Customer Ratings & Reviews

After enjoying a new pair of these 2025 "Hi-Res" Sony CS Speakers for a few weeks in a modern 'HiFi' stereo setup, I bought another pair! These 3-way bookshelf speakers' are sonically accurate and at 6Ω impedance are relatively easy to drive. HIghs and mids are richly clear and detailed; bass reproduction is all one can expect from a speaker of this size. Given their 5" woofers and... physics, you won't get the DEEP bass without adding a well-adjusted subwoofer, but with proper placement they handle bass very well on their own down to 60Hz or so (Sony seems conflicted on their lowest frequency response level - see pic :-). It makes me happy that there are truly high-value passive speakers like this today to go along with all the supporting high-value hifi components now available. One can now build stereo system for under $1000 that delivers measurable performance values that vendors of $20K systems in the 90s would've bragged about.

For the price point, these speakers have a great sound. Clean highs with a nice depth of bass. I'm pushing 100 watts per channel and they respond well. I was pleasantly surprised at how good these sound on low volume or cranked up. They look great and are a nice addition to my setup. The feet do not come with them. I put those on to reduce the vibration going to the turntable. If you are on the fence, don't be. You will not be disappointed.

Impressive sound for a great price on an open box deal!! Thank you Best Buy!!

These are speakers by choice and exfellent in performance.

The Sony CS 3 way speakers area a great entry point for those that want premium home audio without spending a lot of money. They have excellent sound in all ranges while being relatively affordable in regards to how much home audio systems cost. Pros - Great sound at all volume levels I was willing to test (I let it get very loud, but didn't max out my receiver) - Great Connectors - Removable grill Cons - A little taller than I would have liked The build quality of these is very good. The speaker box itself is wood as one would expect, with a black wood grain finish. I had no knicks or dings on these when removing them from the box, and the packaging was good to make sure they didn't get damaged in shipping. One thing I would have liked for these though is built in ability to wall mount. Unfortunately there is no mounting hardware with these so going 3rd party would be your only option. I had originally wanted these for my front speakers that reside on my actual bookshelves, but unfortunately these are too tall so I had to keep my other speakers there and used these as surround speakers instead. Installation was very simple and it was plug and play with my JVL receiver. No further configuration was required and surround sound simply worked. Overall a very good budget friendly home audio solution

Listened to the Cheap Audio Man and he's right. These speakers produce a great sound and at a good price. Paired with our STR-DH190 stereo amp, ran A/B testing against our floor speakers that weight several times as much and these hold up surprisingly well. The sound is very clear and dynamic. Listening from classical to classic rock and things in between, as long as your music doesn't require unnatural amounts of bass, these speakers sound very natural and clear. Listening to a remaster of Pink Floyd's Time, one can appreciate a lot of detail with these. Or the sweet vibration of a violin, anything I play with this sounds very natural. Speakers are rated by Sony as for "High-Resolution Audio", so it can reproduce analog audio from 24 bit recording with an expected good fidelity. I'm pleasantly surprised how well these can keep up with our much larger speakers, and maintain clarity at higher volumes. These speakers have a no-frills exterior design, just a well made acoustic box for the speakers. Removing the grille, the three-speaker configuration is beautifully exposed. The acoustic box works great. I can feel from the back the amount of air it moves. On the back the is a single set of posts for the speaker cable. The posts are nice and can handle thick cables. Overall, a very enjoyable speaker set.

TLDR: The Sony SSCS5M2 offer a lot of performance for the money. Clear highs and a decent bottom end make for some well rounded speakers. PROS Soft Dome Tweeter & Super Tweeter Rubber Surrounds Decent Low End for such small drivers CONS Power Hungry Super Tweeter Seems Unnecessary LISTENING EXPERIENCE When it comes to buying a set of speakers, peoples' opinions are sure to annoy someone. What one person thinks is great, the next may totally disagree. Opinions are like elbows, everybody's got at least one. I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the SSCS5M2's and popped off the cloth grille for the first time. Unlike many other manufacturers' speakers, the SSCS5M2's use soft dome tweeters and super tweeters. This is a huge win in my book. Aside from one unnamed manufacturer, I prefer soft domes over hard domes nearly any day of the week. The SSCS5M2's are no exception. Hard dome tweeters or super tweeters would have ruined the sound quality of these speakers. They would have been far too harsh and brash. However, including an excellent set of laid back soft domes in the SSCS5M2's make Sony's newest product sound out. Highs are not cripplingly bright. The laid back nature of soft dome tweeters fit the acoustics of the SSCS5M2 nicely. The SSCS5M2's do their best with only having 5.12" inches of bass driver to work with. I was surprised at the bass response from such a small set of bookshelf speakers mated to small bass drivers. The SSCS5M2's have a nice punch to them that rarely leaves you wanting even with the deepest R&B or rap songs. While they are no replacement for a powered subwoofer or quality set of power towers, the SSCS5M2's have a very nice low frequency extension that allows the speakers to go just deep enough to keep you from feeling like you are missing out on something in a soundtrack. DISLIKES I've never been a fan of employing a super tweeter in a speaker set-up. If you look at nearly all high-end speakers, very few, if any, employee a super tweeter. They just aren't needed. The SSCS5M2's border on this as well. Sony throws up their specs as having a frequency response of 53Hz - 50kHz. That sounds amazing! However, what most may not know is that human hearing signs off at about 20kHz. Anything above this frequency is inaudible to human ears and I don't know of any playback material that utilizes frequencies above 20kHz. Why would it, if you cannot hear it? Touting a response to 50kHz is nothing more than marketing lingo, especially when you look at the specs and see the crossover for the super tweeter is set at 17kHz. Sound is thin sounding in the upper octaves, but the soft domes keep that thinness in check without it being brash and harsh. If these would have had hard dome tweeters, it would have completely ruined the sound. Second. I don't like the fact that Sony hasn't released the sensitivity rating of the speakers, only the impedance. Not that it's deal breaker by any means, but the SSCS5M2's seem to have a fairly low sensitivity and love power. As you can see from the photos in my review, I'm driving them with a high-current Denon AVR with a true toroidal transformer for its power supply. The SSCS5M2's don't start coming alive until -30dB or above. Quite a bit higher than other speakers I have in my collection. However, once you get the volume cranked up a little the SSCS5M2's do come alive, just know that you will want ample power reserves to make the SSCS5M2's sound their best. FINAL THOUGHTS If reading this review, please remember that I fully admit that I am a self-described audio snob. Whether it be headphones, Bluetooth speakers, or home speakers, they have to perform excellently and/or offer tremendous value to get some form of recognition from me. The Sony SSCS5M2's do just that. They offer excellent sound quality at a very attractive price point. Are they audiophile quality? No. The upper end is very thin sounding, but even so, it is crisp and detailed. While the small bass driver can't reach down to the vaunted 20Hz, it does just fine with a 53Hz lower limit. The SSCS5M2's have a lot going for them. Crisp, clean sound coupled with a decent bottom end, makes it really hard to find much fault with these. The SSCS5M2's make a great set of small bookshelf speakers, or if so inclined, can become your L & R or surround speakers in a home theater set-up. Sony has created a line of speakers around the SSCS5M2's. They offer timbre matched center channel speakers, as well as up-firing Atmos enabled speakers. Offering sound quality far superior to any soundbar or home theater-in-a-box set-ups, SSCS5M2's should be on your list of auditions. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Overall, I like these speakers because they produce a clear and balanced sound. They are the perfect replacement for my rear left and right surround channels. The 5-inch woofer provides the right amount of lows to complement the mid and highs. The addition of the top tweeter allows the speaker to reproduce higher frequencies beyond the 50,000 Hz range, therefore allowing it to meet the high-resolution audio standard. Even though our ears cannot hear tones above 20,000 Hz, the additional frequency response allows for a more linear response within the audible range. This means that the speakers reproduces all sound frequencies at their original, intended volumes without emphasizing or muting any specific range. Thus, making it the perfect speaker for my home theater system. While I will be using these speakers for my rear surround channels, I also tested them as standalone stereo speakers. Compared to my full-range floor standing speakers, these bookshelf speakers were comparable in clarity and range in the mid and highs. As for the lows, these speakers produce a good base note, but don’t expect them to reproduce the lows found in a larger woofer; they are only rated down to 45 Hz. In spite of this, they still produce great sound when used in a stereo setup. Add a subwoofer and you’ll have high quality sound with additional lows. This same subwoofer will complement these speakers when used as your primary speakers in a home theater system. The speakers are very much capable of being the main drivers in a surround sound system. The only con I found when listening to the speakers, sometimes the sound can be too bright if you’re standing directly in front of the speakers. So, like with any speaker, it’s important how you position them in your setup. Make sure there is proper distance between the speakers, as well as some room behind the speakers. And if it’s still too bright for your taste, simple adjustments to treble and bass will balance everything out. In a stereo setup, I personally wouldn’t use these speakers without a subwoofer. But in a home theater system, these speakers are a perfect choice for clear and balanced sound. Pros: Hi-Res Audio, decent bass, well-made cabinet, accepts banana plugs (see pic) Cons: lacking deep base, sound can be bright at times

The Sony CS 3-way bookshelf speakers feel like throwbacks to classic bookshelves. There’s nothing really fancy, but it’s a good set to start with and build on. Like most bookshelves the lack of sub-bass was immediately noticeable, but that’s kind of expected. The vocals and highs are where these need to shine and they do fairly well in that regard. The highs don’t get shrill and the vocals are clear and natural. It’s a clean sound that I can appreciate and pairs very well with a subwoofer. For music I’d say it needs a subwoofer, but I like my bass. However, I liked them much better during home theater use where their vocal performance gets to shine. Overall, if you’re looking for an entry level pair of bookshelf speakers the Sony CS 3-ways are a good place to start. I highly recommend pairing them with a subwoofer to fill out the bottom end, in which case they sound great with all mediums. A few more details below. SOUND Good high and vocal performance, but lacking low end bass. As expected by most entry level bookshelf speakers. For music I needed to add a sub to enjoy them, but they really shined as a pair of standalone stereo speakers for home theater. Vocals are clean and I appreciate the clarity of dialogue. They offer a good sound, however the sound stage felt a bit narrow. DSP processing like Dolby Atmos or adjusting the speaker placement can help with that, but it’s also a highly subjective opinion. The only thing I’d say these really need is a subwoofer to pair with them. DESIGN Classic bookshelf speaker looks and design. The banana plug speaker posts are a nice touch and about as “extra” as these get. I wish the removable speaker grills had a grid behind them to protect the speakers better from contact so place them high up if you have little kids. Overall, it’s a basic bookshelf speaker design that should blend in with most decor. The cabinets feel well built and should hold up a long time if taken care of. PROS - Well built - Banana plug posts - Clear vocals - Smooth highs and mids - Pairs well with a sub - Liked more for home theater than music - Music performance needs a subwoofer CONS - Lacks low end bass - Highs are clear, but nothing spectacular - “Narrow” soundstage

This is simply one of the best speaker I had heard. Started hearing all different high notes which I had not heard prior from the usual music I used to listen. Total sound is more pronounced on high end/treble and you might need a subwoofer if you want deep bass. Aesthivally this does not look that great and can easily get dings and scratches.Anyways sound does have an organic signature which I used to get only during old days with a high stereo cassette system. Love it and give it a try. By the way I had polk xt15 prior which I felt was more flat

I'm not an audiophile, but I really like listening to music. I paired these Sony CS5M2 3-way bookshelf speakers with a few different receivers, finally settling on an older Marantz running two channel direct. Although some albums and CDs sounded better on a Denon receiver with these speakers, overall most of the music I have sounds good through these speakers on the Marantz. I would not trade them for my vintage JBL monitor speakers though. I bought these on sale and am happy with what I got for the price I paid. When sitting about 6-8 feet from these speakers, the sound is really good. However, they do not fill a big room. I have found that there are different instruments these speakers seem to pick up well that I had not noticed from other speakers. This is a really nice surprise.

Excellent speaker especially for the size. Nice loud projection. crisp sound and overall the best brand I know.

They sound nice. I like that they aren't extremely large. Good set of bookshelf speakers for someone with a beginner setup.

I am excited to hook up these upgraded bookshelf speakers as I have the older style that took a tumble off the stand due to small children/pets rough housing in my man cave. I was pleased with the older style but was impressed with the improvements listed over the previous version.

I paired them with the Sony STR-DH190 receiver for a simple music setup in my bedroom and they sound great. Definitely better than a TCL soundbar that I would use for listening to music. Not an audiophile, but Ive enjoyed Sony's products through the years and these speakers are no exception. Definitely would recommend them if your looking for something that will give good sound in a small/medium sized space.

Great speakers for the price. Small and compact sound is crystal clear

I own 4 pairs of these 3 way speakers. These were open box and in perfect condition. They are excellent 7.2 and/or 9.2 surrounds. For the money these have the best sound of all the small speakers I own. There are 4 rooms in my home with surround systems from a small 5.1 up to a 9.2 with 8 subs and 4,500 Watts of professional amplification.

These speakers have a very good amount of bass knowing the woofers aren’t huge, compared to my last set they had bigger woofers but less bass. My last set only had 1 tweeter, these having 2 really helps bring out every sounds when gaming, listening to music, and watching movies/videos.

They sound great! And while a sub is necessary to get the full range, these still perform well without one, which is pretty sick. For an entry level stereo system, these are a fantastic option and will probably carry you through a few upgrades to other components before you consider replacing them.

Good solid sound Speakers. Medium size, but packs a punch. Turn up the bass.