themblues

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $225.00 from goodguys

Summary:
Well I got these sans grills, so They were too good a price to pass up. I had them on my surround channels and they worked wonderfully. My main HT test disc is the beginning of Star Wars Ep. II when the ship is doing the flyby. The rear channels pump just as much bass as the front and they handle it fine. For music, they are a decent bookshelf, but at high volumes the treble gets pretty harsh and the bass muddies up the mids if there is a lot of it. A good bass music track is track 3 of the matrix reloaded soundtack (disc 1) called "reload" by Rob Zombie. There is a bass rundown about 40 seconds in that will test the limits of bass down to 20hz, these can't quite go down that low, start to cough at about 35 hz. The sound overall is clean and well done.

Strengths:
good sound for the size

Weaknesses:
treble may be harsh for some

Similar Products Used:
Bose, Wharfedale

Johann

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
2.50 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $329.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I purchased a pair of SB-s's and an Onkyo TX-8011 stereo receiver (50Wx2) for use in my home office. Eventually I want to use them for a small HT. Overall the construction of the SB-3 is very solid. The grilles could fit a little snugger, but the box is very solidly built, and the speakers have an attractive design. Highs: The highs are bright and agressive. Some might call them harsh, but I love the highs. Very crisp, clean and detailed. Mids: The mids could be a tad bit stronger, but are very open. Voices sound like they're having a concert right infront of you. Bass: The bass is good for a book shelf speaker. You're not going to knock pictures off the wall with these, but the bass is more than adequate for 2 channel listening. I wish it was a bit punchier however. This could be my relatively mild Onkyo TX-8011 reciever though.

Strengths:
-Crips, clean highs. -Excellent midrange. -Solid construction.

Weaknesses:
-Bass could be a little punchier. -Grills aren't a little flimsy.

Similar Products Used:
SB-2

TomW

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
2.50 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $249.00 from Vanns

Summary:
What a great speaker! I had been wanting to set up a budget system im my computer room so i could use the Decware SE84C which came out of my bedroom after building some Bottlehead Paramours. I found some Realistic Minimus 5 at the thrift shop for $5 just hoping the drivers worked. Well they worked fine but completely lacked any bass & the tweeter made noise when turned up. Then i got interested in some Wharfedale Diamond 8.2 after reading some reviews, & they could be found on the net for less than $200. Only downside, thier low sensitivity which i know from trying other similar speakers they would not mate well with the Decware. I wanted to keep the price to $200, but when i found the SB-3's for $249 shipping included i could'nt pass them up. How did i get them for $249? You tell me, they're now $349 again! Anyway the review. First off looks. They are kind of big for a bookshelf, but i have them on some Sanus BF24B stands & they stay very solid. The finish is nothing extraordinary, about what would be expected in this price range. I have the Klipsch RB5-II's in my bedroom & the SB-3's are almost identicle in size. As a matter of fact the grills are interchangable. The RB5-II's are more solid sounding when given the knuckle rap test, but the SB-3's are non reasanant. As some have stated the veneer seems rather cheap or poorly aplied, & the corners on the back of mine have the feeling/look that the veneer could come off easy. Sound: I had these hooked up to my Yamaha 2092,(150wpc stereo) for 4 days while i was at work playing at moderate volumes. Although i tried not to listen critically during this time, i did listen for short periods to see if i could detect any before or after differences. At first they seemed a little bright, but with 150 watts (total dynamic power) most bookshelfs tend to seem a litlle bright. And being so highly sensitive they made great use of the power. These speakers have great bass, & unless you like pipe organ music you may not even feel the need for a sub. I now have them in my computer room being powered with a Decware Zen SE84C with a total of 1.8wpc & the combination has very good synergy. However i would not try to run these with a low powered solid state amp. Even though the manual does not give any recomended amplification i would suggest 50 to 100wpc depending on room size. These speakers, along with the RB5-II's are the fatest speakers i have owned/heard. The RB5-II's have just slightly better tonal balance. Bass is outstanding & treble is well extended without being bright. Drums sound real, & solo vocalist like Dido sound very real & with you. One reviewer said: they sounded like they were in a plastic enclosure". "I guess he should know what plastic boxes sound like!?" These sound nothing like plastic boxes, the soundstage is big & the imaging is presice!! They practically disapear, but as always placement & proper toe-in is important. If i paid full price i would have to give them a 4 for value, but for what i paid for them i have to give them a 5. Overall sound i would say is about 90% of the RB5-II at about half the price!

Strengths:
Strong punchy bass,extended highs (without being bright),high sensitivity,good imaging & soundstage

Weaknesses:
Slightly large for a bookshelf,veneer could be better (a different color would be nice!), as with all speakers needs to be broken in to sound thier best

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch RB5-II

doc4b

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
2.40 of 5, 5.00 votes

Price Paid:  $189.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
These speakers are absolutely phenomenal. I bought them to replace some SB-2's I bought at Best Buy a few months ago for my home office. They are hooked up to a Kenwood VR-7070 and to my home computer and dish network satellite. I loved the SB-2's that I have (they are now in my bedroom, hooked up to a Yamaha), but wanted a little more robust sound for my office. They are somewhat deeper in the low end, but I also notice some crisper highs. They were an open box buy from Best Buy, so I believe that they were previously broken in. They do have a slight physical defect, as the grill is broken at the bottom of one of them, where the grill posts broke into the speaker itself. However, the top two posts are fine, so I am not bothered by this! Overall, a fabulous set of speakers, even compared to my Infinity SM 102's that are powering my home theater. These speakers should not be passed by if your local Best Buy has them on clearance, especially as you can go to bestbuy.com and get a coupon for 30% off of open box home audio!!!! What a steal!!!!!

Strengths:
Crisp Highs Remarkable low end

Weaknesses:
Face plate/Grill

Similar Products Used:
Infinity SM 102 Klipsch SB-2

Price Paid:  $299.00 from local store

Summary:
i here lots of strange and odd reviews about the sb3 there awesome no buts abouts it the sound take a little time to get used because its not your ordinary home speaker they were designed after the pro monitor line to be clean and clear at high volumes the drivers are xrossed over like the pro so what musicians play on there amps the sb3 reproduce faithfully other home speakers cant i come from expreince in pro audio peavey marshall etc pro audio monitors are made to reproduce 770 hz to 20khz with authority 70 below for the sub do the same with the sb3 and yo have a concert stage in you home with a smile that wont go away

Strengths:
excellent full upper bass and lower and upper mid bass controlled well defined highs will hurt your ears because you just want to turn it up conventional home speakers sound good at low volume terrible at high volume klipsch sb3 excellent at all volumes begs to be turned up as loud as you can stand it

Weaknesses:
box could be better construction

Similar Products Used:
pioneer jvc sony polk tech infinity jbl jl audio peavey marshall