Sony 5.1 Speaker System

Great slim profile speakers

Strengths: Compact, handsome speakers

Weaknesses: Subwoofer still pretty bulky No 7.1 option

Summary: While these are not the BEST speakers on the market, I couldn’t find a better cost/design/performance ratio. The speakers come with options for desk mounting (great for a home office) or alternately wall-mounting, where their profile allows for relatively unobtrusive positioning. It would be nice to have the area of the speaker fronts a little smaller still... Sony does offer an even more compact set of speakers bundled with one of its all-in-one packages, but this is not bad, especially for the price. My main complaint is there is no way to pick up two extra speakers of the same model for rear surround speakers.

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A PC speaker system in home audio clothing

Strengths: Boosted highs and lows--a fun sound; Center speaker style; WAF

Weaknesses: No midrange; build quality; not accurate

Summary: Audiophiles beware, when you are living with a significant other, sometimes the style of the sound instrument matters equally. So enter my interesting situation when my wife told me to upgrade our bedroom setup but maintain some sense of couture. An interesting challenge and I bought this to try and satisfy our criteria.

I grew up with the logitech and creative desktop speaker systems back in college and when I hooked this sony speaker up to our old but trusty panasonic xr57, it echoed the same acoustic signature. The closest thing to an adjective would be "fun" or "musical". Those with discerning ears or a punishing reference CDs will highlight the midrange deficiencies, the high noise (relatively), or the plastic mold that steers the sound to be overly artificial. But for me and most importantly my wife, the Andrew Birds, the Pete Yorns, the Sea and Cakes as well as the occasional movie like the "Fountain" (Clint Mansell sndtrck) to Casino Royale all pass my laid back, non-critical ears. The violins sound like violins, the bass thumps, and I can hear the dialogue clear then all is well in my household.

You can already see the negatives I pointed out--and in addition, the flat panel design should only describe the center speaker. It looks great on our modest size LCD TV but I think for those with huge budgets or gigantic screens need to look elsewhere. If the cheap plastic build quality (my yamaha circa 1999 computer speakers with wooden spruce cones feel more substantial than this ABS plasitc) is overlooked, I think this speaker system provides excellent value. Just be sure to get it at a budget price--if you paid MSRP, your expectations will surely exceed the speaker performance.

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Great Sound, Small Form Factor!

Strengths: Good Mids for small speakers. Sub produces quality sound. Great small design

Weaknesses: Center channel sound

Summary: I believe that this set up is a good choice for someone who has limited space. I hooked it up in a 12X12 room and feel the sound is perfect for the size of the room. I purchased these for a great deal and don't regret my purchase. I did notice the sound of the center speaker is lacking deep bass but it is expected for such a small speaker. If you need small speakers and good quality sound you cant go wrong. The color of the speakers is a grayish black and are about 1 1/2 inch wide. The center channel is meant to be place on top of a tv but I placed it on a bookshelf. Overall, great speakers.

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Decent speakers at a good price

Strengths: Price, size of speakers, includes wiring and all equipment needed

Weaknesses: Description not totally accurate

Summary: These are described as "flat panel" speakers. That gives an image of speakers that, if hung, would be almost flush to the wall. These are not like that. The speakers are small and definitely inobtrusive, but not flat. The center speaker is designed very nicely as it is thin and can fit either on top of or at the bottom of the TV. The sound of these is fairly good. I have them in a small room and it is certainly loud enough. I probably need to tweak the front and center speakers a bit because I find that dialogue is not as crisp as I would like. The package gives you everything you need including wiring and mounting equipment for both wall and tabletop. For the price, which was $100 at Circuit City, it gives me what I need, although I don't think an audiophile would be as satisfied with them as I am.

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