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

89grand

89grand

Addicted Member
I just placed an order from Best Buy and will be picking them up here in a little while, and I'll report back later my thoughts on them. If they are as good as people say, they'll replace my 3D Acoustics 3D6's in my computer setup, and they'll be driven with an AudioSource AMP Three, and I'll probably try them in the main system driven by a B&K EX442 Sonata. I'll have to be careful as both amps can probably shred these if driven too hard.:yes:
 
I've been listening for a bit, first thoughts, these are pretty damn good. The midrange is very good, and they can get pretty loud for their size. They seem to be able to take quite a bit of power. The tweeters aren't too shabby either. I'd say they easily out perform the 3D Acoustics. Female vocals, like Tracy Chapman Fast Car really shine. I'm running two subs, so I can't comment much on the lowest bass, but I'm not seeing any signs of bass overload with them. Impressive for such a small driver.
 
I put these in my main system about an hour ago and they continue to impress. I can't believe how loud they can get an still remain composed. The SPL meter on my phone pegged at it's limit of 94db, so I don't know how much louder it was getting, but it was impressive. They haven't shown any signs of power compression or strain at these volume levels.

The midrange is fantastic in these, and tweeter is good too, they aren't "dark" sounding, but not bright either, they're really quite well balanced. Obviously they suffer in the lower bass, but I'm running them with 3 subs, so it's not an issue. I'm running them wide open, and I haven't heard any protest from the little 4" woofer, with the subs crossed over at 100hz. I really couldn't recommend these without a sub, or better yet multiple ones, but these really are good enough to be used as mains in a decent system.

It's unbelievable almost that you can get this level of performance for a mere $100. These (with subwoofers) would easily beat a number of other speakers I've owned, including KLH 23's, Boston T830's and A150's, JBL HLS-620's, the 3D Acoustics, Infinity IL10's, my Philips mystery towers. Maybe not in sheer volume, but definitely in tonal balance, and fatigue free listening. But seriously, these things can get way louder than you'd think by looking at them. The sensitivity doesn't seem unusually low either, but I do have enough power to overcome it even if it actually is fairly low.

The rear port can move some air, so right against a wall wouldn't really be advised, I have them way out in the room, about 43" from the side walls and about 68 or inches from the front wall, but they don't necessarily need to be that far out to sound good, that's just my general default position. If anyone is in the market for a bookshelf speaker, even if your budget is well over $100, I recommend giving these a shot. I thought they sounded pretty ordinary a few weeks ago when I heard them in Best Buy, so if you listen to some there, don't let that be the final judge on these.
 
Last edited:
I have had a pair for about 2 months now in a budget rig and they sound fantastic. I will also back the fact that they are a very well balanced speaker and very pleasing to listen to.

I got mine from BB for $77. Can't go wrong. Period
 
These are very good budget audio enthusiast bookshelfs. I enjoy mine, the mid range is great and place them 4ft from a wall and they sound like you have a small sub woofer in the room. Only thing I don't like about them, there is not much top end sparkle. The highs seem almost too laid back.
 
89grand said:
I put these in my main system about an hour ago and they continue to impress. I can't believe how loud they can get an still remain composed. The SPL meter on my phone pegged at it's limit of 94db, so I don't know how much louder it was getting, but it was impressive. They haven't shown any signs of power compression or strain at these volume levels.

The midrange is fantastic in these, and tweeter is good too, they aren't "dark" sounding, but not bright either, they're really quite well balanced. Obviously they suffer in the lower bass, but I'm running them with 3 subs, so it's not an issue. I'm running them wide open, and I haven't heard any protest from the little 4" woofer, with the subs crossed over at 100hz. I really couldn't recommend these without a sub, or better yet multiple ones, but these really are good enough to be used as mains in a decent system.

It's unbelievable almost that you can get this level of performance for a mere $100. These (with subwoofers) would easily beat a number of other speakers I've owned, including KLH 23's, Boston T830's and A150's, JBL HLS-620's, the 3D Acoustics, Infinity IL10's, my Philips mystery towers. Maybe not in sheer volume, but definitely in tonal balance, and fatigue free listening. But seriously, these things can get way louder than you'd think by looking at them. The sensitivity doesn't seem unusually low either, but I do have enough power to overcome it even if it actually is fairly low.

The rear port can move some air, so right against a wall wouldn't really be advised, I have them way out in the room, about 43" from the side walls and about 68 or inches from the front wall, but they don't necessarily need to be that far out to sound good, that's just my general default position. If anyone is in the market for a bookshelf speaker, even if your budget is well over $100, I recommend giving these a shot. I thought they sounded pretty ordinary a few weeks ago when I heard them in Best Buy, so if you listen to some there, don't let that be the final judge on these.
Click to expand...

Their big brothers have garnered praise and reviews that strain credulity at their price point ($250 the pair).

Interestingly, one of the reviews about the SP-FS52 made some observations curiously similar to those by NHTman, just above; to wit: That the high end sounds a bit laid back. "Polite" may have been the word used, if I recall correctly. The reviewer also mentioned that they seemed to perform best with quite a bit more power than what might be provided by a receiver at a corresponding price point (viz., extreme low end).

But when it's all said and done, I find it remarkable that the reviewers of these Andrew Jones's designs discuss them ('hold them to the same standards', so to speak) as if they were expensive, high end speakers, and make observations about their sound (mostly minor quibbles, frankly) that would not be out of place if they were instead talking about speakers costing thousands of dollars. Which is remarkable. I gather that, while they are no means the speaker that any of us would choose if we won some contest where we could pick any speaker we wanted, they do sound like speakers that any of us could live with if we had to (paired with a competent sub, anyway).

Which is remarkable for an entry level speaker, I think.

Thank you for sharing, by the way. I live in a small town, and have been mulling the purchase of the 52's. Not even a Best Buy around, so I'll probably end up buying them unheard, based on what I can glean from the internet, and knowledgeable sources such as you.
 
From what I've read, the small bookshelves that I have are better sounding than the floor standers, at least if you factored in a sub or better yet 2-4, although of course not quite as loud or the same level of bass if just comparing speaker to speaker with no subs. I've read about some midrange issues with the floor standers that the bookshelves don't seem to have.

I know the looks of the BS22 suggests modest volume levels, and no bass, but they seem to defy physics. Granted, I'll be putting these back in my computer setup, and going back to my DCM TW3's in my main setup, but the Pioneers held their own pretty well, not even considering they cost 1/15th what the DCM's cost 20 years ago. The DCM's are better, but not anywhere near as much as the price and size would suggest.

Decent amplification is not at all out of line for these. I was using a 200wpc B&K amp, and use a 150wpc AudioSource in my computer setup.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0637.jpg
    IMG_0637.jpg
    67.9 KB · Views: 765
  • IMG_0639.jpg
    IMG_0639.jpg
    65.3 KB · Views: 778
They'd make a great set of pc speakers, I might get some. I listened to them and was fairly impressed with the sound for their size. They are butt ugly, though look better than the first generation.. It's the vinyl wrap on them, they need to use a different vinyl or something.
 
I bought a pair last year, on sale at BB for $89. They're in a secondary system right now, but I can add my praise for them. They are very well balanced, and tonally neutral. Just goes to show what happens when Andrew Jones voices speakers, not Dre. :D
 
I listened to the first gen version of these awhile ago, and they were pretty nice. I was very surprised how good they sounded for the price.
 
i had 2 pairs with the metal grills when they first came out they did pretty well for what they were was suprised i used them as rear and side channels for a theater setup. never really tried them for 2 channel audio though they sounded like they woudl do good. but im to pamperd from my epicure 3.0's so i let my dad use a pair and the other set is in theback room now. do to room size diffrence in my living room i have just a soundbar with wireless rear speaekrs and sub.
 
Honestly, if sticking with only brand new choices, I don't know what else would even be in the running for an ultra budget system if refinement was the #1 auditory goal. Certainly louder, brasher, bassier speakers, but I can't think if anything else in the conversation for 'most refined' and under $200.
 
I honestly feel these speakers could be sold for 4 times what I paid for them, and perhaps only the average looking cabinet could possibly be criticized, and even then, no speaker for $400 has anything but vinyl wrapping that I know of.

I read a post on a different forum (Steve Hoffman) about these, and the guy also had some Harbeth's and said this:

"Lately, these Pioneer speakers have been splitting time with my Harbeth Compact 7ES-3s, and believe it or not, when I listen to the Pioneers I feel no overwhelming compulsion to switch back to the Harbeths, despite the latter being close to 25 times more expensive. In no way am I saying that the Pioneers are equal to the Harbeths, but they have more than a few outstanding qualities in common.

I think these speakers are rather remarkable. I listen only to classical music, so I can't speak about them in terms of other genres, but these Pioneer speakers do a couple of thing very, very nicely. Instrumental textures and tone colors are rendered with superb verisimilitude. I listen mainly to chamber music, and I can tell you that string quartets, piano trios and other small-scale works are rendered absolutely beautifully by these speakers. They sound rich, woody and resonant. They also do an excellent job of rendering concert-hall space. And as I have them positioned in my room, I never found myself wishing for more bass, although I know extended listening to orchestral works might have me dragging my subwoofer out of the closet. The only real significant complaint I have with them is a slight stridency on some recordings of violins. Not all, but some.

After listening to these speakers, I've come to believe that an inexpensive component that is very good at doing one or two things that are very important to you can offer almost as much satisfaction as a much more expensive component whose full virtues may well exceed those of the inexpensive component.

I've heard $1,000/pair speakers that are not as satisfying as the Pioneers, and if I did not know how much they cost, I would guess it was somewhere in that neighborhood.
-Bob"

I don't know if everyone would feel this way, but he did, and the fact the Pioneers are not considered a bad joke in comparison to that speaker says a lot about the Pioneers.
 
89grand said:
From what I've read, the small bookshelves that I have are better sounding than the floor standers, at least if you factored in a sub or better yet 2-4, although of course not quite as loud or the same level of bass if just comparing speaker to speaker with no subs. I've read about some midrange issues with the floor standers that the bookshelves don't seem to have.

I know the looks of the BS22 suggests modest volume levels, and no bass, but they seem to defy physics. Granted, I'll be putting these back in my computer setup, and going back to my DCM TW3's in my main setup, but the Pioneers held their own pretty well, not even considering they cost 1/15th what the DCM's cost 20 years ago. The DCM's are better, but not anywhere near as much as the price and size would suggest.

Decent amplification is not at all out of line for these. I was using a 200wpc B&K amp, and use a 150wpc AudioSource in my computer setup.
Click to expand...

They look a lot better (and a lot bigger, too) in your room than I would have expected from pictures on the net.

Perchance, do you have handy a link to the review where someone voiced reservations about the midrange performance of the 52's? Please, I'm not asking you to do my research for me, but if you recall ... . (I cannot recall reading any but the faintest of criticisms about them, all things considered.) Thanks, either way.

89grand said:
Honestly, these are worthy of even non-budget setups.
Click to expand...

You should send Andrew Jones and Pioneer a bill. Seriously, though ... what do you think he might have been paid for his work? A staggering sum or something modest? From reading various things he said about the project, I really wouldn't find it unbelievable that there may have been an element of labor of love in his efforts; it sounded like he really enjoyed the challenge of working within an unrealistically small budget.

89grand said:
I honestly feel these speakers could be sold for 4 times what I paid for them, and perhaps only the average looking cabinet could possibly be criticized, and even then, no speaker for $400 has anything but vinyl wrapping that I know of.

I read a post on a different forum (Steve Hoffman) about these, and the guy also had some Harbeth's and said this:

"Lately, these Pioneer speakers have been splitting time with my Harbeth Compact 7ES-3s, and believe it or not, when I listen to the Pioneers I feel no overwhelming compulsion to switch back to the Harbeths, despite the latter being close to 25 times more expensive. In no way am I saying that the Pioneers are equal to the Harbeths, but they have more than a few outstanding qualities in common.

I think these speakers are rather remarkable. I listen only to classical music, so I can't speak about them in terms of other genres, but these Pioneer speakers do a couple of thing very, very nicely. Instrumental textures and tone colors are rendered with superb verisimilitude. I listen mainly to chamber music, and I can tell you that string quartets, piano trios and other small-scale works are rendered absolutely beautifully by these speakers. They sound rich, woody and resonant. They also do an excellent job of rendering concert-hall space. And as I have them positioned in my room, I never found myself wishing for more bass, although I know extended listening to orchestral works might have me dragging my subwoofer out of the closet. The only real significant complaint I have with them is a slight stridency on some recordings of violins. Not all, but some.

After listening to these speakers, I've come to believe that an inexpensive component that is very good at doing one or two things that are very important to you can offer almost as much satisfaction as a much more expensive component whose full virtues may well exceed those of the inexpensive component.

I've heard $1,000/pair speakers that are not as satisfying as the Pioneers, and if I did not know how much they cost, I would guess it was somewhere in that neighborhood.
-Bob"

I don't know if everyone would feel this way, but he did, and the fact the Pioneers are not considered a bad joke in comparison to that speaker says a lot about the Pioneers.
Click to expand...

Like I said, you should send Andrew Jones and company a bill. You've (practically) convinced me.

Have you tried pairing them with a sub? A year ago, I happened upon a PSB Image Subsonic 6, and, first of all, I cannot imagine being satisfied listening to a system that does not convincingly and compellingly reproduce sound down to the low 20's at least. (The good thing about that, though, is that there are so few speakers that will do this in my budget [well, none, actually, I think] that I just don't have to concern myself about a speaker's response below, oh, 60 Hz or thereabouts. And, unlike some others, I have been unable to discern any problem or shortcoming whatsoever with a 2.1 setup. It sounds good to me.)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

JoeESP9
Pioneer SP-BS2x LR Speakers
Replies
17
Views
627
musichal
musichal
D
Pioneer SP-BS22-LR - Thoughts?
2
Replies
32
Views
4K
asilker
asilker
Chiliarches
Inexpensive Bookshelf Speakers - used Klipsch Kg 1.5 or new Pioneer SP BS22-LR?
Replies
13
Views
2K
Chiliarches
Chiliarches
S
Pioneer SP-BS22-LR vs NHT SB3 - Recommendation for Marantz 2270
Replies
7
Views
1K
bluehills5
bluehills5
DangerBoy
Would you rather: Pioneer SP-BS22-LR with Dennis Murphy Mods or NHT-SB1s?
Replies
12
Views
3K
F1nut
F1nut
Back
Top Bottom