Fast Ca$h

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I've been listening to these speakers for about 5 years now and have been fairly satisfied with the overall value. They were originally purchased to upgrade the front speakers of our old Aiwa 5.1ch Home Theater System and sounded nice when backed up with that system's powered sub. Recently we upgraded our HTS with Onkyo's HT-S780 which came with a complete speaker set. Not being satisfied with Onkyo's front speakers, I replace them with the Yamaha NS A638 which was an improvement, but at the same time revealed some of the Yamaha's weaknesses. I figured the 110W/channel receiver would really make these speakers shine, but I have to say I am no longer totally satisfied with them. They are still great when used for theater/movies applications, but listening to music is where they fall short. The highs are nice and crisp without being too harsh, but the mid-range lacks clarity and separation. The mids are somewhat 2-dimensional and the bass really flattens out at higher volumes. I looked inside the cabinet and noticed the mid driver, woofer, circuitry and wiring looked to be average, if not poor quality. It is still a decent speaker for the price especially when paired with a powered sub. I would recommend these to someone new to Home Theater or looking to get a decent, cheap, large bookshelf speaker for a entry-mid level receiver with a sub. They are also rather nice looking, albeit a bit large. The speaker grille has a tapered angle on both sides and the bottom that gives it a 3-dimensional look... If only that gave the sound a bit more depth.

Strengths:
price, looks

Weaknesses:
Mid-range depth, bass response, size

Price Paid:  $100.00 from best buy

Summary:
DONT BUY THESE!!!! That said, heres why. I love in a dorm but i dont see that as i reason to not have good sound. I bought these speakers without hearing them online just for the price. I was just looking for a decent speaker for my room. These speakers did not fill this need. I run a onkyo tx8511 for an amp, so the problem is not there. The sound was muddy and distoreted. Bass was very dirty and the highs sounded fake. I gave them a good two weeks of use but the sound didnt change so best buy got there speakers back. I now use Axiom M3ti's. i love them. and for $239 how could you go wrong.

Strengths:
Price. paperwieght.

Weaknesses:
sound, but who needs good sound.

Similar Products Used:
Axiom M3ti. JBL S38II. Bose 301V

Price Paid:  $9998.00 from Best buy

Summary:
I wanted to buy new speakers for my surround sound system in my room. I figured I already had ss-mb105''''s in the rear, so I thought get the ss-mb300s for the front. Like so, I looked on the internet and saw some poor reviews. I went to best buy, saw 3 I liked, (all 99.98 a pair). 1 was 12" KLH floor speakers, the Sony ss-MB300 and these Yamahas. I listened to all three, and the Yamahas and KLHs were better tyhan the sonys. The salesperson said between the two, sony''''s were out of the question. He said bigger isn''''t always better he said the highs were better on the yamahas but the KLH had more bass. He said, boomy bass or tight bass do you want? I of course said, tight clean bass. He said 1 word. Yamahas. I ended up buying them and when I got home, I played them and they were excellent. Don''''t listen to the few people that say no bass. They must have crappy recievers. These don''''t even need a sub. Those woofers pump out nice bass. The highs are excellent, but maybe a little harsh at times at high volume, only if they''''re up high. If they''''re on the floor, don''''t worry about that. They look very nice. I just have my own little ratings here from 0 being GPX crappy and 10 being movie theater. also, these are VERY efficent speakers. If you are looking for a budget speaker, these are them. Bass: 7 Mid: 9 High: 6 Looks: 9 Size: 6 Weight: 10 Overall sound: 8 Movies: 10 Music: 8 Efficency: 10 Price: 10 Availability in stores: 6 My overall score: 8

Strengths:
Bass, high, efficency, price.

Weaknesses:
High volume harshness.

Similar Products Used:
sony ss-mb105, JVC mini system, Fisher speakers, and lots of others.

Price Paid:  $60.00 from Audio King

Summary:
I don't get it, the bass is bloody fine to me. I've been using them for 2 years and have yet to hear any woofer pop at high volumes. About the only thing I don't like about them is the odd length to them, and the fact that the grill pretty much seems to act as an air filter. Otherwise, I think they are just fine for a smaller room, HT setup. Considering I pump 100 watts through each one, and have for 2 years, I have had zero complaints. But then, I got a great after christmas deal on them, and have yet to see them advertised that low again.

Strengths:
Great for Front Surrounds, good music reproduction

Weaknesses:
I dont' really have any, other than the large size

Price Paid:  $70.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I had a pair of JBL S38's ($599 retail), but I decided to ditch them for a couple of reasons..1) price 2)mids and highs were dull (although that might have been my receiver).

I did a side by side comparisons of the S38s and the yamaha's, and I noticed that the bass was weak on the yamaha's, but the mids and highs came out much brighter than the JBL's. Since I already have a subwoofer, I had no need for a strong bass speaker.

I currently use them for surrounds for 5-channel stereo, and I'm very pleased with them. At some point, I will probably replace the woofers, but they do the job for now.
Definitely recommended for anybody with a budget, and, minus the woofers, these should be considered for anybody looking to spend around $300 retail for bookshelves.

My system:
Denon 1801
Mains: Yamaha A100xt
Center: Yamaha AC40x
Rears: Yamaha 638
Subwoofer: Sony SA-WM40

Strengths:
Very clear mids and highs, cheap!! Decent looks

Weaknesses:
Bass, of course. The mids and highs can sound harsh at high volumes.

Similar Products Used:
JBL S38