Alrighty. Got these puppies hooked up and pumping! I let them break in for 10 minutes or so (I know, I know, bad audiophile ;) ), before I sat down to listen.
Pretty impressive upon first listen. I should admit, I have them hooked up in the main system, driven by the big McIntosh MC402. Not a fair match, as the Mac pushes 400 watts and is substantially more expensive than the speakers. However, it was a 'best case' scenario that these speakers could face, and I could eliminate any weak links in the system chain that would affect their performance.
I was able to A/B against my B&W Nautilus 802s. Obviously not a fair match up, but I can use my 802s as a good reference or control factor. Versus the 802s, the Sonys didn't sound ridiculously out-leagued. Yes, the sound was different, but at lower volumes the tone wasn't extraordinarily mismatched. Which is a good thing if you're expecting your speakers to not color the music too much and just reproduce the source.
The Sonys had a muted top end, or a tweeter that didn't stand out or call attention to itself. The midrange was sometimes "soft", certainly not shouty and didn't convey much of the 'cupped hands' effect. They are a 3 way design, and can deliver a suprising amount of bass and punch. I don't think they put out much below 50Hz, but certainly have enough kick for rock recordings if you can place them properly. I never felt the need for a sub, but in reality, I rarely do.
So, in what ways were they worse than the N802s? Well, when pushed hard, they had a tendancy to smear and distort the midrange, especially vocals. During loud passages, vocals would get a bit hard sounding. But remember, this is at pretty substantial volumes and compared against the world class (IMO) midrange unit of the B&W Nautilus. The 802s had much better control over the bass and went deeper. We're comparing a 6 1/2" woofer vs. dual 8" in a much bigger enclosure, so no big suprise. Low level detail was much easier to distinguish with the 802s. The buzzing of the guitar amps during quiet passages in Wilco's "At Least That's What You Said" was audible but indistinct with the Sonys, there was no mistaking it with the 802s. The B&Ws get virtually everything right, the Sonys do many things decent, but most importantly get the overall "tone" of things down pat. That last 10% is the hardest to nail, and is what motivates audio nuts to spend thousands to obtain ;)
The biggest compliment I can pay them is that the Sonys sounded almost just like the B&W DM603 S3 (
http://stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/805bw/). While I don't own that particular B&W, I have listened to it dozens of times. It has similar strengths and weaknesses. The B&W retails for $1000, however. Actually, I think the Sony is a more handsome speaker, with a tapered cabinet that makes it appear less bulky that traditional floorstanders.
A better comparision would have been my B&W Nautilus 804s vs. the Sonys, but logistics prevented it. The cabinet design, shape and height are almost identical between the Sonys and the $3500 804s. Of course, the 804s have a much nicer finish, more sophisticated design and sound better, especially at higher volumes.
So, my overall conclusion is that the Sonys are a winner. I paid a bit over $200 with shipping, which is what they were last clearanced for when available a couple of years ago. The pair I bought was advertised as new but open, and didn't appear to have ever been hooked up.
While I was slightly dissapointed that their performance at higher volumes was less than stellar, I found them to be fit for a wide range of duty, very stylish, and a real bargain at the price paid. A full range, smooth-sounding, good looking speaker at two bills is fairly uncommon in my experience. I haven't decided if they'll end up in my second, or third system. Gotta figure out which receiver will pair up best with them.
Keep your eyes open for a pair to experience some cheap fun :cool:
