[DMurphy]

I'm having second thughts about people tearing into their own speakers.  I really meant this mod as something I would do on new speakers and offer at a bargain price. 
Things can happen when you monkey around with speakers in the field, as we've seen.   If you do insist on trying the simple mod, just add the 3.9 or 4.0 uf cap.  Don't fool around
with the stock circuity board--leave the 33 ohm resistor as is.  I think it will be bright enough as is without changing anything on the board that could be difficult for you to restore. 
Thanks. 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Things can happen when you monkey around with speakers in the field, as we've seen.

Yea...they might learn something and even improve the quality of music they're hearing. *GASP*   

[vlad335]

I'm having second thughts about people tearing into their own speakers.  I really meant this mod as something I would do on new speakers and offer at a bargain price. 
Things can happen when you monkey around with speakers in the field, as we've seen.   If you do insist on trying the simple mod, just add the 3.9 or 4.0 uf cap.  Don't fool around
with the stock circuity board--leave the 33 ohm resistor as is.  I think it will be bright enough as is without changing anything on the board that could be difficult for you to restore. 
Thanks.

No problem man. Just some bad luck on my end coupled with being in a rush. Don't sweat it. Yesterday was one of those days for me. Worked a stretch of nightshifts and off the weekend. Should have waited a day until my head cleared up but really excited about trying this. As stated before, I have listened to these speakers extensively

Drilled out the screws easy-peazy. Going to damp up the cabinets and check these out.

Could you answer a quick question for me? these is a big glob of glue covering where the tweeter wires go into the board and I can't make out the markings. ( If there are any.) No polarity markings on back of tweeter either. Positive wire is black/white stripe with larger spade?

I am doing the easy mod. As far as replacing the resistor, that would be no problem. Recapped a few 70's speakers past couple years.

[DMurphy]

No problem man. Just some bad luck on my end coupled with being in a rush. Don't sweat it. Yesterday was one of those days for me. Worked a stretch of nightshifts and off the weekend. Should have waited a day until my head cleared up but really excited about trying this. As stated before, I have listened to these speakers extensively

Drilled out the screws easy-peazy. Going to damp up the cabinets and check these out.

Could you answer a quick question for me? these is a big glob of glue covering where the tweeter wires go into the board and I can't make out the markings. ( If there are any.) No polarity markings on back of tweeter either. Positive wire is black/white stripe with larger spade?

I am doing the easy mod. As far as replacing the resistor, that would be no problem. Recapped a few 70's speakers past couple years.

The tweeter positve has the stripe, and it terminates with the largest terminal.  I wouldn't clip the resistor.  I'm finding that a little bright, and it measures brighter than my simulations indicated.  There may be
some side effects from clipping that resistor due to the layout of the printed circuit board. 

[vlad335]

The tweeter positve has the stripe, and it terminates with the largest terminal.  I wouldn't clip the resistor.  I'm finding that a little bright, and it measures brighter than my simulations indicated.  There may be
some side effects from clipping that resistor due to the layout of the printed circuit board.

Thanks for the info. I was pretty sure but wanted to double check.

[zieglj01]

I have been playing with the prototype modded Pioneer BS22 speaker, modified by Dennis
Murphy. He has replaced the stock tweeter with a Vifa tweeter, and modified the crossover
to give what I call near flatbread measurements. > I have also compared it to the stock
version which I still liked and sounds good to me, based on the price. The one thing about
the BS22 speaker that stood out, was good bass from the small woofer, decent midrange
and decent highs for the price - with nice detail for music and movies. The tweeter was
nice for the price and had a somewhat artificial vividness/shine, which some would call a
zing - however, it was not really irritating to me. I have always liked the BS22 better than
the towers for music. The one thing I have desired from the BS22 was better detail and
definition. I have tested this mod speaker with both music and movies, to find out if it is
the real deal and a step up from the stock version. The main music was >>>

Chris Botti with
Sy Smith - The Look of love
Lucia Micarelli - Emmanual
Sting and Josh Groban - Shape of My Heart

Willie Nelson, Wynton Marsalis and Nora Jones
Hit the Road Jack
Come Rain or Shine

Jackie Evancho
Angel
The Lords Prayer
O Holy Night

Diana Krall
You Are My Thrill

Micah Stampley
Overcome
Worthy

Chris Tomlin
Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angels Armies)

However, the speakers can handle other forms of music such as >Rock, R&B, Hip Hop, Heavy
Metal, Dance/Electronica - with the benefit of a subwoofer > they can take some power. Now
extreme head-bangers will want a bigger speaker.

The BS22-mod, tends to remind me of the NHT signature sound > more along the lines of the
Classic Two speaker - the mod is better than the NHT SuperZero. One thing to note, this speaker
is less sensitive than the stock version.

The modified BS22 is neutral, clean/clear, balanced and natural sounding - it is neither forward
or laid back. It has good detail without needing the aid of a mushroom at 1khz, or a rising treble
in the higher octaves. The Vifa tweeter is smooth and detailed. Male and Female voices are more
realistic and clean sounding - instruments are more natural sounding - piano, harmonica, trumpet,
saxophone and guitar, all sound good with no edgy or sharp sound. Also, the violin sounds realistic
with no edgyness. Drums and cymbals also sound more realistic and natural.

The bass even sounds better with less resonance - and I believe partly due to Dennis putting some
SonicBarrier damping, in the bottom half of the speaker. The main reason may have been to help
hold the crossover in place >> however I believe it helped, as the bass sounds more clean and less
boomy.

Now how does the stock compare to the modified BS22? Even with the vividness/shine on the treble
The BS22 is somewhat closed in, somewhat dull - lacking in detail (extension of certain notes). The
imaging is a little weak compared to the mod 22 - and the speaker is somewhat boomy in the bass.

Now as nice as the mod version is - some people who do not have a critical ear, may or may not like
the modded version - due to the vividness of the stock 22 treble. And there are some who do have a
good ear, that may still prefer the treble rise. It is a matter of preference and taste.

Now how about movie sound tracks - the speaker was tested with > Man of Steel and Star Trek Into
Darkness - fullrange without a subwoofer. If a speaker is going to be used as surrounds, then it
needs to be able to handle the front as well. It did good and did not burp - and for its size, it has
decent dynamics, the sound was clean, clear and open - it can get loud and has some decent bass,
and does have some punch. For one on a tight budget - this is a good starter system for the fronts.
Dennis is suppose to be checking out the center channel.

I believe the BS22-mod speakers while not in the same league with $500 to $1000 speakers - will still
be tough to beat from $350 on down.

[avahifi]

I agree with your evaluation.

Frank Van Alstine

[vlad335]

I have never done a review of a speaker before so please bear with me. Going to keep this short.

Ok. I completed the easy mod last evening. First on one speaker and hooked them both up. Noticed quite an improvement and immediately performed the operation on the other speaker.

I use the Pioneer BS22's with my computer audio setup. Not a hifi system by any stretch but it sounds really great. The BS22's are powered by a Dayton DTA-100a class-T amp right out of my sound card. (HT-Omega Striker 7.1) L/R outputs to the amp and sub output to a DIY ported sub using a Tangband W8-740p and a Dayton 125w amp. the BS22's are on some short stands on my desk on either side of my monitor. Tweeters are slightly above ear level and each speaker about 2' away in the nearfield.

For the mods used the recommended Vifa tweeters and dayton caps, PE Part# 027-421. Damped the cabs with a dynamat type ( Fatmat) buytyl treatment and open cell foam all around.

I have listened to this setup everyday for months using Itunes. Both purchased music and CD's uploaded into my library. I can say hands down this mod is a significant upgrade to these speakers. Clarity and detail is enhanced and the distortion and blurring with higher volumes is gone. Tom tom rolls and acoustic and electric guitars sound much improved with better separation and clarity. I have been plowing though my collection and developing a new appreciation for quite a few tracks that I never listened to much before.

Last evening I was cranking Shania Twain ( Not a country fan by any means ) and noticed my Wife off to the side talking to me, actually her lips were moving but I couldn't hear anything  she was saying. Never before listened at these volumes with this setup and it sounds gorgeous. I went to bed with my ears ringing. Lol.

With all of the above I can say these speakers are not totally flat ( I don't think they were before either) but the reduction in distortion and sibilance with the tweeters is a beautiful thing. Turned some very good speakers into great speakers!

Thank you so much Dennis for sharing this. I don't have alot of money to dump into equipment and I truly appreciate your efforts here sir.

[vlad335]

Dennis,

I have the FS52 towers and C22 also in my TV setup. If you come up with mods for these I will be all over them!

Also, regarding your full mod. Do you have plans for these or are they offered exclusively with purchase of completed speakers?

[DMurphy]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time and, for poor Vlad, the considerable trouble) to give these mods a test drive.  As I've stated before, I think Andrew did the best that could be done with the tweeter that he was given, and the whole undertaking has been a boon to audiophiles on a budget.   I love to tinker, and when I fired up a pair of the stock 22's, I knew they had greater potential once I discovered that the deficiencies were due pretty much entirely to the tweeter.   To answer some questions and comments.   First, I don't recommend that anyone try the full blown mod at home.  By the time you pay full retail for the parts plus shipping, and burn up over a day rebuilding and wiring up the crossover, and trouble shoot your mistakes, you'll begin to think the stock speaker was a really great bargain.  I'll have to think about whether it makes sense for owners to send back the crossover for me to modify--I kind of think it would be too much of an operation at this point.  Second, the mod Vlad did is quite simple and inexpensive, but as he notes, don't expect dead flat frequency response.  You'll just get a better tweeter with more clarrity at the low end and less zip at the top.  And you'll also completely void the Pioneer warranty.  I hope to finish up mod for the center channel over the next couple of days.   ( I was a little disappointed to discover that the center channel is tuned significantly higher than the 22's, due to the cabinet volume being less than twice that of the single-woofer 22.   So I think that will have to be used strictly as a center rather than a bargain MTM main.)

I've fooled around with Frank's B52's, but they're a bear to work with, thanks to the complex interactions in the 2.5 woofer design.  My attempts to just splice the new tweeter onto the existing woofer crossover have been a dismal failure so far, but I'll keep working at it. 

Special thanks to Zieg for the extenive comments.   I would only emphasize that he was comparing the modded 22's with my mod for the Cambridge, not the stock Cambridge.  I just don't know how the new 22 would compare with the stock Cambridge.   Probably the former would have a little smoother treble, but with less bass punch and extension, but I haven't performed the experiment.  The S30 is being discontinued, and later production runs don't work well with my mod.    I'll be offering the 22's and center modded speakers as an addition to the Philharmonic line, and will get that posted on my site over the next week.

[zieglj01]

Special thanks to Zieg for the extenive comments.   I would only emphasize that he was comparing the modded 22's with my mod for the Cambridge, not the stock Cambridge.  I just don't know how the new 22 would compare with the stock Cambridge.   Probably the former would have a little smoother treble, but with less bass punch and extension, but I haven't performed the experiment.  The S30 is being discontinued, and later production runs don't work well with my mod. I'll be offering the 22's and center modded speakers

I did not put that section of the review over here - however for the 1 or 2 who may be interested, here it is >

Now MurphyBlaster also modded the Cambridge S30 speaker which I own. He also modded the crossover
for the near flatbread measurements. Now how do these 2 compare? >> Well since this is a Throwdown 
and I am a Audio Nut, I have compared them > The Cambridge S30 does have a good woofer and a decent
tweeter. The modded Pio has a decent woofer and a new tweeter. The Cambridge has a decent built cabinet
and is cross-braced with good foam dampening. The Pioneer while nice for the price, has a weaker cabinet
and no cross-bracing and the modded version has the small amount of stock poly-batten and some Sonic-
Barrier. The Cambridge had a list price of $259 a pair and former street price of $219 a pair.

They are close - however not quite the same even with the good modded measurements. The S30 has more of
a live presentation to me with better imaging and soundstage presentation. The S30 sounds more rich to me
with a little better midrange detail (inner detail and nuances) > There tends to be a little more definition and
sense of depth - Things like the violin and guitar tend to vibrate more. The S30 also goes a little deeper in the
bass, and is more tight and controlled. However, both speakers are good with the human voice. I will say in some
areas that the mod tweeter will sound slightly more smooth than the stock S30 tweeter. I believe the mod tweeter
is better than the stock Pio woofer. Dennis believes that the S30 woofer is better than the S30 tweeter. For me it
is the cohesiveness of the S30 modded speaker as a whole. However I will not say that the S30 is a hands down
better speaker. The BS22-mod speaker is a good one - and based on the cost and what you get for the price, is a
better deal.

[Letitroll98]

Thanks to admin for restoring this valuable thread.  Hopefully everyone can stay on track from now on.  And thanks to Dennis for all his valuable and sensible advice.   

[Ericus Rex]

Thank you, Dennis, for your hard work!  I'll respect your wishes and wait for the fully upgraded speakers to be offered for sale.  Please keep us informed of when that might be.

Bummer about the center channel.  Seemed like a lot of potential there.

Thanks again!

ER

[DMurphy]

Thank you, Dennis, for your hard work!  I'll respect your wishes and wait for the fully upgraded speakers to be offered for sale.  Please keep us informed of when that might be.

Bummer about the center channel.  Seemed like a lot of potential there.

Thanks again!

ER

You're most welcome--I PM'd you. 

[Ericus Rex]

I gots me some modded speaks a comin'!!!

[zieglj01]

I gots me some modded speaks a comin'!!!

I heard about that - get your ears ready.

[MLS]

I moved some equipment around.  Put this system together and the Pioneers sound pretty good. They image very well and have an eerily deep soundstage.

I just spent some quality time with this set up.  I pulled out a tape measure and aligned the speakers, swapped out some amprex tubes for some tele-fu-kens and WOW!  Talk about hitting way above their price point.  These little (stock) Pioneers sound great with some modest gear behind them.  I think I hit a synergy home run.

Maybe I should mod them

[vlad335]

I moved some equipment around.  Put this system together and the Pioneers sound pretty good. They image very well and have an eerily deep soundstage.

I just spent some quality time with this set up.  I pulled out a tape measure and aligned the speakers, swapped out some amprex tubes for some tele-fu-kens and WOW!  Talk about hitting way above their price point.  These little (stock) Pioneers sound great with some modest gear behind them.  I think I hit a synergy home run.

Maybe I should mod them

Looks like some good stuff. Can you list the gear you are using with the Pioneers?

[vlad335]

Well, after listening to these modded speakers for a week I can definitely say they are an upgrade. The Frequency response is sloping somewhat downward maybe 1-2 db however I did a quick and dirty fix using my Android phone and the graphic EQ on my sound card. Its pretty flat now and sounds simply gorgeous. ( Thinking a swap of resistor for a lower value would solve this.)

Remembered I had an Indeed Class T amp that I swapped out for the Dayton DTA-100a a couple months ago because I mistakenly thought the sibilance issues were a lack of power. The Indeed amp is half the wattage but sounds far better than the Dayton. Actually it sounds better than any amp I have ever heard.

Dennis, if you have anything in the way of a easy mod for the C22 or the tower, please post. I plan to pick up on of your B22 speakers when I get the cash as well. Once again, I appreciate and THANK YOU for your efforts.

[zieglj01]

I have seen the measurements that Dennis did on the modded Pioneer C22 center,
they look good for center channel measurements - he says they may sound a little
better than the modded BS22.

For one on a tight budget, the modded Pioneer BS22 and C22 DNA speakers can/will
make a nice surround system - all one needs to do is buy a subwoofer.