ADDITION TO MY PREVIOUS REVIEW: As I noted in my 1st review, the treble from the tweeter was weak and sounded "cutoff". So I pulled the tweeter, which had (I think, if I remember correctly) a 2.5kHz capacitor crossover on it. I removed that and replaced it with a 1kHz capacitor crossover. It makes all the difference in the world. The highs will be a lot stronger and smoother. It fills the audio spectrum a bit more. Just some advice for those of you that are audio-inclined...

Tight bass, clear highs, decent midrange, value for dollar

none I have found without trying to be ultra-picky in this range

I first reviewed these around 6mths. ago, and was very pleased, I thought it time for an update: From reading over other reviews, it appears that Sony might have a quality-control problem?? My pair of 215's have performed flawlessly thus far. I run them off of an old Sansui G8700DB receiver- 160wpc. I have never "babied" them, occasionly use the loudness boost, and have never had any woofer problems, bass remains tight to about 40hz. True the cabinet isn't the heaviest, however holding my hand to the sides and back on heavy bass passages I get very little vibration. Not to knock anyone elses equipment, however perhaps some of the other user's problems lie there. I have been "spoiled" by having classic Altec 605A's in 9cu.' cabinets, and some older Advent classic accoustic- supension designs. Granted, the Sony is not in the same league, however for the in-expensive bookshelf usage I purchased them, for, they continue to perform splendidly.

Similar Products Used:

Advent, JBL

Better with capacitor change to at least tweeter

A follow up to my last message. Been using these a bit more.

I have been experminting with crossover capacitor values on these MB215's. It has currently a 1 uf cap on the tweeter, and around a 2.7 uf on the mid. Both are 50 volt rating.

I tried about a 3 uf on the tweeter and is a BIG improvement. Wow Sony cut this off too tight. I bet the midrange is this way as well ? I have not tried changing this one yet. Must have been for the teenage set to keep from blowing them out ??

So trying to come down to a solid value at least on the tweeter. Might see if a 2.2 uf is going to be enough ??

But without this change, these speakers just do not cut it. So for the change in my rating.

davez
davez2@netzero.net

Follow-up: BIG improvement with my final changes to crossover capacitors.

Another follow-up to my earier messages. Now I have finished my testing/changing of the crossover capacitors with the tweeter AND midrange. A trip to Radio Shack and $ 4.00 later makes these MB215 speakers work 100% better.

I did NOT touch the capacitors already installed, I added another (non-pol elect) cap of 2.2 uf across the 1.0 uf for the tweeter (total of 3.3 uf). For the midrange I added a 4.7 uf across the 2.7 uf (total of 7.4 uf).

The high and mids are VERY much improved (now very good). Like night and day. However I'm not sure how the "abuse" factor might be for a "teenager" type, it very well could be a problem here ?

So if you are "techie" type person...this would be a very worthwile change to these speakers. Sony should be kicked for this one !!! Again in it's "out of the box" condition....I would pass these up !!!!

DaveZ
davez2@netzero.net

Highs, lows, and everything in between.

Could use a tad more bass but bass is great for my 10w System :)

Great speakers for the price. Was looking at KLH towers (100ea.)and Jensen Powerstations (90ea.) and then i found these babies. Great deal on 2 great speakers. The subs look great with the fake aluminum look and the tweeter is nice. The thin, rubbery cone in the center of the sub is nice too bcuz if it is pushed in it comes back out :P If you are on a budget and want some great speakers, check these out. AND MAKE SURE YOU SALESMAN ISNT A POTHEAD. I was shopping and came to sears and tested the Jensens and they were ok but i wanted to hear the sony's. He tried it but they were hooked to a sony receiver on the Surround channels and there was absolutely NO bass whatsoever. Then 3 days later i went back and tried to hear them again..with no avail again. So the salesman (not the potso) pulled em off the shelf and hooked em up. WOAH...what a great speaker. So we decided to take them. Then we got the pot headed salesman. He said he would check stock to see if they were there and basically all he did was walk a circle and lie. He said they werent there but when we went back they were there....3 sets of them. Go figure. Oh well...they are good for the price.

Similar Products Used:

stock speakers (that sucked)

Highs, mids, and Lows

none at all

For only being 8's thes things are excelent. Superior sound quality and very nice tight bass. I would recomend these to anyone who wants to rattle their bedroom windows, cause these will do it!! You will not be disapointed. And for all you college goeres out there, these would be perfect for a dorm room that you can't shake the walls down in. But don't take my word for it. Buy em yourself and find out the quality of these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

KLH, Jensen