Sony SSCS5 Review - 3-Way Sound!
They are one of the most popular entry-level speakers of the past few years, yet I finally get around to reviewing them. The Sony SSCS5 made waves with its introduction and soon found its way into the hearts of many budget audiophiles around the world. A combination of good sound, unique design and a price that’s easy on the wallet seems ok to me, so let’s take a closer look and find out how they performed this past week.
Pricing Information
The Sony SSCS5 are competitively priced in their category and deliver their performance. The are also available at many online retailers. Please check the links below to view current pricing and availability on your local Amazon. Links are localized to try to best show pricing information in your region.
The Concept
The Sony SSCS5 might have been one of these unicorn accidental products. One where the company doesn’t even really know how much of a winner they have on their hands. When they were launched, it took a little time to gain traction in the audio community, but when they did, they positively expanded in popularity.
The three-way design makes them so unique, which is very unlike the 2 way Audioengine HD6 Speakers we reviewed last week. Most bookshelf speakers, especially ones as small as these, feature a woofer and a tweeter; normally, these are stacked on top, creating a good bass for covering a wide band of frequencies without overstressing a single driver. When you see the Sony for the first time, you know what’s up; there’s a little something extra there.
Yes, three drivers sit in front of the SSCS5; The usual tweeter and woofer combo are present, but right at the top, there’s a tiny extra driver that Sony likes to call a super tweeter.
It’s a very interesting design because while the benefits of separating the frequencies across the drivers can pay dividends in the final sound, there are also some pitfalls. Adding more drivers at different frequencies requires careful tuning to make the speaker sound cohesive. Think of its ability to blend the frequencies so they don’t sound separated. In an ideal world, speakers sound like they are coming from a single driver; smooth and articulate is the best way to describe it. Sony nailed this, as we are about to find out.
Specification
Dimensions: 7.01 x 13.19 x 8.66 in
Maximum Input Power:100 W
Impedance: 6 ohms
Sensitivity: 87 dB (2.83V, 1 m)
Tweeter: 1x 0.98 in dome type + 1x 0.75” Super Tweeter
Woofer: 5.12" cone type x 1
Weight: 9.92 lb
Build and Aesthetic Impressions
The SSCS5 does absolutely nothing for me aesthetically. The look to me like any other bookshelf speaker, except being even busier at the front. The additional driver makes the front look cluttered and not as clean as the Airpulse A100. If things weren’t bad enough, there are a million different screws visible, a raised panel for the tweeters and four compression lock holes for the grills.
The rest of the design is just a rectangular black box made from MDF and finished in the cheap vinyl we see on many other budget speakers at this price.
Perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing point of the whole package is the rear, where a small compression screw set for the cables sits and a small bass port for ventilation.
Now, these aren’t ugly speakers. They are simply budget speakers, and there is nothing wrong with that because, at this price, im happy to know that the money is being spent on the sound rather than simply making them look cool.
Build quality is absolutely fine. It’s not premium, and the finishing materials are only okay, but I doubt anything would go wrong with them. They are factory-made mass-produced speakers, but they are made by Sony, which has a solid reputation for producing affordable consumer goods.
Sound
I hope you weren’t feeling too down after the last section because that was no reason to dismiss the SSCS5. Here we get to the good stuff; the reason you should be very interested in buying these is not just immediately pulling the trigger when you finish reading. The sound for this money is completely different from anything I have experienced before under $200.
The remarkable thing is the competency, the ability to do everything right and almost nothing wrong. The sound is fantastic, with a combination of clarity and detail paired with tonality sitting slightly on the warm side of neutral.
The highs are airy yet smooth and don’t stray into sibilance. The airiness, I’m guessing, comes from that super tweeter that is free to operate independently to ensure a realistic portrayal of the highest notes.
The midrange is where that ever so slight touch of warmth comes from. Again, because of the unique driver configuration, it is free and open sounding with easy-to-pick-out notes and accurately represents weight and impact across cords and vocals.
The bass is punchy and well-mannered, but they are certainly not bass monsters. I like that sony has refrained from pushing the small diaphragm too hard, which on cheap speakers manifests itself in bloated sloppy sounding bass. This bass is more audiophile leaning in that it still has some impact, but in the mid-bass, we are treated to some detail. Too often, I see sub-bass emphasis drowning out mid-bass, and in doing so, you lose an important element in the listening experience.
Distortion is low at high volumes meaning they are great for listening to pop, rock, EDM, etc., in a party environment.
Finally, let’s talk about that cohesion. I simply cannot believe that some manage to do so well in this area when many “specialist speaker companies” fail to deliver the same performance on speakers upwards of $400 with only two drivers. Sony has perfectly blended the gaps between the drivers so that I can’t tell if I’m listening to three drivers or one really good full-range unit.
Negative:
One of the uglier speakers I have reviewed
Budget build quality
Limited sub-bass extension
Positives:
Unmatched sound for the price
Excellent cohesion between the drivers
Smooth and non-fatiguing yet clear sound
Final Verdict
This is a price to a performance speaker, if ever there was. A few years ago, people were screaming the Sony SSCS5 could take out anything south of $500, but that isn’t realistically the case today with speakers like the Emotiva B1+ and Q Acoustic 3020 on the market. However, under 200? One of the best, and if you can get them for substantially under that price, it’s a no-brainer.
Official website of the Sony SS-CS5: www.sony.com
