Would you buy a pair of "giant killer" bookshelf speakers from Pioneer?

Design is a huge part of how good a speaker sounds.

 

From Stereophile's coverage @ CEDIA 2010, for the Pioneer BS-41....

 

I'm curious about the new KEF Q's. Now I'll have to find a BB and check out the floorstanders when they are released.

 

From the Stereophile article:

"The biggest surprise for me, however, was the really robust-sounding small 2-way from Pioneer Electronics, the BS-41, with a 5" polypropylene woofer and a 1" soft-dome tweeter linked by a 6-element network.
...
All the others in the line are available at Best Buy but the BS41 can be bought only from Pioneer's website. Oh, did I tell you the price is $199 and that's for a pair? WhooHah."

BestBuy sells the BS-21 for $89.99 each. The BS-41 sells for $199 each, but only through the Pioneer website.

So which of these two models is the giant killer?

 

They are probably more of a "mid-line" killer. Considering lots of the "internet company speakers" (like Axion, Swans, etc) are gaining popularity, Pioneer probably feels it can deliver similar sound quality (I have not heard any of them) and get in on the action. Just a guess. When an average person goes to a BB and purchases a Pioneer HT Receiver, they can also get matching brand speakers. That will appeal to many. I'm just curious how they would stand up against a lower/midline Polk speaker.

 

Have you heard either? I have heard only the BS-41 which is $199/pr (not each), so I can recommend only that model. The BS21 looks fine at BB but I wouldn't even bother to audition it there on the open floor.

Kal

 

I went to the local Best Buy Magnolia center. As a side note, the Magnolia section did have a nice entry level Marantz integrated ($499) and B&W speakers. Good selection of Denon and Elite A/V receivers. Anyway, back in the regular section, I saw the pioneer towers. They are quite short (only 34 inches) and look a little on the cheap side. The grill covers remind me of the old "JEEP" branded boom boxes from a few years ago. Next to the Pioneers were the entry level Polk towers and Klipsch Towers. The Pioneers were the cheapest of the bunch. I must say, however, the Pioneers sounded no worse (or no better) than the Polks (remember the listening environment). The Klipsch sounded bright and tight (too bright for my taste). The Polks which were $299/pr were built much more solid than the Pioneers. For $199, the sound was on par with the more expensive Polks and fuller than the Klipsch.

 

More comments here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=19237760#post19237760

 

Flag on the play for not having a picture of the 12 blonde virgins.

 

A bit off-topic, but I laughed (and cried) years ago when Best Buy had those 5.1 DVD-Audio and SACD demo kiosks. They sounded like crap. Not a good way to demo new hi-rez formats.

 

Couldn't find any.

 

:thumbsdn: :thumbsdn:

 

The speakers(and CEDIA) are discussed in the lastest edition of the Home Theater Geeks podcast.

http://thisweekintech.com/htg

 

A container with full of these speakers has fallen on Joe "Giant" Sixpack dock worker and killed him.

 

lmao

 

I will audition the floorstanders when I get a chance, can't beat the price if these do infact sound decent!

 

Over at avsforum.com - unless they are really good impersonators - the director of product planning for Pioneer Electronics ("Walkamo"/Chris Walker) and the designer himself, Andrew Jones, are posting in a thread about these speakers:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1278774&page=2

Mr. Jones' first post is on page 6.

Btw he explains the operation of that vertical tube one of the speakers uses, and it has nothing in common with a port tube!

 

Excerpted from AJ's post:

Someone asked about using the center channel - btw which costs only 79 dollars (Pioneer is a large company i.e. economy-of-scale helps keep price low) for left/right mains. AJ's response:

Most people in that discussion that have heard these speakers report them having a sonic personality that leans towards warm, which is rather uncommon in the Land of Budget Priced Loudspeakers.

I'm sure these were in the planning stages long before the current economic collapse, but it's definitely nice to have a product like this for those of us that love music (and/or movies) but don't have a Maybach parked in their driveway.

 

I'm more impressed by speakers that can deliver decent sound quality with a (very) limited budget than one designed with (almost) no constraints.

 

And as a DIYer, doing just that when I designed my own two pairs of speakers was actually kinda fun. Similar to watching two sports teams that aren't the VERY best battle it out, as opposed to a competition featuring an awesome team vs. a subpar team, where you know ahead of time who's going to be the victor.

BTW I'm not saying I would force myself to purchase a pair of speakers designed using this concept even if I could afford something better. Like you, I am just professing my admiration for the concept.

 

I can hardly wait for Best Buy's closeout sale on these !

 

You missed J&R's sale on the BS-41 from last month.

 

When you see them in person, you will not be impressed

 

I've seen them but not heard them, at a local BB and admit they aren't exactly going to win any style contests but at least they aren't the typical dull & uninspired rectangular boxes most other manufacturers give us at this price point (though BB's own Insignia 6.5" coax bookshelf has "personality").

I wish though that Pioneer would offer something besides a black finish, and I'm not just picking on them because it seems like nowadays just about every speaker manufacturer believes that is the best color for everyone's living or bedroom. In my experience - personal and selling them - though not everyone who buys these will be married, any speaker larger than a thimble has very low WAF and being wrapped in black does not help at all when discussions of audio purchases occurs. Black can look good though - for example check out these Boston Acoustic Lynnfield 500Ls (fans of things curved & the spherical, beware! ).

Check out the European version - same design but slightly different drivers - in a light maple(?) finish with black grills.