Excellent price to quality ratio, good speaker for tweak freaks.

Spring clips, cheap wiring inside, light cabinet, somewhat bulky: too big for a bookshelf, too small for a floorstander.

I did the crossover modification described for the 515s and there's a noticeable difference. (It could be pyschological though, since I spent a few hours doing it and may have inhaled some fumes from the soldering. Get solderless clips.) I couldn't do an A/B comparison, which makes it much easier to notice the improvement, since it's hard to remember how something sounds unless it sounded really, really bad before and then sounded really really good after. Will investigate more, but I didn't experience any epiphanies.

For anyone who has done the mod, I'd be curious to know your take. I followed Mike Rootz and John Judy's instructions for the 515s, but winged it for some things. Namely, the 215s don't actually have a dedicated crossover, its wiring has a few capacitors for each driver, but that's it. I took that all out, wired the drivers to the PartsExpress crossover and put it all back together again.

Anyway, it was a fun project. These speakers are on sale at BestBuy for $99/pair. Recommended!

huge bass from small speakers; price

none

These speakers are awesome for the price (about 90 bucks) they were my front channels but now i am using them for rear channels. They are very versatile for whatever you do with them.

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Technics

Price

Poor quality--speaker failed after 4 months. Sound quality "tinny"

The Best Buy salesman's comments proved prophetic. "If they break after 30 days, you'll have to send them back to Sony". After four uses and four months (they're my B speakers in the den) the right speaker failed. I called the Sony warranty line and after six or seven menus got pre-recorded driving directions to a service center 300 miles away. No shipping address mind you, driving directions.

I took the speaker apart, determined that the terminal clip assembly has an intermittent open in it. Rather than drive for 12 hours or pay to ship, I'll fix it myself.

This is my last Sony product purchase ever. Second time they made warranty service unattractive or impossible. They're quality has become third rate. Thank goodness I found out before putting together my home theatre...

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Advent Loudspeaker

Good clean and clear sound, good price when found on sale, I didn't find them on sale though

Wish they could go louder, but consider the speaker size and wattage

They are good clean sounding speakers worth your time and money to look into, if you want to do a bedroom descently. If you are looking for a pair of speakers to crank up in the living room, consider something else, but otherwise they make a small room sound wonderful. Full bass, highs that cut through all of it and a clearity that I haven't heard in a while. All this complaining about these speakers being flat, maybe you should consider adjusting your equilizer!

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Various other speakers...too many to name

Looks, crisp, clean highs. Well defined lows. Price.

Vocals are a bit raspy. Midrange is of much lower quality than that of tweeter and woofer. Thin particle board construction.

These speaker were a very pleasant surprise. I originally just wanted something to play music in my bedroom run from my main system in the living room, but was so impresses with the clarity that I hooked them up to my old HH Scott Lk-48B integrated tube amp. I purchased them from a pawn shop for a scant $45 dollars for the pair!!! Listening to them is a pleasure, although the build quality shows evidence of cutting corners to reduce costs. You can literally push on one of the sides with your finger and watch the surface bend slightly. I plan on removing the drivers and building new enclosures, but will stay with the original internal dimension as it is a winning combination. I will toss the midranges for some higher quality Audax ones (Not a big fan of 3-way systems, but in this case, Audax has some great stuff; you can get them from Parts Express)The crossover will be replaced as well as the spring wire clips in favor of some 5 way binding posts. Overall, for the audio enthusiast on a budget, you cannot go wrong with this pair! For the half of the price I could have paid wholesale for similar quality parts,I got functional speakers and a good foundation for a project.

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Homemade loudspeakers, JBL bookshelf speakers

good for price

crappy wires, changed to monster

Well, this speaker does an awesome job for the price. I paid about $90 for these fine gems. They did a better job compared to others in the price range. I must admit that the highs are a little flat and bass isn't all that great, but bookshelf speakers at this price aren't exactly designed to handle those tasks incredibly well. Most of the other speakers I tried at this price did not come close to the sound quality these produced. The speakers did produce the midrange sounds I needed in the surround though. My opinion, if you want bass, get a subwoofer, and if you want better highs, get ready to fork out the money. Anyway, compared to the others, these are power hungry little gritters(well not exactly little). Once I bought them, I tried them on my dilapidated 3 year old receiver first, and they were weak. Then, I hooked it up to my Sony STR-DA777ES, they sounded great. (You need at least 50 watts of power to make these sound good.) They blend in well with my Yamaha floor and center speakers, and together they sound just perfect. These speakers were the perfect addition to my little alcove in the house. These speakers are great for those who don't want to spend hordes of money on bookshelf speakers, and are not trying to fill a very large room. For all those individuals who had trouble with these speakers, you probably need better wires and/or maybe a new receiver. For me, they were a bargain.

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Yamaha, Infinity

they sound good,and dont cost alot

they need more power than others

these speakers are very good,i was impressed by how clean and crisp they sounded.the bass wasnted muddy,because they have a midrange,which sounded warm and well balanced,like some of the more expensive speakers.the highs were well defined even at high levels.the only problem is that they seem to suck up power,they are not as efficient as bass reflex speakers.the ss-mb215 need to be powered with a high power amp,of at least 50 watts a channel.other than that i have to say they are they best sounding 100 dollar speakers i ve ever heard,they arent cheaply made,and dont sound cheap as long as you power them sufficiently.i would also recommend to use a sub with them if you like bass alot.it helps out drastically

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yamaha,jbl,infinty,klh,bose,boston acoustics

Low Price (Don't spend more than $39 a speaker). Name brand.

Scratchy high notes, weak base.

I compared these to the JBL d38 speakers (since Montgomery Ward was selling at the same price ($39 per speaker)). I took them both home and returned the Sonys. The Sony could not handle base and the mid and high notes were not clear. Also this had very small mid-range and tweeter speakers. To get a speaker in the Sony line that were equivalent to the JBL d38 you have to spend at least $110 per speaker.

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JBL D38
Note: US made speakers are the best quality.

Price, Excellent Bass Response for size

Need to modify crossovers to get good highs and mids.

When I first bought these, they were a major step-up from my full-range paper-cone speakers made back in the 70s.
The Bass is beautifully tight for the size, and with a subwoofer to handle 70Hz and below, these babies work great. I was dissapointed with the fact that these Sonys, (as with all Sonys) must be played loud for clear highs and mids until I discovered a way to modify the crossovers. There is a site listed further down in the reviews which gives instructions in how to do this for about four bucks. I tried it, and WOW! Excellent improvement, highs and mids are boosted dramatically. Combined with the bass, these modified crossovers make a high grade loudspeaker. It's worth trying; and for $100, you can't loose.

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Sony SS-MB115

Price, Sound

Needs modification

Dave was right! I made the changes in the capacitors and WOW! I changed one frst then compared side by side, the changed one was 100% better sounding. All of you who like these speakers will LOVE them if you make this change. Thanks Dave!