TL;DR: Amazing speakers, definitely recommended! Fantastic service from Best Buy! You need a separate amplifier since these are not self-powered, and they are sold individually (not the pair). Background: I have a lot of audio equipment; music has always been a key part of my life and my journey with music equipment started when I was merely 5 years old. I've always found fascinating the way that music is converted from any type of media into actual sound through speakers. I've had the opportunity to experience a vast number of speakers in both home and car audio environments. Quest: Having lived in both houses and apartments, I've always tried to get the best sounding speakers I can have without either breaking the bank or getting out of hand regarding physical space and boundaries. I've always liked my music to be loud and clear, and for it to provide that wow factor every time you listen to your music. It has been hard to find the right balance of quality, power and fidelity. Opinion: The Sony SS-CS3 tower speaker offers an incredible value for our hard-earned money. It has an outstanding acoustic balance, with crisp highs, defined mids and punchy, deep lows. It will, of course, not go down to sub-woofer frequencies because, well, that's what a sub-woofer is for, but it will give you a fantastic reproduction of the low-frequencies sounds with a powerful bass level that won't sound distorted or saturated. The soundstage is amazing, and it has the plus of having a frontal bass port, which allows you to place the speakers close to the walls, in corners, or wherever you may want; your room becomes your playground, you can practically place them anywhere you want or need, and the sound delivered will be amazing. I use them in my room, with a very simple setup. I have a small LG stereo system that has radio, CD and Bluetooth, and the speakers it came with were not very powerful. I also have a Turntable hooked to the stereo using the Aux input to listen to my vinyl records, both new and old. I wasn't sure if these speakers would be too much for that small LG stereo, so I bought one first; I hooked it up, and I was blown away by the sound I was getting. I went right back to BestBuy to get the other one, and I couldn't be happier. My music collection is very wide, with pretty much every genre you could think of. The dynamic range of these speakers really blew me away, because normally some genres are more demanding or unforgiving than others; with these, I have found that all of my records, CDs, and bluetooth streaming sound great. Three of the music genres that I've found more demanding for speakers due to their dynamic range are hard rock (errr Heavy Metal, Death Metal, Punk Rock), classical music and Jazz. All of these three sound amazing through these speakers. I'm sure there are some other, more expensive speakers that will sound a little better, and I think that's the key word, a *little* better, but for the price, performance, looks and form factor of these Sony tower speakers, I think my quest is complete. I can definitely recommend these speakers to those who are looking for that balance of price, looks and performance; I know these are the speakers that have finally given me the perfect music experience I was looking for, and I know they will last for ages (more about this down below). SHOUT-OUT TO BEST BUY: I found these particular speakers to be available through different vendors, the two most popular being Best Buy and Amazon. With the latter I could get next-day shipping to my door, convenient but not ideal to my particular case because once I make my mind on getting something, the sooner the better. Best Buy had the speakers for me to just go there and pick them up, they even took the boxes out to my car in a designated parking spot, which was fantastic. I just got there, parked, opened my trunk, and bam! the associate was there with the box on a dolly and helped me load the box in my car's trunk. Same thing one hour later when I bought the second speaker, different associate, same fantastic shopping experience! Conclusion: I think this is it! I think this is the perfect speaker for my needs. Even if in the future I change my amp or overall setup, these speakers are the ones to have! I love their sound, quality, sturdiness and looks. My quest is complete :D

Excellent price quality ratio. impressive sound on a budget speaker. You can’t believe 5 inch woofer deliver this amount of bass. Highs are very detailed and vivid. Enough power handling for small to medium rooms.

I’d consider myself an average movie watching person that appreciates good sound but I’m not fancy enough to care or understand the details that advanced audiophiles rant and/or rave about. I think most people are like that. I imagine if you’re shopping for Sony Core Series speakers, you’re probably like that too. I’m here to tell you that buying these is a great idea. I purchased these floorstanding speakers alongside all the other Sony Core Series speakers when they were on sale on Memorial Day to quickly create a budget 5.1.2 Atmos setup for my movie nights. Some speakers were purchased open box, which were cheaper, and put the total 5.1.2 speaker setup cost at $497. I figured at that price point I can’t complain if it sounds subpar, and it wouldn’t financially hurt much to fully replace them down the road with something fancier if I so desired. However, after having used the setup for around 2 months through countless movies and video games, I am absolutely in love. These are the definition of punching above their weight. Now, again, I’m not fancy enough to tell you the details of how and why these are so great; I could throw around audio terminology all day but you and I both know I would be talking out of my butt. It’s simple: these provide an auditory experience beyond my normal-person needs. My home has become an exciting and engaging movie-viewing hotspot for all friends and family, and that’s what it’s all about.

I recently upgraded my home entertainment system from a 5.1 to a 7.1. I had 6 Paradigms (4 wall mounted, a center and a sub). I did a lot of research, I mean a LOT in order to get the best value for the money. I checked all the big names (Bose, Klipsch, Paradigm, JBL, you name it). Although there are vast differences in prices, excluding unconventional systems) a speaker is a speaker. I've bought many, re.coned, repaired/replaced drivers, replaced surrounds, upgraded crossover networks, horns, subs, everything, The specification sheet will tell you everything about a speaker except how it sounds in a given cabinet. Different speaker configurations require different cabinet configurations. I wanted a tower that was relatively small but had a big sound with rich low end. These filled the bill and then some. At the time I was looking, Best Buy had just put these on sale for $199 apiece. Suffice to say, they sound as good if not better than speakers at 3 times that price. No disappointments here. They sound as good at low volume as they do at higher gain. These cabinets and speakers are very well matched and sound great in the entertainment room. If you can get them at a good price...DO IT! Added bonus...the plants seem to really like the music and are growing nicely!

Zero complaints. These Sonys sound great paired wirh my Pioneer VSX-935. Good highs and mids. Bass is fine but I have a 12” hard hitting sub so doesnt matter. Clean overall design. Easy to unpack. Good banana plug connectors. Wish the grills were magnetic.