Sony SS-K90ED

[RickeyM]

I got a pair of the infamous SS-K90ED's. The price wasn't as cheap as the clearance prices they sold for at the end of their run but less than some are selling for. They sound great. I'm driving them with my STR-DA4es. The only negative was they seemed very shy of bass. I read somewhere that someone tried bi-amping so I did that. Bass was a little punchier but no louder or deeper. While moving some things around, I heard very strong bass in one corner. I made a "sort of" bass trap with an absorber panel across that one corner and immediately the bass improved. So the SS-K90ED's do bass after all. I'll just need some bass traps to bring it out. There is one other thing that bugs me though. In a high quality speaker I don't like that black vinyl laminate covering. It looks like this may be my first attempt at veneering speakers

[RickeyM]

BTW, these would look so good in genuine walnut veneer with a high gloss finish. Meanwhile I'll do a wiring upgrade.

[Maxxwire]

Could you describe the current sound of your new Sony SS-K90ED's before the planned wiring upgrade?

[RickeyM]

A very open and clear mid-range with a clean & crisp treble. I don't have any complaints about the sound, far from it, but they obviously cut some corners with the thin gauge tinned copper (?) internal wiring. I've got some 18ga solid core silver plated copper wire I'd like to try out. There are some foam blocks in the lower woofer section I removed (change one speaker at a time) and the bass improved. Bass is lower & deeper. I'm still evaluating to see if it affects the mid-range any.
BTW, the mids & tweeters are being driven by the receiver and the woofers are being driven by the Emotiva.

[Maxxwire]

I would think that the quality 18ga solid core silver plated copper replacement wire you will be using should prove to be a substantial upgrade over the original factory wiring. I would very much like to hear about the sonic details of the upgrade once it has been applied.

[RickeyM]

Sony did a great job designing these speakers. I think this series are the ones B&W helped them design? Tapered well braced cabs, cast frame drivers, laminated steel core inductors, poly caps. However they did cheap out on the wiring and connectors which is what I'll upgrade. Sony sure dropped the ball when they stopped making these.
One thing that seemed strange to me is that Sony has some foam padding more around the upper woofer. In a bass reflex multiple woofer speaker both woofers need to be working as identically as possible. That padding around the upper woofer would limit that. Makes me wonder why they did it like that.