I was feeling pretty good about the SL5M until I listened to them next to the CS5. The Cerwin Vega are nice speakers but to me the Sony are better and on average cheaper. The SL5M also have an odd dip in the 2khz - 3.5khz range that could be part of the speakers slightly dull upper range. I show this with REW software comparing responses of other popular bookshelf speakers. In a future video I may build new crossovers for these and see if the issue can be resolved. Link to Part 1 the initial review video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNCxa...

$75 at Best Buy for Sony speakers. I got these and the Sony subwoofer on my stereo and it rocks. And I got the Sony F190 receiver for $100 at Best Buy. Sony has stepped up their game on this line. Very Satisfied.

Efficiency is a perk - I totally agree with your thinking here. It just demonstrates another difference between the speakers and their design.

nice speakers and those cerwin vegas look awesome with the red/pink tweeters

I'm just now learning about the Sony CS5's. Thinking about picking up a pair, they're pretty cheap right now. Great review btw!

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Amazon and Best buy have them on sale for $73 currently. They are 100% unbeatable at this price. Well even at their normal price.

@raffeal247

3 жыл бұрын

@@iowaudioreviews Yep, I'm all over it‼️😊

My iPhone plays KZread just fine. Thanks for demoing it :)

Great demo 👍

Thanks for the video. Next time add a visual queue for selection. Either zoom in to exclude the ones that are not in use or use a pointer (place an object on the ones in use).

Nonetheless i was amazed by the amount of punch (through portapro) these babies can produce. And the look is a mix of modernity and classic ohh

The Sony is better, but then they do have a true three way design. The Cerwin Vega does not not have the mid speakers for better detail, the bass driver is doing all the work. You should be able to see the difference in the in the frequency scale.

As a big cerwin-vega fan, I have always used my setup of 4, 4ohm speakers in series with 2, 8ohm in parallel. (Two dx-7's and two re-30 in series with two Dx-5 in parallel powered with phase linear and an adcomm preamp, and even better sounding softened with a dynaco tube preamp) at about 6ohm. The reason why is because I have always believed that six ohm offered the best amount of volume and push with the best amount of clarity. I have noticed it also offers the best option with room node adjustments. Sony clearly hit the mark on this. I'll be buying the Sony's.

Did you make the wooden stands? They look really nice. Also what stands are you using on the Sony speakers?

@iowaudioreviews

4 жыл бұрын

Yes, they are made with a aged Cherry bases and Oak pedestals. Made them about 15 years ago, they were my first stands. The black ones I did a slightly drunk terrible review on here's the link. kzread.info/dash/bejne/fH9qmsOKhdLUh84.html Nice cheap height adjustable metal stands.

If you turned up the volume to compensate for the lower sensitivity of the CV that would make it a bit more fair and useful. This just ends up showcasing the efficiency difference.

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

No. The CV lower sensitivity is a con and giving them extra power to even the playing field skews their performance in this category. AND as I said in both reviews the Sonys aren't only louder, they have much better midrange and giving the CV more power didn't help their midrange, they still sound same just louder and still lacking midrange. Even room correction with with REW and a pEQ to bring the midrange up didn't work. It gave them midrange but it was just shouty and noisy. Because of speakers like The Sony CS5 and Pioneer BS22 the bar on budget speakers has been raised and most of these other speakers in the same class are falling short.

Sony put out so much cheap garbage audio gear in the 1990's, and they are still recovering today. The CS5 are really good. Sony needs more winners like this.

@steve4321able

3 жыл бұрын

Sony was on top in the 90s. Best receivers I ever owned. speakers, no.

@khurrammalik5865

Жыл бұрын

Sony is the King don’t play with your mind and Pocket like ps audio unreasonably expensive bank breaker stuff

@gage4375

Жыл бұрын

Sony needs to make a serious stereo receiver

compare them at the same volume level. any amp ought to drive either to LOUD level for a small room, which is what book shelf speakers are for.

Awesome vid. Older Cerwin Vega cabinets rock. New stuff from them is eh. The older cabinets are are around 96-98db per 1 W

which ones do you think are better? these Cerwin Vega SL-5M or the Jamos 803?

Sounding good!

Hi mate will the sonys go well with a Klipsch R-120SW

how would the NHT Audio SuperZero 2.1 compare to the Sony's ??

I’m not scrolling through, but how many watts are you pushing?

That rap on the Sony looks sweet

Hello, I'm very late to the show for these sony's - But could you please drop a link for the vinyl wrap? Thank you. Regards, Jack

@iowaudioreviews

2 жыл бұрын

Its cherry wood vinyl from Amazon. Look up wood vinyl on Amazon theys tons to pick from and rap these so they look nice.

1/18/2024: $198 today on Amazon. Obviously but sadly, "whatever the market will bear" for both speakers. $199.99 for the Cerwin Vega SL-5M

Yuppers. But I still want your impressions. And with high level headphones in an isolated atmosphere I can hear what you focus on. I just want an opinion a and I can hear differences when differences are recorded. So have at it.

You got a pair of Cerwin Vegas with the tweeter hooked up backwards. That dip in the crossover region is a well known obvious symptom of that. I've studied speaker design extensively and have built many speakers.

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, I'm aware. But 99.9% of people that buy these won't be reversing the polarity on the tweeters. They have to be good out of the box like the Sony CS5. A lot of speakers I test could be fixed with enough time and effort but its not really worth it. Flipping the tweeter polarity didn't fix this speaker. Problems run deeper cause of crap drivers and a poorly designed xover. The real Cerwin Vega is long gone and is now just a name on cheap Chinese junk.

@DougMen1

3 жыл бұрын

@@iowaudioreviews Sorry for being such a jerk. Maybe the assemblers in the factory in China wired some of them wrong. It's possible that was happening, and then CV's QC people caught it and made sure that the rest were assembled correctly before I got mine, because they don't have any audible suckout in the midrange and sound much clearer than yours. But, they are quite low sensitivity, so you have to turn your amp up higher before they come to life. Maybe if you played them at the same volume as the Sony speakers then you'd find they sound much better than with too little juice feeding them.

@DougMen1

3 жыл бұрын

@@hikinginjeans3221 I don't know. Maybe the assemblers at the factory were wiring them wrong and mine were made after CV's QC people caught it and corrected it. But, seriously, you can't expect them to sound like the D2's with CV's amazing classic horn tweeter. But, mine come a lot closer than I expected. Also, the SL5M is very low sensitivity, so you gotta turn your amp up higher to get the same volume as other speakers with higher sensitivity, and then they sound great. At lower volumes, they do sound shut in, as many good speakers do (like B&W) without enough juice through them. And, like all the best CV's I've had over the years, they are a bit too bassy, and you gotta turn the bass down a little and the treble up a little and then they sound perfect. I had to do that with every CV I've ever owned- the 312, the D3, D5, and D7, and now these too. And, once again, these don't do well at real low volume levels, like some speakers do. They like to play loud, just like all CV's, and then they wake up and really come to life, just like B&W's, which also sound shut in at low volume, but really wake up and come to life with more drive.

wich one is sounding ? please be more clear, include on screen markers or something, thanks

Compare with BIC FH-6B and FH6-LCR.

Yeah, I’ve had a lot of Sony equipment over the years, but I’ve never bought any of their speakers. Their amps were OK back in the day once the HDMI shit started coming out I went with Pioneer elite or Denon I have some old-school Vegas I have some new school, Vegas I have these exact Vegas. But lately, if you look at some of their latest technology, as in Sony. You will find that they are number one in the world in headphone Design. Xm1000 4 &5 so they have obviously been doing the same thing with their bookshelf speakers that’s good news I like to have a variety of speakers around but it’s not much that can compete with some old school Vegas.

Are the Sony CS5's the best budget speaker right now in your opinion? I'm trying to build a good/affordable 5.1 home theater system for around $500 and have been considering various speakers for my main L/R. Your test comparisons have me thinking I should go with the CS5's. I was considering the Micca rb42's and m42x's but your demos seem to suggest these Sony's are a better buy.

@superrookie1554

3 жыл бұрын

You will be shocked how much higher they punch for their price point. Its a budget speaker with a super tweeter. Cant go wrong.

@jdsimz8147

3 жыл бұрын

I got the Sony speakers and the Sony subwoofer hooked up to my stereo and they sound great. Bought the bookshelf speakers for 75 bucks on best buy. Great Sound Great Price!

@kriswheeler9455

3 жыл бұрын

@@jdsimz8147 what size amp do you need to run these sonys without the subwoofer. can one amp handle the speakers with a sub or do you need a bigger amp

@jdsimz8147

3 жыл бұрын

@@kriswheeler9455 I just bought the Sony dh190 100watt receiver that came out this year it's pretty much a perfect pair for those speakers cuz the speakers are a 100 Watts peak. The Sony subwoofer is powered so it pretty much pushes itself it just needs the signal from the receiver which I ran from the right and left speakers on the b channel. But there is an output for two speakers on the back of the subwoofer so you can still run an additional two speakers. For the speakers, sub and receiver I paid $275 from Best buy online and it sounds great. Can't beat it for the price.

@kriswheeler9455

3 жыл бұрын

@@jdsimz8147 Thank you that answered my question great!

I can see 20 years from now people trying to get their hands on these Sonys.

@jonsays3762

3 жыл бұрын

I picked them and a pioneer receiver up for hundred fifty off CL. They’re ok. I don’t see them as anything special, and the hyper super leet tweeter…ehhhhh. Ok…whatev’s :)

@steve4321able

3 жыл бұрын

Yep, I bought a pair and returned them. Couldn't hold a candle to my Klipsch R51Ms.

i got To Get Me Some Sony's Right away!!!

Should have jumped from one speaker brand to the next With every song demo, This would help listeners Ears & minds stay fresh to the audio differences. Playing a long list of songs on one set of speakers for to long a duration will diminish in minds and recall of sound differences will be lost.

If you can get a Sony ss cpx22, that would be a really interesting comparison with this ubiquitous Sony.

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Those speakers where part of mini Sony shelf system that was just designed to look better than it sounds. There was a lot of them back in the 2000s. Its small speakers wouldn't stand chance against the CS5. Published specs indicate Sony only rated that little system down to 120hz which is terrible even compared to a decent bluetooth speaker available today. I've seen many of these little shelf systems, they really look the part but in reality they usually lipstick on a pig. Don't mean to offend if you have a Sony SS-CPX22 shelf syatem. All I can say is grab a set of CS5 and the Sony STR-DE190 Rreciever. $200 bucks and will destroy that little shelf system.

@solomonstewart1025

3 жыл бұрын

@@iowaudioreviews I have both speakers. There is a long thread on the Sony ss cpx22 speakers on audiokarma.org where the user was amazed at their performance and he was using expensive McIntosh amplifiers. If you Google sony ss cpx22 you will see the audiokarm.org thread.

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

@@solomonstewart1025 They seem to be getting harder to find since they're getting kinda old. I can keep an eye out for a cheap set. What's on ebay now is a bit pricey just to try them out and then have to sell them. Unless you'd like to loan me your set for review if your in the states.... let me know.

My Aiwa 180s can hang with this test 120 watts 5way 💪💪💪

wow

I agree with you on the fidelity difference. I am a big fan of Cerwin Vega but these sound like a 30.00 speaker in comparison to the Sony's. I'm not a sony fan when it comes to speakers but in this case you get better sound for the money. Cerwin Vega is now owned by the Gibson Guitar Company and Cerwin Vega is now manufactured in china. The decline of another American Company...

@keithcitizen4855

4 жыл бұрын

Gibson took over the American piano manufacturer Baldwin , Gibson a huge business concern I believe.

@iowaudioreviews

4 жыл бұрын

I agree. With the audio market not what it once was its hard for all the great old companies to stay in business when the kids these days just want headphones and bluetooth speakers. Stay tuned, I'm gonna see if a better crossover fixes the issue because they are decent little speakers.

I do not agree with testing each speaker at the same volume level .. since they are of different impedance.. 6ohms will draw one third more power than 8 ohms at a set volume and should be louder.. but that has nothing to do with sensitivity. A fair test would have to be watt for watt.. that is not the case in this test l.

@iowaudioreviews

2 жыл бұрын

I'd like to do that but currently have no way to know how many watts is coming out of my amp. I do however consider higher sensitivity at this budget a "pro". Niether speaker is actually what is listed, I believe they're both really closer to 4 ohms when measured. Never tested a speaker that matches whats claimed on the back. The measurements I did of the China-Vega where quite bad. Either way I'd avoid them. CV is no longer owned by Gibson so the future of CV may get better!

Sony’s sound much clearer

But the Sony's is a three-way I want Cerwin Vega dual 8 three-way

Sony 👍

Sony nice speakers

Fin da quando furono progettati i primi diffusori Cerwin Vega, il loro padre, ingegnere della Nasa (Gene Czerwinsky inventore nel 1957 degli amplificatori a stato solido) cercava un ascolto emozionale aprendo l'ascolto musicale a nuovi orizzonti, fino a quando nell' anno 1964 creó un woofer da 18 pollici capace di una (altissima) pressione sonora pari a 130 db (difficilmente raggiungibili ancora oggi),con frequenze ultra basse impensabili a quei tempi. Fino ad allora l'amplificazione sonora era affidata alle valvole che benché avessero una risposta lineare erogavano un numero di watt così esiguo, che si potevano contare sulle dita di una mano. Fatta questa premessa volta ad indicare il padre della rivoluzione dell'ascolto musicale, come degli effetti home theater,(Czerwinsky con i suoi SubWoofer fu il primo negli anni 60 a riprodurre un esplosione durante la proiezione di un film, facendo tremare la sala di quel tanto che bastò a fare scappare gli spettatori impauriti), affermo che quando ci si trova dinanzi a quel bordo rosso tipico delle C.V. bisogna avere rispetto. Fermo restando che non esiste un diffusore capace di riprodurre al meglio ogni genere sonoro, queste casse prediligono il rock il jazz il blues. Emettendo il suono tipico delle casse americane, regalando emozioni con l'asprezza tipica di un medio alto da Concerto live e la presenza caratterizzata dal punch di un ascolto che seppur gradevole all'orecchio coinvolge gli organi interni; la pancia il torace. Questo diffusore lascia il segno , genera invidia, difatti, dando la paga a diffusori costosissimi, crea lo sconcerto in chi pur spendendo molto in altri rinomati marchi, non é riuscito nemmeno ad avvicinarsi a tale esperienza di ascolto. Non solo dall' ottimo rapporto qualità prezzo questi diffusori vanno oltre, badando alla sostanza dei driver che contengono. Queste casse, provengono direttamente dalla mitica serie R e dalle inequiparabili Cerwin Vega D9 con i tweeter caricati a tromba più aggraziati al mondo, meglio di una cupola in seta raffreddata al metallo fluido (diffusori capaci di una sensibilità da record con un solo watt ad un metro fanno misurare una pressione sonora di 103,5 db, chi altri ci riesce?), dalla più recente serie AT, che non solo hanno poco da invidiare sulle qualità audio a marchi ben più costosi e blasonati, ma sono nettamente superiori a qualsiasi altro diffusore che voglia competere con loro sulla tenuta in potenza , sul dettaglio dei bassi, sulle pressioni sonore di impatto, in una parola, sulle EMOZIONI.Esse sono uniche quando si tratta di riprodurre il suono di una chitarra elettrica, dando l'impressione che l assolo di quest'ultima sia suonato dinanzi all'ascoltatore. Nonostante l'ottima sensibilità dei diffusori, si consiglia di accoppiarli ad un amplificazione con caratteristiche di alta corrente in uscita (amplificatori ad alimentazioni toroidali) per sfruttarne al meglio tutte le potenzialità. Sul web é pieno di persone pronte a screditare queste casse, ma secondo la mia personale esperienza sono veramente in tanti quelli che ne parlano male senza averle mai ascoltate perché non costando molto e generando bassi da prime della classe, vengono accostate a cassoni da esterno (casse da giostrai)......NIENTE DI PIU' FALSO .....infatti presi i critici che solo con le teorie screditavano questi diffusori, messi dinanzi alla realtà proponendo loro un ascolto, al primo assolo di chitarra che gli increspa la pelle con un piacevole brivido, cambiano idea . Chi ha ascoltato le mie C.V., nonostante la maggior parte di quest'ultimi possano definirsi Audiofili da anni, con centinaia di apparecchi posseduti e o avuti in prova, sono rimasti piacevolmente colpiti dalla musica che sanno riprodurre.....quanto basta per mettersi alla frenetica, non facile ricerca delle loro prime Cerwin Vega magari della serie D, (veri capolavori, non se ne trovano). L' Audiofilo non é mai soddisfatto e tendente al cambiamento fin quando non incontra un paio di Cerwin Vega D9.

@DjBoczekJP

Жыл бұрын

Czerwinski was a Polish man! He fled from Polish Tonsil factory, and he made his company, called like that.

Not really a fair comparison. The Cv's don't have a Midrange, compare the Cerwin vega D9's against any Sony Speaker and they will blow them out this world

The Sony's with a super-tweeter are obviously going to have way better highs. Unplug the super-tweeter and see how the sound. Comparing a 3-way speaker vs a 2-way speaker...6 Ohm vs 8 Ohm is a cheap-shot at trashing the Cerwin Vegas. You should have unhooked the super-tweeter and had the same wattage. At the same volume the 6 Ohm always draw more wattage. Nice way to trash on the Cerwin Vegas. No a fair comparison at all.

Most amps provide more power at 6ohms vrs 8ohm. So that's part of why the Sony speakers play louder at the same volume.

@iowaudioreviews

2 жыл бұрын

Yep, they're also rated at a higher efficiency db/1w @ 1 meter. Pretty sure I tested both speakers and they both were less than manufacturer spec for ohms. Off rough memory I think the Sonys tested at 4.6 ohms and the CV SL5M were 6.8ohms. Quite normal for speakers to measure lower than rated.

@DougMen1

2 жыл бұрын

@@iowaudioreviews The DCR you measure with an ohmeter will always be lower than the rated impedance, because impedance and resistance aren't the same thing.

@iowaudioreviews

2 жыл бұрын

@@DougMen1 Good thing I have a DATS V3

i need both now lol

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

You must already have the CV SL-5M?

Hands down the Sony's kicked cerwin vega's ass. Wow....whoda thunk it...

Где какая акустика звучит неясно

yea its a marketing gimmick the sony, is not a 3 way in fact its the opposite its missing low frequency and its also missing the lower mids.

SONY

Andrew Jones designed the pioneers, and the Sony sounds like them. The 3kz range is what humans are used to when the baby sounds out. We like that, but don't make them too harsh for speakers.

you want to listen, and what you get? Bla bla bla bla. These people love to hear themselves talk.......crazy.

Cv speakers create bass and DBs. Not an articulate sound experience .

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

Real CV yes. These aren't real CV speakers. Gibson bought CV years ago and gutted the name. Its all more less cheap chinese gear posing with the CV name.

that amp is , well theres a reason you can pick them up for nothing..... you havnt even heard them speakers yet.....

@kriswheeler9455

3 жыл бұрын

what would be a good amp for these?

Sony’s are better then cerwin’s those look like toys....

@iowaudioreviews

3 жыл бұрын

I've tested dozens of budget speakers and for the money Sony CS5 are #1 followed closely by the Pioneer BS22. When Gibson and Cerwin Vega sold out their quality went to crap and now all they got is a name thats rapidly becoming tarnished. Its sad.

@Audiodreamer192-24

3 жыл бұрын

@@iowaudioreviews I don’t do reviews on you tube like you but I also have owned many speakers types over the years and continue to as well . And I think the pioneers have better tonal balance as well as more texture on the mids and better base( espically the fs52 towers compared to the Sony sscs3’s)The Sony’s highs are better but it’s only obvious with hi res material. To be honest over all I prefer floor standing speakers much more then book shelves. More full range and more dynamic slam along with it. Now a days I wouldn’t even consider a set of bookshelves except maybe for surrounds on one of my multichannel set ups.At the end of the day numbers are second to subjective opinion. We like what we like..... I like your review formats , thanks for the good vids bro 👍