My piano blacks have arrived.

[Race Car Driver]

8) 8) 8) 8)

[ShadowZA]

Looks like you scored an amazing bargain. Amazing looking pieces. Awesome! Congrats! :T

[Isaac]

I never have seen those beautiful ED SONY speakers before. From what you are saying they must sound pretty good too. They look amazing!

[KyaDawn]

Regardless of who makes a thread posting a garage full of gear not being used and garage full of cars (whatever they may be) and whatever else they may have piled up that doesnt relate directly to B&W, in the B&W forum none the less I will call them out on it.

:B :B :B :rofl:

Kidding aside, I remember auditioning these speakers around 10 years ago at the Sony Style store they have here in Hong Kong. These were marketed as "THE" speakers to have to usher in the "SACD revolution"! :P Really one of Sony's first (and possibly last) attempts at breaking into the "high-end audiophile" speaker market, and as I remember, they weren't even designed in-house, but rather commissioned to a designer from Polk.

The SACD that they used to showcase the speaker was "Handel Organ Concertos Nos. 5,6,8,11 & 13 vol. 2" as performed by Daniel Chorzempa. I remember because I liked the disc so much on these speakers that I went out and purchased it!

Probably the most impressive thing about these speakers to me was the holographic soundstage when sitting in the sweet spot. I could very well envision the organ being played in front of me, with the soundstage almost floating in between the speakers. Though it might have been a little "too" holographic as I remember there were some ambient sounds produced by the physical playing of the organ that could be heard, but which the speakers projected as much further "back" away from the organ than could be physically possible. Still the effect was very impressive.

What I didn't like so much, however, was the very clinical sound of the speakers. It could very well be that the ES SS-M9ED was a very "accurate" speaker, as similar to other speakers that I have heard that score relatively flat on FR charts, the sound wasn't the most pleasing to my ears. Perhaps I prefer the warmth of the 802Ds, in comparison, which may be argued as not the most "flat" speaker available, but which certainly has a sound that I enjoy.

It could be for this reason that they chose an organ SACD as the default demo disc as when we put in another disc which was predominant with vocals, the results were less impressive. I remember one of the comments were the vocals sounded "dry". It may be due to the so-called "super tweeter", which Sony advertised as capable of reaching "100khz", surely as more of a marketing ploy to herald the "benefits" of SACD than something that has real-world value. Overall, the treble frequencies seems a little "shrill" to me, which affected my overall enjoyment of the speakers.

As you are replacing most or all of the drivers and the crossovers it seems like the end result will be closer to a DIY project in a MSRP $16K shell rather than the original $16K speaker itself (keep in mind this was $16K in 2000, and yet people are complaining about the $15K 802 Diamond in 2010! :B). I think that may actually turn out to be a good thing, as possibly the drivers you install may very well be "better" than the original ones, at least ones that may project more "warmth" in the sound.

Still, I was always doubtful of the so-called $16K price-tag, when you consider the previous incarnation of the speaker was the ES SS-M9, which was nearly identical, only lacking the "super tweeter", but which was MSRP $3,500! $12,500 more for the addition of the "super tweeter" sounds like pure marketing to me, more of an expensive tie-in to what Sony thought would be the "SACD revolution", one that would replace CDs as the predominant music format (little could they foresee a little thing called the iPod which wiped out not only their Walkman empire, but also their SACD pipe-dreams :B). As the ES SS-M9ED was discontinued shortly, and I remember even the more popular ES SS-M9 suffering a similar fate with people that bought the speakers complaining on forums that their drivers blew out within 3 years and Sony not being able to provide replacements, my guess is probably not far from the truth.

However, I would have to respectfully disagree that the ES SS-M9ED "super tweeter assembly is a much higher quality piece than the 802s". :E Personally, I much prefer the 802Ds tube-loaded tweeter, which to me is a perfect crystallization of form and function. The ES SS-M9ED's "super tweeter" housing reminds me a bit of the controls on my daughter's "Thomas & Friends" railway set. :B As they say, to each his own!

[dan87951]

Very interesting looking. Definitely interested in hearing your thoughts on them.

[Race Car Driver]

:B :B :B :rofl:

Thanks for sharing your experience with them :T Maybe I should have put this in another forum

These were deffinately not Sonys first attempt at breaking into audiophile speaker market, but many would agree this series was deffinately their last.

I still hope that some day I come across the of the pair of speakers which cost an equivalant of 16,000 USD in 1991



Or even a pair of the 1996 R10s that cost 28,000 back then. But I know this is unlikely.



I almost bought a pair of SS-M9s a few months back but decided to pass because the seller informed me after the fact that the bottoms were damaged due to a wet basement. I still want to hear a pair of the M3s and M7s. As far as the 802s for the EDs tweeter assembly being better, I dont know what one sounds better, well.. at the moment the B&W does :lol:

The Vifa woofer and crossovers I have for these are brand new SS-M9ED woofers and crossover. I came across them from a seller on ebay who had them for some reason about a year ago. I passed on them as I figured I would never find a set of EDs to use them in. After I found the EDs I contacted him to see if he still had them, I bought everything he had. These do differ from the regular M9s. The ED unlike many believe (and as did I at one time) was actually a ground up design from the regular m9. The cabinet is not the same, the crossover and drive units also differ. Looks VERY similar however.

But the build quality of the B&W I tweeter assembly I always thought of as "flimsy" I like the idea of the "twist lock" cover that holds the tweeter in place, but dislike the fact that the whole assembly moves while you try and get it to lock in place. That and it doesnt do so "smooth and precise" rather pressure fit and wearing on the black paint.

The SS-TW100ED super tweeter assembly everything about it is solid. Solid machined aluminum, turning the knob results in a smooth resistance. Everything fits to an exact tolerance. Does it look better than the 800 series tweeter assembly? Not imo. Does it sound better? Dunno. Is it built better? I believe it is without a doubt.

Ah well, I cant wait to compare these to the 802s and see how they sound. Now on for the hunt of the golden egg super tweeter. :x

[DM3000 Owner]

Looks very nice. Where does the super tweeter kick in and where does the other tweeter leave off?

The regular tweeter looks a lot like the Esotar tweeter used in Eggleston, as well as other speakers, and regarded as one of the best tweeters ever made.

[RebelMan]

The grill frame is all metal, very sturdy, much better than B&W IMO.
...
As much as I love the 802s and the look of them, I love these just as much. Honestly I feel the super tweeter assembly is a much higher quality piece than the 802s and HTM2d I have, the all metal grill frame? :T A welcome suprise after replacing a B&W grill or 2 in my day.

The 802's are voiced and optimized to be heard with the grills off so there is no need to put out the extra expense to beef up the frames. The tweeter grills are beefier because the driver under protection is much more delicate and susceptible to damage. The trade offs (especially with the Diamonds tweets) benefit the listener more with the grills on.

With the grills on the Sony ES SS-M9EDs remind me of the Avalons. If you are still determined to beat the greatest find of all time then perhaps this one is it. About the same price if I recall. Not a bad find Chris.

[BlazeMaster]

Yes, I remember seeing these speakers about 8-9 years ago at a Sony Style store in San Francisco.

[audioqueso]

Chris.... again??? Seriously??? lol

[yourtoys7]

Thanks for sharing your experience with them :T Maybe I should have put this in another forum

These were deffinately not Sonys first attempt at breaking into audiophile speaker market, but many would agree this series was deffinately their last.

I still hope that some day I come across the of the pair of speakers which cost an equivalant of 16,000 USD in 1991



Or even a pair of the 1996 R10s that cost 28,000 back then. But I know this is unlikely.



I almost bought a pair of SS-M9s a few months back but decided to pass because the seller informed me after the fact that the bottoms were damaged due to a wet basement. I still want to hear a pair of the M3s and M7s. As far as the 802s for the EDs tweeter assembly being better, I dont know what one sounds better, well.. at the moment the B&W does :lol:

The Vifa woofer and crossovers I have for these are brand new SS-M9ED woofers and crossover. I came across them from a seller on ebay who had them for some reason about a year ago. I passed on them as I figured I would never find a set of EDs to use them in. After I found the EDs I contacted him to see if he still had them, I bought everything he had. These do differ from the regular M9s. The ED unlike many believe (and as did I at one time) was actually a ground up design from the regular m9. The cabinet is not the same, the crossover and drive units also differ. Looks VERY similar however.

But the build quality of the B&W I tweeter assembly I always thought of as "flimsy" I like the idea of the "twist lock" cover that holds the tweeter in place, but dislike the fact that the whole assembly moves while you try and get it to lock in place. That and it doesnt do so "smooth and precise" rather pressure fit and wearing on the black paint.

The SS-TW100ED super tweeter assembly everything about it is solid. Solid machined aluminum, turning the knob results in a smooth resistance. Everything fits to an exact tolerance. Does it look better than the 800 series tweeter assembly? Not imo. Does it sound better? Dunno. Is it built better? I believe it is without a doubt.

Ah well, I cant wait to compare these to the 802s and see how they sound. Now on for the hunt of the golden egg super tweeter. :x

Amazing, and with you luck I don't see this why not :B or :M , stop buy all cheap speakers (I meant for cheap :B )