• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

The Best 50 Dollar A Pair Speakers Ever ??

80sKid said:
Holy Cow, I have to amend my review and take back some of the things I said.

I decided to stuff the Insignias full of insulation to see if it cleaned up the tubby mid-bass. So I made the modification and hooked them to the basement stereo -- the same that I auditioned them with before.

Except this time I noticed that the treble control was turned way down. Ya know why? My wife has some horrible old records that she listens to now and again (which can not be found anywhere) which are in horrendous condition and she turns down the high end, to minimize the scratchiness.

Shame on me for not checking the tone controls before doing my previous audition. This time I turned on "direct" mode and positioned the speakers at ear level (on bookshelves) instead of the low stands I used before.

Oh my gosh, these really are bright speakers. Way too bright. It provides for some prominent imaging, but man it's fatiguing. I definitely couldn't listen to these for an extended period.

The good news is that putting insulation behind the woofer greatly reduced the chestiness that ruined their sound before. But now they sound like they have no bottom end at all.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I had pretty much the same experience when I stuffed my cabinet. That's something I forgot to mention when I described the results of that experiment--the mid-bass hump. Like in your case, that disappeared along with the rest of the bass. I don't mind the bass deficit very much, to be honest. I think the enhanced clarity I got more than makes up for any bass deficiency. On the other hand, I didn't think they sounded overly bright. Depending on how long you've had them (and if you broke them in or not), they sound much brighter out of the box. If they were tested on an amp with the treble turned down, it sounds to me like the tweeters didn't get enough exercise.

Placement and room dimensions/materials could also play a role. Even after getting broken in, the Insignias would plot toward the brighter end of the spectrum, so that tendency could be exacerbated by the right setting. They like juice. Stick them in a room somewhere, give them a decently powerful amp, blast them and cover them up with a bunch of cloth stuff so the break-in isn't so annoying, and just leave them there for about six hours. They should mellow out nicely.
 
Squonk07 said:
I wonder if these are any different than a slightly earlier model of Sony bookshelf speakers, the SSMB350H. They appear to be identical, except that the midrange driver and the tweeter in mine are both fronted by a rectangular-ish plastic plate with rounded edges. Let me see if I can find a picture.

Here we go:

542099106


To be honest, years on, I am no longer very impressed with mine. They don't age well. The tweeter smooths out so much that the high range became way too relaxed for me. Initially they sounded a lot better after a few day's worth of break-in. In the absence of adequate high range, the midrange sounds bloated. A XO mod might help out here, but I am none too skilled with working with circuitry. I posted about these a few weeks ago, having opened the cabinet and got a good laugh at just how little damping material was in them. Adding more didn't help very much, and ultimately I pulled it out and used it for other projects.

It yours are indeed similar to mine, depending on how long you've had them, you've got my experience to look forward to. A pair of Insignias jam-packed with batting blows the Sony's out of the water, IMHO. But to each his own. Just my two cents.
Click to expand...

That's them all right, the SS-MB350H. The ones in your pic are identical to mine. Gray grill cloth with the Sony emblems at the bottom. I own the Insignias as well, and yes, they are definitely brighter and have a better soundstage than the Sonys. The Sonys have better low end to my ears, though. (the Sonys are sealed, while the Insignias are ported) You know, I almost want to say that I am experiencing some loss from the tweeters in the 350H's, as well as in a similar, smaller set I have, the 150H's. It's not enough to detract from their 'listenability' for me, though. I paid $100 for the 350H's in 2001, $50 for the 150H's in 2004, and $78 for the Insignias last December. :yes:

On a side note, Sony also made a larger model, the SS-MF750H, that was essentially a floor tower version of the 350H with dual woofers. I've never heard them. :scratch2:
 
YamahaFreak said:
That's them all right, the SS-MB350H. The ones in your pic are identical to mine. Gray grill cloth with the Sony emblems at the bottom. I own the Insignias as well, and yes, they are definitely brighter and have a better soundstage than the Sonys. The Sonys have better low end to my ears, though. (the Sonys are sealed, while the Insignias are ported) You know, I almost want to say that I am experiencing some loss from the tweeters in the 350H's, as well as in a similar, smaller set I have, the 150H's. It's not enough to detract from their 'listenability' for me, though. I paid $100 for the 350H's in 2001, $50 for the 150H's in 2004, and $78 for the Insignias last December. :yes:

On a side note, Sony also made a larger model, the SS-MF750H, that was essentially a floor tower version of the 350H with dual woofers. I've never heard them. :scratch2:
Click to expand...

I've never heard the floor-standing model, either, though I remember seeing it offered at BB. If I remember correctly (edit: Google bears me out), it was of a ported design. I remember thinking when I bought my 350H's that the bass might not be very strong without a port, and I remember being of that impression at first when I first fired them up. Placement adjustment helped, as did burn-in time. Still, in a medium-sized room, a subwoofer helped out quite a bit.

I remember reading somewhere that the tweeters in the newer Sony's (the ones with the Kevlar drivers) take a very long time to break in, and that they smooth out considerably over time. I think it was somewhere here on AK, but I cannot recall the exact post. In any event, I imagine it varies from set to set, with receiver used, and with usage and room acoustics just what the final product comes out to be. I've had my 350H's since August 2004 (I remember that because of the Olympics), so I've had quite a break-in period with them.

Incidentally, my main gripe with the sound of the 350H's is a too-hot upper midrange. I wonder if the smaller 150H's you mentioned might not sound more balanced, even if they will lack in bass.

Just as a note (as I think I mentioned), I've modded my Insignias by shoving a bunch of cotton batting in them and stopping up the ports with black socks. This helps a lot, particularly with the uneven bass response (the mid-bass hump, particularly). I, too, prefer closed case designs because with ported ones, while they provide ample bass from smaller drivers, the sound is inaccurate and boomy.
 
Squonk07 said:
I've never heard the floor-standing model, either, though I remember seeing it offered at BB. If I remember correctly (edit: Google bears me out), it was of a ported design. I remember thinking when I bought my 350H's that the bass might not be very strong without a port, and I remember being of that impression at first when I first fired them up. Placement adjustment helped, as did burn-in time. Still, in a medium-sized room, a subwoofer helped out quite a bit.

I remember reading somewhere that the tweeters in the newer Sony's (the ones with the Kevlar drivers) take a very long time to break in, and that they smooth out considerably over time. I think it was somewhere here on AK, but I cannot recall the exact post. In any event, I imagine it varies from set to set, with receiver used, and with usage and room acoustics just what the final product comes out to be. I've had my 350H's since August 2004 (I remember that because of the Olympics), so I've had quite a break-in period with them.

Incidentally, my main gripe with the sound of the 350H's is a too-hot upper midrange. I wonder if the smaller 150H's you mentioned might not sound more balanced, even if they will lack in bass.

Just as a note (as I think I mentioned), I've modded my Insignias by shoving a bunch of cotton batting in them and stopping up the ports with black socks. This helps a lot, particularly with the uneven bass response (the mid-bass hump, particularly). I, too, prefer closed case designs because with ported ones, while they provide ample bass from smaller drivers, the sound is inaccurate and boomy.
Click to expand...

Yep, the 750H is ported. I remember very little about my first impressions with the 350, but the highs have always sounded somewhat subdued in comparison with other speakers. I too like the low end of the Insignias better with socks in their ports. Problem is, I can't seem to get them to stay in the ports! :D I could put the grilles on, but they look and sound better with them off. Go figure. I really should try one of the many xover mods out there. :yes:

The 150H is a small, front-ported two-way bookshelf that shares the same tweeter as the other Sony models. For a two-way design, I think it does well in the midrange department. I must admit, though, that I have never critically listened to them; they were bought to improve the sound coming from one of our TVs.

To bring us back on topic somewhat, I have to agree with you about acoustic suspension sounding better than bass reflex. I have one of those rarities that combines a small enclosure and woofer with a sealed design and produces great bass, the original Baby Advent(mine are the oddball 1002's). You would not think that such a small speaker would be able to go down that far, as well as produce so much low end. And the woofers have the longest excursion of anything that size I have ever seen. (a maximum of about 1 1/2 inches!) They are most certainly my 'Best $50 or under small speaker'. :D
 
YamahaFreak said:
I too like the low end of the Insignias better with socks in their ports. Problem is, I can't seem to get them to stay in the ports!
Click to expand...

So I'm not going nuts then. :no: :D Somebody else is having this same problem. I thought I was imagining things when I had to keep shoving the things back in their spots.

In regards to the Advents you mentioned, I knew a guy who had a pair of the regular-sized ones (though I couldn't tell you which model because, sadly, I concentrated on the woofer and don't remember which tweeter his had). He was going on about how he had ripped out the original woofers and replaced them with things that, thinking back, looked like something you might buy out of a white van. Something tells me he would have been better off refoaming the originals, except that when you considered the fact that his "main" speakers were a pair of Kabuki-looking things. I don't even remember what they were (this was long before I was particularly interested in such things), except that they bristled with horns and drivers, and he had even left these little circles of foam over all the midrange cones (what might these have been--has anybody ever had such things come with a speaker?). The whole system sounded muffled and confused, as I remember, which wasn't surprising considering the Kabuki's were front and center, and the "refurbished" Advents were pulling rear duty and were outputting sound processed with some cheesy DSP reverb via the receiver (Onkyo, I think).

To try and get back on track myself, when it comes to the sub-$100 price range (vintage excepted), I would have to say it's pretty hard to find anything better than the Insignias, even after the price increase. Of course you could go ahead and buy a set of Rat Shack Presidians, rip out both original drivers, stick in completely different ones, and build a XO from scratch; but somehow that seems a little like cheating (no sleight on the fascinating transformation that is well documented in the linked thread above).
 
I really have to question the value of limiting ones speaker budget to less than $100. I think anyone can afford a $200 budget with a little time spent saving money (I regularly accumulated that much money as a paper boy in my early teens). And the range of good speakers opens up so much more. And if you add used speakers to the list (which you should), the list opens up to a huge swath of potential candidates.

Two that come to mind immediately are the JBL S38 and Energy Connoisseur C-3. I have personally owned both and found them to be superb speakers that are widely under-rated and sound way better than their price would indicate.

There are tons of "contemporary" candidates in this vicinity -- models recent enough models that you can easily find reviews and you don't have worry about age issues, like rotted surrounds. There are the PSB Alphas, a number of Paradigms, various Infinity (Interlude, Entra, Primus), and certainly more that I'm not thinking of at the moment.
 
80sKid said:
I really have to question the value of limiting ones speaker budget to less than $100.
Click to expand...

I can see the fun in tinkering with cheaper lowline brands for sure. I actually want to hear this speaker. But you get what you pay for!
 
soundboy said:
These are the speakers I am using right now. Shockingly good for $350.00/pair brand new when available. I also have a pair of the smaller C-1 as well.
Click to expand...

I have a pair of Energy Connoisseurs (unsure of model) that I got at a garage sale for $20. Damn good sounding speakers, even with the right tweeter out. I was told they were $1200 new somewhere. It's a large 2-way floorstander with an unusual sloped front baffle. VERY heavy for their size.
 
:thmbsp: I see these Insignias still live in the hearts of a few AKers. I haven't listened to mine in about 7 months. Time to drag them out again and join the discussion.
 
I have a pair in one of my systems that I listen to a few times a year. Nice speakers for the money but not the be all end all.
 
Thats a sale? I paid $50 for mine but that was over a year ago. Actually that was the last time I stepped into a Best Buy. Never again.:no::nono::thumbsdn:
 
I see these speakers getting fairly good reviews here and elsewhere but I didn't see anyone mention using them as surrounds spks, I would think they would be quite good for that. I wish I had seen this thread last year and got them for <$50. Anyone using them for surround?

Thanks,
Brad
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom