Customer Reviews

Sony SRS-A27 Desktop Personal Speakers with 2-Way Power Supply

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I was looking for a pair of powered portable speakers, I looked at this pair from Sony, as well as a couple selections at Radio Shack, all for the same price of $19.99. Compared to the Radio Shack speakers, the Sony has these pros and cons:

Pros:
- lightweight
- better build quality (all are made in China)
- accommodates easier-to-find AA batteries vs. size C for RS
- slightly better sound with more clarity

Cons:
- no bass or treble controls as on the RS speakers
- not as loud as the RS speakers, but the latter gets distorted so bad so the maximum volume is meaningless

In the end I chose the Sony speakers for better sound and build quality as well as a longer warranty. I use them with my RCA Lyra MP3 Jukebox and also my Panasonic SL-SV550 CD/MP3/Radio player. Pretty happy so far.

These speakers on definitely on the low end of sound quality. At a power rating of 1 watt per speaker, they sound much smaller than they look. The sound is a harsh mix of the mid-to-high-end range. There is no hint of bass.

Battery life (four AA batteries) will give you between 15-30 hours of play. While this isn't bad, it also means that if you accidentally leave the power switch on, you'll be on your way to the store for more batteries. Good thing there is an AC plug (but no cables).

On the lighter side, the packaging mine came with said that these could be used with a Walkman, CD Walkman, MD Walkman, or PC. It then stated that "Walkman and PC is not supplied." Rats, I thought I was going to get a PC for twenty bucks!

Before buying these speakers, I purchased the Sony passive speakers for $6.00. Those were absolutely terrible. After the wire snapped, I decided to pay a little more for these...best decision I've made in a while. They are much louder than you would believe, and have surprisingly good quality.
However, I bought these for a very unique reason. I put these speakers in my backpack to play during and after school, and things like that, and these are perfect for that.
I would highly recommend these speakers, hands down.

For under $20 these speakers do their job. They get loud, and that's probably their best quality. They are pretty clear, but there is no bass. You are definitely getting what you pay for.
The speakers are not supplied w/ an A/C adapter and I had trouble finding an after market one to power them properly.

These speakers have been trying my patience from the start. Direct mode (no power source) is useless unless the speakers are next to your head. The moment I added a power source (either with batteries or the Sony AC-E90HG adapter), the buzzing noise was present and would not stop. It seemed to be related to the non-removeable stereo cable. The buzzing was problematic enough to send these speakers packing after only a day.

These speakers are ok, they do not go up that loud and they do not sound that great!!! I would not get them i would spent a little bit more money and get something better. But they are great if you are listening to them at a low volume.

I have owned these Sony SRS-A27 Desktop Personal Speakers with 2-Way Power Supply for quite some time now. I use them with my Sony ICF-SW7600GR AM/FM Shortwave World Band Receiver with Single Side Band Reception and, for listening to shortwave broadcasts and local AM stations in conjunction with this particular radio, they are good, certainly much better than the Sony radio's mediocre internal speaker. For listening to FM music, they are adequate, no more (there is no bass response whatsoever and trebles border on harsh).

At their current price of $14.99 they appear to be priced fairly - but there is something to consider VERY carefully before purchasing them: Sony's AC adaptor Sony ACE90HG AC Adaptor is currently being sold by one of Amazon's partners Wall Street Photo (also known as "Your High-Priced Outlet") for $69.00(!).

Who in their right mind would pay $69.00 to power a set of $14.99 speakers?

And to find a reasonably priced after-market adaptor is somewhat difficult as Sony uses non-standard plugs (I believe, however, that you can find a suitable adaptor at Radio Shack; at least you can try it out there to see if it works properly - and Radio Shack's price will almost certainly be better than that of Wall Street Photo whose prices, at least as they appear for several products here on Amazon, are nothing short of outrageous!).

In addition, there is the cost of batteries. It is costly to run these speakers from standard alkaline batteries and the initial cost of good NiMH batteries and a charger (if you don't already have these items) would have to be added to the cost of the speakers.

It's a pity that they cannot be directly powered from a computer via its USB port but I suppose that that is a minor point.

For the purposes I personally use the speakers they are adequate. I would not recommend them for listening to music on CDs, MP3s, etc., but, for voice, they are fine.

Though made in China, they appear to be very well-constructed, like almost all Sony products.

Just keep in mind that, though they cost only $14.99, that's not the true overall price. Only you can determine whether the total cost for speakers as limited as these is worth it to you. At the time I purchased them, it was worth it to me but "if I knew then what I know now" I think I would have gone with something else.

...and that's how they get you. The Sony brand adapter is listed at $39. You can buy an universal adapter for under $20(the sony is rated at 9v and 800mA), but there is a catch. The universal adapter's plug is too long! It won't make the proper contact with these speakers. But there is a way to make them work. Find the right adapter plug and put a little piece of tinfoil in the hole of the adapter---don't put it in the speaker hole.

So, Sony uses a shorter adapter so you think you can't use the universal adapter and charges you $39 for their adapter.

You could try using a spring from a ballpoint pen or any small springs; or, cut a piece off a paper clip or copper wire, but the tinfoil is easy to use---just stuff enough into the whole to make contact. It can be scraped out if you need that plug for another device.

Initially I bought these speakers because they looked really nice, were made by Sony and were cheap. I guess none of that made any sense when I initally used them for music. These speakers are just bad for music. However, I got a job as a teacher a few years back and I used these speakers for audio books and they worked great.

I had Sony speakers before, but they did not have the option of adding batteries or plugging it in...so the output was minimal. I decided that I needed speakers with more power. I looked everywhere and bought these...they seemed to be one of only a handful of speakers that would let me use either batteries or plug into an outlet (adapter not included). They were fantastic. I have read other reviews about the noise not being that good, but I have no complaints. They are not "tingy" and get very loud for such a small speaker.
My only issue is that the pair I had, the speaker not connected to my IPOD (you connect one line into the IPOD, and the line from the other speaker plugs into the first speaker, the one plugged into the IPOD) would cut in and out.
I opened up the speaker and saw that the connection came off, so I soldered it back on, but it just did not perform the way it did at first for over 2 years. I am not sure if I was too rough with them, or if it was a product flaw. This is my 2nd pair...I will give them another shot, so they were at least good enough for me to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I just threw them around too much. If the same issue happens again, I know it is a Sony issue as opposed to my fault.