SONY SS-MB 150H Teardown - Truly Cheap Speakers

Here are some ACTUALLY cheap speakers; very few components and lightweight construction. The drivers are decent quality but there is no complete crossover network to back them up.
If you ignore the bad parts, these are very likable and good-looking speakers!
Check out my other speaker videos here: • Speakers

[@GeorgeGraves]

I had these for about 20 years. They were great for film and video editing because of the flat responce. You've more than likely seen some stuff on TV that was editing using a pair of these.

[@yvesboutin5604]

I had two pair of those that I used for my old home theater setup before giving them to my son. Now, I have modified them with a 0.5 mH coil for the woofer and a 2.2 uF capacitor and a 1.5 Ohm resistor on the tweeter. Also, I added some 1/4 inch foam padding on most of the inner surface and now they sound much better with a better balance and reaching more toward the extreme in frequency response. I really like your videos! They are very instructive without being too technical. Good job!

[@Casey_Schmidt]

@Yves Boutin - Thank you!

[@davidlayson3404]

@@Casey_Schmidt how did you hook the coil,capacitor,resister

[@yvesboutin5604]

Hi ! I glued the x-over parts on the bottom of the cabinet and I wired them using new wires to accomodate the extra length that was needed. On the tweeter, I put the capacitor first and in series with the resistor.@@davidlayson3404

[@dreddnott]

Great teardown, I just picked up a pair of the SS-MB350H and I'll definitely be popping them open. I've built my own speakers with a proper crossover before so I'll be able to rectify any deficiencies.

[@kapenakanaiaupuni5816]

They cheap but I got a pair and they sound good

[@holmes1978]

Great speakers all of them together !!!

[@cnhhnc]

these speakers originally sold for a rock bottom price of 49.95 a pair, NEW. And were available at Ratshack closeout price for 20 dollars new. Pair them with a Lepai amp and you've got a desktop system for less that 40 dollars. Use a PC equalizer and they're not that bad for that price, lol!

[@slaughtercrx]

That design crossover rabbit hole is too deep, so I’m going to try a pre built 2way 3500khz and see if it helps. They do seem to be decent speakers

[@DougMen1]

The cap has to be non-polarized for audio use, because otherwise an AC signal wouldn't pass through it. Normal polarized caps pass DC but block AC

[@gino3286]

Hi thank you for your very excellent insight Clearly cheap and small speakers have limitation But as satellites they could work quite fine It is important to cut them below 150Hz more or less and send the remaining range to a proper woofer in a separate box The result can be surprising I did something of the kind in the past with a couple of Mission speakers and i was amazed Finally i ruined the speakers using them full range at too high power They had a small coil ... not for super power But used cut in the lower range they sounded fantastic

[@jimthvac100]

I just bought a pair of these at Goodwill ($7.98 for the pair) unfortunately the large magnet on one of the woofers became unglued from the plastic frame and was rattling around loose in the cabinet. This also damaged the coil. So that woofer will need to be replaced. I will probably install a nice cross over and replace the woofer. I did feel the speakers were not as loud as similar speakers I have at same Volume. I have a feeling the new speaker I will buy will be much better than the other and will most likely end up replacing both woofers. I have read that using a quality 4.7 mf capacitor to replace the original one the tweeter makes a big difference in sound quality. The wood frame of these speakers is very well made and well worth modifying them to make them sound better. But your right a proper crossover would be better to keep the speakers in phase. I seen where a hobbyist posted a video on KZbin showing how he designed a second order crossover to really make this speaker sound good.

[@abdelkaderelbachir3817]

I might sound like a jerk but I learned that most people don't give a sh*t and those speakers are aimed towards those people And if you want them to sound better you can easily add the a two-way crossover

[@mat_a.c.d.evloganstuff3917]

Omg soo true they do suffer from a lot of excursion. I have the Sony ss-mf650h and the bass on them are amazing The mid range is actually decent The tweeter is good too because Sony never makes there speaker mid heavy I give them 7/10

[@randomweirdyoutubechannel8955]

i have some crossovers in some sony speakers thay i fixed and to me the aiwas i have which are right next to them sound alot better and they just have a capacitor as the original crossover was long gone but thats probably down to me putting silk dome tweeter in them

[@fu1r4]

I have some similar, but in plastic. I maybe should open them and see if Sony has change the crossover filter :)

[@Nathan_Jay]

Loved this video! I have a pair of the big towers in the lineup (MF750H), I've heard mixed answers whether they have dedicated crossovers built-in. It sounds like they do, but I am not sure. You know by any chance?

[@Casey_Schmidt]

@Nathan Jay - Thank you! Unfortunately I do not, I really only familiar with the speakers I have taken apart myself. You might be able to find a schematic online?

[@Nathan_Jay]

@@Casey_Schmidt thank you for the quick response! I have not seen anything online yet. Might have to find some time to take em apart. They're nothing special, but I do enjoy them a lot as home theatre speakers, just on the basis that they sound decent for what I paid.

[@carlzimmerman8700]

Seen a pair of these at Salvation Army for 7$, thwn left them behind after reading reviews.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

For $7 I’d say there’s a good buy if you need a spare set of small speakers. But if you didn’t really need them, I’d say you probably made a wise choice.

[@jimthvac100]

You were wrong about the capacitor that is a non polarized cap not one such as on a circuit board. A lot of speakers used electrolytic non polarized caps in there speakers. If they used thin film capacitors they would have to raise the price of the speakers $10 for the set. And 10% tolerance on the capacitor you would never be able to tell the difference in frequency response. Thin film is better but price is a huge drawback. also there is no inductor on the woofer because inductors are even more expensive than a thin film capacitor. to have a nice crossover network would significantly increase the cost of the speakers then they would not be able to sell the speaker to the intended audience. 1/2" wood on the speaker cabinet might be a little to thin on a much larger speaker but being this speaker is so small the cabinet would never flex.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Cheap speakers are cheap.

[@faresmilan5591]

Why they add magnate to the speakers ?

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Probably for some design/engineering purpose. It was likely cheaper to use two magnets than one for the power/strength requirements. Just a guess though.

[@davidmorgen4558]

I came across some bookshelf sonys with bi wiring on the back of em which really surprised me since they look like they were apart of an an all i n one system build quaiity seemed so-so but not terriable...Any info would be appreciated..Thanks

[@randyledford6496]

I've never had trouble with any Sony speaker 🔊 all companies have cheap versions.

[@brianwheeler3861]

I have the mb 350s there ok and I have the f5000 also

[@arena_rock_man9030]

I'm using these exact same speakers for the TV in our bedroom. I picked them up at value village for $7.99 for the pair LOL. They replaced some Panasonic home theater in a box speakers that I was using previously. I will have to say they sound better than a cheap soundbar.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

@Arena_Rock_Man - So true! I’m not a fan of sound bars. Small bookshelf speakers are always the way to go if you want simple good sound quality for a tv.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

@Arena_Rock_Man - I guess it's really up to you. I would say that if you haven't modified a speaker before, they would be good candidates to get some practice on since they aren't very expensive. But if you have experience upgrading speakers and don't need the practice, then they might not be worth it, again because they aren't very expensive and don't have the best build quality. To keep the cost minimal, put an inductor in series with the woofer. It would help by not making the woofer play full-range. I would have no idea what value to use. A guess would be somewhere between 0.7 mH and 1.5 mH. While air-core inductors are generally preferred, iron-core or air-core probably wouldn't make a ton of difference on these.

[@arena_rock_man9030]

@@Casey_Schmidt There are a number of crossover calculators available. Nick at DIY Audio and Kirby Meets Audio suggested a couple of free versions for download. I've never built a crossover before, so it'd be nice to practice on these guys. I like to throw in either egg carton foam or some acoustic polyfill to help smooth out their frequency response.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

@Arena_Rock_Man - It would be a fun little project for sure!I've used a few crossover simulation programs (not the online calculators) and they have gotten me pretty close. If you don't know the T/S parameters of the drivers, it can get tough to accurately model them in the software. Parts Express sell Dayton Audio branded device that will measure the T/S parameters of any driver. I don't recall its name off the top of my head. Using that in conjunction with some simulation software will make it a lot easier to get a good result. When it comes to foam, my recommendation is the adhesive 3/4" 3-layer stuff. It does a really nice job at absorbing internal sound reflections and damping the enclosure as a whole.

[@arena_rock_man9030]

@@Casey_SchmidtThis guy went to the trouble to put a crossover together and listed the parts in the description and posted a picture of the crossover board with notes of how the parts wire up kzbin.info/www/bejne/ol6vaYypisyEp9U

[@andrea4809]

What were you expecting for $89 a pair?

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Not much at all.

[@marcparsons1726]

I felt violated watching that!! Surprised Sony was that bad even then! One electrolytic cap? Gosh!!

[@samfitterer6689]

How rare is your bmw

[@thejoyofthemusicinmylife7897]

I picked up a pair for 12 bucks at a thrift store. I will use them for my system in the garage, not for ay of my high end systems.

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Very nice

[@12345671411]

Молодец! 🎉

[@MarcioCostacantor]

Boa noite! Pra mim é uma honra viu prestigiar seu trabalho, vamos sempre juntos somar e fortalecer nossos objetivos, Conto com você, eu já estou por aqui.

[@speakersystemsnstuff47]

Dustcaps fell off of mine

[@kapenakanaiaupuni5816]

Why do you review something they you know is cheap .all your doing is talking crap about the product

[@Casey_Schmidt]

Almost all speakers under $1,000 are made in a nearly identical fashion.The only thing that separates these from speakers that cost just a little more is a full crossover. I didn't review these speakers to crap on cheap products. Sony makes good stuff and their quality matches the price point of all their products. Something I've said for a long time is that it doesn't matter what speakers you have, if they sound good to you, love them and don't let anyone tell you different.

[@bryanmathew2079]

He's informative