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Newbie Needs Vintage Pioneer Speaker Help!

JulieGal6

JulieGal6

New Member
Hi All!

I recently purchased a Pioneer PL-112D TT & a Pioneer SX-780 Receiver.

What, in your opinion, are the best vintage Pioneer speakers to go with this duo?

AND

Which Pioneer vintage speakers would you recommend by themselves simply because they're amazing on their own?

Thanks for your help! :)
 
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Welcome to AK! :)

I don't have an opinion on vintage Pioneer speakers myself, but the HPM100 fan club will be here shortly. ;)
 
Nice equipment. I have a Pioneer TT not unlike yours, and an SX-838 as well as an SX-3900.

I'm not a big fan of vintage Pioneer speakers. As M-cat says above, the HPMs are probably a consideration from HPM-60s up!

I find the SX-X80 series a little on the bright side so I would consider something like Dynaco A-25s or EPI-100Vs to warm that receiver up a bit. Even Polk vintage Monitors with the Peerless tweeter (7As, for example).

But I'd wait for the "real" Pioneer crowd to show up!

Congrats on your new stuff!

cnh2
 
JulieGal6 said:
Hi All!

I recently purchased a Pioneer PL-112D TT & a Pioneer SX-780 Receiver.

What, in your opinion, are the best vintage Pioneer speakers to go with this duo?

AND

Which Pioneer vintage speakers would you recommend by themselves simply because they're amazing on their own?

Thanks for your help! :)
Click to expand...
I have the same TT and a SX-680 receiver, less power than yours. I'm currently powering a pair of HPM-100 and 60 speakers with NO issues to speak of. Just make sure you dial the TT in (adjusting Cartridge correctly). http://www.vinylengine.com/ has great info for this, and free protractors for making proper adjustments. A TT that is not dialed in, often, can be a real let down. Properly set and some people prefer over CD's.

And of course welcome.
 
You can always go to the top right of the forum and click Search This Forum and search for 'Pioneer'. You'll have plenty of reading!

Welcome to AK by the way.
 
Hay!

I'm sure others will stop by and offer up some pleasant suggestions. I don't have any specific ones, but I know what it's like to be searching for speakers online. It's tough, we can read and research ourselves into a heap. What I've found works for me is to just jump in. You should be able to find a decent pair locally, something in good shape and for a fair price or even lower if possible. This way you can hear for yourself, put them through their paces. Live with them for a while and when a different pair shows up, see if you can grab them. If you get a deal on a pair, you can generally put them back on the market or trade up or sideways. This way you can let your ears to the research and have some fun in the process.

Biggles
 
I concur that vintage Pioneer HPM 60 and 100 models in perfect working order would be the way to go depending on your budget and what is available locally. I am not a fan of the CS model series speakers. If you decide to go non-Pioneer, then a pair of vintage Large Advent speakers would be recommended.
 
One thing I'd like to add is that many manufacturers had their strong points in certain areas. I'm not going to say that Pioneer was bad at speakers, but there are many companies that were as good or better.

It is neat to be able to have a single brand system but it can be limiting. I don't see good Pioneer speakers often, and other speakers can be a lot easier to find. Some of the AK favourites have already been mentioned. There are scads more.
 
Look at all ya'll AK boys kissing up to the cute girl! Offer up your phone number along with your speaker suggestions, boys!!! :smsex:
 
Hush, we're trying to work here! :lmao:

To the OP: pay no attention to the nattering nabob. We love to talk speakers. :smoke:
 
toxcrusadr said:
Hush, we're trying to work here! :lmao:

To the OP: pay no attention to the nattering nabob. We love to talk speakers. :smoke:
Click to expand...

Haha, I work as a CSR, and am used to dealing with nattering nabobs & scoundrels alike ;)

I'd love to keep it all in the Pioneer family, but sound quality is far more important for me than focusing on a particular brand.

One other thing I'd like to ask your opinion of, Gentlemen: knowing different speakers pair well with different music genre's, which of all the previous mentions (or new suggestions) work best with Jazz, Big Band, Swing, & Oldies?

Thanks, cnh2. Warmth is also a significant factor: I've found my ear enjoys full, mellow sounds far more than the brighter end of things. I will definitely look at your suggestions!

And thank you all for your input :) I really appreciate it!
 
I have some of the CS-99a's and have never cared for the way they do piano. They are great for "crank-it-loud" rock but just don't have the smooth accuracy that piano solo's, duos, trios, etc. require.

I have never had the HPM series in house but have heard the 300's and 900's from that line and the 60's and 100's from the previous line. I find them to be far smoother.

They are popular hence expensive. They also will likely need to be refoamed.

There is a current lineup of Pioneer that has quite the following and has been on sale for a very good price. I have no experience but there has been a lot of chatter in the last few months. If no one else chimes in beforehand, I will look into it later.

All of the above is, of course, my opinion and is worth less than you paid for it.

P.S. Have a few Pioneer receivers including my first bought in 1978. :thmbsp:
 
jhtstone said:
I have some of the CS-99a's and have never cared for the way they do piano. They are great for "crank-it-loud" rock but just don't have the smooth accuracy that piano solo's, duos, trios, etc. require.

I have never had the HPM series in house but have heard the 300's and 900's from that line and the 60's and 100's from the previous line. I find them to be far smoother.

They are popular hence expensive. They also will likely need to be refoamed.

There is a current lineup of Pioneer that has quite the following and has been on sale for a very good price. I have no experience but there has been a lot of chatter in the last few months. If no one else chimes in beforehand, I will look into it later.

All of the above is, of course, my opinion and is worth less than you paid for it.

P.S. Have a few Pioneer receivers including my first bought in 1978. :thmbsp:
Click to expand...
First gen 40 and 60 had foam. Later 40, 60, 100 and just prior to the 500, 700, 900 had cloth surrounds. Starting with the 500 on had foam.

All the HPM with cloth surrounds do piano well, along with other instruments. I've got a set of S-710 I recently finished up and only had a few moments with and I think I'm going to like them better than the HPM line. The tweeter is especially nice. the "S" line are really nice speakers.

More warmth? Certainly Advent, AR, KLH (early), but you do have to go with the mid to upper models. I've found with entry level speakers too much mid and high end.

For very reasonable prices (and readily available) RS Nova 7b, 8b, Optimus 5b (same as 8b), T-110 and T-120.
 
I will expand on what Copa says about entry level speakers. In general, an all around high quality speaker is going to do more things well than a cheap speaker. So the trick is to weed out the cheap stuff first. Then you can focus on which of the better quality offerings sounds good.

Another thing to consider is the size of your listening space (can you fit big speakers or not).

Are you in an area with a lot of used stuff available (Craigslist for example)? Always good to actually listen to some stuff.
 
Big speakers are no problem. I have plenty of space, & if my brother's don't like the genre, they can feel free to stuff their ears with cotton balls. :music:

Location itself is horrible as I live in the middle of nowhere. I DID find my SX-780 via Craigslist. However, there is very little in the area, & not much in the way of quality finds, so listening first hand might be a little tricky in my situation.
 
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