SONY SS-NA2ES Speakers $10,000. Worth?

[prepress]

I understand, basically mostly people don't prefer Sony for speakers and after checking the price for these speaker I thought why they are too expensive, is it really worth at this price or not?

To answer this question Objectively, IHMO the
correct question to ask is can I get the Same or better sound for less ?

If you have another product for a lower price, that delivers what You perceive in this speaker, then this speaker is over priced.

If you cannot find another lower priced product delivering what YOU PRIORITISE or Listen to in your music / system, then you have no other option but to consider paying the asking price.

 

[prepress]

Bhagwan, First and foremost please don't call me Sir. Even I should call you Sir as you are senior to me in all manners.

True, Many speakers don't offer Bi-wiring and many do. But believe you me I didn't notice any difference by Bi-Wiring the speakers and even I am not sure why speaker manufacturer offering it, not found any good reason. Asked for Bi-wiring feature in this speaker was I thought if many speaker brands are using that then definitely there should be good use for that.

Sir,
Few things;
a]
If I knew what you were asking for - i.e. I understood the question, trust me - I would try to answer it to the best of my abilities...
b]
If a speaker is 'costly' [relative - I know] why should it have Bi Wire Option ?

I know of 'several' brands of loudspeaker that may cost 50/- K US $'s ++ that do not offer Bi-Wire Options !!
Kaiser Acoustics / Wilson Audio / Magico / YG Acoustics / Dynaudio etc. etc.

On the other hand there are other brands that do offer Bi-Wire as an option - it all just boils down to how the loudspeakers designer has designed & executed the design - so I interpret it - kindly correct me if others feel otherwise. Thanks,

 

[alphacentury100]

$10000 for a pair of speakers is just a starting price point to the infinite number of audiophile grade speakers available above that price point. To name a few, B&W 800D sells for more than Rs.1200000, Revel Saloon2 sells for App. Rs.1200000, KEF Blade sells for Rs.2000000 and Focal Grand Utopia sells for staggering Rs.10000000. Some feel the Onkyo 3400 is good enough and spending beyond that is useless, but some of my friends are very much satisfied with their Creative Inspires and Logitech Z5300's, and to them, even the Onkyo 3400 is a waste of money and they believe there is nothing impressive in a Rs.25000 onkyo over a Rs.2000 Creative.
So the term EXPENSIVE and WASTE OF MONEY are very subjective.
You cannot spend 10X money on a new speaker and expect it to perform 10 times better over your old speaker. "The point of diminishing returns is very true in audio industry".
So, maybe it is good to just spend what you feel is the sane limit. If it gives you happiness and satisfaction, then you have spent enough.

 

[alphacentury100]

And about Biwiring, The Focal Electra BE series speakers, which sells for more than Rs.700000/pair don't have biwiring options, but they perform so so very sweet. Biwire may be beneficial only if you go for Active Crossover, otherwise you can always find a lower guage wire and a hi power amp.

 

[grubyhalo]

...My Piece of Advise/Suggestion/Argument : Money is Hard-Earned and should be respected. A passion for audio is different as to spending a fortune on it. You would have a job , you would work 5 days a week, so the only time you would listen to music on these speakers at a max would be 5 Hours, which would reduce with time.
IMHO, Its a waste of Money, Time and Your Hardwork to earn that Money which you would spend on a > Rs 1,00,000 Speaker.

Dear sir, what would be your advice to an idiot, whose whole reason for existence is music, live and canned, and his job is just a way of paying for it, ofcourse along with other incidentals like food, rent and clothing?

 

[koushik]

Dear sir, what would be your advice to an idiot, whose whole reason for existence is music, live and canned, and his job is just a way of paying for it, ofcourse along with other incidentals like food, rent and clothing?

I am one of those idiots

 

[grubyhalo]

I am one of those idiots

You are not alone.

 

[koushik]

All of you people would have to agree on a very simple notion that a system costing Rs.1,00,000 and a system costing Rs. 1,00,00,000 would not have 100 times of a difference as commanded by the price.

How would you measure it, please? 2 times, 3 times, 100 times ... how?

A passion for audio is different as to spending a fortune on it. You would have a job , you would work 5 days a week, so the only time you would listen to music on these speakers at a max would be 5 Hours, which would reduce with time.
IMHO, Its a waste of Money, Time and Your Hardwork to earn that Money which you would spend on a > Rs 1,00,000 Speaker.

How about 3 hours daily? From 11pm to 2 am?
And more than 5-6 hours in the weekends?
How about continuing it for last 18-19 years?
I am an idiot? Am I not?

Don't use the word "passion". You don't know what it is. May God keep you away from this passion and keep you happy as you are now Amen!

 

[reignofchaos]

Spend whatever you feel comfortable with. Cut your pocket depending on your means. If music holds no value, then don't spend anything. There are others for whom music matters a lot and they have the means. For them 1lac or even 80lac may not be that big a deal.

 

[Staxxx]

The problem with this thread is asking "worth"....which is so subjective.

(By the way, since someone mentioned it earlier, I did have the Revel Salon 2 speakers....they were with me a very short while as they did not suit my system at that time. My current speakers are less expensive but match the system i have infinitely better. These are worth more to me than the Revel could be).

By the way, Prepress, do not confuse the commercial-priced Sony TVs and compact audio systems (ordinary or not) with their work on high-end audiophile speakers. Their high-end speakers show up in specialist audio shows and are very well reputed (although quite difficult to find any where). It is a big company with lots of resources. Here is a small article (2011) on the matter:

Sony reenters the high-end speaker market | Stereophile.com

 

[ROBIN LANDANSON]

These speakers are well designed, great drivers and have great glossy, luxurious look (represents more lifestyle) but these are not bi wireable speakers. Why?

Sony have some great sounding systems, and once again they underlined and proved their sound signature to world

 

[alphacentury100]

You are not alone.

I am with you guys.
I would spend Rs.10000000 without hesitation and would live for everafter with no regret. I wish I had that much money and understanding spouse and parents (leave aside the children, who can also be taught to like music).

My 1.9 year old babyboy listens to music for hours. Hope he will also grow to be an IDIOT.
(I named my son BENTLEY and now, my wife tells me "we must get him a Bentley car one day for him", Now I wonder, Why didn't I name him Bowers or Wilkins or Salk or some good speaker name? )

 

[Staxxx]

I am with you guys.
I would spend Rs.10000000 without hesitation and would live for everafter with no regret. I wish I had that much money and understanding spouse and parents (leave aside the children, who can also be taught to like music).

My 1.9 year old babyboy listens to music for hours. Hope he will also grow to be an IDIOT.
(I named my son BENTLEY and now, my wife tells me "we must get him a Bentley car one day for him", Now I wonder, Why didn't I name him Bowers or Wilkins or Salk or some good speaker name? )

Excellent !! :lol:

 

[prepress]

Actually as I have already stated that mostly people don't want to talk about Sony speakers (even not found in this forum), they mostly talk about other Brands like Focal, B&W, Wharfedale, Polk, Tennoy etc etc. Seen many Sony floorstanding speakers under 50K but their reviews are not impressing.

But found Sony speakers at this ($10,000) price on a webpage and thought "Are they really worth/deserve this price?" I was not aware they are really high-end speakers (My error).

The problem with this thread is asking "worth"....which is so subjective. By the way, Prepress, do not confuse the commercial-priced Sony TVs and compact audio systems (ordinary or not) with their work on high-end audiophile speakers. Their high-end speakers show up in specialist audio shows and are very well reputed (although quite difficult to find any where). It is a big company with lots of resources. Here is a small article (2011) on the matter:

Sony reenters the high-end speaker market | Stereophile.com

 

[prepress]

I am with you guys.
I would spend Rs.10000000 without hesitation and would live for everafter with no regret. I wish I had that much money and understanding spouse and parents (leave aside the children, who can also be taught to like music).

My 1.9 year old babyboy listens to music for hours. Hope he will also grow to be an IDIOT.
(I named my son BENTLEY and now, my wife tells me "we must get him a Bentley car one day for him", Now I wonder, Why didn't I name him Bowers or Wilkins or Salk or some good speaker name? )

hyeah: :clapping: hyeah: Good one.

 

[hemantwaghe]

Check This Speakers

Sony SS-AR1
https://dealersource.sel.sony.com/dsweb/p/ar1/

Released at 27000 US$

now before you say sony @ 27 K $ just go through the review

Sony SS-AR1 loudspeaker | Stereophile.com

Sony SS-AR1 Loudspeaker (TAS 214) | The Absolute Sound

 

[ranjeetrain]

Searching on internet and found THIS (LINK), I am not sure if it is worth at this price?

IMHO, their is a limit to what an ear can perceive. Eventually after a period of 3 Months - 6 Months, most of the speakers sound the same. I would believe, that there is not extraordinary crisp clarity than can come from a $10,000 Speakers, that can not come for good floorstanders from brands like Klipsch, Jamo etc. I auditioned the RF-82II from Klipsch recently and found them to be amazing. Came back home, tried to tweak a lot of settings on my system(Onkyo-3400), and could feel 90% of the sound at 1/3rd the price. Speakers like this might give you a sound or two extra, but are seriously not worth the steep price. You might not sit at home all day just to listen to music on your $10000 system, but rather want a great bang for your buck.
Also, surprisingly Sony should not make such a steep offering. They have some great sounding systems. But all their systems(>Rs.20000) are nothing in front of the competitors.

$10000 for a pair of speakers is just a starting price point to the infinite number of audiophile grade speakers available above that price point. To name a few, B&W 800D sells for more than Rs.1200000, Revel Saloon2 sells for App. Rs.1200000, KEF Blade sells for Rs.2000000 and Focal Grand Utopia sells for staggering Rs.10000000. Some feel the Onkyo 3400 is good enough and spending beyond that is useless, but some of my friends are very much satisfied with their Creative Inspires and Logitech Z5300's, and to them, even the Onkyo 3400 is a waste of money and they believe there is nothing impressive in a Rs.25000 onkyo over a Rs.2000 Creative.
So the term EXPENSIVE and WASTE OF MONEY are very subjective.
You cannot spend 10X money on a new speaker and expect it to perform 10 times better over your old speaker. "The point of diminishing returns is very true in audio industry".
So, maybe it is good to just spend what you feel is the sane limit. If it gives you happiness and satisfaction, then you have spent enough.

alphacentury100, I like your comment. Very clearly and objectively put.

I guess prepress' post comes due to preconceived notions. Audio industry is full of stereotypes. Today, companies like JBL, Sony, Yamaha have somehow become associated with low-fi. Despite the fact that these are the companies who have made some of the best products in the audio history, regardless of the price. That, Sony is a low-fi company is just another stereotype.

I guess the crux of the opening post was "Does Sony have a right to make such expensive speakers?". And my take is - yes it does. May be for most people Sony is a company that is only good for Rs 3000 earbuds and over the head phones or Rs 50000 TV. But as fact would have it, Sony is a company who has been a pioneer in audio industry. Sony engineers do know a thing or two about audio.

The next question is about "worth" or "value".

"Value" is a very personal and subjective thing. A Santro Zing would nearly take the same amount of time to travel 10 kms in normal urban driving condition as a Toyota Camry, an Audi A5 or, a Merc C or a Bentley Flying Continental. In addition, the Santro would be easier to maintain, less expensive overall. Does that make cars like Nissan, Toyota, Audi, Porsche and Jaguar a "waste"? IMPO, NO, it doesn't. There is a value associated with the more expensive cars. Whether those values are useful to someone or not, whether someone needs those values or not is an entirely personal choice. A Rs 4 crore car can't run 400 times as fast as a Rs 4 lac car. But that doesn't mean Rs 4 crore cars are worthless and there is no market (or should not be a market) for Rs 4 crore cars.

 

[prepress]

I guess the crux of the opening post was "Does Sony have a right to make such expensive speakers?".

Yes, I should ask like this.
And as we all know the lower priced (under 50K) Sony Speaker series is not better than the other speaker brands for same price. I haven't heard these Sony speakers so was not aware about the SQ, even not googled for it. Because of curiosity just posted here to know the users reviews

Friends, I apologize if I have ruined the good ambiance

"Value" is a very personal and subjective thing.

Well said :clapping:

 

[ranjeetrain]

Sony speakers so was not aware about the SQ, even not googled for it. Because of curiosity just posted here to know the users reviews

I knew this off the bat. Everyday there is something new to learn. Take all the info posted about Sony in this thread as learning

Friends, I apologize if I have ruined the good ambiance

Don't feel too apologetic, it's quite okay. It's easy to get misinterpreted at times.

 

[grubyhalo]

Friends, I apologize if I have ruined the good ambiance .

Please, no apologies needed. I do understand where you're coming from as I get the same advice from a lot of my friends and families. Also, I definitely am not saying that this model of Sony is totally worth it, just that I would audition it with an open mind if I had the money. Ofcourse, it would be easier to tell your folks that the price is, say 20000 INR, after all 'it's (just) a Sony!'. ;-)