Hey everybody! The measurement showing around the 7:00 mark is the stock response. The corrected response is better. This was an editing mistake and we apologize for the trouble! See all the measurements here! www.gr-research.com/store/p90/Sony_SS-CS5_Upgrade.html
Hi DANNY, I called you months ago and you really helped me with the Sony SS-CS5 speakers kit. I really liked the kit. What I'm asking is, what is the status on time of shipping, how long is the waiting time for another kit, for the SS-CS5? Thanks Danny
Hello let me start by saying what a great video. I have a question maybe you can help me. I watched a video recently on UA-cam byTech Ingredients on do it yourself flat panel speakers using an audio Exciter. I always like to do fun little projects, but I've never done anything like building a speaker before. Anyway I am a total Laman in this area. I really don't want it to turn out to be a disaster. Because I don't have a lot of money to play around with. But anyway I don't know if you're familiar with their video on how to build a flat panel speaker but I was hoping maybe you were familiar and could give me maybe some pointers that they've missed. And what would be a cheap but a pretty good quality Bluetooth audio amp and receiver you know bang for your buck that I can buy from Amazon. A 2-channel would be great, but a 4 channel may be better. I am looking at pushing a small subwoofer. I would like to use this for a home theater system when I watch movies to hear over a annoying loud air conditioner. Removing the air conditioner is not an option Lol not as long as I live in Oklahoma. Other than movies I will probably use it to listen to podcast ,UA-cam videos and play music streaming from my phone. For the time being all I have is my TV speakers which is a Samsung 65 Q-LED and some cheap headphones, Not ideal. Anyway thank you for your time have a great day will be subscribing to your videos.
Hi Danny. Thanks for great content. I’ve tried to solder I suck. That said is this a project I should undertake or would it be better to send you my speakers for this upgrade. Thanks again.
So, I bought a set of these speakers on clearance ($70!!!!) a few months ago. I also bought the GR Research upgrade kit. I am not sharing photos, because its not pretty to look at (completely my fault!) but it is a night and day difference on sound! Please understand that this is completely my subjective view. Original listening setup: Luxman R-117 --> SVS Soudnpath cables -->Energy ESM-2 monitors I was using this setup for years then I switched to these Sony SS-CS5 speakers. Straight out the box they are genuinely impressive. A bit too much treble though, slightly fatiguing to the ears. I listened to them for about 4 months on a daily basis in my home office. I keep the music going all day while I work. Finally built the GR Research circuit and dampener. DUDE!!!! They sounded pretty "big" for a small bookshelf speaker in stock form. Now they sound ridiculously HUGE! The depth and soundstage is just mind blowing. You can push the snot out of these and really keep the integrity of the sound across the frequencies. I am just mad that I waited this long. This combination is so good that I am going to buy another set and do the same thing for my workshop. To anyone that doubts this gentleman's claims.... Don't knock it til you try it! The results are legit and can be duplicated repeatedly (the science works). I know that my setup isn't 100% audiophile techy insanity. I have had a system like that, great for analytical listening but I didn't like it for general listening. Cheers everyone! THANK YOU Gr Research for turning me on to this combo!
What kind of r3tarded logic is to basically destroy a speaker for $480 just for it to compete with speakers in the $500 price range, y'all really want to feel like engineers 😂
Budget audio is how I roll. 🤩 I own a pair of these speakers and played them yesterday against a pair of Fluance Signature HIFI 2 way and a pair of Jamo S 803. I used a simple 70 watt Rockville BluTube LED stereo receiver/amplifier. Hands down, the Sony’s sound much better to my ears than the other two brands. I don’t know anything about the scientific measurements or numbers and really don’t care. I go on what my ears can actually hear and discern. The CS5’s have great bass, midrange and highs. I can clearly hear all the instruments and vocals on tracks. My receiver has treble and bass settings,so I tune the sound to my liking depending on the style of music and audio track. Jazz, Rock, Blues, Oldies, Reggae, Soul, R&B, Pop, Classical, Country, etc all sound great! Some song files sound better using the wireless Bluetooth setting than others. I’m betting any audio device plugged direct line into my receiver would sound excellent as well. These are a very affordable, great sounding, pair of bookshelf speakers for the money. Stupid cheap (in my humble opinion). Thinking of buying a used or refurbished pair to modify and see if there’s a noticeable difference. But “as is” and straight factory stock, they sound fine.
I have a set of these Sony speakers that sounded way too bassy and lacking in the midrange. So I went inside for a look. The woofer was getting far too much low end and not enough of the lower midrange where I could hear the silence. The super tweeter on both speakers was wired backwards! Fixed that problem. Took the notch filter at the woofer out. Took two layers of wire off the iron-core inductor and put them back together. Now they sound fantastic.! And that super tweeter can be heard now. The mids are there. The bass is still there. The highs are all there. And they don't sound soft and muffled by all that bass!
Sony used to be the firm that gave their technicians a free card to design. V-Fet, Flamingo, APM square speakers etc. As it turns out here they still produce gems now and then.
I believe that the shimmering cone is a foamed paper-mica blend. It's a neat material; the mica flake immobilizes the paper fibers and makes the paper more rigid without being much heavier.
I have just finished the upgrade. The sound clarity is OMG astounding. I took my time on this and enjoyed every bit of the upgrade. It was challenging trying to fit all components into that tiny box and at the same time applying the inductor layout principle that Danny went over in one of his cable videos. I ended up building two boards for the crossover, one for the two tweeters and one for the woofer. I did run out of the wire provided for making the additional runs. I built one speaker first and compared it to the original. The original sounded pretty good until I put the upgraded speaker next to it. It made it sounds like a tin can with a muffled sound. Well, not to that degree but it was a night and day difference. I finished the second speaker last night and now enjoying them. The voices and string instruments are so clear. The bass seems less but I think because it is now clearer and not chuffing like before. I'm very happy with my work! Not Danny's. lol. This will satisfy my crave for the new Dynaudio Heritage Limited speakers which listed for $7000.
Audiomac Audiomac do you need to be an engineer to translate the drawing to a finished product? I don't see any indication in the drawing of stacking components which creates one hell of a space issue with the woofer portion.
you can`t really equally compare the sonys with expensive speakers. the driver quality difference is too great, particularly if the volume gets turned up a little
@@hanzen5174 Really? You can hear all that without the speakers? That is amazing. For me, I am sticking with judging speakers that I do have and could verify. I played these next to my Dynaudio Contour 3.3 and my family and friends thought that the sound was coming from my Dyn.
Hi Danny! I just received my upgrade kit for these little giant killers. It's my first time upgrading speakers and I'm really looking forward to doing this. Thank you for your efforts and sharing your passion for great audio with us. Cheers!👍🙂
Two years in a row Amazon has had the SS-CS5 for $73/pair between late Nov. and early Jan. I picked up a pair two years ago and then picked up a second pair about 5 months ago. Really love them. I used Equalizer APO the free parametric equalizer on my computer and fixed the peak and dip in response.. Thanks for posting the curves!
My first speakers were Sony bookshelf 2ways, with a 1 inch tweeter and 5.25" woofer. They were $40 a pair. Paired to my entry level Denon back then, they sounded pretty damn good. I always told people Sony is thr value champion i speakers under $500, glad to see others giving them some love too.
@Reid James Of course ultimate value is DIY, though I've never completed a full pair before, just mono setups. The Partsexpress forum and store is a great place to start if you ever want to go that route. Winisd is also a good box dimensioning program.
Hi Danny, Thank you for your help with the installation of the upgraded parts for the small Sony speakers. This was an inexpensive foray into DIY, and it was a blast, with a few frustrations along the way! I wanted to comment on how the kit worked for me. I liked the sound of the Sony’s out-of-the-box, especially for a $100 pair of speakers. They were a bit “bright” and pushy in the mid and upper regions but acceptable and overall pleasant. After completing the upgrade for one speaker, I plugged it in and listened to it side by side with the remaining stock box. I was expecting a difference, but a subtle one. After all, how much can you tweak a small speaker like this? The differences were much larger than I would have imagined, and I went to work immediately on updating the second speaker. After completing that one, I have to say I was blown away. I purposely loaded up one of my favorite CDs that has always been fatiguing to listen to on any system I have used (INXS - Welcome to Wherever You Are). I have listened to this CD on some pretty decent hardware before, but at the higher volumes, it gets a bit overwhelming. With your kit in place, this was no longer the case. Details I had NEVER heard before were now evident, including some ghost notes by the drummer (I dabble in drumming) that were astounding. The sound was strong yet not muddled or overwhelming in any way. A remarkable difference. Further listening just strengthened this observation with other musical sources. Some of the things you and others discuss now make perfect sense; I heard what you talk about on your channel. Separation, speed, non-smearing of music, spatial cues, it was all there. Some music even sounded holographic in spots. It was a very strange yet extremely enjoyable experience! All this and the parts and the speakers are not even broken in yet. I truly could go on with how much difference there is with this upgrade kit, but I don’t want to make this too long. Suffice it to say I am impressed, very impressed, and extremely pleased with the result. You will certainly be getting more of my business in the future. Thank you, Danny.
Very nice video Mr Ritchie.. Nice call on using the larger dome as a notch (filler) driver!! Impressive filter design.. More meat, less snake oil! Thank you very much!
Danny. How about a shootout video of these modded Sonys and popular stock KEF LS50, LS3/5a or comparable, with commentary?! See how close it gets. If it gets anywhere close, ...
@@19fenderman60 actually, there was a small mixup and I got the wrong caps sent to me. I emailed Danny who immediately responded and sent me the correct ones and I'm about to try and do it tonight. My only question is I'm not sure how to connect tube to speaker wires. LOL Also, I'll be pluging them into a completely restored and upgraded Dynaco tube amplifier. I'm very excited to see this all come together. Next up the speaker kit with the upgraded birch before wood spices go nuts. I have a set of Hivi Swan 3 way bookshelves as well to get to and dying to see what upgrades we could accomplish with them too.
@@ynstyne Just bought a pair tonight. Going to order the upgrade. How were the instructions? I've upgraded a couple Fender amps. The instructions were always clear & easy, hoping this upgrade is something I can handle.
This would be a great first time speaker upgrade path for many of us. When I say many of us, those of us who have not used a solder iron in years, or the first time doing anything like this to anything kind of guy. Call it the "Confidence Kit", do one of these to the inexpensive Sony pairs and then say upgrade those SVS Ultra speakers you love so much, or order one of Danny's kits and build your own. I might just do this myself, it looks like a very fun and inexpensive project!
@@summerforever6736 I don't buy that for a minute, parts do matter. And having worked around manufacturing for years, I have witnessed it one too many times. Look at the crap cars we get today, over engineered with cheesy parts. I rest my case.
@@michaelwright1602 unless you have 100% hearing most people cant tell the difference !! he is showing a graph means very little ! People fall for the gimmicks! And this guy is taking advantage of it !! He is a SNAKE OIL SALES MAN !!
I always get a feeling that some Sony engineers just build the stuff they want, and let the marketing and/or accounting figure out how to sell the thing... Not all of them of course, but enough to make life interesting...
@@robvermeulen Just to take your time and pay special attention to the twisting of wires when they go up from the board vs when they are parallel to the board. I couldn't for the life of me put it together just reading the diagram given. It was upside down in comparison to the board he showed on his video and don't know if I could put it together looking at the diagram even if it wasn't. What was helpful was thinking about the connections going from speaker to terminal vs terminal to speakers. It seemed more clear that way for me. I haven't put them in yet and unfortunately, there is no finished layout photograph in which you can inspect to make sure you connected everything properly.
I'd love to see a pair of these updated pairs sent out to the other youtube reviewers to A / B .. .. guys like Jay Iyagi ... and over to Erin to run the Klippel on the before & After versions. Very interesting. HEY SONY !! .. Redesign these & make a v2
It's funny. That little sony reminds me of a very cheap "realistic" brand pair of speakers I had as a kid. I removed the thick as lead plastic mesh cloth grills, braced and sealed the sh!t out of the flimsy leaky press-board cabinets, upgraded the single electrolytic cap on the tweeter and they were some of the best sounding speakers I had ever heard. I didn't fully appreciate how good they were till I finally bought an expensive pair of other speakers and they didn't sound as good as my modified cheapos.
I got these Sony speakers on sale for 73 dollars for the pair on Amazon about a year ago. Best Buy puts them on sale for 75 dollars a pair fairly regularly. Usually Amazon and Best Buy put them on sale at the same time. They sound excellent.
Man I got those Sony's from Amazon a couple of months ago for $73.00. I have been very impressed. I have the new Elacs and the Klipsch 600's ...These Sony's can compete! I love them. 73 bucks!
@@jackfalco5351 Well...I also have some JSE Infinite Slope Model 2's....They weigh 125 lbs each...5 drivers. I love them too!!! Check em out...Look em up! I have two stereo systems. One in my man cave and one in the living room. Same preamps and same amps. Dude it's like guitars...and I have about 20 of them. They all sound different and they all have a place for certain sounds. I'm telling ya...Those Sony's do not sound bad. Get some. For 73 bucks, what do you have to lose? They aint bad.
Nice! Japanese engineers really know what they're doing. The insignia bookies of this decade?! I applied your upgrade kit to my pair of those and it's a huge improvement. I've had a pair of the floorstanding version of these (SS-CS3) for about a year and a half now and they're amazing for the money IMO. I got them on sale at $198 for the pair. I'd be interested in your thoughts on that version, and if you come out with an upgrade kit for it, I'd definitely be interested.
I bought a cheap($130?) Sony receiver from BB to power my computer speakers. I was frankly astonished at how good it sounded.Open up the cabinet and you see one reason why. Actual discrete poser transistors....not chips. And a fairly beefy linear PS. Biggest issue on quality was the crappy spring loaded speaker terminals, which I eventually broke try do shove the pins on Reality Cables in. I ordered real binding post from parts express, but have never gotten around to doing the work to install. So yeah.....Sony makes surprisingly good but inexpensive gear. Sorry if a bit off topic.
I still have the Sony despite owning speakers that cost much much more. It’s cheap but it truly punches well above its weight. Just find that it lacks some weight in the sound but what can you say for that sort of price?
I feel like these Sony's would make great value and very sensible as surround speakers for a theatre setup. Particularly when their off axis response is so good after the upgrade.
I am from beyond the hifi world, I'm from the music production, mixing and mastering world, though I have fairly profound hearing loss/damage, so I'm no golden ear, I figure more in the tin range, but pleased to meat you. UA-cam doesn't have high enough quality encoding/streaming to hear what is, in my world, fairly large distinctions. I've A/B'ed certain effects/theories/techniques with certain tools from UA-cam, and despite repeated listening, could not discern even the slightest difference, as revealed by blind A/B testing... I couldn't hear any difference. But in my studio, using identical effects/theories/techniques... the distinction was night and day, no need to even blind A/B test, I couldn't possibly not hear the difference (not a double negative). This is frustrating. Much of what I care about is the production of audio, and most of the UA-cam content I consume is centered on that subject (perhaps less so these days, with WW Three unfolding like all of the histories of the first two, supposedly, world wars [this world war is truly global with kinetic, and other conflict, involving nations in North America, most nations of South America, almost every nation in every region of Africa, NE, NW, SE, SW Africa, all European nations, the entire Middle East, the Asiatic Steps, and finally, all of the East, Asian nations from the Siberian Pacific North, all the way down the continent, into the Pacific Islands... Unlike the two prior supposedly World Wars, this is not just a conflict between a few global powers, polarizing the global community of nations, without those nations really participating in kinetic conflict, no, this is kinetic, and other, conflict involving the participation of nearly every nation on the planet] I've read, except this time in high definition...), but 75% of what is important in that domain is lost to UA-cam, and also, admittedly, the playback system I use while on UA-cam. I've seen paid for levels of higher audio fidelity on UA-cam, but I'm not going to pay a primary tool of the One World intelligence services a dime for better quality audio on their mass surveillance tool. Also, think about what would be required of this channel to attempt to represent the changes to audio from speaker mods in audio... they'd have to record using a Neuman binaural head shaped microphone, in a consistent space, with that mic located in various repeatable on and off axis positions, and then half of what you're hearing is that mic's frequency response/transient response... and then do you process the audio from that mic? Do you eq to fix mic issues, do you compress, limit in an attempt to reproduce as best as possible the in room experience, all of that effort then sent into the encoding / streaming blender that cuts everything above 10khz, and smushes everything below... Still, I feel you, I'd like to hear it. OR an attempt at it. Haha, its crazy time!
These CS5's with the GR Research upgrades would make a fantastic budget surround sound system with matching speakers all around you. You could do a 9-speaker base layer with LCR, Wides, Sides, and Rears for less than $4k and only have to add a couple decent subwoofers and some inexpensive Atmos ceiling speakers...I bet a complete 9.2.4 speaker system could be done for under $7k.
I picked up several pairs, only the 1st did I pay $118! Got pair with wire and banana plugs included for $99 through Worldwide! $68 were the cheapest, well worth that price! Prepandemic prices were real good.
They currently sell on Amazon (the Dutch version) for about 200 euros. Ordered them on the spot but they take two weeks to arrive. So not that cheap helas. I am gonna order Dannys kit as soon as the speakers arrive. Can't wait!
Hell yea. I got em for $73. I could not believe how great they sound. There's speakers for $600 that don't sound like the Sony's. For $73 bucks...It's just something to have. I swap out my speakers once a week with a different set. These still impress me and I crank em with an Adcom GFA-555 amp.
Nice work on the Sony! I do have one general question. Why would you put a big and heavy inductor in the notch filter? Why not use a dental floss gauge inductor with high resistance and decrease the value of the actual resistor to get the same end result? Big air core inductors don't come cheap.
Would also really like to see how the SS-CS3 compares as it is almost identical but is floor standing and has two woofers. It is also larger so may resolve some of the cabinet space issues.
Sony makes some great audio equipment at a low price. I put their MDR-7506 headphones in the same category as the CS5. Great sound, and often less than $100! The 7506 are marketed as studio monitors, but I think they actually sound really good for everyday use, and funnily enough, they have a similar sound signature to what I’ve heard out of CS5s in other channels’ sound tests. I also use GarageBand fairly often, and the 7506 are definitely suitable as monitors! Not heard their cs5 speakers outside of Best Buy where they sound horrible due to the placement and loud noise, and I think that Best Buy often skews the Polk demos to sound the best. I want a pair someday though. On the other hand, their “Extra Bass” line of Bluetooth speakers and headphones is mostly trash. They speakers are muffled, and even boomy in some cases. The headphones’ bass is just a loud tone with no real sense of what instrument is actually being played.
I have my SSCS5s connected to my Denon RCD-N10 streamer and a huge Behringer 2092A dual 8" subwoofer. I also use the SONY 7506 in studio and at home. Audio NIrvana...all on the cheap.
@NeilBlanchard 1 year ago "The woofer trim ring is tricky to remove, but it can be done. After the 4 screws are removed, there are 4 posts that are hot glued into shallow holes - at the top, bottom, left and right. Basically the midpoints between the screws. With a thin pry tool, you can get it out, with care to move the tool as close to each post as you can."
I was given a pair of new KEF Uni-Q's (Black with front ports) as a gift from a Client and They fit right under my TV Lying down instead of a SoundBar and I am amazed at how they project sounds around the Bedroom. Using SP/DIF Optical from TV to a DAC to a Rotel 9030A that I have had forever. The Bass is Lovely and I Like the Idea of a concentric Tweeter.
I have my SONY SSCS5s connected to my Denon RCD-N10 streamer and a huge Behringer 2092A dual 8" subwoofer. I also use the SONY 7506 cans in studio and at home. Audio NIrvana...all on the cheap.
Great stuff! I love seeing people look more into the deep specs. I am currently upgrading to Arendal 1723s... BUT my current speakers are Paradigm monitor (3000F, 2000C, and Atoms for the rear, with a Defiance V10) which in my opinion is a steal for how they perform (I do have them hooked up to a NAD T758V3 with dirac which definitely helps). My point is people don't have to spend thousands for good sound. I have listened to the sony line you are using and I agree they are a great bang for the buck! Inexpensive doesn't always mean a "cheap" speaker. My monitor series didn't sound that much off at comfortable listening volumes from the step up "premiere" series at less than half the price! No doubt that the more you spend the more you will get, but is a fraction of sound better worth doubling or tripling the cost!?!? Then cost will get so high at some point you are just paying for Aesthetics and not Leaps and Bounds better sound quality. Just wish people would do more research about things instead of jumping into the first thing the salesman wants to throw at them.
Per your review I actually bought a set of these. They look like ants sitting on my LaScallas “you love so much” lol. Haven’t had anything but Klipsch Heritage in years. I was impressed!
Glad to see another speaker upgrade! This little guy has some pretty good bones, and I know Randy at CheepAudioMan has been quite positive about them, esp for their base price. I wonder what he'd think about the upgrades? 👀
Everything CheapAudoMan does is 100% subjective to his ears and tastes. No measurements of any kind. I doubt he would understand measurements like spectral decay or FR curves.
@@indridcold4210 Actually, I think Randy would understand. I believe he has talked about doing measurements in at least one of his videos, he just doesn't show them or talk about them a lot in his speaker reviews, which is far more subjective as you say. But audio is very subjective anyway, just because a speaker measures better doesn't necessarily mean it will sound better, let alone the fact that everyone's preferred sound signature is different.
I actually listened to the Sony speakers and holy crap, they actually sound really good! I prefer them over Polk speakers twice the price of the Sony’s!
yay! Back to speaker measurements and upgrades!! Just finished putting the rp600m XO together. Gonna listen to the speakers for a week before switching them out
I've wanted cheapaudioman to review a pair after the upgrade to see what they compare to...... But since Danny raised the price it's looking less appealing. It's unfortunate.
The white speaker on the far left looks like a miniature washing machine! 😁 I am thinking of buying the Sony SS-SC5s a speakers for my 5.1 system. Nice and cheap.
Great Danny , wonder if inductance should be placed horizontal or vertical , or may be combined, is it any issue that one inductance magnetic field mix with other one .
How would you compare this set up to the Elac‘s Unifi 2.0, since they’re both around the $500 ballpark? By the way thanks for the videos absolutely love watching and absorbing your knowledge.
I'm not a fan of speakers that requires the help of subwoofers or other separate "woofers" for a full range sound. That's why i'll never stop using floorspeakers. Maybe they don't dig down to 20Hz , but as long as they can make my livingroom table vibrate, i'm pleased.
I'm the same way. Unless it's space related why buy bookshelf speakers that you have to still push with a subwoofer. I miss the mini refridge style speakers like I have from the 90's Sansui. Can't remember the model number rigjt now but they still work great. I'm looking to modernize my setup with some new speakers but I prefer towers because I'm just not sold on the budget bookshelves.
I'd love to see your take on a 3-way bookshelf speaker with the Silver Flute brand of woofer as the starting point. It's such a good and reasonably inexpensive driver. They have 5, 6.5 and 8 inch versions, but the 8-inch one is the ideal for 3-way designs since it can play low enough to essentially negate the typically required subwoofer that most bookshelf setups need to sound right.
Hi, I'm trying to repair ADS L 780 speaker this speaker is probably 30 yrs old and still sounds amazing.. th driver separated from the mounting hardware whats the best glue to use to attache
I have KEF, ONKYO,JBL AND BOWER WILKINS speakers.. Bought some sony speakers for $15.00 at a flea market.. Blew my Onkyos and Jbl out of the water. Sony is way underrated.
@Mr. Ritchie: Interesting. I'm completely new to this DIY/upgrade matter. I'm from The Netherlands and have "old" Dali Ikon 1 mk1 speakers and wander if you know these speakers and what you think of them. Have you ever done Dali speakers? Can a "simple" upgrade like the tube connectors already make a "hearable/noticable" difference and what would the difference(s) be?
@@dannyrichie9743 wow! That's making it very interesting. I will chase those Sony and return to you asap. Do you think they would pair well with a low watt tube Amp? In other word are they sensitive speakers once upgraded? Thanks!
I have a pair of these i use fot experimentimg. Did you notice the cross over had 2 unused tabs labled 2d woofer..? Mine the tweeter had reversed polarity . I've added no res in the cabinet And tried a different woofer a high end much deeper one ,, tell ya that originsl woofer ain't bad. So my question is the cross over tabs labled 2d woofer .? Thx .
It just sounds balanced. With a flat response you dont have any frequencies masking/hiding other so you will hear more details but also more pleasent than a non-linear speaker.
Bookshelf speakers are always inadequate...always...which is why you always have to buy another set to see if the next ones are better. Thanks for keeping the economy going.
Hey Danny , have you worked on any Fluance Signature Series speakers and if so are they a candidate for some cross over upgrade ? I have the Fluance Signature Series home theater being pushed by a Denon X2700H with a Outlaw 5000x Amp at 120 watts per channel all 5 channels driven . Had to used some Russound adapters for preouts . It drives my speakers really well I think. My question is would the towers be worth your time to check out the crossovers ? I believe they have a 1inch tweeter, 5.5 or 6inch midrange and 2 8 inch woofers . Just curious. Thanks, enjoy your videos with no BS and that's definitely a plus.
Hey Danny how much is a pair of crossovers for the Sony sscs5s? I wanted to ask you a question about these. Do you think this will be pretty universal the xovers that you made for the sonys? I guess I am asking if you took 10 pairs of speakers would this be the same outcome across the board. Thank you for doing these videos. Man I thought I knew a little bit about speakers and I was definitely wrong... Lol
This morning Amazon finally confirmed a delivery date of these Sony's (which took them about 11 weeks). So I just placed the order for the upgrade. Looking forward to my first speaker upgrade (a practice run really). If I like it, who knows I will upgrade my Klipsch'es. Hope you can ship soon Danny!
S O N Y used to make some really high end stuff back in the day, especially car audio.. I'm running the carbon woven looking GS 12's, other than them being manufactured in China instead of Japan those beotch's flat out get it..i have each sub wired to a separate Sony 1K ZX amp @ a final 8 ohm load for dampening reasons and after about 3 tracks my ears and head are done.. however i swaped my Infinity components with Focal...a lot of backbreaking work for a lack luster result. So glad customers got their money's worth out of these speakers.
It's a classic 3 way, and he describes it as a 2 way with mid-dome being a dip filler? Just some mindboggling linguistical gymnastics to describe something very common in speakers (or electronics in general).
I dont get it, for a notch filter, why beefy coil, and then you spoil that with series resistor? Why not use super thin wire in the first place to match needed series resistor or close so you dont have to add too much and then you save some coilcopper$?
@@dannyrichie9743 That is ok, use smallest air coil and add resistor in series...you save money, weight, have same performance... I used to wind my own coils with 0.1mm diameter magnet wire, coil turns out super small and can reach up to 10's of ohms...
Hey everybody! The measurement showing around the 7:00 mark is the stock response. The corrected response is better. This was an editing mistake and we apologize for the trouble! See all the measurements here! www.gr-research.com/store/p90/Sony_SS-CS5_Upgrade.html
Fixed. Thank you
Hi DANNY, I called you months ago and you really helped me with the Sony SS-CS5 speakers kit. I really liked the kit. What I'm asking is, what is the status on time of shipping, how long is the waiting time for another kit, for the SS-CS5? Thanks Danny
Just discovered your channel, so glad I did. Any chance of you having a look at a pair of Jamo D830's. Would be awesome.
Hello let me start by saying what a great video. I have a question maybe you can help me. I watched a video recently on UA-cam byTech Ingredients on do it yourself flat panel speakers using an audio Exciter. I always like to do fun little projects, but I've never done anything like building a speaker before. Anyway I am a total Laman in this area. I really don't want it to turn out to be a disaster. Because I don't have a lot of money to play around with. But anyway I don't know if you're familiar with their video on how to build a flat panel speaker but I was hoping maybe you were familiar and could give me maybe some pointers that they've missed. And what would be a cheap but a pretty good quality Bluetooth audio amp and receiver you know bang for your buck that I can buy from Amazon. A 2-channel would be great, but a 4 channel may be better. I am looking at pushing a small subwoofer. I would like to use this for a home theater system when I watch movies to hear over a annoying loud air conditioner. Removing the air conditioner is not an option Lol not as long as I live in Oklahoma. Other than movies I will probably use it to listen to podcast ,UA-cam videos and play music streaming from my phone. For the time being all I have is my TV speakers which is a Samsung 65 Q-LED and some cheap headphones, Not ideal. Anyway thank you for your time have a great day will be subscribing to your videos.
Hi Danny. Thanks for great content. I’ve tried to solder I suck. That said is this a project I should undertake or would it be better to send you my speakers for this upgrade. Thanks again.
So, I bought a set of these speakers on clearance ($70!!!!) a few months ago. I also bought the GR Research upgrade kit. I am not sharing photos, because its not pretty to look at (completely my fault!) but it is a night and day difference on sound!
Please understand that this is completely my subjective view.
Original listening setup: Luxman R-117 --> SVS Soudnpath cables -->Energy ESM-2 monitors
I was using this setup for years then I switched to these Sony SS-CS5 speakers.
Straight out the box they are genuinely impressive. A bit too much treble though, slightly fatiguing to the ears.
I listened to them for about 4 months on a daily basis in my home office. I keep the music going all day while I work.
Finally built the GR Research circuit and dampener.
DUDE!!!! They sounded pretty "big" for a small bookshelf speaker in stock form. Now they sound ridiculously HUGE!
The depth and soundstage is just mind blowing. You can push the snot out of these and really keep the integrity of the sound across the frequencies. I am just mad that I waited this long.
This combination is so good that I am going to buy another set and do the same thing for my workshop.
To anyone that doubts this gentleman's claims.... Don't knock it til you try it! The results are legit and can be duplicated repeatedly (the science works).
I know that my setup isn't 100% audiophile techy insanity. I have had a system like that, great for analytical listening but I didn't like it for general listening.
Cheers everyone!
THANK YOU Gr Research for turning me on to this combo!
What kind of r3tarded logic is to basically destroy a speaker for $480 just for it to compete with speakers in the $500 price range, y'all really want to feel like engineers 😂
Budget audio is how I roll. 🤩 I own a pair of these speakers and played them yesterday against a pair of Fluance Signature HIFI 2 way and a pair of Jamo S 803. I used a simple 70 watt Rockville BluTube LED stereo receiver/amplifier. Hands down, the Sony’s sound much better to my ears than the other two brands. I don’t know anything about the scientific measurements or numbers and really don’t care. I go on what my ears can actually hear and discern. The CS5’s have great bass, midrange and highs. I can clearly hear all the instruments and vocals on tracks. My receiver has treble and bass settings,so I tune the sound to my liking depending on the style of music and audio track. Jazz, Rock, Blues, Oldies, Reggae, Soul, R&B, Pop, Classical, Country, etc all sound great! Some song files sound better using the wireless Bluetooth setting than others. I’m betting any audio device plugged direct line into my receiver would sound excellent as well. These are a very affordable, great sounding, pair of bookshelf speakers for the money. Stupid cheap (in my humble opinion). Thinking of buying a used or refurbished pair to modify and see if there’s a noticeable difference. But “as is” and straight factory stock, they sound fine.
I have a set of these Sony speakers that sounded way too bassy and lacking in the midrange. So I went inside for a look. The woofer was getting far too much low end and not enough of the lower midrange where I could hear the silence. The super tweeter on both speakers was wired backwards! Fixed that problem. Took the notch filter at the woofer out. Took two layers of wire off the iron-core inductor and put them back together. Now they sound fantastic.! And that super tweeter can be heard now. The mids are there. The bass is still there. The highs are all there. And they don't sound soft and muffled by all that bass!
Sony used to be the firm that gave their technicians a free card to design. V-Fet, Flamingo, APM square speakers etc. As it turns out here they still produce gems now and then.
I believe that the shimmering cone is a foamed paper-mica blend. It's a neat material; the mica flake immobilizes the paper fibers and makes the paper more rigid without being much heavier.
I have just finished the upgrade. The sound clarity is OMG astounding. I took my time on this and enjoyed every bit of the upgrade. It was challenging trying to fit all components into that tiny box and at the same time applying the inductor layout principle that Danny went over in one of his cable videos. I ended up building two boards for the crossover, one for the two tweeters and one for the woofer. I did run out of the wire provided for making the additional runs. I built one speaker first and compared it to the original. The original sounded pretty good until I put the upgraded speaker next to it. It made it sounds like a tin can with a muffled sound. Well, not to that degree but it was a night and day difference. I finished the second speaker last night and now enjoying them. The voices and string instruments are so clear. The bass seems less but I think because it is now clearer and not chuffing like before. I'm very happy with my work! Not Danny's. lol. This will satisfy my crave for the new Dynaudio Heritage Limited speakers which listed for $7000.
This or the Encore or the other pop diy speakers?
Audiomac Audiomac do you need to be an engineer to translate the drawing to a finished product? I don't see any indication in the drawing of stacking components which creates one hell of a space issue with the woofer portion.
@@flyingjeff1984 no but if u have questions, call Danny. He is really quick on answering you.
you can`t really equally compare the sonys with expensive speakers. the driver quality difference is too great, particularly if the volume gets turned up a little
@@hanzen5174 Really? You can hear all that without the speakers? That is amazing. For me, I am sticking with judging speakers that I do have and could verify. I played these next to my Dynaudio Contour 3.3 and my family and friends thought that the sound was coming from my Dyn.
Hi Danny! I just received my upgrade kit for these little giant killers. It's my first time upgrading speakers and I'm really looking forward to doing this. Thank you for your efforts and sharing your passion for great audio with us. Cheers!👍🙂
Two years in a row Amazon has had the SS-CS5 for $73/pair between late Nov. and early Jan. I picked up a pair two years ago and then picked up a second pair about 5 months ago. Really love them. I used Equalizer APO the free parametric equalizer on my computer and fixed the peak and dip in response.. Thanks for posting the curves!
Equalizer APO is a great tool to clean up so many speakers!
My first speakers were Sony bookshelf 2ways, with a 1 inch tweeter and 5.25" woofer. They were $40 a pair. Paired to my entry level Denon back then, they sounded pretty damn good. I always told people Sony is thr value champion i speakers under $500, glad to see others giving them some love too.
@Reid James Of course ultimate value is DIY, though I've never completed a full pair before, just mono setups. The Partsexpress forum and store is a great place to start if you ever want to go that route. Winisd is also a good box dimensioning program.
Hi Danny,
Thank you for your help with the installation of the upgraded parts for the small Sony speakers. This was an inexpensive foray into DIY, and it was a blast, with a few frustrations along the way!
I wanted to comment on how the kit worked for me. I liked the sound of the Sony’s out-of-the-box, especially for a $100 pair of speakers. They were a bit “bright” and pushy in the mid and upper regions but acceptable and overall pleasant. After completing the upgrade for one speaker, I plugged it in and listened to it side by side with the remaining stock box. I was expecting a difference, but a subtle one. After all, how much can you tweak a small speaker like this? The differences were much larger than I would have imagined, and I went to work immediately on updating the second speaker. After completing that one, I have to say I was blown away.
I purposely loaded up one of my favorite CDs that has always been fatiguing to listen to on any system I have used (INXS - Welcome to Wherever You Are). I have listened to this CD on some pretty decent hardware before, but at the higher volumes, it gets a bit overwhelming. With your kit in place, this was no longer the case. Details I had NEVER heard before were now evident, including some ghost notes by the drummer (I dabble in drumming) that were astounding. The sound was strong yet not muddled or overwhelming in any way. A remarkable difference. Further listening just strengthened this observation with other musical sources. Some of the things you and others discuss now make perfect sense; I heard what you talk about on your channel. Separation, speed, non-smearing of music, spatial cues, it was all there. Some music even sounded holographic in spots. It was a very strange yet extremely enjoyable experience!
All this and the parts and the speakers are not even broken in yet. I truly could go on with how much difference there is with this upgrade kit, but I don’t want to make this too long. Suffice it to say I am impressed, very impressed, and extremely pleased with the result. You will certainly be getting more of my business in the future.
Thank you, Danny.
Very nice video Mr Ritchie.. Nice call on using the larger dome as a notch (filler) driver!! Impressive filter design.. More meat, less snake oil! Thank you very much!
Danny. How about a shootout video of these modded Sonys and popular stock KEF LS50, LS3/5a or comparable, with commentary?! See how close it gets. If it gets anywhere close, ...
Just picked the last pair they had at Best Buy and ordered your upgrade. Now to learn how to solder stuff...
Windgardium Leviosa?
I just bought a pair. Going to order the upgrade. How’d you make out with the upgrade?
@@19fenderman60 actually, there was a small mixup and I got the wrong caps sent to me. I emailed Danny who immediately responded and sent me the correct ones and I'm about to try and do it tonight. My only question is I'm not sure how to connect tube to speaker wires. LOL
Also, I'll be pluging them into a completely restored and upgraded Dynaco tube amplifier. I'm very excited to see this all come together. Next up the speaker kit with the upgraded birch before wood spices go nuts. I have a set of Hivi Swan 3 way bookshelves as well to get to and dying to see what upgrades we could accomplish with them too.
@@ynstyne Just bought a pair tonight. Going to order the upgrade.
How were the instructions? I've upgraded a couple Fender amps. The instructions were always clear & easy, hoping this upgrade is something I can handle.
OH HELL YEAH! Mine were just delivered - looking forward to adding this kit.
This would be a great first time speaker upgrade path for many of us. When I say many of us, those of us who have not used a solder iron in years, or the first time doing anything like this to anything kind of guy. Call it the "Confidence Kit", do one of these to the inexpensive Sony pairs and then say upgrade those SVS Ultra speakers you love so much, or order one of Danny's kits and build your own. I might just do this myself, it looks like a very fun and inexpensive project!
YES IF YOU ARE A FOOL
@@summerforever6736 I bet you are a lot of fun at parties. Ha Ha!
@@michaelwright1602 this guy is taking advantage of people who easily fall for some graph improvment you may cannot even hear listening to!!
@@summerforever6736 I don't buy that for a minute, parts do matter. And having worked around manufacturing for years, I have witnessed it one too many times. Look at the crap cars we get today, over engineered with cheesy parts. I rest my case.
@@michaelwright1602 unless you have 100% hearing most people cant tell the difference !!
he is showing a graph means very little !
People fall for the gimmicks!
And this guy is taking advantage of it !!
He is a SNAKE OIL SALES MAN !!
I always get a feeling that some Sony engineers just build the stuff they want, and let the marketing and/or accounting figure out how to sell the thing... Not all of them of course, but enough to make life interesting...
Danny, Keep up the great work! And thank you for all of your hard work and finding/building the unicorn products for us.
This might just sound as my next DIY project. Cheap enough to practice my soldering before doing the Klipsch upgrade I kept postponing 😉
which Klipsch upgrade? I'm done building the RP600m XO but haven't taken the speakers apart to do the rest yet.
@@NakeanWickliffI was indeed referring to the RP600m's. Any tips? 😀
@@robvermeulen Just to take your time and pay special attention to the twisting of wires when they go up from the board vs when they are parallel to the board. I couldn't for the life of me put it together just reading the diagram given. It was upside down in comparison to the board he showed on his video and don't know if I could put it together looking at the diagram even if it wasn't. What was helpful was thinking about the connections going from speaker to terminal vs terminal to speakers. It seemed more clear that way for me.
I haven't put them in yet and unfortunately, there is no finished layout photograph in which you can inspect to make sure you connected everything properly.
Just ordered the upgrade kit! Love the original CS5. It does everything very well. I cant wait to get my soldering iron out to improve it!
Hi 👋🏻 How did the upgrade go? How does it sound? I’m really eager to know your experience with the kit. Thanks 🙏🏻
Ive always thought Sony was underrated in their speakers and headphones. Really good sound for amazingly low prices
Are they? I thought they were always considered best bang for buck and best innovation... For decades.
Sony took world championship in car audio back in the day for Hi-Fi, shucks thier amps the chick was using lists for 3k today and she had 2 of em
Their modern stuff isn’t horrible. Especially for the incredibly low prices they’re available for
danny this was a real shock to see this cheap speaker do that well
it takes a master to extract that performance
great job
I'd love to see a pair of these updated pairs sent out to the other youtube reviewers to A / B .. .. guys like Jay Iyagi ... and over to Erin to run the Klippel on the before & After versions. Very interesting. HEY SONY !! .. Redesign these & make a v2
This is the kind of content I came here for. Great work 👍
first time here and that frequency analysis review sold me.
Wow, discovering this channel is very fortunate. Thank you!
It's funny. That little sony reminds me of a very cheap "realistic" brand pair of speakers I had as a kid. I removed the thick as lead plastic mesh cloth grills, braced and sealed the sh!t out of the flimsy leaky press-board cabinets, upgraded the single electrolytic cap on the tweeter and they were some of the best sounding speakers I had ever heard. I didn't fully appreciate how good they were till I finally bought an expensive pair of other speakers and they didn't sound as good as my modified cheapos.
I love to see a collab with cheapaudioman. That is a pretty big upgrade to the Sony’s! Thanks Danny!
This guy and cheapaudioman are entirely different. Which one of them is TRYING to sell you parts? Which one listens?
I got these Sony speakers on sale for 73 dollars for the pair on Amazon about a year ago. Best Buy puts them on sale for 75 dollars a pair fairly regularly. Usually Amazon and Best Buy put them on sale at the same time.
They sound excellent.
Man I got those Sony's from Amazon a couple of months ago for $73.00. I have been very impressed. I have the new Elacs and the Klipsch 600's ...These Sony's can compete! I love them. 73 bucks!
what are you smokin?
@@jackfalco5351 Well...I also have some JSE Infinite Slope Model 2's....They weigh 125 lbs each...5 drivers. I love them too!!! Check em out...Look em up! I have two stereo systems. One in my man cave and one in the living room. Same preamps and same amps. Dude it's like guitars...and I have about 20 of them. They all sound different and they all have a place for certain sounds. I'm telling ya...Those Sony's do not sound bad. Get some. For 73 bucks, what do you have to lose? They aint bad.
@@AmericanConstellation I bought them and they were awful
@@jackfalco5351 Well then you have junk for a preamp and amp. What are you running them with?
@@jackfalco5351 Hey...I'm not making fun of you. I want to help. What type of amp are you using?
Nice! Japanese engineers really know what they're doing.
The insignia bookies of this decade?! I applied your upgrade kit to my pair of those and it's a huge improvement.
I've had a pair of the floorstanding version of these (SS-CS3) for about a year and a half now and they're amazing for the money IMO. I got them on sale at $198 for the pair. I'd be interested in your thoughts on that version, and if you come out with an upgrade kit for it, I'd definitely be interested.
I am glad I found this channel.
I bought a cheap($130?) Sony receiver from BB to power my computer speakers. I was frankly astonished at how good it sounded.Open up the cabinet and you see one reason why. Actual discrete poser transistors....not chips. And a fairly beefy linear PS. Biggest issue on quality was the crappy spring loaded speaker terminals, which I eventually broke try do shove the pins on Reality Cables in. I ordered real binding post from parts express, but have never gotten around to doing the work to install. So yeah.....Sony makes surprisingly good but inexpensive gear. Sorry if a bit off topic.
I still have the Sony despite owning speakers that cost much much more. It’s cheap but it truly punches well above its weight. Just find that it lacks some weight in the sound but what can you say for that sort of price?
I feel like these Sony's would make great value and very sensible as surround speakers for a theatre setup. Particularly when their off axis response is so good after the upgrade.
The off axis is ridiculously good with these. Love mine. They can really fill a smaller to midsize room with great sound!
Great work and channel. Would be fantastic to have a sound demo before and after alterations.
I am from beyond the hifi world, I'm from the music production, mixing and mastering world, though I have fairly profound hearing loss/damage, so I'm no golden ear, I figure more in the tin range, but pleased to meat you.
UA-cam doesn't have high enough quality encoding/streaming to hear what is, in my world, fairly large distinctions. I've A/B'ed certain effects/theories/techniques with certain tools from UA-cam, and despite repeated listening, could not discern even the slightest difference, as revealed by blind A/B testing... I couldn't hear any difference. But in my studio, using identical effects/theories/techniques... the distinction was night and day, no need to even blind A/B test, I couldn't possibly not hear the difference (not a double negative).
This is frustrating. Much of what I care about is the production of audio, and most of the UA-cam content I consume is centered on that subject (perhaps less so these days, with WW Three unfolding like all of the histories of the first two, supposedly, world wars [this world war is truly global with kinetic, and other conflict, involving nations in North America, most nations of South America, almost every nation in every region of Africa, NE, NW, SE, SW Africa, all European nations, the entire Middle East, the Asiatic Steps, and finally, all of the East, Asian nations from the Siberian Pacific North, all the way down the continent, into the Pacific Islands... Unlike the two prior supposedly World Wars, this is not just a conflict between a few global powers, polarizing the global community of nations, without those nations really participating in kinetic conflict, no, this is kinetic, and other, conflict involving the participation of nearly every nation on the planet] I've read, except this time in high definition...), but 75% of what is important in that domain is lost to UA-cam, and also, admittedly, the playback system I use while on UA-cam. I've seen paid for levels of higher audio fidelity on UA-cam, but I'm not going to pay a primary tool of the One World intelligence services a dime for better quality audio on their mass surveillance tool.
Also, think about what would be required of this channel to attempt to represent the changes to audio from speaker mods in audio... they'd have to record using a Neuman binaural head shaped microphone, in a consistent space, with that mic located in various repeatable on and off axis positions, and then half of what you're hearing is that mic's frequency response/transient response... and then do you process the audio from that mic? Do you eq to fix mic issues, do you compress, limit in an attempt to reproduce as best as possible the in room experience, all of that effort then sent into the encoding / streaming blender that cuts everything above 10khz, and smushes everything below...
Still, I feel you, I'd like to hear it. OR an attempt at it. Haha, its crazy time!
I bought a pair when they were 74 for a pair in December, killer speakers for the money.
These CS5's with the GR Research upgrades would make a fantastic budget surround sound system with matching speakers all around you. You could do a 9-speaker base layer with LCR, Wides, Sides, and Rears for less than $4k and only have to add a couple decent subwoofers and some inexpensive Atmos ceiling speakers...I bet a complete 9.2.4 speaker system could be done for under $7k.
I picked up several pairs, only the 1st did I pay $118! Got pair with wire and banana plugs included for $99 through Worldwide! $68 were the cheapest, well worth that price! Prepandemic prices were real good.
They often run on sale for $73, which makes the deal sweeter
not in the last 4 months
Yeah, I got mine for 76$ in the Thanksgiving time frame on Amazon.
They currently sell on Amazon (the Dutch version) for about 200 euros. Ordered them on the spot but they take two weeks to arrive. So not that cheap helas. I am gonna order Dannys kit as soon as the speakers arrive. Can't wait!
Hell yea. I got em for $73. I could not believe how great they sound. There's speakers for $600 that don't sound like the Sony's. For $73 bucks...It's just something to have. I swap out my speakers once a week with a different set. These still impress me and I crank em with an Adcom GFA-555 amp.
A piece or a pair? Here they cost €200 a pair🤦
Man I hope someone at Sony is listening ! I'd buy a set after your fix !!!
Nice work on the Sony! I do have one general question. Why would you put a big and heavy inductor in the notch filter? Why not use a dental floss gauge inductor with high resistance and decrease the value of the actual resistor to get the same end result? Big air core inductors don't come cheap.
Because in the audiophile world, expensive always = better 🤣
Would also really like to see how the SS-CS3 compares as it is almost identical but is floor standing and has two woofers. It is also larger so may resolve some of the cabinet space issues.
Sony makes some great audio equipment at a low price. I put their MDR-7506 headphones in the same category as the CS5. Great sound, and often less than $100! The 7506 are marketed as studio monitors, but I think they actually sound really good for everyday use, and funnily enough, they have a similar sound signature to what I’ve heard out of CS5s in other channels’ sound tests. I also use GarageBand fairly often, and the 7506 are definitely suitable as monitors! Not heard their cs5 speakers outside of Best Buy where they sound horrible due to the placement and loud noise, and I think that Best Buy often skews the Polk demos to sound the best. I want a pair someday though.
On the other hand, their “Extra Bass” line of Bluetooth speakers and headphones is mostly trash. They speakers are muffled, and even boomy in some cases. The headphones’ bass is just a loud tone with no real sense of what instrument is actually being played.
I have my SSCS5s connected to my Denon RCD-N10 streamer and a huge Behringer 2092A dual 8" subwoofer. I also use the SONY 7506 in studio and at home. Audio NIrvana...all on the cheap.
@NeilBlanchard
1 year ago
"The woofer trim ring is tricky to remove, but it can be done. After the 4 screws are removed, there are 4 posts that are hot glued into shallow holes - at the top, bottom, left and right. Basically the midpoints between the screws. With a thin pry tool, you can get it out, with care to move the tool as close to each post as you can."
What about the bass response? I do not see anything below 200 Hz!
I was given a pair of new KEF Uni-Q's (Black with front ports) as a gift from a Client and They fit right under my TV Lying down instead of a SoundBar and I am amazed at how they project sounds around the Bedroom. Using SP/DIF Optical from TV to a DAC to a Rotel 9030A that I have had forever. The Bass is Lovely and I Like the Idea of a concentric Tweeter.
Would it be possible to create a video on how to measure speakers performance; which software you use, etc. ?
thanks
I have my SONY SSCS5s connected to my Denon RCD-N10 streamer and a huge Behringer 2092A dual 8" subwoofer. I also use the SONY 7506 cans in studio and at home. Audio NIrvana...all on the cheap.
Great video - just bought them based on this review - what’s a good budget amp to pair them with ?
Great stuff! I love seeing people look more into the deep specs. I am currently upgrading to Arendal 1723s... BUT my current speakers are Paradigm monitor (3000F, 2000C, and Atoms for the rear, with a Defiance V10) which in my opinion is a steal for how they perform (I do have them hooked up to a NAD T758V3 with dirac which definitely helps). My point is people don't have to spend thousands for good sound. I have listened to the sony line you are using and I agree they are a great bang for the buck! Inexpensive doesn't always mean a "cheap" speaker. My monitor series didn't sound that much off at comfortable listening volumes from the step up "premiere" series at less than half the price! No doubt that the more you spend the more you will get, but is a fraction of sound better worth doubling or tripling the cost!?!? Then cost will get so high at some point you are just paying for Aesthetics and not Leaps and Bounds better sound quality. Just wish people would do more research about things instead of jumping into the first thing the salesman wants to throw at them.
$405+ shipping for a speaker that plays as well as some costing triple the price is a steal
What a great vid! I love finding these little DOODS with just a little love can punch waaaay up and above the belt
Per your review I actually bought a set of these. They look like ants sitting on my LaScallas “you love so much” lol. Haven’t had anything but Klipsch Heritage in years. I was impressed!
I have a set of these on my computer going out to an older denon amp and they sound really good as is.
Are you able to offer DIY manual instead to purchase? I have speakers already
Glad to see another speaker upgrade! This little guy has some pretty good bones, and I know Randy at CheepAudioMan has been quite positive about them, esp for their base price. I wonder what he'd think about the upgrades? 👀
Everything CheapAudoMan does is 100% subjective to his ears and tastes. No measurements of any kind. I doubt he would understand measurements like spectral decay or FR curves.
@@indridcold4210 Actually, I think Randy would understand. I believe he has talked about doing measurements in at least one of his videos, he just doesn't show them or talk about them a lot in his speaker reviews, which is far more subjective as you say. But audio is very subjective anyway, just because a speaker measures better doesn't necessarily mean it will sound better, let alone the fact that everyone's preferred sound signature is different.
I actually listened to the Sony speakers and holy crap, they actually sound really good! I prefer them over Polk speakers twice the price of the Sony’s!
@@indridcold4210 you ought to keep up with him, his content is on fire rn.
@@eattoast6378 LMAO
God bless Sony & Danny!
yay! Back to speaker measurements and upgrades!! Just finished putting the rp600m XO together. Gonna listen to the speakers for a week before switching them out
Was there ever a follow up test or comparison with these?
So, how does these upgraded Sonys compare to stock speakers in the $450-$500 range?
I've wanted cheapaudioman to review a pair after the upgrade to see what they compare to...... But since Danny raised the price it's looking less appealing. It's unfortunate.
Well done Sir, just discovered you and Liked and Subscribed.
How do you feel these compare to your Desktop Mini speakers with and without your upgrades for the Sony's?
Without the upgrades the Sony's don't compare.
The white speaker on the far left looks like a miniature washing machine! 😁 I am thinking of buying the Sony SS-SC5s a speakers for my 5.1 system. Nice and cheap.
Great Danny , wonder if inductance should be placed horizontal or vertical , or may be combined, is it any issue that one inductance magnetic field mix with other one .
Yes, face them in right angles of each other.
I have these Sonys with a Schiit Loki EQ. Very nice.
would love to see you do some Cerwin Vega AT15 AT12 and AT10"s I'm sure you could make those alot better
Can the kit be used to effectively modify the SSCS3 standing version of these speakers?
How would you compare this set up to the Elac‘s Unifi 2.0, since they’re both around the $500 ballpark? By the way thanks for the videos absolutely love watching and absorbing your knowledge.
I'm not a fan of speakers that requires the help of subwoofers or other separate "woofers" for a full range sound.
That's why i'll never stop using floorspeakers. Maybe they don't dig down to 20Hz , but as long as they can make my livingroom table vibrate, i'm pleased.
I'm the same way. Unless it's space related why buy bookshelf speakers that you have to still push with a subwoofer. I miss the mini refridge style speakers like I have from the 90's Sansui. Can't remember the model number rigjt now but they still work great. I'm looking to modernize my setup with some new speakers but I prefer towers because I'm just not sold on the budget bookshelves.
I never liked subwoofers, I now enjoy BS speakers
I'd love to see your take on a 3-way bookshelf speaker with the Silver Flute brand of woofer as the starting point. It's such a good and reasonably inexpensive driver. They have 5, 6.5 and 8 inch versions, but the 8-inch one is the ideal for 3-way designs since it can play low enough to essentially negate the typically required subwoofer that most bookshelf setups need to sound right.
Hi, I'm trying to repair ADS L 780 speaker this speaker is probably 30 yrs old and still sounds amazing.. th driver separated from the mounting hardware whats the best glue to use to attache
Super Glue might be fine.
I have KEF, ONKYO,JBL AND BOWER WILKINS speakers.. Bought some sony speakers for $15.00 at a flea market.. Blew my Onkyos and Jbl out of the water. Sony is way underrated.
@Mr. Ritchie: Interesting. I'm completely new to this DIY/upgrade matter. I'm from The Netherlands and have "old" Dali Ikon 1 mk1 speakers and wander if you know these speakers and what you think of them. Have you ever done Dali speakers? Can a "simple" upgrade like the tube connectors already make a "hearable/noticable" difference and what would the difference(s) be?
We've upgraded quite a few of them. They can really use it. Just a parts quality upgrade, new wiring and tube connectors go a long way.
How do these compare to Klipsch RP 600m?
May I also suggest changing the tweeters and woofer as well
Interesting but I would like to know how they compare to the Kplich RP-500 and RP- 600, which is same price point for not doing anything. Thanks
With the upgrades they are way past those speakers even after upgrading them too.
@@dannyrichie9743 wow! That's making it very interesting. I will chase those Sony and return to you asap. Do you think they would pair well with a low watt tube Amp? In other word are they sensitive speakers once upgraded? Thanks!
@@richarddemers2798 Sensitivity after the mod is in the 88 to 89db range. So not bad.
When Danny says buy . . . watch out Best Buy!
Great to see this find! Looking forward to the other upgrades!
I have a pair of these i use fot experimentimg.
Did you notice the cross over had 2 unused tabs labled 2d woofer..?
Mine the tweeter had reversed polarity .
I've added no res in the cabinet
And tried a different woofer a high end much deeper one ,, tell ya that originsl woofer ain't bad.
So my question is the cross over tabs labled 2d woofer .?
Thx .
always interested in flat response v in room sound. does flat mean anything other than flat? is the detail any good? the accuracy etc.
It just sounds balanced. With a flat response you dont have any frequencies masking/hiding other so you will hear more details but also more pleasent than a non-linear speaker.
Flat is for mixing. For listening I EQ to the human ear curve since we don’t hear frequencies on a flat line
Ace stuff, Danny.
Wow. Great. Not sure if you are getting better or I am understanding it more.. or both. Fantastic
Hi Danny, How do you feel about electromagnetic Speakers? For instance Martin Logan. Would love to hear your thoughts...
I use these as surrounds in my HT. definitely may do this upgrade for the off axis response alone
Can you put the crossovers in a .... cigar box ? and mount it on the back of the speaker box .
How much is the upgrade?
Bookshelf speakers are always inadequate...always...which is why you always have to buy another set to see if the next ones are better. Thanks for keeping the economy going.
Hey Danny , have you worked on any Fluance Signature Series speakers and if so are they a candidate for some cross over upgrade ? I have the Fluance Signature Series home theater being pushed by a Denon X2700H with a Outlaw 5000x Amp at 120 watts per channel all 5 channels driven . Had to used some Russound adapters for preouts . It drives my speakers really well I think. My question is would the towers be worth your time to check out the crossovers ? I believe they have a 1inch tweeter, 5.5 or 6inch midrange and 2 8 inch woofers . Just curious. Thanks, enjoy your videos with no BS and that's definitely a plus.
Hey Danny how much is a pair of crossovers for the Sony sscs5s? I wanted to ask you a question about these. Do you think this will be pretty universal the xovers that you made for the sonys? I guess I am asking if you took 10 pairs of speakers would this be the same outcome across the board. Thank you for doing these videos. Man I thought I knew a little bit about speakers and I was definitely wrong... Lol
This morning Amazon finally confirmed a delivery date of these Sony's (which took them about 11 weeks). So I just placed the order for the upgrade. Looking forward to my first speaker upgrade (a practice run really). If I like it, who knows I will upgrade my Klipsch'es. Hope you can ship soon Danny!
How did it turn out?
Yeah let us know please
I envy you Americans for low speaker prices, in Europe the sonys costs more than 200 €, about $240... :(
blame on tariffs. your country trade laws.
But we have cheaper peerless drivers, hypex modules and I guess also focals
@@Stan_the_Belgian vifa 😉😉also...
Scanspeack🤗
You guys markup your speakers too. Focal Aria are like 2k a pair in Europe, but nearly 7k a pair in the US.
Yeah but you guys make some really great speakers that cost a lot over here 😂 so it kinda balances out.
You should do sound demo's before and after?
Seems like common sense, I'm very disappointed
Will these work with a Von Schweikert Audio VRs/1 Subwoofer?
Hey Danny thinking about buy this upgrade, would it benefit to do internal bracing in the cabinet ? or rebuild the box to same specs in 3/4 mdf ?
Think you know the answer to that already!
Are they film caps?
What sub $300 speakers measure the best? Polk, Micca,Sony?
S O N Y used to make some really high end stuff back in the day, especially car audio.. I'm running the carbon woven looking GS 12's, other than them being manufactured in China instead of Japan those beotch's flat out get it..i have each sub wired to a separate Sony 1K ZX amp @ a final 8 ohm load for dampening reasons and after about 3 tracks my ears and head are done.. however i swaped my Infinity components with Focal...a lot of backbreaking work for a lack luster result. So glad customers got their money's worth out of these speakers.
It's a classic 3 way, and he describes it as a 2 way with mid-dome being a dip filler? Just some mindboggling linguistical gymnastics to describe something very common in speakers (or electronics in general).
Does Sony still use Eastec Drivers? They are often very ggod, the bougth and produce Drivers for Scanspeak and the still own Scanspeak now.
I dont get it, for a notch filter, why beefy coil, and then you spoil that with series resistor? Why not use super thin wire in the first place to match needed series resistor or close so you dont have to add too much and then you save some coilcopper$?
Too much resistance is needed to get there with the coil.
@@dannyrichie9743 That is ok, use smallest air coil and add resistor in series...you save money, weight, have same performance... I used to wind my own coils with 0.1mm diameter magnet wire, coil turns out super small and can reach up to 10's of ohms...