A Little History


These speakers were used in conjunction with a Sony SS-CN550H for the center channel and 3 Sony SS-MB150H cubes (not really, but they are small) in the rear. Two sets of the rears were actually purchased, but as the receiver used, a Sony STR-DE598, only supported 6.1, that single is now daisy chained in with a whole bunch of odd speakers in the garage. The fact that all these components are Sony is coincidence (Pioneer makes some great entry level speakers too), these components simply happened to be the cheapest that served the purpose which was a modest home theater. All wiring and connections were made with either included cable or cheapo grocery store style offerings.

The speakers themselves look a little different than the current Epinions photo in that they now have yellow cones, not unlike some other popular brands right now. Everything else about the speaker seems to be identical, almost down to specs claimed. I bring this up only as a buying point; you may be expecting to get a set of black coned speakers (black is basic and goes with everything) as many sites still show. I feel these speakers perform quite admirably for the price, maybe not to the degree the/my old Yamaha NS6390s did, but for its price point, $100, admirably indeed.

The primary seats for this set-up, and it’s primarily a home theater less a quiet listening area, are about 8ft. away on your average 80in. couch. The speakers (350H) themselves are about 5ft. apart. The room isn’t really huge, but it’s an early/mid seventies house with a 20ft. vaulted ceiling, so it’s a rather odd shape overall. The rug is very thick and all the furniture is puffy fabric. This would be a black hole for bass with such a small set-up, but a sub (it’s a Panasonic and it’s ooooold) was already present, so the low end is taken care of. Evaluation was pretty fairly split between movies with the sub and stereo music without.



First Impressions


I mentioned those Yamahas earlier for a reason. For those that had them, or one of the few permutations, will remember they were quite heavy and quite large, specifically very deep. They were also acoustic suspension as these Sony’s are, but the internal volume of the Sony set bothered me a little because it was so small. Surely to create any real bass, even what one could expect of these, the box volume would have to be higher, or a traditional bass reflex method used. Maybe not.

These speakers are very light (about 15lbs), even for their size, and aren’t as big as I thought they would be. When I had seen the picture, before seeing it in Best Buy or wherever, I had the impression the box would simply be bigger. Not the case at all, they are actually fairly svelt and now that they have their own little place in the wall unit I was eventually coerced into building they fit well in the design scheme for that room (black goes with everything). In this particular application, the grilles were left on as they blend in a little better that way. So the first thoughts are . . . light (three eighths MDF at best), small, cheap, and what appears to be a very thin, not so rigid woofer. Whatever. I hooked them up and popped in some Paul Simon Rhythm of the Saints. Hello nurse!



Performance


It wasn’t that quick, it took a little while to get stuff right. I did do some fiddling with the few surround modes this receiver did offer, but then I finally sat back and used the pair in stereo mode. A tweak to the bass and treble and I was actually surprised how good these speakers sound right out of the box. They did a very good job resolving all the little sounds in many of the songs on Rhythm of the Saints. They also did just as well with some quiet tracks from a studio Dead disc I had. If you are a Grateful fan you know well how much can be going on in some of those tunes, I was vaguely impressed.

I’m not, nor was I, being closed minded about these speakers, I just wanted more proof before I was ready to openly admit that, go figure, Sony might have made a good, cheap little home speaker product. Mr. Simon was followed by Keith Urban and Shania Twain (wow . . . not my idea) which was interesting because I find Shania to be screechy and inductive of suicidal thoughts. Much to my astonishment, I neither wished myself dead nor felt the performance screechy. Ok, maybe that last part was only half true, but they were very clear and detailed. How clear and detailed? Well the question is not really how much, but on what scale?

A friend of mine who tends to be a bit of a product snob, at any level, suggested that on this budget a “home theater in a box” was they way to go. He wasn’t familiar with the space everything was going into and he was also talking full retail. I agree the big box system has its place, but not here and quite frankly the little SS150s in the back blew a way several cube based systems I have heard at friends houses in the past, so clearly the 350s would do well in comparison. So scale you ask? Let’s put it in perspective first.

Everything was purchased from www.etronics.com for a total of $271 delivered. The price before shipping paid for the 350s was only $69.95. This is actually relevant in that I am pretty sure B&H gets hits here too and their price for everything (that they had) would have cost more than buying at full retail locally and paying .0825 tax though the for sale price was very low. Hmm. Check the s/h folks.

Yeah, so, sound. I would put these on the same scale as the Pioneer low end offerings as well as some KLHs, and maybe a DCM on sale. This price point is hard to match much less beat, especially at $70, so even there I am already thinking to rate these well. Just producing sound isn’t good enough, there’s more to it and with these little buggers, and they really shine for the price. I was impressed with the Fiona Apple I listened to (I use her for eval a lot), smooth and sultry as expected. Rush was crisp and dynamic, Michael Buble was chasing ol Blue Eyes with vigor, even Scott Stapp came off less irritating and more gritty and pained, whew, that’s a tall order. Ok, so I have spent some time talking about how good these speakers sound in stereo whilst taking jabs at artists I wasn’t planning on evaluating with, what about 5.1?

These speakers blended together quite well. Granted they were all Sony units, I was still able to pick out the body of the 350s out of the fray. Those anemic little 8’s really get motivated. A movie I still use as a staple not just for video (Superbit version), but for audio as well (general release) is The Fifth Element. It has a lot of really dynamic content with really well done strings mixed with pure electronic creations. This is not to say the dynamics aren’t there with the FX as well. Although the center channel is the bulk of 5.1 format films, I can still pick out where the 350s do their thing well and they do it seamlessly. Ok, enough stroking, now with the bad.

I qualify everything here with the price point. As I said earlier, I wanted more proof and I got it, but this is tempered. I am not going to hold these to the same standard I would a pair of Paradigm S4s (getting a pair for the big 32! Weeeee!) or even Athenas because you get what you pay for whether mid-high or low end. I will get more into that in Final Thoughts, but lemme be blunt for a minute. These speakers have a certain hollow nature that I do not see going away. For what they can take and the size/ability of the drivers I would say they have a decent low end, but with no earnest thump, much less punch. The mids are there in quiet mass, but with no real conviction. It’s not that the transitions are rough, it’s that the presence just goes away and this is true more with music in stereo than in a 5.1 format.

The highs are just fine. They are not screechy, squeaky, or excessive. I wouldn’t say they need to be more subdued, but again, it’s the transitions to mids that bothers me. Sony has said for years that extended frequency was key to broad spatial feel and an airy composure, in this case, I guess to make up for some low end concessions. That’s not a slight, just acknowledging materials cost vs. target market necessity. The highs have a distinct presence, but they are not fatiguing and there a few stations here that only do classical and non top-40 fare (KMFA or KUT) that will test that and truly, test passed.



Brass Tacks


I am posting the raw numbers per the specsheet as reference only. These numbers are something to go by to make gross comparisons, but price and manufacturer have a lot to do with it. These speakers would be suitable for most home theater receivers putting out about 100wpc or less.

Peak power – up to 120wpc
RMS power – 25wpc
Sensitivity – 88dB
Range – 50Hz-50kHz (human hearing 20-20k)
Size – about 10x10x20 (WDH)

These speakers are shielded, to some degree. I wouldn’t go putting them right up against a CRT, but 8in. shows no interference with a nice 36” tube (DLP, LCD, and plasma owners, magnetic fields are a non-issue). The finish is “black ash” laminate. Laminate yes, black ash not so much. Really though, they look fine, just me being picky and hypersensitive.



Final Thoughts


These are good little speakers for the money. The have what seems to be quite the broad range and are aesthetically pleasing with out being overly commanding, not that many speakers this size could be under about $800/pr. They are a good entry level system for almost anyone. They are small enough such that squeezing them into an already crowded space may not be all that hard. If just a little more money is there one could use these for all channels in a 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 setup (with the exception of the sub) rather than 150s for the rear and still have the system be visually discrete as a whole, they are right at that size limit. Much bigger might be too much for some. I think these speakers have a lot going for them for the price and I know I keep bringing that up, but I am simply trying to maintain perspective. If you have a minor budget for a minor home theater or even just a minor stereo set-up for a den, office, or dorm room, this pair of speakers should be a serious consideration, even if buying cold.


Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 69.95 s/h