Sony SS-B1000 5.25" Bookshelf Speakers (Pair)
By: Sony Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 52
More Information
 On: 2008-07-15
We moved to a smaller house. The sony speakers I had were HUGE in the smaller room. They were wearing out as they were 20 years old. I always shop AMAZON first because you cannot beat the selection and in MT there isnt always a choice for some items. These are great speakers. My SONY stereo sounds as good as it did when it was new. I trust SONY for quality Audio equipment. These are small speakers with FANTASTIC Stereo sound. I HIGHLY Recommend these speakers!
On: 2008-07-13
I bought a pair of the SS-B1000 to use as surround speakers for my 7.1 home theater setup. I was so impressed with the clarity and accuracy of the sound that I bought 2 more pairs to use as rear speakers and fronts. These speakers are awesome!!! I replaced my BOSE AM5 series II speakers with this and Im so glad I did. The SS-B1000s are excellent speakers and I did not have to spend a lot!
On: 2008-07-11
hey, let me tell you that these speakers are a real deal, big sound
from a small box, i wasnt sure about getting these babys or the polks for 70 bucks more, so i risked it and got the sonys ive read reviews saying that they dont have bass! thats a lie! im using them as my main speakers
with a sony receiver and a technis equalizer and they hit loud and clear with planty of bass (people be realistic please they are not 15" subwoofers, dont spect them to tear down the house. thats why you use a subwoofer) why spend alot of money on just a brand name ( like bose) if you are short on cash like me get these speakers, im sure youll love them.my
 On: 2008-06-20
I am not an audiophile, if I were, I probably wouldnt be interested in this low-end a speaker. For my usage though, a very nice price-performer. They are a drastically noticable improvement over the Sony home theater in a box speakers they replaced. They even kick out bass, that the others lacked entirely. My family isnt very picky, but they were very impressed by the difference it made for movies.
I replaced the Sony home theater in a box a/v receiver with a good Onkyo, but hadnt been able to budget anything to replace speakers. These were very inexpensive, and have made such a positive difference over those cheap, little, ones, that I decided to put off upgrading the subwoofer a little longer, and instead, get a better center channel first.
On: 2008-05-09
First let me say I am not a fan of Sony speakers. In my experience they blow to easily. However, these little things can go, I was very suprised by the sound they put out in the store. So I took a chance and spent the $50. Turns out Sony has gotten a lot better, these are great surround speakers or stand alones for smaller systems.
On: 2008-05-02
We were needing a speaker upgrade once we aquired a significantly higher powered amplifier. The old speakers were high quality speakers that provided excellent sound and response, but distorted at medium loudness (this was in a small bedroom). They were rated for 25 watts. I searched through the low budget speakers, buying and returning each pair the same day. The sound was not comparable to our original speakers. They were all bad: one had no treble, one sounded like a can, one sounded like the enclosure was being thumped when the strong bass notes, etc, etc. I kept on my budget and tried the Sony B1000 speakers. They sounded great and exhibited none of the sound issues of the other low budget speakers. They have the power capability to hang on at volume levels far higher than we ever listen to, and provided very adequate frequency response. While they are definitely not a high end audiophile component, they definitely worked well for us and our varied music listening taste. (from hard rock to modern pop to country)
I cannot say these are the best $50.00 speakers available, but I can say these are the best sounding $50.00 speakers I found.
On: 2008-04-29
I wanted to breathe new life into a Sharp cd/tape/radio player that we bought our son about 5 years ago. One of the sepakers was broken and the other not so great. The sound from these new speakers really surprised me. They are powerful and full sounding and it seems as if I have an entirely new system.
On: 2008-04-29
The price cant be beat. The size is perfect (for me). The sound is perfectly acceptable. One can really thump out the bass if one wishes. These are not 15" woofers. For their size, they put out LOTS of good sound when I watch a Dolby encoded movie. I have paired them with a pair of older Bose tabletop speakers for the rear, and my own makeshift build of a center channel speaker. They sound great.
These are good anywhere at any time. Just remember that if you want booming bass.....look elsewhere.
On: 2008-04-26
I dont have much cash to spend and decided on these speakers about 6 months ago. There are great.Totally worth it. I have to be careful not to blast the neighbors. They far surpass the sound quality of the speakers I previously had.
On: 2008-03-22
Great sound good price were very happy to replace our old big speakers with smaller ones with as much or better sound!
On: 2008-03-10
I bought these for my bedroom. I use them with my Yamaha receiver & dvd/cd player. The sound is pretty good and they dont take up too much space in my small room.
On: 2008-03-10
I really like these small speakers - at least smaller than the old ones I was using. They fit in the speaker stands I had, but take up so much less space than those monsters! And the sound is excellent.
 On: 2008-03-10
I bought these speakers and one broke in 2 months time, after using them very little. Sony has given me the run around on fixing it. I dont care if they were cheap speakers, Im just mad at the whole ordeal theyve put me through. Ive spent too much time boxing their broken speakers up, driving them to UPS, and calling them when there is an inevitable problem cuz they cant do their job (or wont do their job, as they get trained to blow off customers).
Heres my letter to them:
"To whom it may concern:
I am writing about my work order # ---. I sent a speaker in ( Model: SSB1000, Serial: ---) to be fixed, as it had lost all sound and I had recently purchased it. I bought these speakers from Amazon on February -, 2008 and they were still under warranty when I sent one to be fixed and when I made the work order on April -, 2008.
On 4/-/08, I received that speaker back, with no cover and nothing inside it, just a wood box basically. There was no explanation given, and it obviously it had not been fixed or exchanged, but rather returned in worse condition. I also had sent the speaker cord, and that was not returned to me nor made mention of.
I contacted your service center on 4/-/08 and was told that a new speaker would be sent to me, and I wouldnt have to do anything else since I had already been so inconvenienced. I was told it would arrive in 5 business days. I waited nearly two weeks and nothing came.
I called the service center again today, 5/-/08, and was told a different story. The woman said I would be sent a shipping label through email and would have to ship the broken speaker back AGAIN. I have already put way too much time & effort into getting this speaker fixed. It is RIDICULOUS that I should have to ship the speaker YOU sent to me BROKEN and in WORSE CONDITION than what I had sent it in. At this point, I should be sent a new speaker with no further effort on my part. Nothing else was done to try and make up for this bad experience.
Your customer service is TERRIBLE and I will never buy anther Sony product again. Not only are your products poorly made, but you do your best to weasel out of fixing them when they break under warranty. Ive already posted several bad reviews on the internet and will continue to post more.
If I dont receive the speaker I was promised, in working condition, then this will not be the last you hear from me. I am not the kind of customer who just disappears because you make it so hard for them to get any service.
Sincerely,
---"
 On: 2008-03-02
These are good for their size as a mini-stereo system. They cant really handle bass at higher volumes(it vibrates and crackles), except for maybe a very small room. I was replacing some older Sony speakers, but the old ones are way better (of course the older ones are 6.25, not 5.25, and they had bass, medium range, and tweeter cones on each speaker). I will probably get the old speakers repaired. I dont know why Amazon bumped up the price to $100. I bought it here for about $40 about 3 weeks ago. These are definitely not $100 speakers.
On: 2008-02-26
I am using the ssB100 as surround speakers. Exellent, clear, they could be used as front speakers with no problems. Highly recommend.
On: 2008-02-18
Bought these for the family room, and was looking for inexpensive speakers, so I was delighted to find that the sound of these speakers is so good. I could tell that the dimensions given must be for the pair of speakers, but even that is not quite right. Each speaker is approx. 10" high, 6 3/4" wide, and 7 1/4" deep.
On: 2008-02-14
I think these are great speakers for the price. The speakers are optimal for a smaller amp.
On: 2008-02-05
I purchased this speaker to use with my home theater and stereo. These bookshelf speakers fit well in my entertainment unit and look nice.
The sound is full and they have not distorted at high volume levels. The 5.25" driver is solid and polycoated so it looks to be as robust as most aftermarket car speakers. Due to the small size of the driver the bass is not going to be as pronounced as, say, an 8" woofer, but it does well. Ive put on bass boost and increased the bass EQ to test it and the speakers do produce good bass and a very nice range. I have a powered sub so I let the sub fill in and allow the speakers to handle midrange and higher. The speakers lack super sparkling highs but often too much treble sounds harsh and I actually prefer a softer tweeter.
I highly recommend these for stereo or home theater use where you do not want the speakers to dominate the room like floor speakers do. I recommend adding a simple subwoofer to use with these for maximum impact.
On: 2008-01-30
I just got these speakers today. I hooked them up to my Sansui AU-717, and WOW. I also have a pair of Sony SV100s. When I watch anything in HD, it sounds absolutely fantastic. Im using a HDMI for my digital cable. All I need now is some popcorn, LOL.
Get these speakers, you wont be sorry.
On: 2008-01-27
These little Sony speakers fit right on my bookshelf and sound great. I wish that I had gotten the subwoofer at the same time, as my arrangement does not emphasize the bass these speakers are capable of. At some point in the near future, I will add the 10" 100 watt subwoofer to our system.
I purchased the speakers based on readers reviews and I am very pleased with their performance. They do work better for music than when we use them to play movies from the laptop. This may have more to do with the arrangement of our house than the quality of the sound output
On: 2008-01-20
Incredible sound for the money. Just waiting for sub (also Sony).
Should be a full-spectrum delight.....
On: 2008-01-19
I use these as my surround speakers, have not heard distortion. Sound is great.
On: 2008-01-16
I bought these for rear surround speakers, but before installing I hooked one up in my bedroom, where I have a pair of similar sized RCA speakers. The Sony produced much louder and clearer sound than the RCA, so much so that I was quite surprised. As surround speakers, they work quite well.
On: 2008-01-08
Pros:
Great price
Small dimensions
Close to no distortion on high voume
Sleek
Great price
Cons:
Good amount of bass, but wont cut it if your use to a sub
On: 2008-01-07
I ordered the speakers with super saver shipping and was surprised to find them on my doorstep the next day. We hooked them up to our Sony receiver and they have more power and clarity then the 36" older speakers. Gotta love Amazon, saved me $100 over Circuit City.
On: 2008-01-07
Pros:
Great price
Small dimensions
Close to no distortion on high voume
Sleek
Great price
Cons:
Good amount of bass, but wont cut it if your use to a sub
On: 2008-01-01
My experience with these speakers:
When I first got an iPod, I put my fairly large music collection onto it from CDs. I also put my CD player in storage because I didnt need to use it anymore. For a year or so, I used my iPod to play all of my music. After a while, I decided I wanted better sound. I upgraded my huge and old Cerwin Vega speakers to these Sonys. I also picked up a small Sony subwoofer (the SA-WM250). With the new speakers hooked to my TV and my iPod, the TV sounded great. The iPod music, however, was barely improved! In short, I realized that I had to be listening to the original CD to get the sound quality I had been longing for.
When I do use CDs, however, these speakers deliver great sound at a great price and size. The bass is adequate for vocals, but in order to get that punchy bass a subwoofer is almost mandatory. My combonation, these speakers and a cheap Sony subwoofer, gives much better sound for much less space than my huge old speakers. If you have some huge, old speakers that you would like to replace, go with these and a subwoofer. You wont regret it.
 On: 2007-12-30
We got these speakers as a replacement for 20 year old Infinity speakers for our stereo system. We found them to be rather tinny and even with the super bass on the stereo system they couldnt create a full sound. Yes, they are cheap, but were not much better than what you get attatched to a portable CD player.
On: 2007-12-30
I bought these for use out in my garage, with an onkyo receiver,.
excellent,. very good value.very very good, you cant go wrong, under 50 bucks,.
On: 2007-12-26
Well, generally these speakers provided great sound for the price (I bought them for $24 at a Thanksgiving day sale) the bass was full and rich but not exaggerated, the mids and the highs were fairly accurate as well. But I really wish they could provide more juice. And Id say theyre definitely loud enough for almost anyone with non special needs.
Design wise, these speakers look quite good (as do most Sony products). And youre getting more than your moneys worth so Id say its a good buy.
On: 2007-12-25
Well, generally these speakers provided great sound for the price (I bought them for $24 at a Thanksgiving day sale) the bass was full and rich but not exaggerated, the mids and the highs were fairly accurate as well. But I really wish they could provide more juice. And Id say theyre definitely loud enough for almost anyone with non special needs.
Design wise, these speakers look quite good (as do most Sony products). And youre getting more than your moneys worth so Id say its a good buy.
On: 2007-12-23
Item was delivered super fast. Packaging was great. I was extremely happy that it got to me quick because it was a Christmas gift. No complaints. Thanks!
On: 2007-12-18
I expected to receive speakers that were of the dimensions listed in the ad. Instead, I received speakers that were half the size of the product description. They are great LITTLE speakers, but Amazon ought to edit the description!
On: 2007-12-15
I have really enjoyed this speaker as rear channel speaker. It really does all you need. There is great information at www.audiogon.com as well if your looking other info. thx
On: 2007-12-14
I have really enjoyed this speaker as rear channel speaker. It really does all you need. There is great information at www.audiogon.com as well if your looking other info. thx
On: 2007-12-12
I bought a second hand Technics Stereo and needed to get speakers for it, so I got these. I thought that they might underperform for such a classy Hi-Fi, but they sound great and just as big as my Technics. Great Specs for such a small product. The bass is really good, but not overwhelming. If you have doubts, dont have them anymore, this is your product!
On: 2007-12-11
I bought a second hand Technics Stereo and needed to get speakers for it, so I got these. I thought that they might underperform for such a classy Hi-Fi, but they sound great and just as big as my Technics. Great Specs for such a small product. The bass is really good, but not overwhelming. If you have doubts, dont have them anymore, this is your product!
On: 2007-12-11
I was looking for some inexpensive speakers for my
home theater system. These Sony speakers are very
good for the price. I am very satisfied.
On: 2007-12-07
These speakers produce a good sound and will work for either surround or just extra speakers.
On: 2007-11-26
I use these speakers for the rear channel speakers in my surround sound system and they are great in that capacity. Sound is clean and crisp. They dont come with wall mounts, but a simple set of shelf brackets from the nearby home superstore worked great. For the price, I didnt mind sinking a few screws into the cabinet to secure them to the brackets. They are surprisingly heavy for their size and should do fine as front channel speakers if the demands arent too great. A bargain.
On: 2007-11-23
The sound quality out of these little speakers is nice and crisp. For the amount of money spent these speaker they are an excellent buy and well worth it. I did turn the bass adjust knob all the up with the bass boost button turned on and cranked the volume and these speakers can produce a good thump but for how long is the question.I was not about to find out on a new set of speakers. Be safe and dont blow them. If you like alot of bass then get the Sony Sub-woofer Model SA-W3000 to go with them Sony SA-W3000 Performance Line 200 Watt Subwoofer.
On: 2007-11-21
Bought these speakers to attach to my Sonos zoneplayer and they work great at a fraction of the cost of the Sonos speakers.
On: 2007-11-20
Bought these speakers to attach to my Sonos zoneplayer and they work great at a fraction of the cost of the Sonos speakers.
On: 2007-11-18
My ancient Advent 1 speakers died, and I bought these to replace them. If you filled a bucket with mud and dropped your current speakers into it, you would have an idea of how these sound. Very muddy, indistinct midrange, but requiring lots of power to drive them. As an amateur jazz musician, I like to replicate the sound of a live performance when listening at home. These Sony SSB-1000s arent even close. Best I can say for them is they didnt burst into flame and burn my house down. Very disappointing.
On: 2007-11-17
The speakers are working great for my purpose. They are connected to a Yamaha receiver and sound great for watching TV. I read somewhere that they didnt sound very good with music, but they sound pretty good on the music channels being broadcasted through the cable company here. I would definitely recommend these to others to buy. The price was right.
On: 2007-11-17
My ancient Advent 1 speakers died, and I bought these to replace them. If you filled a bucket with mud and dropped your current speakers into it, you would have an idea of how these sound. Very muddy, indistinct midrange, but requiring lots of power to drive them. As an amateur jazz musician, I like to replicate the sound of a live performance when listening at home. These Sony SSB-1000s arent even close. Best I can say for them is they didnt burst into flame and burn my house down. Very disappointing.
On: 2007-11-15
For the money, these bookshelf speakers cant be beat. Much more bass response than I expected, as well as clarity and depth. Im more than satisfied with this purchase.
On: 2007-11-14
For the money, these bookshelf speakers cant be beat. Much more bass response than I expected, as well as clarity and depth. Im more than satisfied with this purchase.
On: 2007-11-12
The Sony SSB-1000 bookshelf speakers are average speakers for their size. Im not really impressed. Not very loud. They are, I suppose, merely sub-$50 speakers and you get what you pay for, although the sound is tight and clear. However, because of the configuration of my living room, I have positioned these speakers directly to my left and right sides, rather than behind my viewing spot, so perhaps Im not utilizing them to their full potential. (Maybe when I position them behind my viewing position with Sonys wireless kit, Ill get more out of them.) Still, for $50, they sound clean and crisp, but not very loud. No distortion that I can here, even when cranked. Three stars because theyre average speakers (maybe four because of my positioning of them). I hope this review helps you.
On: 2007-11-11
The Sony SSB-1000 bookshelf speakers are average speakers for their size. Im not really impressed. Not very loud. They are, I suppose, merely sub-$50 speakers and you get what you pay for, although the sound is tight and clear. However, because of the configuration of my living room, I have positioned these speakers directly to my left and right sides, rather than behind my viewing spot, so perhaps Im not utilizing them to their full potential. (Maybe when I position them behind my viewing position with Sonys wireless kit, Ill get more out of them.) Still, for $50, they sound clean and crisp, but not very loud. No distortion that I can here, even when cranked. Three stars because theyre average speakers (maybe four because of my positioning of them). I hope this review helps you.
On: 2007-11-05
Everything I expected and more. These sit nicely on floor or shelf and produce far better sound quality than I expected. The pretty much fill my Cabin.
Great value for the money by Sony.
Only negative is the composite board material used for the cabinets.
On: 2007-10-31
I am not an expert on speakers, but I am very impressed with the quality for the price. I wanted to replace some big bulky speakers I had with something smaller and since it was just for my bedroom I didnt want to spend a lot of money. I read the reviews and decided these would do the trick and they do, very nicely! I can turn them up for the radio and get no distortion, just nice clear sound. Also received them quickly and with no shipping charges, cant beat that!
On: 2007-10-09
I was quite surprised and pleased with the clearity and crispness of these speakers.
I am currently using two sets of these speakers as rear and side surround speakers and they perform quite well.
Be your own judge and give them a chance, it was worth my time.
sony does produce excellant equipment.
Mark/ Indiana
On: 2007-10-09
Im the manager of WRNC in Ashland, WI and weve used these speakers as our studio monitors for 2.5 years, almost non-stop. Theyve never complained or degraded in any way. From time to time we also knock them around as we move them to remote broadcasting locations, and theyve survived even this quite nicely.
I recently purchased two pairs of these speakers for use with my home stereo, and they have not disappointed. They may not be the most expensive speakers out there, but theyre a vast improvement from the Panasonic speakers Ive been using for the last twelve years.
On: 2007-10-08
Im the manager of WRNC in Ashland, WI and weve used these speakers as our studio monitors for 2.5 years, almost non-stop. Theyve never complained or degraded in any way. From time to time we also knock them around as we move them to remote broadcasting locations, and theyve survived even this quite nicely.
I recently purchased two pairs of these speakers for use with my home stereo, and they have not disappointed. They may not be the most expensive speakers out there, but theyre a vast improvement from the Panasonic speakers Ive been using for the last twelve years.
On: 2007-09-21
When i read the reviews for these speakers i went out and bought a pair, i hooked them up and put on the new james blunt cd, i was blown away at how well they stacked up against my jbl front sats, crisp, clean, almost perfect bass, of course i am no audiophile but i love these speakers, and for 25 bucks each, GREAT!
On: 2007-09-20
When i read the reviews for these speakers i went out and bought a pair, i hooked them up and put on the new james blunt cd, i was blown away at how well they stacked up against my jbl front sats, crisp, clean, almost perfect bass, of course i am no audiophile but i love these speakers, and for 25 bucks each, GREAT!
On: 2007-08-16
I am using these speakers as external speakers for a TV and they work great. Clean sound with a great range. They would work well in a small sound system and I will eventually use them in my office.
On: 2007-08-05
We bought these speakers to replace our bulky rear speakers in our bedroom; they are great, good reproduction of sound (music, movies) without distortion; nice small size and at a great price. Great performance with a Sony 150wts surround receiver. They work very well with the SSB-3000 as front speakers.
On: 2007-08-02
Im a big fan of booming bass so I didnt want to use these as my main fronts. I decided to use them as my surround speakers and couldnt be happier. They are the perfect size for surround. Not too small and underpowered like bose surround and not too big to be a nuisance. Since surround speakers are generally just a mid and tweeter (sometimes just a mid) these work perfectly in that respect. As loud as you want, and as crisp and clear as speakers get. I am very pleased.
Just a word of advice, if you plan to use these as your front channel speakers, you will most likely need a good sub woofer to go with them. But perfect as surround!
On: 2007-07-27
Im glad I received these Sony SSB-1000 bookshelf speakers as a gift because I probably wouldnt have bought them myself without a demonstration first. Of course, I love the convenience of small speakers but for whatever reason, I hadnt been too impressed by the performance of the bookshelf speakers that had been demonstrated to me in the past, and these included speakers in a much higher price range. So I came to presume a trade-off between convenience and sound quality. Well, bookshelf speakers must have come a long way because these speakers are impressive. Theres a rounded, glamorous sheen to the sound they produce, over the full frequency range. The bass is rich and detailed, not booming or exaggerated. The dynamic range is expansive, handling big climaxes with aplomb: no popping or distortion. Recordings now seem to have a warm naturalness and body that eluded my bulky old speakers. Without a comparison, its hard to say how much more breadth larger speakers (the Sony SSB-3000, say) might provide but the sound of these little wonders is entirely satisfying in its own right. In sum, these are speakers an audiophile could live with. Five stars for value!
On: 2007-06-26
Hello friends,
Before you begin to read my review, please understand that I only wrote it because there are so very few reviews currently available about these speakers. Knowing that, here is what I can tell you about them:
First of all, I purchased these speakers for one, and only one, reason. I presently own a very nice Panasonic 27" color (stereo) television. The sound from the internal TV speakers never thrilled me, so I looked into purchasing some better speakers. The first thing I discovered (to my dismay) was that my TV did not have "external speaker" jacks. Okay, so I dropped a few extra bucks ($99.00 to be exact), and I purchased a very nice, 100 watt Sherwood, stereo receiver. Bear in mind now that I am only talking about a "stereo." I am not talking about a surround sound system, a Dolby digital system (5-1, 6-1 or the like), or any other high-tech system. Just plain old, every day, run of the mill stereo!
Now, I really thought that I was home free because I already owned a great pair of Bose bookshelf speakers. Wrong again! The Bose speakers are only "four" ohms, and my new Sherwood receiver called for "eight" ohm speakers. I know that seems to be a minor problem, but the receiver DID run very hot, and numerous reviews regarding the receiver clearly stated that it WOULD overheat using anything less than eight ohm speakers.
After realizing that the reported problem was true, I visited several electronic stores; I listened to numerous bookshelf type speaker systems, and I finally decided on the Sony. Let me tell you my friends, these little babies are absolutely superb! The bass quality absolutely blew-away my $300.00 Bose speakers (regardless of impedance). The sound is crisp, clear, and the typical problems of "no", or "very little" bass, are gone. Dont get me wrong . . . you are NOT going to get 15" bass speaker sound out these, but you WONT be disappointed. They are truly, in my humble opinion, the very BEST bang for the buck!
My wife, who doesnt give a s**t about audio quality, actually commented on how really nice the TV sounds now, compared to my fancy-dancy Bose speakers. These little speakers deliver sharp, crisp, clear sound, and they seem to easily handle all the power that my Sherwood receiver throws at them. If you want some really nice speakers, with all of the bass that you can realistically expect from a small pair of bookshelf speakers, buy these! In a nutshell . . . they sound GREAT!
On: 2007-06-25
I purchase these speakers as a upgrade and got more. The seperation and bottom is down right lovely. There the perfect speakers to use as starting point to build a system around
|
|
