Sony SS-MB150H Bookshelf Speakers

Sony SS-MB150H Bookshelf Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

Easy on the budget as well as the ears! The clean, good-looking Sony SS-MB150H bookshelf speakers deliver remarkably solid, attractive sound for the price — paired with a Sony subwoofer, they're a great solution for folks who want to enjoy stereo music in a smaller room. Plus, they make good surround speakers in a Sony home theater system.

Each speaker offers a 1" Nano-Fine® balanced dome tweeter, for highs that go all the way up to 50,000 Hz, and a HOP 5-1/4" driver. Ultra-light HOP (Highly Oriented Polyolefine) driver material is Kevlar Fiber Reinforced™ and many times stronger than regular polypropylene — as a result, these cones deliver consistent, realistic mids and lows. Put it all together, and you've got a very nice little performer! The black ash finish fits nicely into most styles of decor.

  • bass-reflex
  • video-shielded
  • frequency response 80-50,000 Hz
  • 8-ohm impedance
  • sensitivity 87 dB
  • handles up to 120 watts
  • spring clips
  • black ash vinyl finish
  • 6-5/8"W x 9-13/16"H x 7-1/4"D
  • warranty: 2 years

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-9 of 9  
[May 10, 2011]
james
Audio Enthusiast

awesome sound for the size WOW that's all i got to say....................jim

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Dec 07, 2007]
jimmie james
AudioPhile

Strength:

price, sound

Weakness:

bass shy of course

I can't believe I would have bought these without really hearing them first but I did. And I can't remember why exactly I bought them but they ended up next to my computer monitor in my home office, driven by an old Marantz all in one cd receiver. The receiver itself has limited resolution just by the fact that it has to be 10 years old if not more. The CDP integral to the unit is very hifi challenged due to it's age and chip set. The tuner section is OK and Marantz as always has a warm sounding analog section. I have these speakers set up in the extreme near field and they sound pretty darn good for $50. They sound pretty darn good for $300 because they bested a pair of Wharedale Diamond something or others that cost that much. The Wharfey's would have probably sounded much better out of the nearfield. I also tried a pair of $200 Boston something or other little bookshelf speakers and the little Sony's sounded better again. Maybe Sony had the near field in mind when designing these smaller than a shoebox speakers. I listen to two low power, technology challenged, college radio stations that play jazz 18 hours a day. I don't listen at very loud volumes. I listen to this little system when working, doing genealogy research and web surfing. They could not be better suited to the task. I saw these speakers advertised on BLACK FRIDAY for $25 a pair. Could have been the deal of the century. They cannot be beat for the money or even 6X the money in the near field.

Similar Products Used:

Boston Acoustic, Wharfedale Diamond 8.1, Aerial Acoustics 5b, Sound Dynamics RT3, Infintiy Primus 150's, Von Schweikert VR-1's

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 29, 2007]
Kevin McMurtrie
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clean sound with good coverage at close range

Weakness:

Treble drops rapidly with distance

At close range, the speakers sound very clean and the timbre changes little with listening angle. As distance increases, the sound level of the tweeter drops much faster than the woofer's. The sound is very muddy past about 8 feet. They're excellent on an office desk or in a small room. They can be used as surround sound speakers as long as they're within a few feet of the listeners. Don't put them in a large room, even as fill speakers.

The bass is weak, as expected for a tiny speaker rated at 120W.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
[Aug 08, 2005]
Thomas
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Midrange clarity and open, smooth highs.

Weakness:

Obvious lack of bass due to there size, but sounds perfectly fine with a good subwoofer.

These little speakers are quite amazing. I'm powering them with a 10 watt per channel integrated vacuum tube amp. Obviously, due to their size, they should be used along with a subwoofer. They weren't designed to blow out windows..... I have the Sony SA-WX700 dual 10 inch sub that they match up well with. The midrange clarity is outstanding for such a small speaker. The highs, unlike what others have stated, are very smooth and revealing, not harsh and grainy. I have them on a pair of 30" Plateau speaker stands about 8' apart and about 2' from the back wall. They're very holographic and image like crazy. They are overall, a very impressive pair of budget speakers. They weren't meant to be compared to and reviewed against speakers costing hundreds, if not thousands more. But, why not? ;-) As far as I'm concerned, they can definately hold their own and play quite loud with a measly 10 watts. They're worth every penny.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Acoustic Research, Klipsch.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 11, 2005]
ball0735
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

High are very clear and crisp

Weakness:

now low end response

These speakers sound very good for the price. I have heard lots of $200 speakers that don't sound much better. The only difference in the speakers is the bass response. The sony speakers have almost no low response. You hardly get any bass. But for me that is not a problume for me though. I have two velodyne subs which pick up the low end frequences very well. One is a cht-10 and one is a spl-1000 which together have 1875 watts of total power.

Similar Products Used:

klh Pioneeer sony technics.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 27, 2005]
vfrken
Casual Listener

Strength:

Mid-tones.

Weakness:

Tweeter performance.

On paper, these speakers appear adequate for casual use and on top of it, they're fairly attractive and have good craftmanship for the price. However, in a critical evaluation their weaknesses are revealed. In comparison to my usual Optimus LX-5's, the Sony speaker lacks the range and depth that I'm used to. Given their size, of course there isn't much low end bass to speak of. The woofer is actually very nice and provides relaxed, yet clear, mid-ranges. The biggest downfall is the tweeter, which sounds a bit tired dynamically and has very narrow dispersion. I played with speaker placement quite a bit before I settled, and even then there was only one spot, +/-1 foot, in the room that worked. Overall, I think the speaker has nice warm mid-tones, but the poor tweeter performance is a dealbreaker for me. Back to Best Buy they go. But hey, for $50 it's worth a listen if you're on a budget.

Similar Products Used:

Optimus LX-5 CSW MC300

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jan 16, 2005]
SpeakaFreaka
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Pounding bass out of a small enclosure Clear highs Defined mids Kevlar reinforced cones,yeah! I thought my little Vegas were good until I heard how clean sounding these are

Weakness:

NONE so far!

These lil speakers are great,especially for what I payed for em.I was very suprised that new Sony speakers feature Kevlar cones,a great improvement I must say.When I compaired them to Polk Audio and Infinity,I noticed that there really isnt that much of a significant difference.Sure they had a little more bass and better highs/mids,but I figured there was no reason to pay outrageous prices on bookshelf speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega L-7 Bkshlf

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 23, 2004]
Kynon
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Tight bass, defined mids, warm highs. Blends well with HKB6's.

Weakness:

Cant be wall-mounted. You can feel them "puffing" from 4 feet away when playing heavy bass (no joke)

When I bought these from Circuit City, I was on a tight budget, and had not yet realized how wonderful eBay was for unemployed music lovers (Im not THAT lazy, I'm only 15 and noone will hire me =P.) When I listened, they were the best I could afford, and I always told myself, "Well, they sound good for their price range." But then I eBayed an old Harman/Kardon AVR20 to replace my home-made amp (which wasn't all that bad). When I A/B'd them against my HKB6's ($400 retail, $70 on eBay), I realized that they arent too shabby. I played some hip-hop through them to test the bass, which is clean and refined as long as you don't turn it up TOO much. Then I tested them with Ginuwine's "Differences" to find that their highs are warm and the mids are defined, and they are not as bright as they sounded on my homebrew amp. If only they could be wall-mounted more easily...

Similar Products Used:

None.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 09, 2004]
Thefrugalear
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Warm,clean sound.

Weakness:

None for me

I’m very surprised at the new line of Sony speakers. They’re unlike the speakers of past. Very good quality at a very low price. These small Sony’s sound very clean, rich and warm. Highs and mids are very good, but what surprises me the most is the bass response - very clean and accurate. Not boomy or overemphasized. They’re easy on the ears for extended listening. Although the larger SS-MB350H’s have a bigger and more dynamic sound, these smaller Sony’s have better vertical dispersion, imo, which I like. If you’re looking for speakers that sound bright and “up-front” then these are not for you. But if you want warm, clean sound then this might fit the bill.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Klipsch, Energy.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 28, 2003]
KnightZeroX
Casual Listener

Strength:

Very good High's and mid range. Construction is good and looks are nice too Price

Weakness:

Bass, excpect a decent amount from a bookshel speaker.

First of let me say that I'm not a person that judges any product by name or price. I just simply bases everything off of what I can hear. I picked these up at Best Buy for what I consider a pretty good price of $50 for a pair. At first though I thought these speakers to be pretty bland and to have very little bass ( it is a bookshelf speaker of course ) and actually not that good mid and high range sounds. After spending almost an hour at best buy comparing it with the next model higher of sony's, and with some super cheap KLH's, Yamaha's, and JBLS, I can say these. The Yamaha's and JBLS sound better and you can tell easily. But they are also priced almost threeto five times as much or more. Seocndly I'll admit, at Best Buy they sounded like crap. But hey they were cheap and I figured they were good enough for some cheap rear left and right speakers. Well low and behold when I got home and hooked them up they sounded absolutely amazing. I could hear crip highs and mids. Also for just having a tweeter and midrange it gave a decent amount of bass as well. I am happy with my purcahse and won't look back. For the price, you can't complain, and when you hear them, you really can't complain. I do suggest that you get a subwoofer if you really want to get some lows or maybe go up to a larger model that includes a woofer. I personally just needed some rears but these can well replace my dad's 10 year old speakers with a decent subwoofer. Overall great product and very please with the sound quality.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, JBL

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-9 of 9  

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