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Pioneer SP-BS22-LR, the real deal or hype?

valvenator said:
Nice review onemug, Thanks! I forgot about the break in period for speakers. Bought a pair of 22's for the surround system to replace the little satellites we've been using. Just waiting to get done with some remodeling before I hook them up. Think I'll take the basement system out of limbo and hook these up and let them run for a while. A little Van halen type R&R should do the trick or do you have better options?
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Thanks.

I think Van Halen is up to the task. :) ...I wouldn't play it so loud that you might endanger the speakers. Play it like you normally would and maybe a little louder.

I also like cycling them during the break in vs 24/7. I'll play them for hours then shut them down for a little bit then back on again.

One other tip: Check the woofer/tweeter screws for tightness. One of my pairs had two very loose ones. I even backed off the ones that were tight and retightened them just so they would all be even. Don't over tighten.

Most important: Have fun and enjoy.
 
That's pretty much how I broke mine in as well. In my experience the change was noticeable. I'm still experimenting with what gear I'm using in front though. I wouldn't call them bright at all. If anything I agree that the tweeter is the weak point and am planning on doing the Dennis Murphy "easy" mod along with adding some more polyfill That way I can easily return them to normal should I desire to. I'm hoping that will add what I'm looking for. I'd be curious to hear others opinions on their amp matching experiences. Thus far I've used onkyo, Sony ES, rotel , and adcom. So if anyone wants to know how they stack up just ask.
 
I have been using them for a few weeks. Don’t get blinded by the low price, they are one of those thing are OK but maybe not what you may want or need. It doesn't take much to get the range of a Bono, Diana Panton or Emilie-Claire Barlow from launching a horrible cabinet resonance vibration. In HT stereo use they with good effort demonstrate what the design was for.
 


I get rid of cabinet resonance by adding DIY isolation feet, 4 on each speaker.
Sound is much cleaner and clearer, bass is more pronounce ,noticeable with isolation. May be sorbothane feet will help too.
 
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Interesting to see that i am not the only one with the problem. Played around with them improved but still an annoyance at time. The name plate stickers are falling off. Question if they are a longevity product. Going to give the JBL STUDIO 230 as they are heavily discounted right now.
 
I just picked up a pair of the older 21s yesterday at goodwill for cheap and new. just hooked them up and was surprised how deep they go on their own. I turned off one of my subs for a bit before dialing them both back (the subs). pulled the 21s further from the wall and started to enjoy them. not sure if they will replace the Missions they have replaced? will let them burn in and see. so far and for the price paid I am pretty happy and hope they will improve with time.
 
I know this thread is about the SP-BS22's but I was wondering what your
guy's opinion is about them compared to let's say Polk Audio Monitor 45's.
I just upgraded my HTIB Onkyo to a Yamaha RXV1077 and I'm still running
the 5.1 that came with Onkyo, it's actually not bad but I feel (hopefully?)
the other speakers would be an upgrade, and pair it with a PSW111, etc.

I can get the Polks for about $150 a pair locally, and sub as well, so pretty
much $450 plus a center for the entire set ...

The speakers I currently have are the ones from HT-SP904B set which are
110w and non ported. I've read some good things about the SP-BS22 and
even compared to the larger SP-FS52, but it's hard to get them in Canada.
(they have the entire Pioneer 5.1 set, no receiver, for $800 here on sale,
so that gives you an idea how much we're getting ripped off ;))

I guess I don't really have a budget set but since the Yamaha cost me $750
I don't want to spend much more on speakers, wall mounts will also add to cost.

What should I do, are the Polks pretty nice, they handle more power and are 8 ohm.

Thanks!
 
I have the same Pioneer bookshelf speakers. They sound fantastic! I have them paired up with a sub, sounds great. My friend went out to buy an amp and bookshelfs and those are what they sold him. Even with no sub they sound amazing. Best bang for the buck I've seen. Been looking for a set used speakers for a garage setup, might just spring for the Pioneers instead of paying someone for overatted used junk.
 
While the Pioneers are definitely not hype, for new speakers in and around that price range, I would also highly suggest looking at the Fluance SX-6's. I have listened to both, and the Fluances are in a different league IMO. Don't get me wrong, the Pioneers are very good speakers, no doubt about it. But the Fluances can do things the Pioneers just can't. The Fluances ultimately got my vote, and they reside happily in my system. :) For anyone interested, here are a couple video auditions. Please take the limitations of the recording device and YouTube's compression into account. Part 2 is the better of the two IMO. The first one was recorded with the speakers close together and at near-field, which led to a more closed-in sound. And please, if you can, listen to this on a good pair of headphones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuheoocdSEA&spfreload=10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N-nEyRtTBY&spfreload=10
 
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After reading all the positive reviews, I picked up a set locally this morning.
The very first impression was something like... "Are you kidding me?!" I was amazed at what big sound came out of those little guys.
Mids are clean, highs are soft, not strident at all and good bass for their size.
Moving them a couple feet away from the wall they start to improve overall, bass becomes tighter, less boomier and they have a more open sense to them, got them at waist height.
They do have a warm sound to them and I'm wondering if they open-up a little with time.
Of course, this is my honeymoon time with them but coming from decades of messing around with hi-fi, I've been around many budget to mid range priced gear and I find these very competent speakers that have their place in a small room being used at moderate to low levels and good for someone wanting to downsize, I have them in a 18'x16' room running them with nothing fancy for now, HK pm640, PC using iTunes.
I'll be posting more as time goes by and perhaps they "break in"?
 
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Hopefully we see more bang-for-buck products from him with Elac. I was really hoping to see this Pioneer line progress with him over time. Still impressed by my b52 floor standers and center channel.

Ed in Tx said:
btw Andrew Jones has quit Pioneer after 17 years, jumped ship and gone to Elac to design speakers for them.
Click to expand...
 
I currently have the BS21 and 22's, and have also had the FS51's previously. These are ridiculously good speakers for the price.
 
After several days of listening to these, I can't believe how detailed and refined they sound for less than $100. One does not expect bass to be as deep and controlled from woofers this size. At the moment I'm enjoying them more than my FS-52 towers, because the performance is just surreal coming from such small low cost black boxes....they are especially nice with classical music.
 
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I bought a pair of these for my alternate listening area and am quite surprised by the clarity and deep mid range. I agree, the bass is surprising.
 
In the long run, they are a real good cheap speaker, but compared to most other, more expensive speakers, they kind of suck. I have a couple of pair (caught up in the frenzy), but soon became tired of them and realized them for what they were.

As the late Denny Green once said, "they are who we thought they were". (after getting to know them).
 
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