These speakers have a wonderfully sweet sound. They go perfectly with a subwoofer. The midrange is smooth and clear, the bass is tight, fast and light and the treble is extended while slightly recessed in the irritating lower treble region around 4kHz. Because of this and the little carbon dome that could, before maturity, there seems to be a little extra energy at the extreme treble end. I'm sure that a good burn in would nicely loosen the tweeter suspension, but given the high crossover point, It might take a while. These speakers are very fun to own. The floor version stands are very heavy, have cable routes and the cabinets are well damped, but they are not dead, which is still ok. The cleanliness of the midrange is benefitted by the rounded cabinet shape. The ball swivel system works great. Critical listening demands grille removal. The companion subwoofer to this series has a cast frame and a very heavy motor structure. Many outside of Japan don't know: Sony can do absolutely anything in any given cost range. A-.