SX-50 Bookshelf

If you appreciate great sound with warm mids and crisp highs but need a small footprint, look no further than the Cambridge Audio SX-50s. I recently sold my Triangle Borea 03’s due to space limitations and began searching for a compact replacement that could work on a bookshelf. Knowing that smaller speakers wouldn’t deliver the deepest bass, I added to my system a Dayton Audio low-profile subwoofer. The sub arrived first, and even with some older Dayton speakers, it immediately made a huge positive impact. Still, I knew those older speakers weren’t a long-term solution. When the SX-50s finally arrived, I set them up right away—and was blown away. The natural presentation of vocals, the clarity of piano, and the lifelike tone of horns were simply amazing. With the SX-50’s and Dayton sub working together, the sound easily surpassed what I was getting from the Borea 03’s on their own. To be fair, if I had the proper space, the Boreas would likely outperform the SX-50’s overall. But in my small room, the Boreas never got the chance to shine—while the SX-50’s truly do. They excel with vocals, bringing singers forward with warmth, detail, and realism. In short: if you’re limited on space and especially love voices and acoustic instruments, the Cambridge Audio SX-50’s are a stunning choice. For their size, they might just be the best speakers I’ve ever heard for vocals!

Over the past few years, I've been wanting a clear, natural sound for my desktop. I've heard speakers from Wharfedale, Klipsch, Bowers & Wilkins, and many others. But these $200 speakers from Cambridge Audio may just be my favorite of them all. With these speakers, I used the Aiyima A07 amp and Topping E30 DAC, which are connected to my Windows 10 PC. I played music through Spotify Premium. My go-to genres are rock, heavy metal, and country. NOTE: Due to the acoustics in my room, I did use EQ to remove certain peaks in the bass response. Regardless of what speakers I use, they always pop up. I did not EQ the mids and treble. -- BASS: The bass does roll-off after 50Hz; so a subwoofer may be desirable for some. Mid-bass is present, but it is not overbearing and does not bleed into the mids. Overall, the bass is the weakest part of the SX-50, but still not bad for a small bookshelf speaker. MIDS: I desire a great midrange more than anything else. Thankfully, this is where the SX-50's shine. Instruments and vocals come up and center, and sound organic. There is no metallic or plasticky tone to them. Probably the best mids I've heard from a speaker so far. TREBLE: I love the treble on these. It is smooth and inoffensive. It is slightly on the dark side, so those who want a exciting, bright sound should ignore these. There is no sharpness whatsoever. Air is present, but isn't prominent. -- If you are looking for a natural sound on a budget, I wholeheartedly recommend the Cambridge Audio SX-50, or SX-60, with a sub. There is no need to purchase thousands of dollars worth of speakers, when these exist.

We also have the older Cambridge Audio S30 speakers. My wife and I have always loved them. By comparison, these SX-50 speakers sound just a little bit better. We did a side by side comparison. The SX-50's sound a little bit louder, for the same volume setting, and a little brighter (more treble). Overall these sound a bit more dynamic, fuller, and more exciting. The S30's by comparison are just a bit dull. Both speakers are a bit lacking in Bass. Of course you are not going to get super deep bass with a small 5.25" woofer, and in such a small package. But it helps if you are close to the speakers, or if the room is small. And it helped when we put them on a flat surface, such as a fireplace mantle. That gave them a little better bass. Overall I am very happy with the nice Audiophile sound from these SX-50s for only $239.00. You could spend way way more on speakers of course.

These are some very nice speakers. From the get go, they have that distinctive "high-end" sound. The imaging is dramatic and wide, but precise. The tone is clean, not edgey. Any low notes these can't play cleanly are just discarded, not desperately farted out at any cost. Maybe the most un-Bose speaker I've listened to. (Zero chance of listening fatigue with these.) On the downside, they can be a little too gentle. Also, speaker placement dramatically alters the low end. Great build quality! Very solid construction, and they look fantastic. (I could be wrong, but it looks like real wood veneer, not plastic.)

These speakers produce a lot of sound for such a small package.

I've had the Cambridge Audio SX-50"s for a few days now. Really like the sound, and they have a classy look, and look to be well made. Don't know about durability yet. I heard one reviewer say they are soft sounding, and would be great for a spa, and that seems right to me. I tried them first in my main listening room, and they held there own in this larger room. I've tried other small speakers in my living room, like NHT Superzero 2.1"s, Pioneer SP-BS22, Micca MB42X's, and the CA SX-50's did the best job of all of the others. I'm using the CA's as computer speakers now, and they are great.

I picked these up based on the rave review by cheapaudioman and was disappointed! For me they were thin and bright, no personality. Ended up with Polk xt15 and much happier with those!

I figure out how to contact Cambridge audio service and thay help me with my speakers sx50 what they did.simple solution just exchange with new par .very happy now.normaly this speakers have excellent sound warmth. dip bass and frequency extensions. dynamic but must have clean sound amplifier otherwise you will lost enjoyment..

I bought these to listen to music whilst I work, as well as for a bit of amateur music production, when I have the time! For both purposes, I'm not disappointed. Design-wise, they're fine. Nothing special - it's a speaker! But they're good and solid and heavy enough to not move around at all. No complaints here. Its in terms audio quality, though, that's where they excel - especially for this price point. They simply sound amazing. But what really surprised me is the bass. I was all ready to buy a sub, but now I'm quite happy without. I may still do so one day, but they don't need it! I'm told they should sit about a 6 inches to a foot away from a wall, or so, which mine are closer to the 6 inches. And these can't deliver the hard, pumping bass of a sub. But the bass they do deliver is ultra clear, and you can hear every note perfectly!

Sono soddisfatto il suono è perfetto,io le uso come diffusori di presenza per home theather con un sintoamplificatore Yamaha , sarebbero anche sprecate come presenza si potrebbe benissimo usarle come diffusori principali se messe con gli stand ,ovvio il woofer è un 13cm non sono come una torre , si presentano bene anche come qualità costruttiva imballaggio direi ottimo e Amazon con la consegna impeccabile

Great service, arrived sooner than promised, excellent speakers, very nice natural sound, highly recommend!

Sounds brilliant. Excellent size for book shelf speakers

現在、クラッシック音楽（ソースはCD）をメインに聴いており、使用機器はMarantz-PM6007、Marantz-CD60、Polk Audio MXT-20、Yamaha NS-B330、当スピーカー（SX-50）、Polk Audio XT-12等です。これらのスピーカーは各々優秀な甲乙をつけがたいスピーカーですが、クラシック音楽の再生については、音質の柔らかさ、繊細さなどの面で当スピーカーが最も良いと感じました。特にピアノや弦楽器の音の再生は秀逸です。