$60.00/pair audiophile speakers from Sony?

This speaker has been receiving some praise on other forums, especially since it bears some resemblance to another $50 wonder... (?)

The Sony SS-K30ED
SonySS-K30ED.jpg


and...The Insignia NS-B2111
InsigniaNS-B2111.jpg


I have a pair of the Insignias and as they are very good for $50 speakers - they are most certainly nowhere near reference quality but are great as surrounds or in the bedroom or garage. I've read that the Sony's cabinets and crossovers may be better quality than the Insignias but haven't decided if I want to buy them. In any case, they may not be available much longer as they are the only remaining model in the ED line that can be bought new.

As Boonaroo noted, the 30ED's big brothers, the 90ED and the 70ED (both are towers) have met with some acclaim and are atypical for Sony, which is not very well known for high quality speakers.
 
I was pleasently surprised with the SS-TL4, though no one believed me. :scratch2:
 
M Jarve said:
I was pleasently surprised with the SS-TL4, though no one believed me. :scratch2:

Not true. We believed that YOU were pleasantly surprised.
What we didn't believe was that WE would be pleasantly surprised. :D
So MAYBE we were wrong...

Jeff
 
Boonaroo said:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony...79698/catOid/-12950/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

I have 2 pair of speakers from this series (TOTL 90ED's), and have already ordered 2 pair of these to finish out a 7.1 system.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue19/sonyssk70ed.htm contains some net buzz about the series.

The tweeter is a real gem. Extends to 70kHz!!!

I pulled the links from another forum . . . but felt Akers would appreciate the heads up!!!

Boonaroo

Interesting. But isn't "Sony Audiophile Speakers" an oxymoron, similar to "Military Intelligence" (just pokin' fun)? :D
 
Okay, I bit...

Spent a couple of hours today researching this line of speakers and became sufficiently intrigued to place an order.

Over at the Sony-specific forum there's been a lot of talk about this X (or K) series, all very favorable of course. To make a long story short, apparently Sony a few years ago assigned the engineers in their ES division (I had a Sony ES cassette; it was quite good) the task of addressing the speaker issue in that they felt that their current speaker designs weren't doing justice to the SACD format. According to legend, the ES engineers enlisted the aid of a top British manufacturer (widely believed to be either KEF or B&W) to help them design a speaker worthy of the higher resolution audio formats. A guy from Britain who apparently had access to dealer documents posted the "white paper" describing the thinking underlying this new line of speakers. Their emphasis was on transient response, mid-range clarity, and an accurate, revealing soundstage. The engineers came up with a few things, notably what they call a "G-brace" onto which the drivers are mounted (independent of the cabinet/baffle), a new, very high resolution carbon-graphite tweeter, and the curved cabinet, amongst other things.

Reportedly, Sony was selling the low-end models at a significant loss to enter the market and was making money only on the top model. It was also reported that break-in could take as much as a couple hundred hours before their true nature was revealed, a requirement that may have hindered sales to the great unwashed.

At any rate, because Sony apparently went to great pains to create an "un-Sony" speaker, I figured I'd give them a try for $60 delivered.

Thanks for the tip re: these speakers...I'm a sucker for budget speakers which promise an audio orgasm.
 
Blue Meanie said:
Interesting. But isn't "Sony Audiophile Speakers" an oxymoron, similar to "Military Intelligence" (just pokin' fun)? :D
Hardly an oxymoron. Check their lines of TOTL speakers on The Vintage Knob. Sony has made some truly excellent, expensive and esoteric speakers. My LR system SS-M3ES (2-way monitor) speakers sold new for $995 in the '90s and are worth every cent. Wish I had a set of the SS-M5ES or -M7 or even better the -M9.
 
Boonaroo said:
I have 2 pair of speakers from this series (TOTL 90ED's),

I really didn't have to break the bank on these either. . . my CCity had my 90's marked down to $45 each.

I think that there was such initial sticker shock when they came out . . . no one ever gave them a second chance, even at deep discounts.

I am very happy with my final investment. Isn't that what it is all about anyway?!?!?!?

Boonaroo
 
Yes in the end that's what it's all about. I recently heard some sony 8" 3 ways at radio shack that I was pretty shocked by especially considering the junk front end they had playing thru them.
 
Technology is a trip.

I just picked up a pair of the Insignias, tonight, and to be blunt....i'm really impressed for $50.
Now, i'm really curious about these Sonys'.
If they sound half as good as these Insignias, I might have to try a set for myself.

I just can't believe what you can get for under $100 these days.

I guess it just goes to show you that there are diamonds in the rough.

Cheers,
John
 
I really didn't have to break the bank on these either. . . my CCity had my 90's marked down to $45 each.

Hi Boonaroo. How long ago did you pick up the SS-K90ED pair from CCity? I checked my local store and they had nothing in that SSK**** line. I wonder if I really missed the bus on this.
 
Thomas said:
Spent a couple of hours today researching this line of speakers and became sufficiently intrigued to place an order.

Over at the Sony-specific forum there's been a lot of talk about this X (or K) series, all very favorable of course. To make a long story short, apparently Sony a few years ago assigned the engineers in their ES division (I had a Sony ES cassette; it was quite good) the task of addressing the speaker issue in that they felt that their current speaker designs weren't doing justice to the SACD format. According to legend, the ES engineers enlisted the aid of a top British manufacturer (widely believed to be either KEF or B&W) to help them design a speaker worthy of the higher resolution audio formats. A guy from Britain who apparently had access to dealer documents posted the "white paper" describing the thinking underlying this new line of speakers. Their emphasis was on transient response, mid-range clarity, and an accurate, revealing soundstage. The engineers came up with a few things, notably what they call a "G-brace" onto which the drivers are mounted (independent of the cabinet/baffle), a new, very high resolution carbon-graphite tweeter, and the curved cabinet, amongst other things.

Reportedly, Sony was selling the low-end models at a significant loss to enter the market and was making money only on the top model. It was also reported that break-in could take as much as a couple hundred hours before their true nature was revealed, a requirement that may have hindered sales to the great unwashed.

At any rate, because Sony apparently went to great pains to create an "un-Sony" speaker, I figured I'd give them a try for $60 delivered.

Thanks for the tip re: these speakers...I'm a sucker for budget speakers which promise an audio orgasm.

Sony-specific forum ? where might that be? Managment here hasn't yet blessed a Sony only forum, so might be interesting to check out :thmbsp:

Lefty
 
Im just wondering if anyone here has heard the Polk R-15's and how they are compared to these two speakers. I havent seen these speakers for sale in Canada, so I wouldnt know what either the Insignia or the Sony sound like. Just looking for a comparison.
 
My friend Chris brought a pair of Insignia's over yesterday. My HE10.1s are hardly reference quality but we compared the two.

The midrange on the Insigna's were nice. Not lots of detail mind you - and my listening space is fairly large. The insigs were way less dynamic (which is no surprise) than the HE10.1s and started to get compressed with large music swings. But hey - for $50 - these remind me of Wharfedale Diamond Vs that cost over $300. Definitely good bang for the buck - would make an excellent office/dorm/small bedroom speaker. Would love to see a 10/12" version with a good x-over.
 
Elberon said:
Hi Boonaroo. How long ago did you pick up the SS-K90ED pair from CCity? I checked my local store and they had nothing in that SSK**** line. I wonder if I really missed the bus on this.

About 10 months ago. Good part about being in a small town.

I think that most of the metro stores have been sold out about for about a year and a half.
 
These speakers were $59.48 at Circuit City last week, as others have noted.

I just checked my order status, and saw that the price is now $66.48.

Maybe they nudged their price a bit higher in response to a barrage of orders?
 
I used the posted link friday and got em for $59.

The emailed me with a shipping notification this morning.
 
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