Compairing

[SpankingVanillaice]

I'am having hard time deciding between two speakers but which out of the two would be best for med sized bedroom? The Sony SS-MB150H or the SS-MB350H? I'am looking for very affordable speakers.

[Mr Peabody]

Have you listened to Athena? Can't help you with Sony

[emorphien]

I personally would stay away from Sony speakers. Occaisionally Sony gets it right and makes some decent speakers, but most of the time they are just garbage. Case in point I just A/Bd the Insignia speakers everyone is raving about against a pair of Sonys ($95 for the pair, whatever they were) at the local best buy while I was waiting on a friend and the Insignias sounded much more open and dynamic. At $45 for the pair I'd take the Insignias over those Sonys. I'm not sure you'll find anything better new for under $100 a pair since that's what you seem to be looking at.

Otherwise, keep an eye on used stuff IE Polk, Infinity Primus etc. Not sure what else creeps under $100 used but ebay and audiogon.com are worth checking.

Good luck!

PS. - Don't buy the Sony speakers.

[SpankingVanillaice]

I talked to the sales person about the speakers and he said that the Sonys sound alot more clear and better than the Insignia speakers like the NS-B2111. I guess I have to just decide which Sonys are better for my bedroom.

[Carl Reid]

I talked to the sales person about the speakers and he said that the Sonys sound alot more clear and better than the Insignia speakers like the NS-B2111. I guess I have to just decide which Sonys are better for my bedroom.

Yep... you will have to decide which one is better yourself....but one piece of advice I can give you is "NEVER take the word of the Sales Guy" about which speaker you should buy... Listen and decide for yourself.... Almost every sales guy I've ever dealt with has claimed that the more expensive product is better!!! And since the Sony's are more expensive than the Insignias... well.... I'm sure you get the point...

I've heard neither the Sonys nor the Insignias so I can't comment on either.... but I suggest you compare both of them.... and let the size of your room be a major factor in determining which speaker you need....

Good luck...

[emorphien]

I talked to the sales person about the speakers and he said that the Sonys sound alot more clear and better than the Insignia speakers like the NS-B2111. I guess I have to just decide which Sonys are better for my bedroom.

Trust your ears, not the sales person. I can tell you without a doubt that both my friend and I preferred the Insignias to a pair of Sony bookshelf speakers that were more than twice their price and size. Don't make the mistake of going by what the sales slob at Best Buy says, trust your own ears.

[N. Abstentia]

The sales guy likes the sound of the Sony's, so that right there should tell you to avoid the Sony's. Those Insignia's will destroy them.

[SlumpBuster]

The Sonys are no good because they are not monitors. You must use studio monitors with titanium laminate tweeters. The Sonys use Nano Fine tweeters that have been demonstrated in scientific testing to be inferior to titanium studio monitor tweeters. While Sony claims these speakers go to 50khz, that is only possible with titanium tweeters. Lesser speakers only go to 20khz. If your speakers don't go to 50khz you are missing like 30khz of sound. That will be alot of treble your missing out on if you don't have studio monitors with titanium laminate tweeters.

[emorphien]

The Sonys are no good because they are not monitors. You must use studio monitors with titanium laminate tweeters. The Sonys use Nano Fine tweeters that have been demonstrated in scientific testing to be inferior to titanium studio monitor tweeters. While Sony claims these speakers go to 50khz, that is only possible with titanium tweeters. Lesser speakers only go to 20khz. If your speakers don't go to 50khz you are missing like 30khz of sound. That will be alot of treble your missing out on if you don't have studio monitors with titanium laminate tweeters.

that's not helpful

[Mr Peabody]

If your speakers don't go to 50khz you are missing like 30khz of sound. That will be alot of treble your missing out on if you don't have studio monitors with titanium laminate tweeters.[/QUOTE]

Since it is only possible for human hearing to go up to 20kHz, and to my understanding it's rare for anyone to reach that, it is debatable whether he'd miss anything between 20 and 50k. There is the whole thing about harmonics and how they effect the range we do hear but we are talking about a $100.00 pair of speakers.

My opinion, no extra charge, I love the sound of titanium. It seems most higher end speakers use some type of soft dome though.

[SpankingVanillaice]

So the Insignia™ 6-1/2" Bass-Reflex Bookshelf Speakers are way better than the Sony SS-MB150H or the SS-MB350H? Well the Sonys looks more better with the yellow Kevlar cones but I don't know. I thought Kevlar cones are great.



Insignia

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1138085354138



Sony SS-MB150H

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...nents_Speakers



SS-MB350H


http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...nents_Speakers

[thekid]

As has been said I would compare the Insignia's with the Sony's by listening to them rather than a salesman's opinion,your ears/taste are the ultimate decision makers here. I would check out the Athena's which are pricier than both the Isignia and the Sony's. If it were a choice between the Insignia NS-B2111 and the 150 I'd opt for the Isignia based on SQ and price.

I have both the 350's and 150's along with a Sony center channel and sub for my master bedroom which is about a 15X15 room. The whole speaker set up cost me less than $400 and the sound is pretty good for both music and HT. Not sure if this a factor in your decision, but if you are looking to eventually make this into a HT set-up Insignia is not making a center channel that I am aware of. May not be a deal breaker if you really like their sound but something you may want to consider.

Having said all of that if you do decide to go with the Sony's I would take the 350's over the 150's especially if your main use for them will be music. The 150's are fine for surround speakers but are a little weak for fronts and both speakers benefit from having a subwoofer to fill in the bottom.The 350 is tall for a bookshelf so keep that in mind if space/location is an issue.

[emorphien]

So the Insignia™ 6-1/2" Bass-Reflex Bookshelf Speakers are way better than the Sony SS-MB150H or the SS-MB350H? Well the Sonys looks more better with the yellow Kevlar cones but I don't know. I thought Kevlar cones are great.

Are you going to be looking at the speakers or actually listening to them? If you're just looking at them then get the Sonys if you think they look better, however if you want to take pleasure in listening you should hear them both and decide then.

Kevlar cones can be great, but carbon fiber (as the Insignia uses I believe) can be better, so can paper or other materials. There is no perfect material for a cone, it all depends on the design and the driver implementation. Sonys use of Kevlar drivers is nothing special in my experience and having just heard one of the pairs you're probably looking at I'll stand by that statement. In fact they were rather awful, with a muddy undefined midrange, weak bass output and the tweeter providing no separation in the high frequencies.

edit: after looking at the various sony models it was the SS-MB350H I compared to the Insignias.

[SpankingVanillaice]

Well I am putting them in a med sized bedroom. So I don't think I will need big speakers. If it was in my living room then yes for sure I will need the 350.

[GMichael]

Hi SV, long time no hear from. Good to see you post again. Not sure which one is better, but in my experience, Salespeople push the speakers that put the most cash in their pockets. Listen to them yourself and decide what you like the most. Take a favorite CD to the store and listen to all of them for awhile. Your ears know best.

[N. Abstentia]

Those Sony's do not have Kevlar cones...they just have yellow cones. They are designed to make fools look at them and say "wow they have Kevlar cones just like B&W so they must sound as good as B&W!"

Straight from their website:
5 1/4" Improved H.O.P. Cone - Bass Driver

What is an H.O.P. cone?

House of pain?
Made from Horse or Pony?
Has Other Purpose?

[Carl Reid]

Those Sony's do not have Kevlar cones...they just have yellow cones. They are designed to make fools look at them and say "wow they have Kevlar cones just like B&W so they must sound as good as B&W!"

Straight from their website:
5 1/4" Improved H.O.P. Cone - Bass Driver

What is an H.O.P. cone?

House of pain?
Made from Horse or Pony?
Has Other Purpose?

Actually, according to their website they do have Kevlar...

"Get ready to rock with Sony's SS-MB150H 2-way bookshelf speaker. Featuring 120 watts of maximum power, this system produces brilliant sound...all you have to do is listen. The system includes a 51/4" woofer with a Kevlar Highly Oriented Polyolefine (HOP) cone to minimize distortion and a 1" Nano-Fine balanced dome tweeter for high resolution audio like Super Audio CD. "

That extract is taken directly from their website...

Though I do agree that reason for the Yellow Kevlar cones is just to rip-off B&W...


Anyway back to Vanilla Ice (You really need a better role model than that rapper)...

If you like the looks of the Sony and are satisfied with the sound of them then feel free to buy them.... despite what we say on this site.... Sound alone isn't the only factor in our purchasing decisions (though it should be the most important one)....

[N. Abstentia]

"Kevlar Highly Oriented Polyolefine"

I like that! That's kinda like meat & meat by-products...you're not sure what you're getting. Sony speakers are the hot dogs of the audio world

[JohnMichael]

Welcome back Dallas.

[Mike Anderson]

And assorted hijinks did ensue...

[N. Abstentia]

Oh no..not hijinks!

[bobsticks]

oh Lord in the heavens above, I go away for a few days and look what happens...has anyone brought up Magic Pixie Snot yet?

[bobsticks]

The Sonys are no good because they are not monitors. You must use studio monitors with titanium laminate tweeters. The Sonys use Nano Fine tweeters that have been demonstrated in scientific testing to be inferior to titanium studio monitor tweeters. While Sony claims these speakers go to 50khz, that is only possible with titanium tweeters. Lesser speakers only go to 20khz. If your speakers don't go to 50khz you are missing like 30khz of sound. That will be alot of treble your missing out on if you don't have studio monitors with titanium laminate tweeters.

That's beautiful.