Sony SS-CS5 _(Z Reviews)_ $118 and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

It's funny because I remember telling people to buy these (I work at a BestBuy) speakers because they were SUPER cheap and they were SUPER good. Thing is....NO ONE BOUGHT THEM. NO ONE. Glad Mr.Zeos the Audio-god himself finally validated my claim...

Japanese people seem to love that “above 20k hertz” theory. The AKIRA soundtrack actually has sounds that go well above that frequency cause the composer believed in the theory of generating “subconscious emotions” from music by using sounds that the body “feels” even if you can’t hear them. Of course you need “High-Res” equipment to take advantage of this.

I got these for $73 on Amazon about a year ago. That's some serious bang for the buck.

I just snagged a pair of these on Amazon for $88! The 10" matching sub was marked down from $200 to $113, so I grabbed that too. That's a 2.1 system for $200!

I traded in the Pioneer AJ SPF52s for the tower version of these. The enclosure is more solid on the Pio's but the Sony's (much to my surprise) just mop the floor with the Pioneers in regards to mids/ highs clarity. They are so clear and the soundstage so solid that sometimes I spook myself because it sounds like someone else in the room. Pair them with a sub and turn down the lights and just float away on the smooth silky lovliness.

"Who doesn't want a three-way in their lives?" - Zeos (2019)

I heard these in a store (best buy) and was expecting them to sound like a cheap sound bar, and was actually surprised, they were quite nice! Thanks for your review which is on point! It confirmed what I heard was real and not some trickery going on in the store.

It's still May 10th, and the price on Amazon has already jumped to $148. A Zeos bump?

Zeos: it's so high pitched that it hertzs

Sony is starting to realize that people do review products and are not ignorants. In the 2000s Sony Was making money out of just the brand, and now they are realizing that they have to get back true quality that once Sony was known for...

"Only hamsters that are specially trained can hear what comes out of it." Sold.

Great ad slogan “Speaker demos can lie, I don’t”🤗😇🤓😳😎. Great shirt material if you ask me!🤔🤗🤫

I just bought 2 sets at best buy for 193.64 taxes included. I hooked them up to my jvc 5 channel 500 watt reciver & added a sony subwoofer I bought for $5 on a garage sale. I set them up out a the shop at the farm. I very rarely have volume over 1/2 or you can't talk to anybody around. If I crank them up I can hear them about 100-150 yards out in the field. You can hear them over the whole property on 6 acre homestead.

I own a pair of those since 2016 and I'm so happy and excited to see you reviewing it!!

Lol they jumped in price everywhere. They are $300 CAD now which is double the original price

Man I have been waiting for years of your review of these speakers. Seen others but wanted the Zeos approval.

The Sony SS-CS5 is totally worth owning for a simple system. For a simple 2 ch home theatre set up it’s a great speaker. For small to medium sized rooms it gives sufficient bass. For hifi I will say they are towards the lower end but don’t sound bland. You get the highs, slightly lacking mid and not a super tight n defines bass. But heck, it’s so cheap so you can’t really bitch about them. I use them for my bedroom. Attached to a Yamaha RN 303 it’s great cheap set up for my TV and Bluetooth streaming.

Great review. I really appreciate the candidness.

Perfect for an addition to my 1984 Sony system. Thanks for doing everything you do..!

I remember when the elacs dropped in price because of these speakers over the holidays

I picked up those Swan S-300 like you said. I put them on my desk replacing Dynaudio studio monitors. You were correct. They are fantastic. Thank You.

The actual real positive of a super tweeter is that if it can produce up to 50khz then it can produce 20khz effortlessly and without losing volume or often as much detail.. unlike a speaker rated to only 20khz

They make tower variants of these aswell, incase bookshelf's arent your thing...

When I plan to get an Atmos 9.1.4 setup, this is one of them planning to get the bookshelf speakers (pair * 3 is 6 channels). At this price, I never going to beat it for a budgeted Atmos setup.

You can find these on sale as low as $73... insane for such a good speaker.

Another problem of the Sony SS-CS5: In Europe(Germany) - if available - they go for about 200€ which is about 235USD

are they still good in 2023?

I always hate it when, and they all do it, a reviewer goes on about how great the bass is then says "powered with a subwoofer, they sound a lot bettter."

Excellent video I purchased a pair of these speakers little over two years at Best buy... I just bought another pair just a couple days ago paid $75 at Best buy I'm going to wait until they go on sale again and buy two more pairs

I have had these for a few years. Really surprising. They are outclassed by my Kef Q100 but not by a huge, huge amount - just a little.

I could also hear silent dog whistles when I was younger. Remember the ultrasonic pest repellers from the 80s? I could walk into a house with one and it was searing pain! It was not all good, lots of sounds would drive me crazy! My hearing has moderated some with age, but even at 61 I can still hear up to 20K, so I guess that's the silver lining to the cloud.

well sony speakers were always best part of their products, especially on music systems..

Those ultra high frequency are sometimes used in movies to encourage a sense of feeling not just hearing.

I have other sets of speakers that all cost varying degrees more then these but for some reason I still throw these up on a set of stands every now and then and just really enjoy them for a while. What I like about them is the crisp highs and the imaging/soundstage, similar to my monitor audios in that respect but the monitors are towers and they have more full sound elsewhere. The Sonys with my subwoofer are competitive with the monitor audios and even preferred sometimes. I'm really curious to hear the new miccas next, I think I'll go order a pair.

These were $80 at Best Buy like 2 months ago. Dirt. Cheap.

I'm glad I bought them. Bought 2 pairs under 100 bucks. I feel like I spend $500 or more. These Speakers play all Genre's of music perfecttly for me. This should be the Entry Level speaker for anyone or just want Budget Speakers for the price I first hooked these up to a Logitech PC speakers that had a built in Sub and took the Logitech Z533 PC Speakers out and hooked these bad boys Sony's up and played SADE's Music and all I can say is OMG!!!! Now I have them hooked up to my Emotiva PT1 DAC/Preamp annd BasX A2 AMP and played SADE again and EVEN BETTER than OMG!!! It's amazing these are under at least $200. Great Review brother.

Bought the Sony Core Series 5.1.2 home theater system from Best Buy. Got all the speakers 50% off. These were $73 a pair. No complaints.

I have them. And I love them for what they are. Worth every penny.

Also GR research has a kit that you can take these crossovers out and rebuild them into lil sleepers. :) keeping all the same drivers.

I’m buzzed, watching old Zeos again.

Old tvs and monitors used to annoy me because I could here them. I still can at 36

Always have wondered about these and the Yamaha with a similar speaker setup

I grabbed them for 99 bucks and was totally surprised

Most "golden ear" people can't hear above 15kHz. But there's just something about the crystal clarity that is still detectable. The Sony supertweeters start picking up around 10kHz so you should be able to hear their contribution.

i buyed a mint condition sony SS CEX-1 speakers for only 10 bucks, and the sound, mids, highs, spacial sound stage is stunishing like polk or infinity, and the build quality is high endish too

Just purchased the Micca RB42 on Amazon for $129.00!

I have a pair of sony ss-cg1’s bookshelfs and I never expected them to have so much bass and be so clear in dialogue at the same time... idk how to explain, I’m not an audiophile expert, but if these are anything like mine they’ll be excellent in a 2ch/5.1 setup or as a soundbar replacement!! Mine are piano gloss black with yellow kevlar woofer and sort of carbon looking tweeter!

1:08, lightly fingers port...Thumbs up! These now frequently go on sale on Amazon for $74!

Zeos review the Denon SC M-37 bookshelf speaker if you find a pair second hand. You will be for a surprise. The Mikka RB42 resambles exactly the Denon SC M-37. I bought 12 pairs of them here in Japan because many of my friends wanted one after they heard them.

I've got a pair of these they rock, but you do need the sony sub too. Its the icing on the cake.

Sony is known making stuff for bats. Their new ridiculously expensive earbuds also extend to 100kHz (or so they claim).

Glittery woofer material does a fantastic job - whatever they are made of!

I have these and really like them. No disappointments here.

Glad to see this review. Kind of wish I had imported these after all, since they aren't available on amazon in the UK.

2:48 zeos gold

Think these are available on Amazon for $73.00 a PAIR!!

Just picked these up for 91 bucks straight from Sony. Can't wait for them to arrive

I thought Sony’s latest cost no object speakers the AR1 cost $28000 not $70000? Sony have made many amazing high end speakers, unfortunately most never made it out of Japan.

can you do a video about your foobar setting , components or customize things..??

So its 2022, I crawled out from under my rock. I ordered a pair (yes still in stock)

Had a listen for myself ! Boy, talk about super-tweeter fatigue ! My ears are still ringing!

Zeos - would you pick those SONY or the Jamo S 803 ?

Thank you for reviewing these. I bought mine for $114. What speaker cables do you use? What is the amp that works the best with these?

I bought Yamaha ns-f51 tower floorstanding speakers and they have also a 5 star on Amazon and fortunately i got them now they are out oficial stock and they are good and powerful with strong bass and i am very happy for only 225€ What a bargain

people, if you listen carefully to this review, he is telling you to buy the Micca RB42

My .02cent opinion. Bass heavy songs will cause the enclosure to resonate. Add some resonance deadener to the interior walls of the enclosure. Gr Research offers a product for this task. If you want something better, here it is. Parts Express .56 flat pack enclosures (edit: add 1.5" by 4.5" long ports) and Markaudio alpair 11ms drivers. Superior sound, 8mm xmax each way for great low end. Still need a sub. All bookshelves need a sub. Don't kid yourself.

Listening to them now and i gotta say....that $250 dollar comparison was spot on. They certainly are impressive

Purchased these back in 2917 Black Friday for $75 from BBY. I thought you had reviewed these already. I got a pair as my rear speakers and the other pair is collecting dust in the garage. I really should stop buying so many speakers. Lol

I have these with the matching sub and they are great . 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 👍

these or the RB42s?

These are $73 bucks on sale on amazon right now

These speakers go on sale multiple times per year. I got mine for $74 at Best Buy as part of early Black Friday sales 2 years ago

I think what Sony is really trying to do with the super tweeter is corner the audiophile dog market before anyone else gets to it.

Nice review took your word for it and bit. So if you don't recommend these for a desk, which ones would you ?

I just got a pair for $52 from Amazon Warehouse Deals. Zeos speaks the truth. As a child of the 90's I remember when Sony audio was bullshit. I was talking with a stereo shop guy one day and he said "I don't know, maybe the Sony engineers don't hear so good." Lol. Well I've been rocking the Sony BT headphones for a long while now, and it looks like these nice little bookshelf units are going to rock my world.

They are nice for 2.1 stereo - with a subwoofer-

Best reviewer on RU-vid!!!!👍

These speakers deserve a bass test.

Sony xm-gs4 car amp is incredible. Fantastic sound. Guaranteed.

My dad had some Sony store points and didn't know what to use them on, got them a few months ago along with the matching center channel. Paired with some cheap Theater Solutions bookshelf rears and an older JBL sub, I setup a solid 5.1.

well your cat can hear the high frequency though haha

I keep hoping Z will review those PSB Alpha P5 bookshelves soon : D

3 years later.... 7k reviews on amazon for these speakers For me, I like the speakers, but only when listening to them in isolation. When I compare them to some of my other speakers, they definitely have a nasal sound to them.

I owned these. They weren't bright... just have pronounced mids, so vocals sound rather forward. They aren't the best value in speakers at $118, but they are worth it if you're interested in the sound they offer. I would recommend waiting until the price drops again.... happens regularly, sometimes as low as $73/pair.

I snagged a pair of these with my sony rewards points, can't wait to hook them up. I am going to use them with my hifi system in my office.

I bought the Sony Sscs3 towers they where 448.00 at one time I bought them to review them then I reviewed the Pioneer Fs52 and compared the to now going to buy the Polk T50s tower so I compare them all lol Sony towers are great for the price now on home theater and newer HiRes newly mastered music playback lol On my channel Zeos ! Lol great job man

How many wats receiver would be a perfect pair for this?

The humans have a quite good echo-location system, it does not rely entirely on the ear, but a combination of senses + the BRAIN : that is haow we sence a wall without seeing it etc. This it TIMING sensitivity, down to 5ms. Even if we can prove that most humans do not ear anything above 20khz, this second notion of timing detection can justify sample rates in the range of 196khz. So myab the idea behind this "above tweeter" is to enhance time alignment or feeling of attack or precise start of sounds. In my mind this is unnessesary : as long as the rolloff of a cloth tweeter starts at 20khz, the place where it's at -10 db is not so critical. Since I work and taste sound, my experience is different than the majority : I like separare stereo channel 320kbps MP3 (not aac not flac not wav not aiff) specifically because its coding removes some sounds, most of them being garbage in poor recordings, making it sound "cleaner" when I have a system that works from 40hz to 18khz, I use EQ to increade the filtering down og below 37hz and above 20khz : especially when playing HD and lossless : those filters give me the pleasure of cleaner audio, and sometimes this even enable the use of higher volume without chuffing or risking the woofers. For very good recording I will enjoy the lossless tracks, but for most music, I like the split stereo 320 mp3 better.

Black Friday $73. Amazon, with a pair of SVS subs can't go wrong

Zeos! You mean to tell me that Sony makes 70k speakers? Lol love watching your videos I have absolutely been a fan and always want to see where you stand on speakers before I buy them... Thanks

hello from 2024! im checking this and wanted a opinion on this vs the micca rb42, im making my first audio set up for my livingroom

I got the 2 towers and center in this set for $269 a few months ago. I only wanted a 3.1 setup but the pair of these were only $73 so I had to grab them too.

I just bought these speakers and will setup in the next couple days. Stupid question: how did you connect those speakers? I haven't use those types of connectors before. Thank you!

I'm auditioning speakers, so everything is returnable at the moment. I bought a pair of SSCS5's today because I had to see for myself. Hell no are they even close to the SVS Primes. The Sony's are solid but they lack several levels of refinement and class. Sorry but no way. The Primes are worth the price. The Sonys are going back to Best Buy.

My hearing tops at about 11K. ..but I want my speaker to reproduce 50K

Might need to get those Micca's though because the covo-s were pretty okay but the coaxial kind of killed them. Take that away shit might be really fucking intersting.

Hey Z, what Dac do you use in your living room to test speakers?

$73 10/29/2020 Such a great review ,on the 1st when us old codgers get our checks the 1 st at Amazon went from $73 to $118 it was just luck I bought them

$73 at Amazon multiple times during the last months.

I just got these yesterday.. 10/8/2021... 138.00 Best Buy Lansing Michigan.. 😁👍👍