Look, discrete and matching with all decor. Slim and easy to install in walls, corners, bookshelf, floorstands... Front and rear channel capabilities. Incredible tonal balance and undistorted sound.

Discontinued; not a popular brand. Not intended for real "full range" playback, but who cares.

Great sound! Little B&W brothers, but still with family taste... I bought them at an audio store closeout for an incredibly cheap price: two pairs of s100's, a Mirage FRx C-1 center channel and a Mirage FRx s10 Sub for $450 dlls.
When setup together, matched to a Marantz A/V SR4000 as both front and rear speakers, all the real sound came instantly. But a few months later, the Mirage sub was replaced to a new Paradigm PS-1000 sub... Then, the pro-sound came through ever since.
With the Pearl Harbor's airport bombing scene, it sounded like the bombing was taking place at the front of my door; and the s100's stood still willing to impress even my neighbors... and they did! Now imagine the D-day scenes in Saving Private Ryan. Wow.
They're great with music, but mainly used as a home theater.
Always use the best speaker cables you can afford: it makes a huge difference!

Appearance, sound, build quality

Bass capability

These are great little speakers. I got them custom installed by ListenUp about 4 years ago, but the speaker wire they used was garbage. Just this month I bought a new Marantz 19SRex receiver, so I decided I'd upgrade all the speaker cables in my system. What a difference! I used 45 ft. each of Monster Cable XP in wall cable with Monster flex pins. This may not be the best cable on the planet, but these speakers ROCK now. As other reviews have noted, the bass isn't the best, but there's no bass distortion, either. It just rolls off. Anyway, you don't buy these speakers for the bass, right?

Also, they are, like their name, incredibly "Solid". They are so well built. The attachment to the wall is completely transparent, and you can move them any which direction. If you can get a pair, go for it.

Similar Products Used:

B&W 601s

I've been auditioning a LOT of bookshelf speakers and satelite/subwoofer combos since having an unpleasent experience with a pair of Infinity RS2000.3's (see my review of those if you like...) Of all the Energy, Paradigms, M&K's, etc., that I've listened to, these little S100's with their matching subwoofer beat them all.
I went to the local stereo store with the intention of giving the Paradigm Atom's a good listen. By their reputation alone I thought for sure they would be the speaker for me, and I wasn't disappointed. When played along with a Paradigm PDR-8 subwoofer, they sounded incredible. Then the salesman brought out the Solid Solutions S100's, and allowed me to listen to them WITHOUT their matched 10" amplified subwoofer, the PB100. They sounded like a very nice pair of satelites, but the little 4" mid/woofer left me wondering where's the bass. Then he hooked up the PB100 subwoofer, and I was completely amazed at what I was hearing!

I brought along my Ma/Meyer/O'Conner "Appalachia Waltz" CD to test how each speaker dealt with Edgar Meyer's string bass - especially on a track entitled "Pickles." All the Paradigms did a decent job reproducing the bass, but with the S100/PB100 combination, it seemed like Mr. Meyer was standing right there in the room giving me and the salesman a personal concert! I've NEVER heard any loudspeaker in the S100/PB100 price range sound so wonderful! Then we played a cut off of Wynton Marsalis' "Thick in the South" CD entitled "Harriet Tubman." Wynton's trumpet came across sounding VERY real - nothing else in this price range even came close. And Bob Hurst's string bass was very richly and fully reproduced.

But most amazing is the "virtual reality" effect of these little giants - once again there was no comparison with anything else I've listened to. This is the type of effect one would expect to hear from a pair of $4000 Von Schweikert VR-4's, not a $650 satelite/subwoofer combo. Yet it was the best imaging of anything in their price range. The only other speakers on hand that gave the S100's a run for the money were the Pardigm Monitor-9's, which are an incredible bargain in and of themselves.

As compared to the Polk Audio "RM" satelite/subwoofer systems, I woud say the S100's have a fuller sound, especially in the midrange, although the Polk's have slightly better highs. The Polk's are very nice, but when it comes to realistic music reproduction, the Solids take the cake. And when you factor in price, a $1000 MSRP Solid Solutions home theatre package is an absolute steal compared to the $1600 MSRP Polk RM7300 system. I really like the little S100's. If anybody hears something better in this price range, please let me know - I haven't purchased them yet.

Recently, I auditioned various speakers for a new Home Theater system including Polk, NHT, Bose, Infinity, and then I heard the Rock Solid HCM-1 Cinema Monitors. Their sound was tight, smooth, with good imaging. I felt they outperformed (qualitatively, to my tastes) the others. I listened to Music first (Rickie Lee Jones, Steely Dan, the Cranberries), then Cinema (Lost in Space, English Patient). I added the C100 Center and the PB100 Subwoofer. I now enjoy the setup immensely with my new Yamaha 2095 receiver.

Now i realize that mass market speakers like sony, pioneer and others are crap compared to high-end speakers manufactured by B&W and others.These little speakers manufactured by Solid (B&W little brother) sound better than my much bigger Pioneers although they have much less bass. Bass is their weak spot but i guess they were designed to use with a sub, i can't wait to ear them with the Solid PB100, my next purchase. ;)

I recently purchased a set of S100 and their corresponding sub. I chose them over mundane systmes by Polk and Bose easily, but laso over a set of Paradigm mini mon/titans and B&W 302s. Personally I think they had a more balanced feel overall than Paradigms. The mid range is just a little tighter. That's my opinion of course. Right now I have them hooked up to an old Pioneer Pro Logic receiver which is junk(gotta save up for a new receiver now), but for movie performance they are awesome. I've watched Braveheart and Ultimate Soldier(not surround) and they did an awe inpsiring performance that belies their small size. A hearty recommendation...

These have got to be the Sexiest,most stylish little speakers ever made.And not only shapely of form,but also"Rock-Solid"in the silky way they deliver sound.Versatile mounting options with provided wall brackets that make them look like Art.

Bass is not there below about 100hz.,but at least the way the bass rolls off is graceful.I found that although you can set these babies on top of shelves,etc..,the sound is so much better if wall-mounted-especially corner wall-mounted,which is why the company provided the means to do so.They were designed with this sort of "sonic-reinforcement"in mind,I am sure.Try this before you make up your mind about the sound...

I bought these as a sort of sonic-mate to my B+W's.These two British companies sort of"touched pee-pees"with each other in designing speakers,and the sound of both products is similar as far as the uncolored,smooth delivery of sound goes.These will do well as rear surrounds for a B+W front array.The S-100 is a very unique product-I even consider them a collector's item now that they are discontinued(?).Sweet-little-babies that will amaze you,and even hold the power to please the eye.What a concept!(plus,I got them at almost $100 below retail...Thanks Star-Audio,and thanks B+W,I mean,Rock-Solid!

Similar Products Used:

B+W 601-S2.