I've owned lots of high end speakers and these can beat many of them. Bass is solid, not boomy and fairly extended, for a 5 inch woofer, no a few can beat it but most cannot. Midrange is great, smooth, warm and clear which really surprised me, but what really surprised me was the high end. Looking at those two tweeters I figured I'd have to cover up the super tweeter because it would be too bright but that wasn't the case. I will admit that I can't hear much above 14K but I doubt that's a problem as no one else has complained about that. Someone on line complained the bass wasn't that great but they placed the speakers 8-10 feet from the back wall in a very large room, no 5 inch woofer is going to give you big bass, even a 6.5 inch woofer will suffer in that situation. The overall sound of these is a well balance presentation that is very pleasing, nothing pushes it way to the front, this places this speaker at the front of the pack in the under $700 pack, maybe even some more expensive than that. PS I listen on a tube preamp and solid state amp in a 15'x12' room so if you have a harsh solid state receiver you may get a different presentation. At these prices on eBay nothing comes close, I've recommended these to anyone I can. Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Speakers sound excellent regardless of the price they go for. When I plug them into my system (source & amp) that is over $2k and has an active subwoofer worth about $600 these speakers really can fit right in. I have more expensive speakers as well but I bought these on sale just to try them out, the fact that they go on sale for $73 almost made me think twice about buying a speaker that cheap but I'm happy I did. The vocals, highs, imaging, and soundstage are all very good and with a subwoofer to supplement the bass roll off they sound very nice and pretty unique, and well well above there sale price point. In a decent system like mine they sound like $400-500 speakers but still unique compared to traditional two way bookshelfs, a sub is necessary though for them to sound that good. They were easy for me to blend with my subwoofer to, I think the early roll off in the sub bass makes it easier than normal.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
The Sony SS-CS5 is a capable performer. Useful bass response extends to 50 Hertz and treble response extends to beyond audibility. The imaging is quite good allowing for decent instrument location and depth. The design integrity is what one would expect from more costly speakers. The only quibble I found was that of a slight reticence in the high frequencies above 5 kilohertz or so. This was remedied by lessening the value of the super tweeter padding resistor to enhance the highest frequencies. The systems I use for comparison are as follows: JBL L-112, Genesis 1+, The Smaller Advent and JBL LX330. These comparison systems all much larger and one is more than eight times as expensive. That being said, the little sony SS-CS5 is a great value that should be considered for deployment in two channel stereo and near field monitor roles. With regard to surround sound/ home theater use, I could care less. When video is co-mingled the audio, any sense of listening pleasure becomes a moot point. The Human brain cannot accurately interpret sound quality while watching murders, bloodshed and scantily clad seductresses prancing about. Amen!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I am blown away by the clear and detailed sound coming out of such an inexpensive pair of bookshelf speakers...The only problem was the woofer cones were dented in Checked around on the internet for some quick fixes...found one...take a paper clip make a small hole in the cone...bend the tip a little and pull out...got about 96% of the dents out on both cones...dose not effect the sound quality at all. These Sony bookshelf speakers are nice and bright..the way I like it. And to give them even more crystal clear highs I even wired in a top mounted super tweeter on both speakers just for a little overkill
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
To this point my listening standard(s) had always been set by pairs of "vintage" Altec Lansing Model 5's and Model 7's, but, as Dylan put it, "things have changed". The accuracy and definition of these CS5's for both jazz and classical listening is simply astounding from an enclosure only a third the size of the older speakers. Technology has its virtues. Bravo...
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
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