5 Reasons NOT to Buy the Sony SS-CS5s

The Sony SS-CS5s are highly regarded amongst the audiophile community, but are they deserving of all the hype? I've got 5 reasons as to why you may not want to buy them, along with some good alternatives.

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Other speakers to consider:

This video has 55 dislikes.

[agustinduenas]

Good speakers, especially at the $73 price I paid for them on Amazon. I added a subwoofer and have a music system that sounds great at relatively low cost. These Sony's require less power than the Elacs and sound more dynamic and exciting without creating fatigue in long listening sessions. I'm happy with my purchase.

[jonathanr]

Respectfully, I do not ever listen to the appearance of any speaker. Having performed with symphonic orchestras in the U.S. and some of the most renowned concert halls of Europe, I can attest to the extremely high sonic quality of the SSCS-5 speakers. My ears have always been faithful. I still enjoy peak experiences anytime the mood strikes me with the SSCS-5 speakers with reasonably competent sources. Just saying.

[ConnahJay]

I made my girlfriend buy them for her home system when they were on sale for $90 from best buy... we both love them and it's great she has something so well regarded to listen to her music on.

[Cakebattered]

Given the amount of documented crossover upgrades available, even if purchased for $200/pr, and an $50 for crossover components, they measure better than anything close to their price range.

[camiloramirezphoto]

I got, elac, Klipsch, neumis, jamo, and other speakers under $200, and for me the best of all of them are the Sony CS5. Is real that needs luck depends on where you are to place them, and with the room where you are going to hear music. But they are very solid. have decent electronics, and very good quality drivers. in some situations (Big rooms or placed right in the wall) they will need a subwoofer, but the clarity, resolution and balance of that Sony's are simply amazing. I have 2 pairs and i'm in the middle of a project to change (modify) the crossover of one pair, and let me tell you that in my first test with the great quality of the existent parts of the speakers they sound even better than some in the range of 600 -1500 US dollars that I have ( the base improves a LOT, the soundstage and the balance are even better. I inverted almost 180 dollars on that project and I get them for 75 dollars a couple of years ago), but sounds better than a way more expensieve Elac uni-fi, Elac refence, Wharfedale or Klipsch RP-600M. in every aspect any can compete with my modify CS5's.But even stock I think that if you get them for 100 dollars on sale and get a cheap subwoofer as the polk audio (120 dollars), elac sub 1010 (130 dollars) or even the 90 dollars monoprice subwoofer, for just 200 - 250 dollars, you get a great sound system than only can compare with bookshelfs over 500 dollars. esthetics? mm well it depends. i found the jamo;s too fake in the wood part for me, They aren't to be in a design magazines, but with that sound quality, are more than good for me. They sounds great and with the grills on are pretty enough. As someone says before, get a mic tripod and also one for the camera ;) Regards!

[AmericanConstellation]

I bought some for 80 bucks. I wish I had bought two sets at that price. Believe me, I have some high end speakers. These things for 80 bucks are fun to listen to.

[prestonf]

I have these speakers and they sound really good. They are definitely worth even the full price.

[ibassnote]

Love the 1970’s news report style of this video! Amazing!

[warrenbailey]

FYI Just remember the use of a subwoofer is to take all frequencies below 60-70 hz regardless of the base response of the speaker - That being said if the main speakers go be 50hz you might go without a sub longer but in time try to add a sub that has a 32-20hz range cross over at 80-90 hz to best support your speakers ( experiment with Full Range or LFE+Main )

[LawofAxis]

Sound great with a good amp and a sub. At this price they don't hurt to try out. Good points on alternatives without needing a sub. At times, they sound even magical. But, if I'm being honest, it took a lot of pampering to get a sound I was really consistently pleased with. I have mine connected to a $600 amp, $300 sub and sitting on top of sand-filled speaker stands. The mids can be very snappy which make for good acoustic and voice reproduction. My major gripe, after all the setup, has to be the lack of mid base. It is nearly not existent.

[CannibalRitual]

Thanks, Grant. That these speakers might have decent clarity and detail is promising to me, but just how lacking in bass are they? Like say, could they still rumble a room if you listened to Electric Wizard with 'em?

[philm]

I have the Sony and Pioneer speakers. Both delightful to listen to. Sony are detailed and lively. A little bit of power, with a couple days of break-in, and they sound exceptionally good. I’m waiting for the next sale to pick up a second set (gave the first to my son). Subwoofer is truly not necessary.
Nice review. Thanks!

[therevrockinrollin]

Dude, I have 5 reasons why I need that microphone. Where did you get it? Love review.

[bobbybo]

Like a lot of people, curiosity got the best of me after watching all the glowing reviews of the Sony SS CS5 speakers. They absolutely blew me away, not expecting the level of quality they possessed. I firmly believe that every link in the audio system chain from your source (Vinyl, CD, streaming) plays an important part in what comes out of the speaker. I am lucky to have accumulated a very inexpensive nondescript system that sounds fantastic. These speakers present a very well balanced sound, clarity and soundstage and a very competent bass. I heard someone say if I want to see what my system can do bass wise, to buy Adele's latest cd and play track number 8 "All Night Parking". Not being the biggest Adele fan, I did, again out of curiosity. I have these speakers on tables just shy of two feet high and one and a half feet from the wall. My listening point is about 11 feet away. At a very comfortable listening level, the bass literally vibrated up through the sofa I sit and listen on when I played this track. So I have to laugh when I hear people comment "they're a little weak on bass" or "for a speaker in this price range". Sony really nailed it!

[SuperRhondalynn]

I just recently bought the Sony's new and paired them with a used Denon DRA-435 receiver. I like them a lot. You say to have at least a foot from the wall. I have them on a self in a bookcase but out about 8 inches. How important is placement, would I hear that much difference?

[DustinHaning]

There's lots of talk online about doing crossover upgrades on this speaker. GR Reasearch sells a kit, but it's $480. You can buy plans to build your own from Neil Blanchard for $20, parts are around $100 depending on which parts you get. Hard to say if the time and cost is worth just getting better speakers, but worth considering.

[benkrake]

I have had my my time with cheap speakers. Have a 5.1 Yamaha speaker package, which I paid $600.00 AUD for (including the subwoofer) the speakers need the sub to get full range. Upgraded the front speakers to a pair of Sherwood Alto 620 bookshelf speakers, which I paid $140 AUD for. I used them for a few years, but felt like I was still lacking in audio quality. The a few years back, I upgraded again to the Dynaudio Emit M20 bookshelf speakers, which retailed for $1299.00 AUD, but I paid $1050.00 AUD for them. I tell you what, I have never been happier! Don’t need a subwoofer with these speakers. Plenty of low end punch, smooth laid back sound, but still has the clarity and sparkle on the top end. Definitely worth the money!

[Blankity_Blankk]

You bring up a really good point. People sell the bs-22 pioneers used all the time. I wonder why...


In my living room, i use the fs-52s 'two front, two rear' and 4 bs-22s hanging from the ceiling with chains for Atmos. 'then 8 JBL 12" subs in a hovereze couch 🤣'

Would you say it's worth switching over to the sscs5? Or kinda rediculous?

[makarov]

To make these speakers sound much much better: simply cut the 10mfg capacitor off the crossover circuit board. That component is killing the mid-range. Then reverse the wires on that circuit board that go to the super tweeter, as they are installed backwards at the factory by mistake. Mine sound much much better now!!

[elliotdennis]

I bought the Sony for $63 when they were on sale from Amazon brand new