Nice comparison Thomas I purchased several pairs of the Sony @$75 because of my 1st impression of them, and can honestly say that they haven't disappointed when used with multiple amps both newer and old. Sony has both made a huge statement and gained fans with these sleepers.

After hearing the demo I might pick up a pair of Sonys to play with.

We had a 1st gen Echo in our master bathroom for listening to music in the morning kzfaq.infoUgkxABghAEkaIDGZfHRBH3D3rBrlraNmnC71 and while in the shower. I didn't realize how tinny and awful the sound output on the original Echo was until we replaced it with the Studio. It was a sonic upgrade far beyond what I was expecting. Just wow. I love it because it's like having speakers IN the shower. My friend likes it because the music is so loud that she can no longer hear me singing. So that's a win-win.

The fact that we're having this discussion is surprising to me. To me, this is like comparing the performance of a VW GTi to a Ferrari and the GTi actually holding it's own. I have the Sony's and I like them. I am by no means an audiophile and they work for me. Before this I had a home theater in a box and this is a huge step up. My wife and I love listening to music through the Sony's with the addition of a Sony sub through a Denon amp.

I picked up a pair of the Sony speakers with my new turntable. For getting them on sale for $75 I wasn't too worried. After trying them out I was surprised, good sounding speakers and you can't beat the price.

I've been following you..... after this is subscribed. thank you sir. A+

A+ as always my friend

sony clearly had the clarity in this video. the super tweeter sure does shine. some people find the sony's to be too flat. but that's what makes them so good. more in line with a studio monitor. the buchardt seems more like a bose. people tend to like the bass from speakers and think it = quality.

The other thing to consider is that a single speaker may sound more appealing against another single speaker, but played as a stereo pair, may have a totally different result. Awesome that you included film score, my favorite genre of music. By the way, I listen to a pair of Bowers and Wilkins bookshelf speakers, the model just below the diamond series, agaist a pair of DefTech D11 bookshelf speakers. I liked the D11 a lot better, deeper bass, better Dynamics. The B&Ws sounded too centered on mid range, but also had nice top end. I picked up a pair of the DefTechs and have been thoroughly enjoying them in one of my medium size listening rooms. Took a few hours to break in, but wow! It's like a decent tower speaker. Did not work so great in my large living room, but was pretty awesome as front channels in a 7.1 surround setup.

Great job Thomas. Thanks for doing what you do. An informed perspective is very much what helps the audiophile / stereophile community. By the way, if anyone is loving clear mid-range with very well defined bass and high end, do give the DefTech CLR-2002 a try. They are discontinued now but IMHO a broken in pair used as LR channels is simply fantastic.

Thank you so much T!

Your recording of the speakers is great!

love your mic it reproduced really good quality sound , do enjoy it thanks Thomas. lastly your amp make a huge difference making them sound so good.I LISTENED WITH HIGH QUALITY IEM .

Loved the video. I think S300 is more expansive indeed and its bass is a monster (I like strong immersive lows) but Sony seemed to bring more textures on the mid levels sometimes. S300 filled my ears while Sony is more democratic with the details. Gonna listen more.

What a BRILLIANT choice!! Good on you!

Thanks for the demo. The voices in the first two sounded more natural with the Buchardt. The last demo sounded more powerful with the Buchardrt. I just ordered the s400.

Many thanks Thomas

I like the sound imaging of the Sony speakers base from this clip. Interesting.

Listening with headphones I heard increased thickness in the lower midrange of the Buchardt. If I didn't know the difference in prices I could have preferred the Sony. This video is valuable because quality of the budget Sony is shocking.

Great comparison!!! The Sonys hold their own...thank you!!!

Cool audio demo. I can definitely hear a huge difference. Buchardts have my win for sound quality, but I also just bought these Sony speakers and have no intention of buying the Buchardts so I guess they both win. :)

Sony sounded more open and spacious / higher dispersion. I preferred it in this test even if bass is not as strong. The other speaker was a little more closed in or boxy sounding. Of course they may sound a bit different irl Edit: the s300 does sound better in certain areas when turned up. It’s not without its problems:)

The Sony, for a sub $100 speaker actually sounds pretty good. Danny over at GR Research did a tear down on this little Sony, and was actually a bit impressed at what he found. The measurements were actually pretty good. He even offers an upgrade kit, a bit pricey at $300+, but would be interesting to hear with better internal parts. It may just give the Buchardt a run for its money.

Thank You Thomas.

Both sound fairly close on this demo, however lots of things to consider here the Mic,the speakers I am listening on, and the audio codec . I am glad to see Sony back in the game though.

Thanks for review

Both good. Tonal balance on Sony speakers is very good. With this amp, Sony wins. Lovely synergy.

Love to see you do a review of the SVS Ultra bookshelf speaker. Those are quite great from what I have heard..

I love my Sony sscs5's. What an awesome set of speakers.

What I noticed with speakers is that when there is not a lot of low end (bass), clarity really comes out. So, its easy to think the sony has better clarity and detail. However it's not necessary true as both speaker can resolve the same amount of detail. If I had my McIntosh C47, the S300 will pull ahead. Sony Do it 1:43 S300 Do it 2:43 Sony Black Crow 3:43 S300 Black Crow 4:43 Sony Star Wars5:43 S300 Star wars 6:43

Those Buchardt are something!

Just bought a set. I cannot find anything at this price point with such solid reviews.

I have Sony STR-DH590 2018 Model Sony Receiver.It is hooked up to a pair of Sony SSCS5 Speakers .These speakers are 6ohm.The DH590 Amp is 6ohm and up. Hooked up via analog To a Sony Playstation1 for CD'S .The sound is smooth and velvety.Sounds Terrific....Also this Amp has Bluetooth built in.Streaming SOUNDS GREAT! Total Package highs superb..Mids clear... Bass impressive for their size! 2 different people have said WOW All that Bass in those little speakers? Yes if you have an amp with some Kahunas! Jam on! $$$ just buy them you will not regret it.

Imagine pitting a $150 speaker vs a $1500 speaker, it says a lot for the Sony.

Hello, can you tell me the name of the Pop Rock group from the 2nd track that played. Thanks

you can always get klipsh icon for 120 on amazon or new egg and you get audiophile sound with liveliness

Muchas gracias! me quedo con las Sony!!!

One of life's most pressing questions, finally answered.

Just picked up the sony pair for 73 bucks. After listening to this comparison I'm happy with my purchase :)

Thomas I've heard the GE Titans and like them as far as budget I know higher price doesn't alway mean better. I've heard the MA Silver 300 not the 500 and liked it as well. But I have heard so much positive reviews on the Maggies too.

Thanks gooood listen. I do like the Buchardt's S300.. that said it was about $$ for me right now so I just got the Sony's on amazon Prime for $73 (for the pair) and with the money saved over the Buchardt's "$1,200 a pair WHOA!" and others I can get a nice quality 10-12" SUB(s) = 2.1 or better yet 4.2 speakers to help with the lacking bass on the SSCS5 and round out the system....UPDATE after a 2nd and 3rd listening comparison WOW the Buchardt's impressed me even more as it has much more presence. WIsh I could afford them. The Sony's arrived and they sound great. Hope to be able to get something in the Buchardt's league someday....

Bass seems more in quantity on S300 but bloated. Sony’s seem tighter & cleaner overall. I was surprised as I was pulling for the Buchardts. Of course you can’t compare in absolutes on KZfaq. Thx for the fun!!

So I got a chance to revisit this sound demo with my new pair of Monster: Diesel Vektr in ear monitors. I have owned these before but they got stepped on. They are incredibly neutral not adding anything extra to the content, especially in the bass region. They have tons of bass, but do not add any where there is none in the source. They also have incredible detail in the highs and mids. the previous headphones I used were a $50 pair of Klipsch in ear phones. they worked well but were slightly bass boosted. when I listened to the demo before, they added bass to the Buchardts. They were also slightly muddy, hiding some of the details. when I replayed this with my Diesel Vektrs, it was revealing. The Sony speakers were a LOT closer to the Buchardts this time. I was shocked. Obviously the Buchardts had superior bass, full stop, the the mids of the CS5 were comparable and the highs of the Sonys were just a hair more crisp...though the Buchardts high end was more refined (the smoothness of the fluttering flute at the end of the Imperial March). The Buchardts were also a tad more forward than the Sonys though the CS5 wasnt bad there either. I am flabbergasted by how good the SS-CS5 sounded compared to a speaker ten times its price. well, compared to 70% of a more expensive speaker in any case.

The SS line from Sony is part of a home theater family of speakers (SSCS3 - Towers | SSCS5 - Bookshelves | SSCS8 - Center Channel). The extra cheddar with the super tweeters do give some amazing imaging with movies and are as sharp as metal tweeters! They crossover well at 80-90Hz. The curve on these is flat...ish and restrained treble believe it or not. The S300's curve does track fairly flat. Here's the kicker modern home theater receivers can flatten speaker response. The SSCS5 + Sub + flattened response may be a contender to the S300 and cheaper too.

Thomas I am undecided as to which way to go as for my 2 channel setup. The Buchardt stand mount, MA Silver 500, Maggie 3.7i or GE Tritan 2+ my room is 13' X 15" X 8' open on back into kitchen and on left to hallway. I plan on using either Parasound Hint 6 or Anthem STR

Thanks for the sound demo. I get that it can´t substitute experiencing the sound in person, and it maybe a placebo effect but still the difference is noticeable. The Bucharest s300 have more depth? It´d be great if you could do a sound demo of the S300 vs the S400 Thanks

Speaker Marshall wow!! Best of best 👍👍

Hi thanks for the interesting video. The S300 confirm the potential of 2 ways speakers. I do not quite understand why Sony has decided for a super tweeter really. A decent tweeter, like the one they have used here, is more than enough to cover all the range up. I think they have complicated things. Nonetheless i like the sound coming from the Sony a lot. The limitation of bass is normal. I would rework the xover to make a 2 ways only speaker ... and add a sub of course. Thanks again, gino

I considered these Sony`s and Polk S15 for some time but went with Wharfedale Diamond 220. I already have powered studio monitors with accurate flat response covered and wanted small bookshelf for desktop music listening. Diamond 220 just have a wonderful warm musical sound you could listen to all day. These Sony have no character to me.

No comparison, but this is the best sound I've ever heard from the Sonys. They sound sweeter and less shrill on top here, with more bass too. What amp and source did you use?

what do you think of sony sscs3 towers?

I heard more instrument detail in the sonys, but I liked the vocals on the S300s.

Considerarías adicionarle un subwoofer a las Sony? O no vale la pena??

Sony sound more detail but tin on bass to me, the Buchardt felt more energy on the bass . could it be the mic placement would affect the recording? I don't know. but i would still go for the Buchardt. Will you be doing the Buchardt S400 demo? Thanks Thomas.

Thomas you did a good job with this. We can see the diff. The Buchs are more organic and real but the sony are a great for what they are

Thomas Can you provide the details on the song “ Do it” that you are using in your sound demos. I love it and wish to hear it on my new Lyngdorf Amp.

The sony's sounded taller, fun video.

I think these speakers are both very good in their own right. From where I stand, if the Buchardt's were bi-wire, I would have bought them over B&W 606s. Certainly the Buchardt's deserve higher spec amp and source than the Sony, still a very competent speaker nonetheless

What do you feel about Yamaha a-s2100 with Buchardt s300/400 and is that amp in your radar for a review?

holysmokes what is the mic setup you are using. it sounds amazing.

Thomas I enjoy your honesty. A used S300 costs between 400-500 euros here in Sweeden.The F160 and the Rubicon 2 costs between 800-1000 euros. The Proac D2 costs the double of the last two maby because it’s most forgiven at 8 Ohm . I’m more attracted by the Proac D28 and hope one day I find out how it performs compaired to those mentioned babys 😁 Keep the good work🔱

Question, how do the Buchardt compare to the Dyn Focus 160 your found of. Thanks

Hi Thomas, thank you for your videos. Can I connect a receiver (Sony STRDH190) with 8 ohm min impedance to the sony SSC5S which have an impedance of 6 ohms? Will the higher 2 ohms of the receiver will cause wear and tear of the speakers over time?

The Buchardt S400 sounded better listening thru my Apple iMac clearly on the 1st and 3rd tracks. The 2nd rock track was harder to discern the difference. I also noticed at the beginning of the 1st track the bass was a little "muddled" on the S400 maybe due to the amp./microphone issue you mentioned. I have the Elac Unifi UF5 floor standing speakers. Would you say the S400 is equal or better sounding overall than the UF5 floor standing from your memory? I know its apples and oranges (floor standing vs bookshelf) Thanks for the reviews!

Слушал это сравнение на своих SC-CS5 ))

Where download first track ?

Great review, as always. I really did not like the Sony's - way too shrill for my taste, but others might find them 'revealing', and 'transparent':)

Hey Thomas, I picked these Sony ss-cs5 for $113.00 on Amazon Prime days . There has been a lot of hullabaloo on these speakers .For that price they may end up in my garage. I cant wait to find out for myself.

Bcos of your review I just emailed Buchardt to see if they will deliver my way. I own the Sony SS CS5. They are cheap but great for AV in a small room. The highs are clear but slightly harsh on the very high frequencies. The low end is lovely for AV. No need a sub for decent bass. But after living with the Sony I must say they lose out to even the Q Acoustics Concept 20. But again, they are like 25% of the price of the Concept 20s here. Thanks for your review!

Hey Thomas, in my setup the bass from the s300 is a little bit too much, a bit to "boomy" u know... what do you think can i do, to fix that? I am using an NAD C 320 with "inacoustic cables" do you think i need more power to handle them? greez

How can you compare a $149 pr speaker with. A $1200 pr speaker? Am I missing something here? Are $150 pr speakers that good now!?

have Sony all my life, their engineers have good ears. From superb MHC-1700 and MHC 881. Lasted so far 20 years.

Don't know what amp you got for the buchardt, but I'm they sound best with amps around 100w, so they like a something with powa

😎 Hey Thomas! I was about to buy the Buchardt S300, but after this sound demo, I decided to get the Sony instead. Thanks for saving me a ton of money! 😁 TOTALLY KIDDING! The Buchardts killed the Sony's from what I hear. The Buchardts sounded like the Sony's with a 10" sub. The instruments on the first track (guiro ?) and shaker was much more defined on the Buchardts. The S300's sounded like they had more instrument separation and dynamics as well. Is that what you heard in person or am I way off?

The Sony's sound better and btw I just ordered them and they are now $118 and can't wait. The Buchardt maybe much more powerful sound and bass, but the Sony's sound more crisp and clearer. I would add a sub once I get this and that would take care the rest. So many 5 star reviews online and on youtube on the Sony for the price. Sony is definitely back in the game.

sony wins. rather amazing, considering the cost difference, with the S300 at least 10 times more expensive, 15 times more when the CS5 is on sale. sony invented digital sound 35 years ago. they know what they are doing.

Hi Thomas. I listened with the sound going through u-tube/my pc/jitterbug/coffee cable/Emotiva pre- amp /Kenwood KR8010 monster 1978 receiver as a separate pre- amp/Emotiva xpa100 mono blocks/Monitor Audio Silver 10s. I could barely hear more bass in the Buchardt. The tweeters sounded very close. I could hear no room interaction. I love playing with audio gear like you do. Do you have any experience playing with stand alone super tweeters and their crossovers that can sit atop a pair of monitor audio speakers. I would like to draw out the high hats on some songs. Can I do this with a super tweeter or do I need to do this with a high end amp?

I checked out the Buchardt s300, and the one thing that stood out were the cabinet dimensions. The size of the speaker is at 330mm depth. That is approaching a mini subwoofer dimensions. The SS-CS5 on the other hand is only 220mm depth. Amonst other things, I am sure that is what is leading to the better bass performance of the S300. Just my 2 cents.

I finally sold my current speakers and am now ready to pull the trigger. I'm quite sure it's going to be the S400s but the bass on this video has me a bit concerned despite it not being the same model and what you mention about the mike distorting the bass with some speakers. I'm either going to wait for you or ZF to put up a proper review or will give in and order them impulsively after a few glasses of vino. I know the 30 day return policy is a no brainer but still... Those Sonys sound pretty decent too but their low price is probably blurring my audiophile ''lack of prestige'' judgment. Wish they had them at Best Buy so I could ''borrow'' them. Not interested in ordering them on line from some fly by night third party seller. Any opinion on Proac Tablette 10 or Tannoy Eaton?

you have very good room acoustics

For TV sounds I'm looking at these vs Polk audio t15

The Sony’s have my win.

To my ear, the Buchardts sounded more present in the vocal of the first cut, the bass drum more realistic and present on the second cut on the Buchardts as well, and the Star Wars was a toss up, but the triangle at the end of the cut sounded like the steel rang more "true" and crystalline on the Buchardts than the Sonys. Of course, that's just listening with a mix of Logitech THX and Yamaha (4.2 total) computer speaker setup. (2.1 X 2, THX sub behind monitor, Yamaha sub on stand under desk) so my opinion to be taken with a grinder-full of salt. .

I´ve always been a Sony lover since the 80´s. Again they have my win. Thanks for sharing.

Show 👏👏👏👏

The Sonys are good for a small home gym, while you lift weights. A place where sound isn't really that important and if they get damaged you won't really care.

Have to give it to the S300 for sound but...like everyone says the Sony's can be had for $80 and the S300s are currently $1,166. At 15x the price just putting them next to each other says a lot for the Sony's. Just toe-ing them out a bit will smooth out the highs.

Hey...I bought the Sony speakers about 3 weeks ago off of Amazon for 73 bucks. I've got a lot of other different speakers...but for 73 bucks...Get em!

Who is singing the song Do It in the first section of the comparison? Thank you

Good stuff Thomas. I didn't hear that much difference between the 2. The s300 sounded more balanced and defined but not worth 1800 more!

I mean the S300 Is has lower bass extension, which will give it a fuller sound. In the second song for instance, during the instrumental intro, the bass was deeper the highs had more sparkle and I thought the Buchardts were clearly better but when the Vocals started, I thought the Sony had a small advantage. With the $1000 price difference you could buy the Sony's and a pretty good Sub-woofer and still only pay half as much as you would pay for the Buchardts. I suspect an A/B test with the Sony's + a descent sub vs the Buchardts would lead many to conclude that spending so much Extra for a bookshelf speaker with better bass extension doesn't really make sense unless you just have no place to put a subwoofer.

Hi guys so I pick up the Sony’s. I see that there 6 Ohm. What amp you recommend for these guys

I just bought a pair of Sony SS-CS5 for $ 65.00 USD on Amazon. The Buchardt S300 cost $1200.00 not a bad deal.

Sounds like the Buchardt S300 sound better, but of course difficult to judge like this. They sound fuller and richer This was me comparing with this video through just above average Sony speakers from a old Sony mini Set.

In the Star Wars section, at 6:06 minutes of the video on the SS CS5 Sony you hear a bass drum beat greater than on the Burchardts you just can't hear it. That difference is noticeable, it is a great detail lost. It makes us suppose that with other types of music Sony provides details that Burchardt cannot, because in the rest they sound quite even

The s 300s sound so much more engaging and bring you much closer to the music.

Hi Thomas, can you please post me a link to the album “do that to me one more time”? Thanks.

Suprised at how good the top end is on the Sony. Both sound really good but the mid to bottom of the Buch. Outclasses

Sony highs treble doesnt sound like budget speakers, Nice...

300 are amazing