Sony SS-CN5000 Dual 5.25" Center Channel Speaker (each, black)
Review by Matthew Vierling : CLEAR AND CRISP

The Sony SSC-N5000 center channel speaker (which I mounted on top of my television with two strips of Velcro) is definitely loud and clear enough to do its main job, which is to deliver dialogue. No screaming highs and no thunderous bass, but that's not what this speaker is for. The frequency response is good, though, and overall this is a very nice speaker. Well-constructed and heavy. This speaker matches all the other Sony speakers in my system. I hope this review helps you.

Sony SS-CN5000 Dual 5.25" Center Channel Speaker (each, black)
Review by Jeffry Schulz "JEFFRY" : Never looked back

I bought this speaker after I bought a pair of sony bookshelf speakers to match the set. This one unlike the bookshelf speakers, (officially gave them a 4 and 3/4 stars)I give a 5 star rating to. I was so shocked when I installed it into my system. It filled the room with voices an other sounds I never heard before even in both songs and movies that I'm very familiar with. Then we get to the price. I got it for about $85 including shipping. For the price and quality it far exceeds my expectations and not to mention out performs. To give you an idea I was really looking into getting polk center channel. Don't get me wrong it sounded great but there was not a noticable difference between the two except for the price. The Sony center channel was about $45 less than the polk that was comparable to it and at equal quality. In my honest opinion, this is the only way to go. My only regret is I wish I wasn't so predisposed to getting the highest end equipment I possibly could. I would have had my system upgraded a long time ago saving almost 3 months of searching and researching.

Sony SS-CN5000 Dual 5.25" Center Channel Speaker (each, black)
Review by Neil W. Brabham "Fugazi" : Nice clear sound for low price!

I had recently upgraded my sound system to 7.1 surround. I originaly purchased a Sony SS-CR3000 rear speaker surround system with center speaker. I found that system to be lacking so I upgraded to the Sony SS-CN5000 center speaker and a pair of Sony SS-BN1000 bookshelf speakers for the rear channel. This center speaker is a great complement to my surround system. The center channel is very clear so voices from blueray or games sound realistic. No distortion at all. Amazing sound for around $80.00.

Sony SS-CN5000 Dual 5.25" Center Channel Speaker (each, black)
Review by G. Bains : Too Acurate for it's own good

TV: Panasonic 58pz800u
AVR: Onkyo SR-605
Bluray: Oppo BDP-83
Sat: Dish Network ViP 211
Fronts: Sony SS-F7000
Center: Sony SS-CN5000
Surrounds: Sony SS-B1000
Subwoofer: Onkyo SKW-530

I've been using this center for the past 6 weeks now and let me say first that this center looks simple, clean, and doesn't attract very much attention. It's size is noticeable, however. It's a pretty big Center, and weighs like about 15 lbs.

BUILD

It's a nice looking fake black wood enclosure. It has some heft, heavier than most centers I'd think. It's made of MDF inside and has some foam in certain patches in certain areas. The front screen is easily removeable revealing the composite woofers, tweeter and front port. Has spring clips for the speaker wire. Overall, very good build for this price.

MATERIALS:

The tweeter is a 1" Nano Dome, good solid choice for a tweeter.
The Mid Range Woofers are slightly less than 5 inches and made of HOP. This type of material is stiffer then regular polypropylene.

Overall, the materials used is really good considering the price of the center. 10 years ago this stuff was high tech in speaker construction, esp in car speakers which run on 4ohm usually. With the prices of these materials coming down, Sony is able to use them and give us a lot of great sound and tech for not a lot of money.

SOUND:

I primarily use my system for Satellite and movies. I don't listen to too much music, but when I do it's a CD and through my Oppo. So since this center most typically will be the most used speaker of all. It will be in charge of voices, action, some background music and other directional effects. It handles all these with EASE. It is extremely accurate sounding. Audessy shows that the center is FULL RANGE and lets all bass frequencies go to the center on the center channel. This gives insane dynamic range, from deep exhaust notes and voices to high bells and screams from movies.

For music the center sounds crystal clear on everything from symbol to sax to bass guitar to electric guitar, etc. Very good, solid music reproduction. Doesn't have any punch in the lows, but, it's a center channel, it's not supposed to. Most center channel information won't ever go lower than a deep vocal.

I can definitely understand why this center is sitting pretty at #1 in the Center Speaker section for some time now. I would not have tried this Sony setup if it weren't for other reviews. For the price (I paid $83 shipped), this is a really good center speaker. The only thing about it is it's too accurate at times, and can be slightly lower in volume during whispers or low passages due to it's crazy dynamic range. Anyone with an AVR that has Dolby Volume Plus or Audessey Dynamic Volume won't know it though.

Sony SS-CN5000 Dual 5.25" Center Channel Speaker (each, black)
Review by Dave C : Rather Impressive

This center is great. I needed to replace a dated sony center, and boy did it need replacing bad, when I hooked this up, the difference was night and day, sure it's not as good as high end audio, but for a basic setup, it surely delivers. For the price, it's great. It's also seemless if you match it to the rest of the speakers sony offers in this lineup, they also look the same so it's a plus to aesthetics. The only reason I gave this 4 stars is because I hate the fake black wood design and I wish it would have dissapeared years ago. Needless to say, I painted them solid black, much better. That's my only beef. ALso this center is quite large and will need its own shelf or something to support it, it won't hang very easily.

Sony SS-CN5000 Dual 5.25" Center Channel Speaker (each, black)
Review by B. Kim : ABSOLUTELY SOLID

Sony has always made solid set of speakers. They are just less known and for some reason, these days they only have one series.

Well these center channel was purchased to add some vocal performance to music as well as movies (that's what center channel's are for right?). First of all, these speakers are quite large. You may want to check their dimensions because even though they claim it is designed for Bravia, I do not see how the depth of the speakers could match your bravia. The speaker grills don't "hide" the woofers very well. You could see through and clearly see the woofers... this is minimal complaint especially if you watch your movies in the dark. I just found them annoying. Why cover the woofers if they don't really make them invisible like other speaker grills?

Having said that, the quality of build is excellent. You can't beat what you get for the price. TWO 5.25" drivers and a tweeter, it even has a port! The cones are made of very durable material. Although I had to play music for 7 straight hours to "set" these speakers in. It turns out they were never pre-tested in the factory so like boots, they need to be broken into.

These speakers are trooper! I am currently punching in 140 watts (RMS, not peak!) and they handle well even at high volumes. This is very rare for a center channel. The sound nothing short of amazement for the price. Clear dialogues and enhancement in music enjoyment! My greatest delight is how it enhanced my music setup! The center channel takes all my vocals and adds the midrange my other speakers are lacking. Now the balance of sound in my setup sounds like a concert hall.

I have used other HIGHER performing center channels before but they cost 3x-4x as much at least. But even then the quality build can't compare with this SONY. I feel like I could drop these center channel down the stairs and still get the same performance. It is very uncommon to find a center channel with much thought and detail as front speakers put into them and this center channel feels like it hits that spot.