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Dennis Murphy Pioneer SP-BS22-LR DIY Modifications

I have a pair of these in my office system. Looks like a fun upgrade. For those who have done it, what is the subjective change?
 
I can only speak for my own tastes & ears, but I think the Murphy version has a much smoother sound. This might seem too mellow for some, as they don't have an exciting peaked up treble or overly punchy (or bloated) bass. These Peerless tweeters don't compare to more expensive options that Dennis has used in other high dollar designs, but they are much more linear and have lower distortion compared to the original tweeters. The modded speaker's tonal signature reminds me of my Sennheiser HD600 headphones.
You can compare the response of original to this design in the ASR review - https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/affordable-accuracy-monitor-review.13624/
 
So I was sitting in front of the computer reading through random threads trying to figure out what DIY project I wanted to take on when here comes this thread from 10 years ago and what do you think I have as near field monitors? Why the Pioneer speakers I got for nothing in this thread!!! I was thinking these remind me of the Minimus 7 Radio Shack speakers that I built the rack for 20 (30?) years ago... Remember the rack you could build to use 4 M7s to make a crazy good sounding pair?

ANYway.... My stock Pioneers have this ability to disappear and a rock solid center stage that always makes my wife doubt I don't have a center speaker on the computer.

I seem to remember these little guys weren't the most efficient and yet, here they are sounding great for near-field powered by an Orb Audio Mini-T

I haven't read through all the posts. So forgive me if this has been addressed.

Will the mods make it so that I have to consider some class-A amplification to get the benefits?
 
I'm using a cheap little SMSL Class-D amp driving the modded Pioneers at work for video editing. Would I hear a difference with a Class-A Pass Labs clone? Probably, but my office gets too hot already.
 
DesertRatt said:
I have a pair of these in my office system. Looks like a fun upgrade. For those who have done it, what is the subjective change?
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I finished a pair last week. It took me about a week to get around to doing the 2nd one. I ran the pair in stereo on my desk for that week or so. The factory one was definitely louder at the same input power. Quite noticeably so. I would also say the highs were more pronounced and forward on the factory one. I thought perhaps I had something wrong in the crossover. I double-checked and validated it was indeed correct. I did the 2nd speaker a few days ago, and the pair match in volume and timbre. It definitely takes extra power to drive them as loud, but they are less shrill and irritating. Smooth and comfortable is all I can say.
 
Glad to hear another person joined to in on the fun! These little things may not have the Wow factor of some, but once you live with a speaker that has a fairly flat response, it can be hard to go back to boom & sizzle for any length of time.
 
Hi every one, first post on this thread
Been using the Sp-bs22-lr for 10+ years now, but it was recently that I learned of the Murphy mods and was immediately drawned to it. However my diy and soldering skills are next to zero, I can ask a friend to help with the soldering, so I was hoping if any one could tell me if doing partial mods be able to achieve a good level of improvement or not? I was thinking perhaps replacing the caps to the Audyn Q4 for the high pass and replacing the tweeter, without doing the entire new crossover, just a few thoughts on if this can actually work or the whole mod should be done, thanks for all your inputs
 
Hi - Sorry, but without doing all the changes to the crossover, just replacing the caps & the tweeter may actually do more harm than good. Crossovers are designed for one specific woofer and tweeter and the cabinet they are mounted in. It's as much about the time domain (the driver's acoustic phase) as it is the frequency response, and Dennis has these pretty dialed in, especially considering the cost. If you want something that sounds better (flatter) than the stock Pioneers, I would suggest doing the full mod or looking at different speakers. There are a few budget bookshelf gems out there. Check out Erin's Audio Corner - https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/leaderboard/bookshelf/
 
Hi and thank you so much for your honest advice, just been trying to figure out how best if at all to try and do these mods. I live in an apartment and my diy skills are next to none so even any soldering I would get a general tech to do it. I love the pioneers, I've hooked them up to a very good older Sansui amp 90 odd watts and they truly are amazing, just thought the mods would be nice to elevate them.

Just for interest has any one done any cap changes onto the existing crossover? Would that make any positive difference on the sound using the current drivers? Would like to hear more if any have done something like that, thanks all
 
Hi, I’m a bit late to the original discussion, but does anyone know if 3/4” foam (same kind) can be used? The 1/2” is out of stock or very expensive most places currently.

Thanks!
 
TascamTascam said:
Hi, I’m a bit late to the original discussion, but does anyone know if 3/4” foam (same kind) can be used? The 1/2” is out of stock or very expensive most places currently.

Thanks!
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I don't think using 3/4" would be a problem.
 
TascamTascam said:
Hi, I’m a bit late to the original discussion, but does anyone know if 3/4” foam (same kind) can be used? The 1/2” is out of stock or very expensive most places currently.

Thanks!
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3/4 should be fine. 1/2 is just easier to manipulate in tight spots.
 
Finally got all my parts to try out the mod on some well used inexpensive BS-22s aaaand the photos are down due to the server maintenance:angel:
 
Completed Dennis's mods to the full Pioneer 5-speaker family this weekend. I followed the guide here for the SP-BS22 and I thought I'd share a little of what I did differently.

I reused the original crossover board to host all of the new components. The tweeter output is floating above the board point-to-point style, but the rest is using the original board and traces.
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I didn't clean up all the glue because pulling apart the stock crossover was like deconstructing a child's macaroni art while keeping noodles intact, and I didn't want to do the extra work of cleaning up the old board and components :)

For the original batting: I mounted one vertically and folded it over the top, then mounted the other horizontally with a hole cut in it and folded it over the back around the port:
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I did some listening tests while I had one modded and the other stock. Switched the balance between the two as I listened to some familiar music. Higher-pitched raspy vocals sounded "smooth" on the modded speaker while they sounded "crunchy" on the stock speaker. That's the best way I could describe it.
 
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I had the BS22 in my office for several years - pretty nice mellow sound. Hard to be for the $125/pr. NEW price from A'zon.
 
cali9dub said:
They are some nice little speakers afterwards!
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Very satisfied with my end results here, I've built them 23" stands and they've been in daily use for the living room of the house paired up with a topping mini 300 and smsl su-2 hooked up to the htpc via optical. Honestly wishing we got a modern day equivalent to these beauties with one of the the budget speakers currently on the market.
 
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