Natural and realistic reproduction of recorded material. Easily fills my small listening room (12x13) with non fatiguing sound. Well balanced highs mids and lows, nothing stands out, but any instrument can be heard and pinpointed in the wide sound stage that extends all the way to the side walls. The speakers are powered by an 85 watt per channel Yamaha AX-497 amp and are placed on stands at ear level (when seated), 3 ft. away from front and 3 ft. from side walls. Some reviewers mention binding posts, my pair has spring clips, however I was able to CAREFULLY insert the dual banana plugs on my cables. Side note: to the reviewer that gave 1 star may I suggest taking your head out of the toilet.

Not a weakness but the label on the back states these comply with CA laws as of 2018/07. I thought they were discontinued before that date.

Beautiful looking speakers but comes with many audible problems like: fake bass sound, too much treble and lacks mid range sound! They're good looking but disappointing in sound performance.
I like to listen to smooth jazz, but not on these speakers, I feel like smashing them with a sledge hammer!
And if you ever think of playing latin or reggae music on these speakers, guess what? They will sound like it's coming out of a toilet!!! Listen to my wise advice, save your money and buy something else!

Beautiful speaker with amazing clarity for the price. A bit on the large size for a bookshelf though.

The highs are crisp and clean. The sound overall is clean. Even when pushing the limit. The price was right on time.

They are a bit bulky and I can't use my stands for them. I will have to purchase a more sturdy stand...

Got a great deal on these. Since they are being discontinued, they were on sale. When the guy told me $19, I thought apiece. Was I wrong!!! It was for the pair. I have several sets of lower end speakers. I am on constant watch for the best sound at the best price. One day I will be able to afford the Martin-Logans or other high ends. But this was a great deal. I have some 201's that I was using as my fronts in my HTS and some 141's as surrounds. I used the NS 6490's as my front B speakers for a while and they sound great. Really nice highs and mids. I have a sub so that takes care of all my bass. Well as a true enthusiast, I have tried several different setups. The one I am settling on for now is the NS 6490 as my fronts and the 201's as surrounds and the 141's go in the pile with the KLH's ans Sony's that I don't use. I will probably set up another HTS in my bedroom if I can convince the wife, who is wonderful and has put up with my constant need for the perfect sound and system. Right now, these speakers rock. Just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Totally get my recommendation!!! Try the Santana 5.1 DVD and get blown away.

Similar Products Used:

Bose Polk Sony KLH

Value, Power, Quality of Sound

Weak mids, butt note

I have used these speakers for just about a year. They are amazing. You can not go wrong with these speakers for 50 a pair. There is no comparison to anything else this price. The highs are very very crisp, and the bass is very punchy. It seems to lack in the midrange at sometimes, and there seems to be this one note that the woofers hit sometimes that really sounds a lot louder than other frequencies, but I may just be imagining things.

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Various other bookshelf speakers (haven't had much need to replace these)

Wide sound stage, accurate 3D imaging. Highs are AMAZING, airy, covers all frequencies.

Mid is not prominent, low lacks.

They are unbelievable speakers for the price! First need to say is sound stage and imaging. The sound stage is very wide open, seems not limited by anything. And 3D imaging is excellent! Better than any speakers I have had, including B&W 602S3 ($700) and 601S2($400). The highs is accurate and airy, not any irretating. Everyone came to my home listened to these speakers are amazed by the highs. Mid is lacked when just out of the box, and paper sounding, but after months of break in, the mid becomes warm and natural. But still a little lacked, maybe need more break in or mod. The bass goes low after break in, but still slightly lacked. But over all sound is very natural and covers all frequencies, from this aspect it win again over all speakers I have had. Only weakness is mid range prominence and low strength. Over all, these are the best speaker under $300. I will sell my B&W 602S3 soon and keep these speakers. Looking for mod to improve mids. CDP Marantz CD17 MKII Amp NAD 314

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Panasonic, B&W 601 S2, B&W 602 S3

Excellent build.Amazing high & midrange sound.Sleek off white colored speakers. Yamaha quality.2 years warranty. Low price.

Lack of BASS.

Got the speakers at Fry's. Got home and hooked them first up to my stereo receiver. I was amazed at the clarity of the high and mid range. The bass on the other hand was missing and even turning my bass to maximum didn't do enough. Finally hooked them up to my Onkyo Ts-501 A/V receiver as front speakers. That's where they belong. My speakers setting on the Onkyo are setup to small (sub woofer 1).I was amazed at the sound effects coming out of the Yam speakers. Because my A/V system has an active sub woofer there is plenty of bass. I would definitely NOT recommend these speakers for a stereo receiver (because the lack of bass) but I would definitely recommend them for a A/V receiver with a sub woofer. They are sleek looking when you take the front cover off. The speakers are off white looking instead of the traditional black. The finishing of the front is shiny and looks very chicque and expensive. That's the way I have them exposed in my room. The build in general is excellent.

Price, they look pretty good too. great sound to dollar value

Spring clip connectors, build quality is o.k.

I bought these to replace some old mission model 70's and I must say they sound pretty dam good for 50 clams. I am not a big fan of yamaha speakers ,but these just might change my mind. They sound pretty full for such a low cost speaker and they do a decent job of covering the audio spectrem. I still need more break in time ,bit I am pleasently suprised. I needed more midrange in my system and for the price you really can't beat them.A good deal if you are not looking to spend a crap load of money on a fancy name.

Similar Products Used:

mission, jbl,energy

- Value - Sound dynamics - Power handling

- Low end still needs the help of a sub woofer

One word - "Unbelievable". It's just been discontinued but I think there are still a few remaining ones out there. For value alone, it's a killer. A 3 way brand name bookshelf speaker with an 8" woofer and frequency response from 45Hz ~ 23,000Hz for less than $75? The top end is crisp and clear, in fact, I am hearing a lot of stuffs that would usually be heard while wearing headphones. The bass is solid - provided to turn the bass all the way up. But adding a sub woofer to go along with it doesn't hurts. Power handling is awesome too, it takes anything my vintage 100W + 100W Pioneer monster reciever throws at it. Amazing! I am extemely happy!

Tight Bass, clear vocals, price

Have not found any

You can't beat these speakers for the price or even a hundred dollars more. I have a Denon circa 1990 receiver (25 watts per channel) and have been using Infinity 2 way bookshelf speakers. This combination sounded great until my 2 year old decided that the woofers needed to be pushed in. I went to a number of audio stores and listened to Cerwin, Sony, Polk, etc. I was really impressed with the Yamaha product before knowing the price. After finding a sales person (almost impossible to find in an electronics store) he informed me that the Yamaha speakers were $99.99 per pair. I felt that this was very reasonable and thought it would be a good idea to try the Internet before making a purchase. Well, I found the deal of the century!!! You can currently (as of 11-14-03)buy a pair of these great speakers for $49.98 per pair (yes, I said per pair) at BestBuy.com and they will ship for no charge!!! I have not found anything close even on ebay.I received the speakers via UPS today and immediately hooked them up for a test drive. I listen to everything from Jazz to heavy metal and tried a little of everything from my collection. WOW!!! Am I impressed! My reciever has treble, bass and mid adjustment which allowed me to tweak these till they sounded absolutely perfect. These speakers have tight bass as well as great highs. Unlike reviews on the 6390's, I do not feel that the 6490's are overly bright on the high end. I put on some jazz piano and I could distinguish every note. I am very impressed and would highly recommend these to anyone looking for a high quality affordable 3 way bookshelf speaker. Be sure to check BestBuy.com before making your purchase (no I do not work for BestBuy or know anyone who does). What a deal!!!

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Pioneer