" emblems on both cabinets (not grilles) are slightly off-center and cockeyed...a shame, since the speakers look best with the grilles OFF. --Off-axis treble presentation is not great, but still good...really, this is probably a gripe related more to my listening environment than the speakers. --Mid-range may actually be a little TOO laid back, revealed when listening to material that's focused on vocalists. These speakers probably still have a little more breaking-in to do, and I believe they'll only sound better after they have done so. They do sound better WITHOUT the grilles, which makes the cosmetic defects a little harder to deal with, but for the price I'm willing to tolerate them.

Excellent Quality Sound from these small three-way bookshelf speakers with a 5 in woofer that puts out excellent base it's so superb it sounds like you have a subwoofer out of these tiny little speakers. Here's an overview from Best Buy: Immerse yourself in room-filling sound with these Sony Core Series SSCS5 bookshelf speakers, which feature 5" woofers and 3/4" and 1" tweeters for precise instrument and vocal reproduction and dynamic acoustic depth That's an extremely accurate description of these speakers! Here's the description from Best Buy of how they're constructed: Features 100W maximum power handling Ensures robust, controlled audio. 5" dual-layer, foam, mica-reinforced woofer Uses the upper surface to provide faithful, supple sound and the bottom layer to deliver powerful, tight bass response. 3/4" wide-dispersion super tweeter Along with a 1" tweeter offers ultraresponsive high-frequency audio, so you can enjoy crisp, natural-sounding vocals and other tones. High-quality crossover networks Minimize signal loss to ensure energetic vocal response, reproducing even the most delicate emotional nuances. The networks are mounted directly to the cabinet for efficient vibration isolation. 3-way speaker system Sounds like 1 source rather than several separate sources. Wood, bass-reflex enclosure Along with a cloth grille provides a durable, sturdy design. 53Hz - 50kHz frequency response Ensures a wide range of accurately reproduced sound. 87dB sensitivity (2.83V, 1m) For rich, crisp audio. 6 ohms impedance Efficiently conducts power through the speaker. I purchased these on sale for $75 a pair! That's an extremely deep discount off the $199 a pair! I regret not buying more than two I should have bought four to six of these to fill the room with even more sound! These tiny speakers sound like a full size speaker with a subwoofer! Amazing quality from sony!

This things are SO loud and they have great bass. You will really enjoy having these in your hi-res system. I was pleasantly surprised with the sound I got once I had these plugged into my receiver. They are fairly large - I’d say your regular size stereo shelf speakers. The sound quality is really good for the price and I think they still look alright.

I bought a Sony Bravia TV, which allows one to use its center (in-TV) speaker as the center speaker for a surround system. The TV sounds great for a TV but I wanted a little more of the theater experience. I added two of these speakers for right and left fronts and two 8 inch non-Sony sub-woofers to complement the front center TV speaker. I did not get surround sound rear speakers as i prefer my TV sound to be in front of me. Although I was really only looking for a little better sound than what the TV or a soundbar could produce, I have to say, I am blown away. I have the Core 5s wall-mounted about 5" from the wall. I stuck rolled up socks in the rear ports to soften the mid base. I would say these Core 5s are fine for including in a TV sound system. Would I recommend them for a stand-alone, music sound system? No. But I don't see these speakers as intended for this purpose. These are good speakers for a TV setup. At the sale price I paid for them, $83, they go from good to great.

I have had a home-theater/HIFI set ups since my dad would hand-me-down his old Marantz Quadriles in the early 80’s. So naturally a sound bar is never an option for me. These speakers finally allowed me to replace a pair of crumbling Optimus (RadioShack) bookshelf speakers. I’m very impressed by how affordable and full these sound. I have a 150W sub also connected so their bass is unnoticeable, but the treble and mids match very nicely with my Optimus Center channel. Good looking, wood boxes which hang on my wall with my trusty RadioShack wall mounts, albeit they point upwards a bit since the speaker terminals are so large on their back faces. Good Stuff, affordable set of highly rated (CNET) speakers.

I’m not an audio purist but these speakers sound great for a smallish bookshelf speaker. The lows are well defined with no muddling at all. Highs are very crisp. I am playing vintage vinyl and I am seated only about 10 feet from the speakers.

So after owning second hand and hand me downs, I finally decided to let loose of some money and buy a new system. I was originally going to go with Klipsch, but I’m glad I made this choice instead. I enjoy the mids, and highs the speakers produce (The sound fills our space with no problem. We live in a 1400 soft Townhouse). I spent multiple hours with the “burn in”, and there is a great quality of sound that they reproduce. I purchased four of the towers, a couple bookshelves, and center (I already had a nice subwoofer). I married them up with the Onkyo TX-NR656 (7.2 ch) receiver. As of yesterday I finished off our entertainment area with the Samsung UN65MU8000 television. Everything looks and sounds great!! I would definitely purchase again, and recommend to a friend.

Really nice speakers for the price. I read the reviews online, but still had my doubts about these at this price point. You're stealing when you get these speakers. Great deal, great sound. Paired with Fluance RT-82 turntable through STR-DH190 receiver

I had a surround sound system many years ago. It had speakers in plastic enclosures. Terrible sound. These speakers are in wood (or wood particle) enclosures. And 3-way versus the typical 2-way drivers for most speakers of this size. I bought some speaker stands on Amazon and attached the speakers to them using Gorilla tape so they won't get knocked off. They sound great, but I must admit that as rear speakers, they are mostly being fed "surround sound" rear audio content, which may or may not be full spectrum sound. At least one YouTube reviewer had great things to say about these speakers, so they'd probably work great as front channel speakers, too.

Purchased as an open box unit with virtually no defects whatsoever, these speakers have turned out to be the perfect solution to replacing the lackluster sound coming from my TV. Used with a subwoofer, the resulting stereo soundscape now is ideal for my 11 by 12 foot room with sound levels approaching 80dB at a listening distance of 10 feet. Granted, it took an estimated 20 hours of use for the speakers to really come alive, but I am very pleased with the dramatic improvement to my AV system. Although there are crossover modifications and insulation upgrades recommended by some reputable audio experts to smooth and better manage the frequency response, I plan to wait for awhile before making an added expense that to my non-audiophile ears may not offer a significantly noticeable enhancement to an already great result!

Purchased these speakers to complete our home theater. They have added great balance and quality sound. A great set of speakers for a reasonable price.

A nice upgrade on the surrounding Lt n Rt chaanels of my 7.1 hometheater sys. Definitely louder lol. Quality sounds great. So far so good!

Very easy to set up and use. Sound is very crisp, no issues at all yet. Just wish they were wireless