Customer Reviews

Sony SS-CR3000 Center and Rear Channel Speaker Package

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm a little chagrined I waited so long to immerse myself in the world of 5.1 surround sound.

Most websites on the subject will tell you to get all of your speakers from the same brand, so the harmonics are all cousins of each other. Well, with Bose bookshelf speakers, the accompanying surround speakers would have been another grand, so I decided to bottom end with Sony.

These little puppies are weird in that you can't take the mesh covers off to spock the look of the speaker diaphragms, but that's the only weird thing. They ship with the tiniest capellini-sized speaker wire you can imagine, which helps you enjoy your new sound straight out of the box until you can get some more decent sized wire.

For a starter kit, these are thoroughly sufficient, plus, they're sleek and unobtrusive. If you haven't experienced surround sound anywhere but the theaters, get these babies and rent Apocalypse Now, or any of the Bourne movies. (Or better yet, watch the dust storm episode from the first season of Carnivale--you'll quite literally be blown away.)

Also, you'll need a digital optical cable from your DVD player to your receiver; otherwise the Dolby surround won't work.

I have this set paired with the SS-B3000 bookshelf speakers. These speakers sound amazing compared to my old speakers. The center channel is crisp and clear. The rear speakers add great depth to movies. I was watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2 to test things out, it's like you're in the movie. I've never experienced that kind of sound before.

EDIT: I just upgraded my receiver to the STR-DG720, even more amazing. These speakers are a match with other Sony products.

I paired these with a set of SSB-1000 Bookshelf speakers.
They are a great set to complete for 5.0 surround, i would suggest a separate sub because i low end on the bookshelf speakers or this set.
Center is clear and crisp, rears are mid-small and do the job just fine.

The center channel is very good for the package price; produces more than adequate vocals. Rear surround's sound great too...until you want to pump the volume up on that favorite action scene. In my mid-size living room (20x14), they begin to destort at modest levels. If you want the house-shaking, window-rattling theater experience, better get something a little bigger.

These speakers nicely replaced my old surround sound system front 3 speakers, they work great, not high end, but for the price and combined with my 10inch Sony subwoofer, these sound great.

I ordered the SS-CR3000 speakers but was surprised when they arrived. They were smaller than I expected with mostly midrange sound output. There was almost no bass output and the treble was weak. The grille covers cannot be removed but with a bright flashlight I could see that the drivers were much smaller than 4.75" as indicated on Amazon's web site. They actually had 2.75" drivers, two in the center and one in each surround speaker. Sony's web site also lists the drivers as 4.75" so this might not be Amazon's fault.

On a positive note returning the speakers was easy. It was within 30 days of purchase so Amazon emailed a return shipping label.

First off the description was a bit off. their is no tweeter in the center channel, there is only duel 3" full range speakers. Even the manual that came with it says so.
Although it lacked a tweeter is still sounds better, louder and more punchier then my old single 2.5" full range brava center speaker.
And other thing I didn't like about it was there was no wall mount option for the center channel. The rear or other speakers had a key hole slot for wall mounting.
Other than that, its loud, clear and fills a medium size with no problem.

I bought this recently to go from a 2.1 to a 5.1 system. I am using it in a modest size open loft room around 14 by 16 feet. I have tried it recently on a range of programs, movies, and music. The center speaker produces gorgeous vocals. I was listening yesterday to Joan Baez and Judy Collins and the center speaker was producing just really pleasing sound.

Once I adjusted my receiver settings to work with my other speakers I have gotten more than enough volume from the center channel. I rarely go above 40 and my receiver goes to 80. At 50 I am beginning to get into painful volume levels. There is no distortion at all at 50 though.

The rear speakers also produce enough sound and are great for rounding out a surround sound set-up. They have brackets on the side but no way to mount them on the bottom. But the bracket allows for easy wall mounting if desired. From the research I did, you want to have your rear surrounds at a foot or two above ear level so you can't tell where the sound is coming from.

If you want a stand I highly suggest this one, Atlantic Satellite 77305018 2 Speaker Stands (Black). The rears weigh in at 2lbs so they meet the weight supported. Also you can adjust the height. Lastly the double sided tape on the Atlantic Satellite is enough to support the speakers securely.

I have always enjoyed music. Living in Austin I go to a lot of live shows. I know good sound when I hear it. And the center channel speaker, when adjusted correctly, does a great job at producing lush and pleasing vocals, just what it is supposed to do. And it is very compact. Despite its size, though, it produces enough volume for almost any imaginable home use I could think of. Definitely an excellent choice when trying to produce a high value-budget aware home surround sound system.

I got these not for surround sound (although that may come in the future) but to improve the sound from our small LCD TV. We aren't heavy TV watchers, but with these, and the Sony SS-B3000, SS-B1000 speakers and SA-W2500 sub that we're currently using for our stereo - all purchased through Amazon at great sale prices - we're set to go if we ever take the surround-sound plunge. These little speakers are perfect, very cute and produce clear sound and we couldn't be happier with our purchases.

Purchased this mainly for the center speaker which was the right size to fit in the opening of my projection TV system. Was somewhat disappointed, the center speaker sounded very tinny and also had slight distortion in the upper frequencies at very moderate listening levels that everybody noticed. Ended up moving the surround sound rear speakers to the front and wiring into the center channel to get a better sound. Unless you just have to have a center channel speaker this small I would recommend you get something larger and better. These speakers are connected to a decent 5.1 Sony receiver.