Customer Ratings & Reviews

Five years ago I bought a pair of Sony B-3000 large 3 way bookshelfs with an 8 in, woofer for $75.00 on sale that my daughter now owns. Now for the price they were quite the rage and Sony was selling a lot of them. I mean, you hear these things and say, "How can I walk away from these nice speeks at this price!" Well, back in 2010, Pioneer's Andrew Jones upped the ante with his curved-side line of speakers with a bookshelf, a center-channel and a small floorstanding models. Andy then reworked them with better drivers and crossovers and these too sold like hotcakes. My opinion of the upgraded model was, "They look great and sound good but where's the detail and depth I was accustomed to hearing with speakers like the original $200 Paradigm Titan? Now, I'm always curious when a monster company like Sony or Pioneer kicks out a new series so I noticed last week online that Sony had a new line of budgets out and since they were in stock at my local store, I picked up a pair fo $219 + tax. I had also listened to the B&W 685's and the gloss rosewood Martin Logan Motion 10's in the Magnolia corner of the store just to update my recollection of the sound of these 2 speakers pairs in their demo room. The 'Motions' were clear and imaged really well but the B&W's just seemed too warm in the vocal range What I liked about the old Sony B-3000's was that they did indeed sound balanced. So did the Andrew Jones'! I listen to a lot of live music and know what a piano and an acoustic guitar should sound like but for some reason the B&W 600's just sounded too warm in the critical midrange frequencies. Actually my Energy RC-10's also have a bit of midrange bloom but not as bad as the B&W's. The Sony Core Series SSCS-5 bookshelves are a 3 way design with the bass port in the rear of the box. They are roughly 13 X 7 X 9 (HWD) with a frequency range of 53-50,000 Hz. Rated sensitivity is 87 db at 1watt/meter @ 6 Ohms, not the most efficient boxes you can find out there. Actually, like the Pioneer AJ's they like a little brawn from a receiver or amplifier. I have the Core 5's hooked up to an older Sony ES DA-555 that can handle difficult loads. I have them mounted on 24 in. metal stands on the long wall of my 16 X 11 daddy's den sized garden-style apartment living room. What Sony refers to as a midrange driver is actually a 1 inch dome supplemented by a 3/4 inch super tweeter. The foam woofer is 5 inches. So, what are you getting for your 220 dollar pair? I'd say much more than can be expected. No 'disappearing speaker' tricks and a huge sweet-spot to wow your friends with. What you will get is a smooth, accurate sound, adequate bass, and midrange and a clear treble. In this case Sony gives you plenty of good sound for a budget price and a sound that doesn't sound budget in the least!

Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know... "Get the Klipsch! Get the Polk Audio!" Well, those brands have some pretty darned tough competition with these Sony's. I listened to all of them in the store, and between that and the online reviews, I went with the Sony's. I have not been disappointed in the least. The 3 way design gives crisp, clean highs and the midrange speaker gives a decent amount of bass for every day listening. I will be adding a small subwoofer to the set up (I have them in my office and do not need anything to get crazy loud or window shaking) to round things out, but I am quite satisfied with just these two speakers hooked up to a 20 year old Sony 5.1 system. I think my favorite thing about them is the rich, warm sound. The Polks and Klipsch bookshelf speakers, to my ears (and everyone is different), were a little hollow and sometimes almost too one dimensional for me. These speakers are fantastic for what I listen to, which is not death metal or rap. LOL Put in some Bob Marley, Xavier Rudd, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, or even Cody Jinks and you will find a nice, balanced, rich sound with plenty of top end clarity and just enough bass to make yourself question whether you need a subwoofer or not. For the money, I seriously doubt you can find a better set of quality bookshelf speakers than these!

I figure most people looking to buy speakers in this price range are like me, looking for an excellent sound quality in an entry+ home theatre without dropping $1000 per speaker. I would also guess that like me the choice between the Sony and the Klipsch can be a tough one. The big difference between the two speakers in my opinion come from what some people call brightness. This is basically the sound of the higher frequencies being more distinctive than from a pair of speakers that are more neutral. I chose the Sony set (these are the surrounds in my 7.2 setup) because they bring excellent detail while creating an "atmosphere" where everything works together more than the brighter Klipsch, which at first sound great and detailed but sound a bit disjointed after awhile and can be harsh to my particular set of ears. While I was watching the Revenant on UHD it was amazing how much that emersive sound added to the movie, as opposed to a different set of speakers that would sound like noise coming from 7 different directions. The one thing I will say: if your receiver has the ability to bump the dialog just a hair, it would be worth doing that. Since the speakers strength is making things sound more like a symphony than a rock concert, the vocals can be swallowed up as part of the atmosphere. Giving a bump to the vocals or a slight boost from the center channel on movies gives it just enough separation to add the desired effect of the mix.

I am totally surprised at the sound quality of these Sony speakers. I had recently purchased some BIC America bookshelf speakers for my family room that sounded fantastic and considered buying another pair to use in my living room. However, after reading some of the reviews on the Sony speakers I thought I would give them a try since the price was comparable to the BIC's. After hooking these Sony speakers up to an older model Pioneer Receiver and playing one of my high quality CD's I was totally blown away. I could not believe their clarity and response. I was surprised that Sony could make a set of bookshelf speakers sound this good. I could go into much more detail about my experience with these speakers but the bottom line is that for the money you can't go wrong. I highly recommend to anyone looking for some very reasonably priced bookshelf speakers. If you want some really deep base to go with these speakers I recommend the Sony powered sub-woofer. This combination will provide you with a very good sounding setup.

I decided to purchases a pair of these while on sale, just to test if my cats would mess with bookshelf speakers, knock over, damage, etc. before spending big money on a real nice pair. After unhooking my Monitor Audio Bronze towers and hooking these up, I was dumbfounded.. Right out of the box, no real difference in sound. Had the same airy, sweet highs of the MA's C-Cam tweeters as well as the smooth, uncolored mids of the MA's midwoofer. Bass was surprising as well being taught and full without the cheap cabinet, boomy, muddy bass I was expecting. My jaw dropped to the floor as I sat there just after a few hours of run in time. I couldn't believe my ears.. I have them paired to a couple of Emotiva mono blocks with a Rega Cursa 3 preamp. All Straightwire cabling. If you're on a budget and want a really good pair of bookshelf speakers, try a pair of these. You will not be dissapointed. I don't think that I will be looking for replacements anytime soon..

I'm using these speakers as an upgrade to the tiny satellite speakers found in my Yamaha Home Theater System YHT-399UBL. I also got the Sony Core center speaker and together they now make up the front left, center, and right of my 5.1 speaker setup (other speakers are still the Yamaha supplied ones). The sound quality from these speakers is excellent for the money, size, and for my purposes (watching BD movies, Netflix streaming, console gaming, and some HD cable TV watching). Music also sounds great, though I don't use it much for that (unless you count music in movies and games). One thing worth mentioning is right now the sub woofer I'm using is not able to compete with these speakers too well and so the low end seems to be lacking vs. the mid range and high end. That's not a fault of these speakers, just the sub woofer's limitations (50 watts RMS, 8-inch driver). So, I'll need to upgrade the sub woofer so that the low end can match the great mid range and high end these Sony Cores can provide. For that, I'm looking at the Dayton Audio SUB-1200, which sells for around $125 and has 120 watts RMS and a long throw 12-inch driver.

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.

The engineers at Sony Corporation have been on a roll lately. I just finished reading the review of their STR DN1050 receiver in Sound & Vision magazine. The reviewer concluded that article saying that based on its features and its unusually good sound quality, the Sony was now his number one pick for receivers in its price bracket. I purchased these Sony speakers on a whim having read good things about them on the net. Let me just sum up by saying that the makers of other affordable audiophile speakers just got some major competition (think PSB, Paradigm, Music Hall)!. This is no joke friends, these speakers are the real deal. Like the reviewer said in that online review, this is one of the rare affordable speakers capable of conveying the "texture" of music. Audiophile speakers can now be purchased brand new for $220 a pair. Unbelievable but true!

After trying several different brands of speakers for my Onkyo A9050 integrated amplifier, I decided to try the new Sony hi-res bookshelf speakers. The result was full range sound with good detail and dynamics. Somebody had posted a comment online saying that these are an answer to Pioneer's Andrew Jones series of speakers targeting the budget oriented buyer. These speakers are way better than the Pioneer SP-BS41 that I own. Sure, I paid twice as much for the Sony but it was worth it. The pioneer speakers I can describe as dull, missing detail. The Klipsh speakers I also own just sound harsh, no matter what amp I use. The sony speakers have a balanced sound. You simply need to hear it. I highly recommend these speakers , especially with a better amplifier.

For all of my adult life I have been a fan of Sony products. These wonderful little speakers are my latest purchase and are deeply discounted for Black Friday 2017. My living space is small and bookshelf speakers are a must. These deliver crisp, dynamic sound and make my whole music collection -- everything from cassettes and LP's to MP3's and streaming -- sound brand new. They have removable grilles with the distinctive Sony badge and are unremarkable in design, just a black box but one good feature are the screw terminals where you feed the wire through a hole in the bolt and screw the red or black cap down onto it. This is much better than the ones where you either curl the wire around a screw and tighten it down or push a spring-loaded black or red button and then must feed the wire through a hole. So, if you're like me and you like great sound but are short on both space and funds, these SSCS5 speakers are an outstanding value.

I bought a pair of these to replace my L & R front speakers for my 5.2 home theater. They replaced a pair of Martin Logans and are better in every way. They sound so good that I bought another pair and I use one of those as my center (laid down on its side). A tremendous value for a home theater application provided you have a decent sub. I very rarely listen to music on this system, when I have it has never occurred to me that they are either great or not great for that. In general speakers for music should be a bit "warmer" but when those kinds of speakers are used for home theater things just sound muddy. If you are looking for home theater speakers that still sound decent for music then I HIGHLY recommend these Sony Cores.

I was tossed up between these and the polk t15's. the polks sounded amazing and I may pick up a pair to accent these. the on floor display of the Sony's didnt make it possible to hear just the bookshelf speakers. only the whole sony setup of towers, bookshelfs and sub. so I took a chance and I am not regretting it. they were more than the polks but I like the 3 way speaker design better. they sound awesome. very full sound, highs are crystal clear. I can hear things in my music that I've never heard before with my old sony/klipsch speaker setup! size was also a factor in why I wanted bookshelf speakers. although the polks were smaller these still in the size range that I needed. construction quality is great. they look as good as they sound too! great choice these were!

Bought these along to upgrade from Yamaha satellite speakers I had hooked to Sony STRDH720 7.1 Channel 3D AV Receiver and Samsung Ultra HD 4KTV UN60KU6300FXZA. A little bigger than expected, but great accompanied with Polk PSW505 sub and matching set Sony center speaker SSCS8. Clear as day, crisp sound, with great highs and lows. Had no complaints with old Yamaha center, satellite speakers, and sub previously had, but this set up blows it out the water!! Better more complete quality sound. Keep in mind these are bookshelf speakers and a decent size. Using them as left and right speakers on VIVO stands. Quality sound without having to overpay..

These Sony CS5 bookshelf speakers are really top notch. I was a bit skeptical of the positive reviews I had read, but I was looking for a pair of bookshelf speakers and decided to give these a try. I also ordered a pair of Q Acoustics Concept 20 bookshelf speakers and compared the sound of the two sets back and forth. The Concept 20s edged out the Sony Cores, but not by much, and the Concept 20s cost over twice as much (actually four times as much because I caught a great deal on Best Buy for the Sonys). I kept the Concept 20s, but I also kept the Sony CS5 speakers for my office. They are too good to return. I was impressed with the full, clear sound of the Sony speakers. The bass is very acceptable, especially for bookshelf speakers, and the mids and highs are clear. Add a small subwoofer, and the Sony Cores shine even more.

I went to the Best Buy store to listen to these speakers. Unfortunately, Best Buy had a song playing where all the speakers sounded the same. Because I have a SONY shelf system, I got the SONY speakers. Of course, there were none in the store. I ordered them to be delivered to the store to save shipping. Did not know shipping is free for over $35 and was not told this. I made a trip to the store and picked them up yesterday, opened them today, no cords. Called the store, waited like forever when someone came on the phone. Was told most people know you have to buy speaker cord separate. Hello - do I know this? NO!!!! It is very hard for me to get around. It would have been NICE if someone could have told me the cords did not come with the speakers. I have not decided if I will take the speakers back for a refund. Getting them back to the store will be hard for me. Everyone is not able bodied!

I'm rebuilding my home sound system piece-by-piece after losing my previous Bose system in a divorce. I bought these to couple with a Sony receiver I bought last year and I'm not disappointed. They provide really good sound while I'm waiting to add a sub, center and surround channels. My original thought was that I'd move these to the rear channels and buy high end speakers for the front channels, but after hearing them I'm seriously considering keeping these on the front channels. And though these are only rated down to 50 Hz, they produce enough base that I don't feel any great pressure to add the sub, though it will come eventually.

I just got back into collecting records and needed a nice set of speakers to set on my desk but not break the bank. I went into Best Buy to look at a set of $99 Polks and after comparing the two brands I went with the Sonys even though they were $150. I wanted a set of small speakers that could deliver crisp highs and nice tight mid bass and enough bottom end that I would not need a sub. These little jewels fit the bill perfectly. Even though my receiver only has bass and treble controls I can still get a very nice sound out of these speakers. I think while they are on sale I am going to upgrade my surround speakers for my home theater.

Had purchased an $800 sound system for television viewing a few years back. Was never really happy with the speakers. Good on lows by terrible on highs. Have slowly been replacing them over the years. My latest additions were these Sony speakers. My goal, to be able to listen to a movie dialogue without constantly having to adjust the sound up and down because of low volume dialogue and overbearing sfx sounds. The Sony's did a great job by bringing out more of the high-frequency sounds, such as whispers and generally higher female voices. Not the best speakers for music I've ever owned, but I didn't spend over a thousand dollars for the pair, either. Will probably purchase another set for the rear speaker set, soon.

I got a Sony 5.1 receiver for Christmas to replace my 30 year old stereo receiver. I bought these speakers originally to use as rears, but they sound so much better than my old Bose 201s I decided to use them as fronts. The bass is surprisingly good for 5 inch woofers, but I do have an old Yamaha powered sub that gives me a little more thump. I was afraid that these speakers would sound too bright, or harsh since they have the super-tweeters, but they don't. They sound very crisp and balanced with good mid-range and adequate bass. Someday, I will get the towers for fronts and move these to the rear, but for now I am very happy with the sound of my inexpensive system.

I went to my local BB to get replacement speakers for our main entertainment system as the old ones finally were done with. I didn't know what I was going to get, but I knew how much I wanted to spend, at least ballpark-wise. After looking at a few options, a BB Representative came to assist me and pointed out these speakers and their great sound. I then compared them to models that cost about $100 more for a set and these blew them away. The real test is getting them home and hearing them in my space. Even better. I'm not an audiophile by any means, but I know when something sounds good. These are awesome. I would buy them again.