How to Make an $80 Speaker Beat $1,000 Speakers

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[@cheapaudioman]

Go to squarespace.com/cheapaudioman to save 10% off your first purchase ----Email Neil for the plans! [e-mail] -----Sony SSCS5 amzn.to/38KnA0O ------Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF ------Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt --------Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH ---------amzn.to/3GkNaop ----------CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K ------------apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P -----------massdrop.7eer.net/qnOye5 ----------Amazon Unlimited Music and Disney Plus Free Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9 ---------www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman

[@larryh.4629]

Patience got mine for $73 I didn't need them but could not let them pass for the price haven't seen them less since but I have seen them by more than twice cost. So if you have time wait they over order and have to dump them for floor space when the next shipment arrives.

[@81giorikas]

Half of the sound or more is the room man...Also eq? Digital crossover/multi driver small speakers are far more interesting than messing and spending money on crossover parts. 85 dbs isn't that loud to be honest.

[@gaziltapig]

@@81giorikas Right? Dynamic music should hit 90 at least.

[@81giorikas]

@@gaziltapig Yes. If you want uncompressed (which is...dynamics literally) you may swing 3-4 db for example. Imagine a movie. 6 db is double the perceived loudness. So going from dialogue to explosion requires headroom. If you peak at 85db, you can't do soundtracks etc like that. Anyway it is better to spare than to not have headroom usually.

[@RAILWAY_FILMS]

its funny. I have these speakers. Got them on sale for LESS. Had no idea someone would be doing something like this. I used them with a sub. I am a pro audio guy. I think they sound fine for the money. Not sure if I would work on the crossover.. half tempted to buy that plan though. I am not really interested in boosting the low end, I would be more interested in getting "crisper" mids and highs though if possible. Since it has a super tweeter and a ridiculous frequency response going far beyond what a speaker needs- maybe if there is any over-lap in tweeter capability.. rather than having one reverse polarity, I would be interested in having a 2 way tweeter where one handles one high band and the other handles a lower band and the woofer can be narrowed to more mid "punch".. I suppose it can have low end.. would be cool to have a low cut filter that can be tuned with a pot... that may be asking for too much . or maybe just a 3 option switch where you can have it open, have it roll of at 60Hz and have it roll of at 70 Hz, that would be cool.. or just have it roll off at 60 without a switch.. for me with the sub, this would be ideal if there were a split tweeter band going on.

[@izumispa2993]

Im a retired electronics hardware design engineer and this is the BEST description of speaker crossover design EVER. Totally accurate, right down to how the rolloff in a tweeter becomes "angry". And by a non-technical type to boot. Impressive.

[@cheapaudioman]

Ha. well thanks. Even a broken watch is right twice a day.

[@asterixx6878]

I would probably like to say that the description is true, but on a level that is adapted for those who know nothing about filters and speakers. Impressive description? Well, I'm not entirely sure about that….

[@googleitdepartment1371]

@@asterixx6878 cheap audio man, not audiophile snob…

[@sepg5084]

​@@asterixx6878well, "impressive" is subjective so if it is to him then it is to him.

[@thefloop2813]

@asterixx6878 Being able to explain something technical to a laymen in a way that is easily understood IS more impressive then word-souping someone to fuel your own ego lol. 100% of the time, always. And i personally feel this isn't an opinion either, nor is this statement coming from a laymen when it comes to crossover network design either. Being able to communicate something complicated to a laymen in an easily understood way is a very valuable skill that not many posses. It's called being a teacher, and we need as many as we can get in all fields of study. I personally appreciate the people who teach in this field well, and do work to tear down the intentionally walled, and ego fueled garden that is good quality sound. Pompous, hubristic, arrogant. All words that come to mind when i think about a response like asterixx's to a compliment on one's ability to teach information in an understandable way.

[@gillygun1]

YOU CHANGED MY SYSTEM!!! You convinced me to buy the Sony SS CS 5. My system was boring, to say the least. No power! No kick in the chest! No bass to speak of. It was weak. I had a Kenwood 3800 amp at 40 watts per channel. A pair of 3 way with down directional woofer Fluance floor columns that led me disappointed. I bought the SSCS5’s and a Yamaha RN 303 at 100 per channel x2. I installed the the Yamaha, put the SSCS5s with wall mounts on each side of my 65” tv. So I put the FLUANCE columns as “A speakers” and the SSCS5 as “B speakers”. My system now sounds like a very expensive Hi Fi unit! It’s come alive! My highs are crisp, clear from the ringing of a triangle tinkling in the background to the ride and crash cymbals. The midranges… all I can say is wow! The guitars, the vocals, the pianos are so close to reality. Sony put the bass back in my system! It kicks! The low cellos in the london symphony orchestra is so satisfying! Listening to music is fun again! It is SOOOOOO ENJOYABLE! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Ryan Guilbeau, Chuckey, Tennessee

[@TracyAtkins]

Hey Randy. The secret to system design is to “Remove what shouldn’t be there.” I spent years working on the car audio competition scene for sound quality. The people that thought they would win would keep adding more and spending more. The people that always won spent their time tuning out distortion, resonance, and removing anything that was unpleasant to hear. Crossovers and high quality EQs were key. It really bothers me that EQs seem to have fallen away from affordable home audio. You can do so much more with so much less with an EQ.

[@bigjay1970]

Amen!😉🤗😇

[@cheapaudioman]

I love eQ's. I try to do videos on them whenever I can

[@nc3419]

By EQ, are you talking about adjustments on the speaker itself or an equalizer, whether physical or digital?...not to mention room correction, treatment, etc. Thanks for the information too.

[@erics.4113]

Do you use analog or DSP to EQ in your home setup? Or DIRAC? I'm pulling the trigger on minidsp SHD and still fact-finding and doing information gathering. I'm excited about trying it, and especially measuring. The room needs to be helped as well and I'm thinking once I get the unit I'll mostly use it for the included mic to take measurements and treat the room first, before going deeper into eq, delay, filters, and Dirac etc.

[@jasonme3557]

you got that right, I have a nice set of separates, a high-end amp, and one sub. BUT I treated the doors back seat and trunk. Mind you the sub is only an 8" but a good one. Boom sound is awesome.

[@SWATTECHNOLOGIES]

You and Neal are what the internet was all about. Sharing institutional knowledge across the globe allowing average people to become a little more than average. Thank you. Joe

[@cheapaudioman]

Wow, thank you

[@SWATTECHNOLOGIES]

@@cheapaudioman It was easy, Neil paid me to say it. Oh no, I now have your humor too!

[@nathanaelcole8466]

This is getting me excited about these speakers! My mother-in-law bought the Sony stereo combo with these speakers for her gymnastics business and is about ready to retire. I pointed her in these direction as a good cheap option and she says I can have them when when she is done needing them. Sure takes the anxiety about tearing apart speakers away when they are freebies for your first time doing something like this.

[@brandonhampton7505]

When I need to fill a 20 minute gap, absorb info, and make it feel like it went by as fast as a roller coaster ride… Randy always delivers!

[@cheapaudioman]

you know when I edited this and looked at the length I thought... how did I babble on for 18 minutes

[@brandonhampton7505]

@@cheapaudioman Proud subscriber

[@edbrumbaugh9202]

Update: Ordered & received the plans from Neil, chose the "full-monte" mod and replaced the entire crossover. Ordered the parts from PartsExpress and finished the crossover replacement this morning ... each speaker gained a full 2 lbs with the new parts. I'd post pics, but doesn't look like we can do that here. Won't drone on with flowery language, suffice to say Neil "nailed" it, these SS-CS5s sound amazing. I own several sets of speakers and for the ones I own and am familiar with, I would say the upgraded SS-CS5 compares favorably with the SVS Ultra Bookshelf and Polk Legend L100s that I own. Remarkable! Fun project and again, well executed crossover replacement. Thanks again to Neil and to this channel for telling us about it. Now, I think I need to upgrade my other set of SS-CS5s!! Highly recommend doing this upgrade!! BTW, I agree with you on the Linton comment. I bought a pair of Linton's, but was disappointed with the bass ... sent them back.

[@michaelluera6926]

did you lose sensitivity after mods? Did it maintain the minimum 5.1 ohms that stock speakers had

[@kurtburkhardt9364]

I bought a pair of the Sony SSCS5 speakers for my daughter. They sound particularly good at $120 for the pair. I even A/B compared them to some ADS B7's and some B&W DM100's They held their own quite well. I would probably pair them with the matching Sony sub to get a bit more bass. She may not need that yet. They definitely punch above their class. Glad you like them as well.

[@Simon_Hawkshaw]

Thank you Randy and Neil for this opportunity to improve our sound. You guys are amazing.

[@petemokris7125]

As much as I enjoy Randy, this vid turned out to be a sales pitch instead of any qualitative comparison. More meat please

[@mikeskelton9203]

This may have been mentioned but I have stacked these speakers (Sony SSCS5) like they did with Advents back in the day, tweeter to tweeter, wired in series to avoid creating a low ohm situation. They sound fabulous to my ears using a Schiit Aegir amp, a $300 Schiit passive preamp that's no longer being made, and an LG V30 phone that's dedicated only to music (Stereophile gave this phone a Class A rating several years ago for its musical performance). So, 4 speakers, an old phone (available Ebay NIB for just over $100), a good Chinese amp with a 3255 chip, and you'll have a tough to beat system for less than $500. Keep up the good work Cheapaudioman.

[@lukastemberger]

I have a whole 5.1 setup with this series of Sony speakers. Absolutely unbeatable value. Such a fun sound.

[@greatpix]

My long time friend (we met 52 years ago) Mark Merlino owned two speaker companies Qysonic and Lantana and was the designer/engineer. His most popular speaker was the 'Tad', and he made ones twice as big and half has big. I had the big towers. He worked with the legendary John Iverson. The tower had an interesting rear port. over the opening was two layers of what looked like plastic corrugated cardboard. There was an opening the size of the port cut into the bottom layer and the top layer was solid. The air coming out the port was redirected to the sides through the openings in the corrected material. I'm not a sound engineer so I can't say what that design did but I have a critical ear and his speakers all sounded amazingly good. When hearing the Tads for the first time most people started to look around for the much bigger speaker they sound they heard must be coming from. He'd say, nope, that sound is coming from these little speakers. I believe one of his speakers got good reviews at The Absolute Sound or Stereophile magazines. Maybe someone remembers. I'm 70 and my photographic memory hasn't worked in ages.

[@attainableaudio4533]

Yes you can't always just replace the parts with better quality ones, especially with inductors they can have different dcr and therefore can not only effect the level/sensitivity of the particular driver but can also effect the crossover point, both can screwup the phase. So good choice in just starting from scratch!

[@AmericanConstellation]

I bought these speakers for 79 bucks. I figured, what the hell? They are nice! I saved the box they came in thinking that I would send them back or sell them. I love them. They crank! They sound really good.

[@slickill5738]

Thanks Randy. On your advice I found and scored a pair for $70 at a pawn shop. They wanted $85 but 70 was all I had. Salesperson wasnt thrilled but yeah. Im pretty sure i paid the difference with my labor removing the mouse turds that were inside. Yes I asked if they tested speakers b4 selling them. They told me all their speakers were tested by a local company that I knew of. Well apparently said company never laid them on their side or they would have heard the black nuggets rattling around inside. As far as i can tell they're fine. So... the Sonys musta been stored in a barn or owned by a hoarder. True story. Moral; always rotate used speakers b4 you buy them, to hear ant loose parts or even treasures left behind by rodents or whatever !

[@narikaba439]

I bought a pair of of speakers that retailed for $1000 for $115 at a garage sale. The owner thought they were broken. When I asked him to demo it there was this loud rattling noise like the drivers was torn. When I open them up at home there were a bunch of little toys on the inside. Apparently his little kids must have stuffed them in there through the ports. The speakers were flawless after I removed all the toys. 😂

[@jondough7823]

@@narikaba439 lol that’s an awesome story! Nice score!

[@odwatchguy]

Thanks for bringing this option out to the public. Neil is such a smart and interesting person and really cares about sound.

[@cheapaudioman]

he is.

[@terrywoody9291]

@@cheapaudioman lAllppPlp

[@coolspace2136]

I completely understand why you recommend these speakers so often. I bought mine for $80ish on sale. I initially paired them with a cheap Fosi amp. Was impressed. Yesterday, I paired them with a brand new SMSL DA9 and a subwoofer. Streamed some Rush and Pink Floyd. I couldn't believe my ears! My mind is blown at how good that combination sounds. This might be all I need for a while. Thank you for saving me a ton of money.

[@gavinm717gkm]

This is the exact kind of content I was hoping you would start doing! I would love to see you do a series on DIY, from builds to minor mods.

[@gregbartley2475]

Crossovers are the secret sauce within the speaker. Thanks to Randy and Neil for this endeavor!

[@cheapaudioman]

You bet!

[@Spaniard47]

Finally!! I was wondering if you'd ever make a video on this. Glad you did!

[@treybennett9295]

I just bought a pair on ebay and emailed Neil about the parts. I can hardly wait to start this project Loving the DIY stuff btw man

[@Feliciano12v]

How cool is that! DIY with training wheels with Neil. This could be the start to a new DIY adventure into binging you’re so with happiness. Kudos to you two!

[@buffal0bilious]

I recently watched Steven Soderbergh's movie, "Kimi." While the movie was sort of a mixed bag (in my opinion), I noticed that the set designer had put a pair SS-CS3s (the tower version of the CS5) in the main character's apartment. One of the side-effects of audiophilia is that anytime audio gear shows up in a show or movie, my immersion is immediately broken, and I start thinking about the equipment that's on screen.

[@labernese]

Yeah, like the Macintosh gear in Matt Damon’s characters apartment in “The Departed”

[@buffal0bilious]

@@labernese Asbsolutely. Or like Alan's huge Simaudio/Dynaudio/VPI setup in Sharp Objects.

[@rgarciap7]

Thanks for sharing but there is so much ads that I did not really get the objective of the video.

[@kimsansom8159]

Hey Randy, I purchased my sscs5’s for $128. I spent $20 on the plans from Neil and have chosen mod1. The full mod1 with quality components comes to about $50 a speaker. So, all in I would be about $250. At this point is it worth it or are there competing speakers for the same money. Thanks

[@drfleka]

If you already moded the speakers why do you ask is it worth it? And I'm no expert but for 250 per speaker today you can find insanely good speakers and can be powered active speakers not passive.

[@JohnScheppler]

Neil is an amazing guy and very talented. Neil, Thank You for doing all the hard work and Thank You Randy for bringing this all together.

[@NeilBlanchard]

You're entirely welcome, John!

[@RealEpikCartfrenYT]

my old computer speakers have a 4 inch full range driver and a 2 inch tweeter. the tweeter barely did anything so i ended up removing the crossover capacitor and i tied the tweeter straight to full range signal. the speakers sound so much better now.

[@tableseven8133]

As to reverse polarity on the tweeters, well here is what I found and what I know that makes sense. Years ago I took open a Radio Shack 4 way automotive speaker box, and found that the top tweeter was wired in reverse. I read somewhere that this was done to give the tweeter a wider dispersion of the sound. The problem that I can guess is it creates holes in the sound stage and in some high frequency's. I learned from having two bass speaker in the car, bass tubes side by side, if one is wired out of phase, I'd see them moving but had almost no bass. I can only guess two high frequency speakers side by side will cancel out any shared frequencies if one is out of phase. PS: I was expecting a demo of these speakers you were taking about but there was no demo....

[@jonathonfee2542]

It would be cool if Neil did a mod for the SSCS3s. I'm more of a tower guy myself. However, I may still pick up a set to mod for the bedroom. The wife said I can't put a full 5.1 system in there because the speakers take up too much space.

[@Ratchet98]

I use the SSCS5 nearly everyday. Looks like you gave me a new project Randy 👍😂. Great video

[@cheapaudioman]

Nice 👍

[@johannjohann6523]

This isn't the first time I've heard about this. First of all, it's difficult to find a 3 way bookshelf speaker, most are 2 way. But from what I heard, the drivers are actually quite good, it's the crossover where Sony kept costs down. Very interesting video. Thanks alot! I actually have a pair. Heating up the outer glued piece may help in removing it.

[@paulcampbell8696]

The absolute moment that somebody can prove to me that they can hear the difference between low end and high-end crossover components, I will run naked through town square. The old A/B/X test always shows you what really matters in audio, and will save you a lot of time in your life.

[@doctorquestian]

If you're in the being an arts and crafts kind of a guy, I like to take a cinder block, the kind you make building walls out of, and cut a piece of three-quarter inch high density particleboard to fit over one side. On that panel, cut out a space for a 6 inch, or 5 1/4 inch driver for your roofer, and then cut out a hole for whatever kind of Twitter you wanna put in it. Glue that to the one side of the block. Attach all your drivers with a two way crossover and make another the particleboard panel just like the other one, only this time make it so that you can put the speaker terminals into it. Glue the panels on. They make great patio speakers. Actually they sound pretty good in the living room too.

[@vampoxxx]

I have 2 pair of these running into a marantz sr5015 configured as Stereo with 2 zones running at the same time (Stereo A and Stereo B) they sound good, but running 2 pairs at the same time sounds even better

[@CalCobra]

As luck would have it I was at Best Buy and spied an OPEN BOX buy on the Sony SSCS5 speakers for $90 out the door! Ironically I'd just watched one of your videos about the Douk Audio X1 tube amp, which I ordered for my first foray into the world of HiFi stereo tube amps. I'll test out the Sony speakers on the tube amp, should be fun! I'll order Neal's crossover guide to see what's going on there too. I've built a few crossovers from scratch in my day, so this sounds like a fun project, thanks for sharing your reviews!

[@josexavierjr.5633]

At $74.99/pr. they are a fabulous speaker! I love mine, and you got me curious to try the mod.

[@63mrl]

Most speaker crossover are merely passive 6db configuration, higher order crossovers optimize the drivers focus and the roll-offs are better but, the frequency transitioning has to be considered. Higher order passive cross do consume power so that too has to be taken into consideration.

[@terryforsythe8083]

The biggest bang for your buck and effort will be to replace the iron core inductor in the crossover with an air core inductor having the same inductance value (the thicker the inductor wire the better). The use of iron core inductors in series with the drivers delivering the midrange typically is the weak point of mass produced crossovers. Replacing them with air core inductors having adequate gauge wire can really open up the midrange. Oftentimes it is the single biggest improvement you can make to a speaker. The next thing I would look at adding adhesive damping to the inside of the cabinet, and perhaps adding a brace or two, if cabinet resonances are audible.

[@q0w1e2r3t4y5]

Thank you! I might even be able to understand your obsession with this speaker ... since this DIY project got my interest peaked. I just need to buy the basic tools first haha.

[@sidesup8286]

Most of my equipment is not that expensive, it is many decades old, and thanks to my experiments in modification I think it would compete with some really expensive more modern stuff. There are some mods like treating capacitors that you can do and and do and do. Besides the big main capacitors, look at how many small capacitors are in a CD player or amp. The only thing bad about modding is that to be scientific, you end up playing the same tracks over and over again, to better hear how much improvement you've made. I started out modifying cassette decks of all things. At the time I only had 1990 era CD players. The cassette deck began to catch up and then surpass the CD player, especially in naturalness of tone and lack of harshness. What prompted me to give cassette decks another look was an old ad by Revox in a hi fi magazine where they called the cassette "underrated." Don't expect dynamic range though on most cassettes. It's amazing the sound quality you can get with tape that small in width and travelling at only 1/78 inches per second. Reel to reel can go up to 30 inches per second with much bigger tape width. Tape is as analog as you can get.

[@douglasmoore8033]

Amazon just had 10 pair used like new for 66 bucks. I bought two pair and I'm excited to do Neil's mod to one pair soni can a/b them. Absolutely love your channel and has me excited about audio again. I'd watch some of the other channels and while interesting, I'll never buy components that cost as much or more than a house😆

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

$537 USD ($753 AUD) here in Australia on Amazon Au

[@kyron42]

Buying Schiit products in Australia also sucks. The Australian distributor should be called Addicted to price gouging.

[@beachsidetech]

Amazon au is crap compared to u.s. We get ripped off here in oz.

[@joekent6576]

I was able to pick up a pair of these for $35 dollars at goodwill's auction site. They are definitely great for the average price of $150 but for $35 I am over the moon with their performance.

[@jimthvac100]

I enjoyed this video. You are correct having a nice crossover can make all the difference. Crossovers can be expensive to make but definitely worth it. I like to take vintage speakers and repair or replace the original crossovers.

[@ELISHACAEZ]

A good $150 3 Way speaker. You can't go wrong with that!

[@BebeMischa]

Fine content, love it, but guy, you look like a classic TV. Mentioning sponsors every 2 minutes is a no go...😉

[@ethimself5064]

Did I miss something? What did this cost? Or better yet, how much to have this done by a pro. Thanks👍

[@Paul-yk9uq]

Picked up a pair of the SSCS5s last year to be run by my old SX-780, and loved them. Recently picked up a pair of vintage Pioneer S-710s that replaced them for better bass. Now after seeing this I want to revisit these Sonys!

[@craigenputtock]

A big problem with this speaker is the LOW quality of the cabinet. It is not even mdf--unless it's a very cheap kind of mdf, more like fiberboard. The biggest upgrade would be to make a new cabinet for it.

[@Pidalin]

I would say that well quality cabinet is the most important thing on speakers. Few years ago, I did such an experiment. I took old speakers from 80s or 90s (I am not sure) and I just copied that design, but I made it from 28mm MDF and result is amazing!!!! It sounds so good with only 5.25" woofers, firstly I used classic paper high frequency speakers and result was really good, I don't like much sound of modern tweeters which sometimes play even that annoying super high frequencies, paper tweeters are somehow more comfortable for my ears. But unfortunately I destroyed one of that paper tweeters, so I replaced it with modern calot tweeters (1") and it still plays very well. Later I added third speaker for mid frequencies (to extra smaller box on top of cabinet, so it's completely isolated from rest of cabinet) and I used slightly better 3 way crossover, not good, but not the cheapest and it sounds very well, I didn't have to even change values of capacitors to adjust it, it was good on first try. What I really like about these speakers is that voices in movies or in youtube videos are totaly clear and well understandable, while with most of bought speakers, I have to play with equalizer to make voice in videos better, some youtubers have voice like when bass guitar is speaking, they should really put more effort to adjust sound when it's video only with talking, not music. These speakers I made play voice very well and even bass and high frequency at same time and I don't have to even play with equalizer. It was very shocking for me how well it plays. I had no experiences with speakers and I knew only very little about speaker physics, but I work in furniture factory, so I had no problem with making that speaker cabinet. PS: It's 10L cabinet with bassreflex on front side.

[@JAYDAM]

Just add a half sheet of NO REZ and problem solved!

[@badbanano]

Oh yea for $100 worry about the cabinet.

[@tbrown6559]

@@JAYDAM What is No Rez? What does it do?

[@juniorjohnson5961]

@@badbanano I agree Chris for $100 I'm not worried about the cabinet Doubt I'll be handling or moving much once there set-up

[@stevefick3919]

Hi Randy..Just emailed Neil regarding the plans for the SS-CS5's. I've had these guys for a few months, and I really like the sound of them. An upgrade certainly can't hurt! $20 for the plans is a great deal! Thanks for making this video! I also ordered the OP amp upgrade for the Aiyima A-07 from Sparkos Labs as well. The Sony's and the Aiyima should make a great setup when all is done!

[@justinsixx90]

Well how did it do?

[@user-ff9rx7kq2g]

We have a stereo stack of four Sony SC-5s, the vertical stacking help correct some of the vertical and horizontal dispersion issues.. We will have the opportunity to blind test duplicate looking sets of speakers, 1 set upgraded - 1 set not. Should be an interesting endeavor, sir you have inspired me to leaveth the couch..

[@Lecandreason]

I bought a set of these Sony speakers and the Neil Blanchard plans. I went for the ultimate crossover build,which included the subtle suggestion to put a small 0.1 Audyn bypass cap on the larger bypass cap and I did all the speaker cabinet mods.Too put it mildly these sound really good,I mean REALLY good. All I have for the power source is a Onkyo 80 watt per side reciever and a Wiim Pro Plus streamer all hooked up with ethernet cable and optic cables,I also have one of those cheap Sony subwoofers.All in all the system sounds very impressive. The mod to the speakers was not easy,but boy the results are very cool.Check it out.

[@bennickerson9581]

I woould love to see a great inexpensive way to connect my Thorens 125 turntable up to one of these systems. How do you do a good phono input on the cheap?

[@ScoutReaper-zn1rz]

I haven't watched yet but I just wanted to say something about my PC system and how I have it set up. I have a Logitech Z906 5.1 system hooked up to my Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion sound card. It thumps pretty good. I have the crossover frequency set to 80Hz and Subwoofer gain + 15dB. Then in foobar2000 I use a setting to expand stereo channels to center and rear surround speakers for pseudo 5.1 music. I always set my EQ to flat or off and just adjust bass and treble as needed. Loudness equalization set to off, mute front panel mic, turn off crystalizer, turn off EAX effects and turn off CMSS-3D.

[@mproductionsmusik]

How much is the average cost of the parts for the cheapest mod? i would like to know before buying the manual many thanks!

[@darkpatches]

Cheaper & faster hack: Blind the listener and tell them he's listening to $1K speakers. Instant upgrade. Yes, I went there. Liked and still subscribed. ;-)

[@spamcan9208]

It's funny how well the placebo effect can work. The audio world is full of snake oil like MQA or obscenely expensive cables.

[@MW-nb4dv]

I wish Neil would share some of his measurements. That might be a much different video, but it's one of the most interesting parts. I think it's great of him to offer his design to upgraders. I really didn't love the SSCS5's after getting them. They did have some good qualities to the highs, but were just too shrill for me all of the time, except at low volume. I decided to upgrade my set with the GRR kit a few months ago, which is not a small amount of work. (no, I won't be joining a speaker cable or power cable cult). His crossover kit along with the cabinet damping made a huge difference. I won't get too much into how they sound here, but I no longer feel like someone cranked up a treble knob. They still won't do ear bleeding volumes, but do play more than reasonably loud. I do use a sub with these, and they sound so right now that they've been my main two channel speakers since modding them. For me they've beaten out previous speakers I've used such as Elac B5's, UBI5's, Klipsch RP-160M's, Vienna Acoustic Haydn Grands, Rega R5, Beovox S60's. I love the big Linaeum tweeters. Linaeum LS2's are what I have on my systems "B" speaker outputs. I'll turn them on when I want something a bit different. Other speakers do visit the B outputs for A/B comparisons, but it's the LS2's who live there.

[@cheapaudioman]

I'm sure he will if you'd like him to and reach out to him. The measurement differences are as I described them though

[@NeilBlanchard]

Matt, I would be happy send you the response graphs. I measured the drivers, with and without the stock crossover, and the speaker as a whole, and the driver's impedance sweeps, and then used XSim to model the new crossovers. Really cool you have the LS2 speakers! I have a pair of LT1000s and my son has the LS2 - they use essentially the same 6" high Linaeum TLS mid/tweeter drivers. And they are quite rare. I have been building the MLTL (mass loaded transmission line) speakers for the TLS and for the 1.5" high Linaeum tweeters made by Radio Shack. These are much more common, and are relatively easy to find. I also have a version with a 1" soft dome tweeter. The LT1000 speakers are transmission lines, but are old school, and have significant dips. I found out that our knowledge of TL has significantly improved in the last decades, and with good computer acoustic modeling, like the program Hornresp, that TLs can have essentially flat and smooth output all the way down to their fundamental frequency. The MLTL-6 speakers I designed (with the small Linaeum and the dome tweeters) are essentially flat in room down to about 32Hz.

[@MW-nb4dv]

@@NeilBlanchard The LS2 were the first speakers I picked up to use on my 2-channel specific system that I was setting up at the time. I hadn't actually heard of them until I found them for sale locally. Voices and instruments like piano sound amazing with the LS2's TLS. I bet they sound great in your transmission line design!

[@TheBnjmnlrd]

modding something good to great. Love it!

[@seanjoell]

Why didn't you mention that GR-Reascher made a modification kit for this speaker?

[@TheHalfDemon]

I've got a pair of Neumi BS5, I'd love to do a project like this on. Maybe Neil can do those next ;)

[@mhnoni]

You have any other speakers to compare it with? how are they.

[@billymurphy3]

Perfect timing, my Sony’s are already in parts right now 😂

[@Rene_Christensen]

You cannot assume that the polarity is wrong just by looking at where the wires go, without knowing the filter itself, as some of them will only sum correct with the wires flipped. It falls out of the transfer function having a minus sign in it. You will get dips in the magnitude response if you willy-nilly flip driver polarity.

[@attainableaudio4533]

Yep just what I was thinking, and I would love to see some graphs with the new crossovers seeing as he has the equipment to make them...? I mean maybe they are designed correctly and it does make the speaker perform better, but as it is we it's just words, just saying would be nice to see graphs. Like the idea though!

[@cheapaudioman]

Neil has lots and lots of graphs.

[@PlaybackMansion]

I can vouch for this. Having spoken to Neil I'm confident he has the best and most graphs

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

I would assume that Sony might know what they're doing, and if it's anything other than a first order crossover I'd leave it as reverse polarity.

[@isaacn751]

wow cant wait to give this mod a try ,hope he looks at the neumi bs5 next , lots of potential there for a good front ported

[@eeyorebill04]

Does he have an upgraded crossover design for the floorstanding version SS-CS3?

[@Collinormous]

You had me subscribed the second you said "lets sit down and modify the heck out of this "

[@user-ff9rx7kq2g]

I'm going to grab those plans. And some coffee !!! Thanks for the video

[@ericperry72]

I'm hoping Sony brings out a bigger version of this speaker, with a 7" or 8" woofer.

[@ericperry72]

SCAMMER!

[@Vern_Levine]

This was like the Seinfeld of KZbin videos - a video about nothing! It turned out the twist at the end was you have to call Kramer - er I mean Neil - to do it! It was almost like an infomercial minus the info. Call 1-800-Neil today!! 🥳

[@cheapaudioman]

very sweet of you to say.

[@Vern_Levine]

@@cheapaudioman sorry -- don't take that as an insult. It was my lame attempt at humor. I'm like the George of KZbin commenters...

[@9mmmike642]

Infomercial-info = Mercial

[@OrdinaryKoopa]

Glad I bought two pairs of these speakers at $88 :)

[@dungysphincter7974]

I would rather buy the crossover mod pre-assembled. I am not that adventurous to mod a crossover myself. Any chance of getting the mod crossover pre-assembled? TY!

[@JerryWDaviscom]

What about the 3-way floor standing version? Have you tried them yet? Same crossover?

[@danielgriffis9759]

Randy, you "scared" me with those "not so cheap" tower speakers yesterday but, you drew me back in with this video . Carry on my friend.

[@cheapaudioman]

I like to mix it up

[@annebokma4637]

Love lineum, my mother has the lx5 very nice sounding

[@thatman4752]

Video starts at 5:46 Also, comment section is heavily redacted. Not the channel I subbed to over a year ago...

[@yambo59]

I remember the old days in the 70's and 80's when the crossovers often came with switches or control knobs to tailor the mid and hi range speakers from the crossover itself. In fact I had a pair of Nova 8B 12" three way speakers that sounded better than you ever expected in the first place plus they had low, mid and high slide switches on the back to allow tailoring of the mid and high frequencies - I wish I had never sold those Nova's cause at their cost they were WAY better than some of the two way stuff im seeing today at MANY times the price, were being raked over the coals on these stupid expensive two ways with wimpy little 4 - 6" woofers.

[@TD402dd]

Two of my systems' main speakers use HiVi woofers, and the smaller of the two uses a 1" silk dome tweeter and 5.5" HiVi kevlar/paper phase plug woofer. The other speaker has a 6" HiVi vented woofer which I had never used before with Planar isodynamic tweeter (I rate near the top). The first system uses a Dayton 12db crossover at 3000 Hertz. It works with my computer with a Marantz Amp, and an 8" Dayton Sub. The better system uses Eminence 18db crossover at 3500 Hz with a 12" 240 watt sub. It's one of the best bookshelf speakers I've ever heard, and much better than the Klipsch RP-500M ii on my third system. There are components to make every lower priced speakers sound superior to factory speakers costing much more. HiVi just happens to make some of the best components on the market, and they make the cabinets for one of the best British speaker companies.

[@JerryWDaviscom]

Great video. Crossover upgrades do make a huge difference.

[@gavrielmuellejans4345]

I'm very intrigued by these and considering picking a pair up. Some people have suggested that they may have changed in their overall sound signature/design since they were first released- have you noticed any such changes?? Thanks, great channel!

[@jean-pierreserret301]

Great video mate, unfortuantly in Australia these cost a hell of lot more. Quick question I would like to connect with Neil about my Energy CF-70s and possible crossover upgrades.

[@jorgem50]

I recently bought new crossovers and decided to put them in some old Vega d5s. To my surprise, my experiment worked! The d5s sound better now.

[@kraftybasterd]

This is great, and I appreciate your friend should make some revenue from his work and talent. I just wish I hadn't sat through almost 12 minutes to realize you weren't going to show or explain the upgrade in detail -- the video title and is a bit misleading in that way. Thanks for everything else you doz have enjoyed your videos from the early days to now :)

[@cheapaudioman]

well that's for Neil to talk about it if he wants to. I don't want to give away his hard work

[@spamcan9208]

I thought it was fine, I didn't feel misled. Although I would liked to have seen the actual components or pictures of what a crossover looks like and inside the speaker cabinet you were describing. Some of us find it interesting but will probably never open up a speaker. I'm a visual person, it really helps me to understand things when I can see them.

[@chucki32023]

Nevermind my comment as I closed the video and tried playing it again and the audio worked.

[@brianshissler3263]

My favorite speaker is a Sony. I found a SS K30ed at goodwill for dirt cheap. Absolutely amazing speakers. I am aware there are far better speakers out there, but not for 5$! I built my entire system from goodwill over years of looking weekly. Less then 100$, none of the speakers match, but its best sounding system i have ever owned. The trick is, when someone donates equipment that is not easy to find info on online, they will just slap 10$ or so on it and call it good. If you know your old school equipment, you can find amazing stuff for almost nothing.

[@theglovelock1752]

Randy, how about the Sony Towers? You hated them… it would be quite a feat to go from hate to love with some modifications… Full disclosure… I have the towers and would love to upgrade them:))). But people love the bookshelves so perhaps messing with “”hate and getting them to love” is more motivating than “love to love more” … Thanks and love the channel!

[@WhatStream]

Got the SSCS5's for $63.51 plus tax from amazon "renewed" back in March. They came in the box, look new and sound great.

[@rangersmith4652]

Using good sources and amps can be good or bad. Sometimes a deficient speaker sounds worse when a good front end exposes its flaws. Managing speaker placement and room acoustics can make any speaker _seem_ to perform better.

[@choyweide903]

I've just getting into budget bookshelf speakers. How about modded SSCS5 compared to CSS Torii Kit?

[@ElYeYeBoi]

Waiting for my coffee to be done then I'll watch it

[@ernies8828]

Actually, the Sonys originally retailed in the $250 range, and they are worth it. Even at $400 they would be, because they bested several speakers I heard at 300 to 500 dollars, including Elacs, Klipsch and Jamos. And these were blind tests from my neighbors, friends, coworkers and family using the same listening and spots, cables etc

[@janulik9535]

....thank you Randy,...for motivation. I am thinking to go this way, because I am, let say not likeing a lot the performance of speakers which cost 1K - 2K......I will try couple more and if not, lets do upgrades...

[@frankcooke1692]

So... Step 1: Buy $250 speakers. Step 2: give my friend $20 for a schematic that is freely available

[@NosEL34]

Excellent video, really enjoyed this one. $20 is a great deal for a guy like me, I've never put my own crossover together,much less picked/purchased my own parts from a distributor. I have a pair of these speakers packed away in it's box. Got mine brand new for 75 before tax. I've listened to them on few different types of gear. Their FR is probably all outta whack but I liked them as well, their hi end at low volumes I like,very clear, does image well. The woofer in that thing is pretty damn tough. The resonance for me is worst part about this speaker when I would crank them up, at first I thought it was bass. Probably should extra line the inside of the speaker box with that dampening stuff. This will be a good project for me, for 20 bucks this gifted Mr.Neil has done the math for me. Right on 👍

[@cheapaudioman]

I think you'll enjoy it.

[@NosEL34]

@@cheapaudioman yeah I think so too. I emailed Mr. Blanchard

[@eldraque4556]

do you do any videos on advice on designing your own cabinets? you know your shiz fella

[@funky_bottoms8675]

This question has probably been asked but, I don’t have the equipment to due the mod. Can I pay you or your friend to build the best crossover option?

[@stevezeidman7224]

Try contacting Neil.

[@DesChan1987]

Hi Randy , SS-CS5 now got promotion in Malaysia , i also realize SS-CS3 also in very cheap price , how about the performance for the SS-CS3? worth to pay more get it ?

[@gillygun1]

Hi, my name is Ryan Guilbeau in Chuckey, TN. I’d like to ask a question concerning woofer hook ups. The equipment I have is a Yamaha RN303 stereo receiver. I have 4 speakers taking up the A/B channels on the back. If the B speakers are taken up… how would I hook up the woofer or can at all? Thank you for your help.

[@WimHulpia]

Great video. I'm about to upgrade the crossover of my Focal Electra 926s with new caps, inductors and resistors. Wondering h9w they will sound.

[@VintageVic93]

I have been waiting for this! Definitely interested in trying Neil’s upgrades.

[@cheapaudioman]

very well thought out. and just not one approach

[@bencarignan2711]

Have you done a review on a modified version of this speaker?