Pioneer Speakers on Woot - Today Only - 10-16-11 - $99 (33% off)

bunnyma357 · « **on:** 16 Oct 2011, 05:17 am »

Never heard these speakers, but it sounds like they might be nice for a second or third system.

http://www.woot.com/

Stereophile Review:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/pioneer-sp-bs41-lr-loudspeaker

Jim C

orthobiz · « **Reply #1 on:** 16 Oct 2011, 04:44 pm »

I was gonna post this!

Paul

Stu Pitt · « **Reply #2 on:** 16 Oct 2011, 05:28 pm »

If anyone's heard them, do they sound good very close to a wall? I need an inexpensive pair of speakers to wall mount in the living room.

jackman · « **Reply #3 on:** 16 Oct 2011, 05:59 pm »

Couldn't resist! I bought a pair for my office system. I have a Pioneer Elite stereo receiver I'm not using and would like to have better sound in my office. Will post something as soon as I have this set up.

Thanks,
J

roscoeiii · « **Reply #4 on:** 16 Oct 2011, 07:55 pm »

Huge thread on these speakers over at AVS forum. But by the time you have read it, the Woot deal will be over...

jackman · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Oct 2011, 05:58 pm »

Speakers arrived yesterday. I've been breaking them in with a steady diet of the irritating bass heavy - extremely heavy- tracks of Illegal Bass volume 1. This disc gets the woofers moving like no other in my collection. Unlistenable tracks but loads of deep bass. After a few hours, my amp is hotter than a pistol and the ports are pumping so much air from these little speakers, you can see leaves moving on the fake tree three feet behind the left speaker. Very impressive bass from Hess little guys.

I'm going to wait at least ten hours or so before any critical evaluation but I can say they play pretty high spl's and the woofers have yet to bottom out. These are going to be perfect in my workout room. Pink Floyd Wish you Were Here is playing on the main system (I used my Bamberg subs as stands for he Pioneers) and the speakers sound better than any $99 speakers I have heard. Haven't heard many speakers in this range but I have a pair of Paradigm Atoms laying around that I'll compare these to later. One thing I've noticed is the Pioneer speakers are nice and laid back with no sharp edges. They already sound better than the little Polk R15's in my mini system. These are good sounding fun little speakers.

I look forward to the upcoming DIY event because I wonder how these compare to some if the inexpensive DIY designs. It would be hard to build better sounding speakers for $99.

bummrush · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Oct 2011, 06:32 pm »

Are the speakers somewhat able to think at times that you're listenng to abigger pair of speakers or would you say ,,like sure they sound good but are just another pair of small speakers . I ask because there are hundreds of small speakers and most sound ok at best but always remind you are still listening to a set of small speakers,,or the usual. ,, that goes well they sound good for the mOney.

jackman · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Oct 2011, 07:01 pm »

Quote from: bummrush on 22 Oct 2011, 06:32 pm

Are the speakers somewhat able to think at times that you're listenng to abigger pair of speakers or would you say ,,like sure they sound good but are just another pair of small speakers . I ask because there are hundreds of small speakers and most sound ok at best but always remind you are still listening to a set of small speakers,,or the usual. ,, that goes well they sound good for the mOney.

Let's get real here, these are relatively small, $99/pair speakers! They have good bass, much better than I expected and they sound bigger than their size but they are small speakers. I've been playing them full range but tested them with a 150hz high pass filter and my subs and they sound good. Relieved of bass duties, these speakers play pretty loud and clear. I need more time with them but so far, I like the sound I'm getting. At high volume levels, there is some chuffing from the rear ports but they play pretty loud and clear. Woofers can take a lot before they bottom out.

These speakers don't like to be too close to rear walls because they have rear ports and can get boomy. There is a lot of air coming from the rear ports. if you pull them out into the room a little, they sound surprisingly good. Jack Johnson playing at the moment and sounding good. Not the last word in resolution but everything sounds good. I'm really curious to hear these on the "small" system. I have a Pioneer Elite receiver also designed by Andrew Jones and the guys at Air Studios. It sounds very good and I expect the little speakers to be a nice match for the receiver.

bummrush · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Oct 2011, 07:20 pm »

They sound like a decent speaker , I guess for 100 and small space they would be ok

Russell Dawkins · « **Reply #9 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 01:28 am »

- designed by Andrew Jones, the designer of the $40,000 TAD speakers that were so many people's faves at RMAF this year. These can't be too shabby.

soundbitten1 · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 01:41 am »

How do they compare them to the Insignia NS-B2111?

jackman · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 02:25 am »

No idea how they compare to Insignia but they are sounding pretty smooth after playing all day. If I didn't know better I would have guessed these cost more than I paid. The room I have them in is too big for these speakers but they are very smooth and listenable. Sparkle but no sharp edges.

I'm curious to hea some other opinions. One thing is certain, my Legacy amp is hotter than a pistol after playing these all day. My main speakers are an easier load than these.

opnly bafld · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 02:35 am »

Quote from: jackman on 23 Oct 2011, 02:25 am

If I didn't know better I would have guessed these cost more than I paid.

They do cost more than you paid

and apparently Pioneer has raised the price.
http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/Home/Speakers/Home+Theater+Speakers/SP-BS41-LR

Sparky14 · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 03:31 pm »

That's funny, I checked the Pioneer website when the Woot deal was on, and it said $149 then.

The Stereophile price boost happened fast!

jmc207 · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 04:17 pm »

Quote from: jackman on 23 Oct 2011, 02:25 am

One thing is certain, my Legacy amp is hotter than a pistol after playing these all day. My main speakers are an easier load than these.

That seems odd as the Stereophile measurements indicated that they remained above 6 ohms and were an average of 9 ohms. Also, did you say you were going to take them to a DIY meet? Would that be the Chicago DIY 2011 next weekend? I sure hope you get to play these then and compare a bit. Could be very interesting. Anyway, I wished I had picked up a pair when they were on sale. Enjoy!

jackman · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 05:23 pm »

The Legacy was hot because I was cranking extremely heavy bass music at high levels for long periods. The Legacy runs warm but it got hot!

I've got these in a big room and have been trying to loosen up the surrounds of the drivers by playing bass heavy music. Interesting little speakers. At high levels, the chuffing from the ports is noticeable but the woofers never bottomed out. They only did this with super deep bass, not typical music. This cd is for car bass competitions, not normal listening.

I'll leave these in my car if anyone at the DIY show want to compare to their designs but will not bring them in unless someone asks me. I have a ton of respect for DIY builders and would not want to seem disrespectful by bringing something in without permission. I've been to DIY gatherings and have heard much better sound than I'm getting with these speakers.

These speakers in unmodded form cannot compete with DIY designs from Dennis, Danny or Rick Craig! Those guys know how to get great sound from modest drivers and great sound from high quality drivers

jmc207 · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 05:53 pm »

Wisely spoken concerning the DIY event. I too have much respect for them and am in the slow process of building some of these DIY projects.

jackman · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 Oct 2011, 06:12 pm »

My DIY days were not pretty. I blew up my share of things and torched a few tweeters in the process. Once I touched a large electrolytic cap with a needle nose pliers across both terminals and shorted the cap. As I recall, the tip of the pliers blew off and the cap was torched. I didnt know a cap could store energy for almost a year. Doh!

I really admire the work of the DIY croud. Some of those guys are super talented.

Sparky14 · « **Reply #18 on:** 26 Oct 2011, 01:21 pm »

Got my speakers in yesterday....what a great deal! Really nice sounding speakers....and would be nice looking too if not for the Pioneer logo on the front

Compared to my Hsu mkII bookshelves, I'd say the Pioneers are a hair more laid back with the tweeter, but the midrange is really nice. The Hsu are better at low volume, but the Pioneer gets better when played loud.

cujobob · « **Reply #19 on:** 31 Oct 2011, 05:33 am »

In case anyone is interested, there's a similar model on sale:

http://sellout.woot.com/sale/21750

Lower end but cheaper.