Please help! Opinion needed!

[Airoh]

Hello all!

I've bought recently, separately a Sony STR-DE598, one pair Sony SS-MF450, one pair Sony SS-MB250 and a subwoofer Sony SA-WM250. Everything was around 800 USD.

Was it a good choice? Any change to blew up the speakers in these configuration?

Regards,
H

[KaiWinters]

Depends on what you are going to do with the system, your budget, your brand preference, etc.
You leave out many details: room size, listening expectations, etc.
Generally the "budget", lower end Sony products are not well received in this or other audio forums due to their low power (despite what the description says), etc.

Have you done any research and shopping prior to your purchase? If you did and liked what you bought as well as anything else you listened to then you did well...for your ears and listening preferences. If, however, you did not but bought more on an impulse then you did not do well and may have been able to do better with a bit more effort, especially in the speakers area.

Looking at the Sony site I can not find the speakers you describe. Search did not help either. The sub is described by Sony as a "budget" sub. Its low power and small sub will only supply background bass imo.
The speakers are probably an older version.

Here is your sub:http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=SAWM250&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=hav_HiFiComponents_Speakers
Closest I could find for the SS-MF450: http://esupport.sony.com/perl/model-find.pl?mdl=SS-MF450&PRODTYPE=47
Closest I could find for the 250: http://esupport.sony.com/perl/model-find.pl?mdl=SS-MB250&PRODTYPE=47

The total cost of the speakers, msrp, is $359.00
The cost of the receiver is around $200 though I found it for less at varied online shops.
Total is under $600 so if you paid $800 you were overcharged.
If it were me I would return everything and start over. You can do a bit better. It really depends on how much you can spend, etc.
If It were me and budget is a concern I would keep the receiver as it is not that that bad, unless you paid too much for it...and use the remaining $600 or so to buy a decent pair of front speakers and surrounds setting the front to large to eliminate the budget sub. As more money became available I would buy a decent sub then upgrade the receiver as money allows. There are good speakers available in the budget I describe.
We will help with honest opinions and suggestions for your desires and budget.



I own the STR-DE697, slightly older version, and found it to be a decent receiver for average HT listening. Set up was a bit difficult due to a poor manual but once I spent time trying out everything it was ok.
Replaced it with a Yamaha and there is quite a difference with the Yamaha being very superior.

Anyone can damage speakers buy pushing them past their limits.
You will notice sound degradation when you push the speakers too far before they "blow".

[L.J.]

Airoh, I agree with Kaiwinters on several points, if you did comparisons and like the speakers than who cares what we think. But I think with a little patience you could do alot better in the long run. I've owned the SS-MF750 and SS-MF315 towers to name a few as far as Sony speakers go. I've sold off most of em but have a few sitting in my bedroom closet and garage.

I can honestly say that the Sony's sounded like crap, but I didn't realize that until I started to audition other speakers. The diff in SQ was HUGE once I upgraded to my C-9's.

With a budget of $800, I would suggest that you start with a pair of nice bookshelves and a quality AVR. Add more speakers as funds increase. In the long run you'll end up with a better system.

[Airoh]

Hello!

Thank u all for ur answers. I've wanted to hear some opinions from "qualified" audiophile members. I know that r products much better than those I have.
The room surface is around 20 square meters and the main purpose is music (opera, classical, jazz).
I havent mentioned that I'm living in a poor country; in ordinary shops Sony is a "value" product; in some audio shops I can find "brand" audio products, but the price is huge.
I have had to work hard for 800 USD to afford these sony's.
Here, I cant return anything. Maybe I'll try to sell them and I'll ask u l8r for an advised solution.

Thkx for ur quick response! :)

Regards,
H

[KaiWinters]

With the recent qualifications Airoh I would amend my comments and simply state enjoy your gear and do not worry about what others think.
We, in the States, and some other areas are spoiled with available products and pricing but only occasionally realize it.

[matt39]

Keep your system and enjoy the hell out of it! You worked hard for it and, frankly, you have every right to be proud of it and happy with it. Kai is right when he says that many of us are a little spoiled. We also tend to forget that most of our own early systems were pretty humble and we often worked our butts off to get them. That knowledge helped us enjoy them all the more, just as you should. Sony is a decent brand and an interesting quality of systems consisting of matched components is that they often sound better than one might expect. One day you'll be ready, willing and able to upgrade and you can do that then. Until that time, get some music you like and have a great time listening to it. Hope this helps a little and enjoy your new system.:thumbsup:
Gary

[Florian]

Yes, enjoy every minute of it!

:-)

[Airoh]

Thank you for all nice thoughts! U r great guys!

When I'll be ready to change the system, I'll ask u for advice!

Regards,
H :)