# Pioneer Andrew Jones 5.1 Speaker System Review - Discussion Thread



## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

*Pioneer Andrew Jones 5.1 Speaker System Review 
- By Harold Dale









​*
*Introduction*
The market is flooded with inexpensive home theater in a box systems, and cheap speakers that really do little to excite anyone. We have never had a company come along and really try to push the envelope of what was available in the budget speaker range and produce something that was actually GOOD until the first generation of the Pioneer Andrew Jones speakers. Well those speakers were a huge success and highly popular even with people not looking for a budget set of speakers. Now they have redesigned them and done a complete update and I have them in house to check out and see just how much of an improvement you can make on a full 5.1 speaker system that costs less then $1,000.

Andrew Jones Speaker Package at Pioneer's Website

Purchase Andrew Jones Speakers at Amazon

*Pioneer Andrew Jones 5.1 Speaker System Review*​


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## bmdtech (Dec 17, 2011)

Great review, thanks for the pic's have been wondering about those drivers for a few months now. As I already have 2 DIY subs I am thinking hard about picking up the speakers only for my home system to replace my Polk Monitor 50's 30's and Center.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

Thanks! They really are quite good! The towers got a bit larger then the generation 1's, and the center got a bit smaller. But I was impressed with how good they were over the first generation speakers as I originally bought the first gens because they were so good for the money. Now I'll likely keep the Gen 2 towers at the very least lol. Eventually I will likely build a nice DIY speaker setup for my HT and move these to my living room setup or something, but for the time being I don't really feel the need to replace them, and don't think I could do much better without spending at least 3 times more.


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## bmdtech (Dec 17, 2011)

Last year I purchased the polk set for myself and the pioneer set for my father from Newegg when they were having a great sale on both. I really regretted buying the polks for myself as the high end is very harsh and the midrange very colored. The Pioneers sounded very clean and uncolored, the only complaint I had with the 1st generation speakers was the tweeter sounded a bit soft when playing loud passages. It was still WAY better than the ear piercing polks. If the new set fixes the high end then these speakers will be a treat to own.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

It's hard to judge tweeter performance based on others thoughts as everyone has their own preferences. On the first gen speakers I did notice a bit of detail loss in the top end which could be attributed to a roll off on the top end of the tweeter crossover I suppose. I didn't notice it as much with the new ones. I think the largest improvement over the gen 1's though is the 2 channel music imaging.


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## Dub King (Aug 10, 2012)

I grabbed 4 towers and two pairs of bookshelves. Using one bookshelf as a center, one pair as surround rear. The towers are for side surround and mains. I've got them running off a Pioneer Elite SC-55, I'm totally happy with the system, for the money the performance is often sublime and clearly worth more than the ticket price. Probably worth double or triple what I paid. I'm looking for one more pair of bookshelves so I can go full 9.1

The new Pioneer speakers satisfy on every front - clarity, neutrality, detail, imaging, power handling, aesthetics. You name it, for the money I cannot see a better option out there, especially when they go on sale. Of course each speaker goes on sale at a different time, so I collected mine over the course of a couple of months. Also worth mentioning - Best Buy has plenty of these pioneer speakers as open-box following the holiday sales. I got towers for only $69 each and bookshelves for &79/pair, which is how I filled out my whole system (before I only had the towers as mains).


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

I had the opportunity to meat Mr. Jones during the first gen's unveiling for best buy and I have to say I was struck not only by the product but by his passion and no compromise attitude he brought to the project. The pioneer towers are on my short list of budget friendly 2 and 5.1 systems. Though I will say I find the sub to be a little weak vs the towers when approaching reference levels.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

Yeah that's how I felt more or less about the sub, I think in a configuration using just bookshelf speakers for the mains the sub likely would be welcomed, but with the towers it really doesn't add THAT much to the experience unless you like to turn the sub up and have bloated bass at 40hz or so.


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## Dub King (Aug 10, 2012)

Oh yeah, the sub is definitely to be skipped. The towers I have are paired up with 4 12" subwoofers with 2,000 watts total and it's a perfect match when watching a modern 7.1 THX soundtrack. That's how good the Pioneers are.



Harold Dale said:


> Yeah that's how I felt more or less about the sub, I think in a configuration using just bookshelf speakers for the mains the sub likely would be welcomed, but with the towers it really doesn't add THAT much to the experience unless you like to turn the sub up and have bloated bass at 40hz or so.


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## bmdtech (Dec 17, 2011)

Yeah, I am in the same boat, I have a Dayton RSS390HO 15" in 7 cubes and an Infinity 1260W in 4.5 cubes both with Bash 300's. Not even considering the undersized 8" sub. But the speaks are calling to me like a Siren..


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## zieglj01 (Jun 20, 2011)

No surprise that the speakers got a good review > the word has
spread all around about these - they are not wimpy and can take
some power. I would not buy some of them cheap boomy/mushy
subs out there, to mate with the Pioneer speakers. A good clean
and tight powered sub, would work well with these speakers. >>
The speakers are budget friendly - not budget sounding.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

Completely agree Jim, and a great way to put it, budget friendly but not budget sounding. Up until the first gen of these speakers it was pretty hard to get a serious sounding HT setup without spending a few grand.


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

I picked up the 1st gen speaker last year and a Bid F12 sub. I am still loving the sound of these and with grandchildren crawling around now I can sleep easy knowing those metal grills are keeping sticky fingers from the speakers. Wish the 2nd gen speakers had the same grills as the 1st. 

Saving up now for a better sub : )


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

While I agree the metal grills likely protect a bit better, I hate the way they look. The new ones look soooo much better! I understand your worry though as I have a 4 and a 5 year old and we are in talks now about having 2 more, but I don't have much issues with them touching the speakers.


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## Dub King (Aug 10, 2012)

I'm up to four towers, four bookshelf speakers, a center channel - 2012 model... all connected to a Pioneer Elite SC-55. Funny, Pioneer was not even on my radar a year ago and I thought I'd give a pair of those bookshelf units a try. Now, I've got a veritable shrine to Pioneer. I really need to update my signature!


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

Harold Dale said:


> While I agree the metal grills likely protect a bit better, I hate the way they look. The new ones look soooo much better! I understand your worry though as I have a 4 and a 5 year old and we are in talks now about having 2 more, but I don't have much issues with them touching the speakers.


Well my grandson is one of the touchy / feely types just like his father was when he was young.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

Yea my son used to be like that, it took a while to get him to understand lol.


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## bmdtech (Dec 17, 2011)

Can you tell me what frequency you cut off between the speakers and the subs? Did you happen to try multiple settings? 60Hz 80Hz 100Hz to measure how well the speakers handle the LF load? I wonder how they can perform with a slightly lower cutoff than the standard 80Hz?


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

I don't currently have measuring equipment, but I just ran my audyssey calibration and I believe it crossed the sub at 120hz. The problem is the sub is only good to around 38-40hz which is pretty close to what the towers can do solo.I find that audyssey generally does a great job though, of course when listening to music I put it in pure direct mode which bypasses audyssey but the sub doesn't work in 2 channel anyways.


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## zieglj01 (Jun 20, 2011)

bmdtech said:


> Can you tell me what frequency you cut off between the speakers and the subs? Did you happen to try multiple settings? 60Hz 80Hz 100Hz to measure how well the speakers handle the LF load? I wonder how they can perform with a slightly lower cutoff than the standard 80Hz?


From HT Labs

The Pioneer sub is -3 db at 31 hz > and -3 db at 137 hz

The BS22 bookshelf is -3 db at 63 hz

The C22 center is -3 db at 75 hz
____________________________________________________________

I would not go lower than 80 hz on the bookshelf and center

You may/can expierment with 60 hz on the towers - however, 80 hz
should in most cases be find with them.


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## bmdtech (Dec 17, 2011)

Dub King do you notice a large difference in dynamic range from the Towers to the bookshelves/center speakers? I am thinking about doing 3 towers across the front as I am afraid the smaller woofers in the center will be strained during loud passages.


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## Dub King (Aug 10, 2012)

The center is much more capable than the bookshelf units - in fact I recommend two centers placed vertically as a superior alternative to the bookshelf pair. The additional capability of the center is readily apparent, in the form of 3db better sensitivity and 10 watts more power handling. The towers lose 1db to the center, but gain more power handling and extension, but for the most part the towers and the center are equally capable right into the mid-bass region, the bookself speakers represent a significant loss of capability - especially since their lower sensitivity means they are going to suck more power from the AVR vs. the other speakers.

Later toady I'll post a picture of my mains - when you see what the Pioneer center has to keep up with in my system, you'll flip your lid and all doubts will disappear.

To the credit of the bookshelf speakers, they measured the flattest so if you only need near-filed monitors or never play stuff loud, the _value_ is still present in the bookshelf units.



bmdtech said:


> Dub King do you notice a large difference in dynamic range from the Towers to the bookshelves/center speakers? I am thinking about doing 3 towers across the front as I am afraid the smaller woofers in the center will be strained during loud passages.


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

Waiting on that pic Dub King :yawn:


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## Dub King (Aug 10, 2012)

Better late than never. Xbox controller on the floor for scale.

 



hyghwayman said:


> Waiting on that pic Dub King :yawn:


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## smurphy522 (Sep 21, 2010)

It's great that these "budget" speakers have been covered with a concise review and that other owners/users of them have replied with favorable responses. At such a low price point the package is one to beat in the under $1000 price range it seems.


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

Thanks Dub King, those speakers look really big next to the 360 controller.


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## bmdtech (Dec 17, 2011)

I will be ordering the front towers soon, they will be going into a system with a THTLP Dayton 15" with Bash 300. Dual Infinity Reference 12" with 2 Bash 300 amps. I am reassured that they will be fine thanks to the review and positive feedback from Dub King and Harold. Thank you.


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## Lazerboy2000 (May 7, 2012)

My friend got the towers and center and has really been enjoying them. I was able to listen to them for a bit, and they do sound amazing. Especially for the price. I'd love to hear the full 5.1 system


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## Dub King (Aug 10, 2012)

Nice. The full system is quite great I've even done 7.1 with four towers, two bookshelf units (rear surround) and the center. Best surround sound per dollar ever.



Lazerboy2000 said:


> My friend got the towers and center and has really been enjoying them. I was able to listen to them for a bit, and they do sound amazing. Especially for the price. I'd love to hear the full 5.1 system


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## cavchameleon (Jan 7, 2008)

Nice review for such affordable speakers! I'm really curious how they sound in person now. I'll have to convince either family or friends looking in this price range to consider these Pioneers (then I could play with them also).


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## TheLaw612 (Jan 17, 2012)

Probably going to pick up the towers this weekend and test them against in the Gen 1 towers since I have some BB gift cards lying around. Wife will be gone all weekend so I'll be able to crank em up.


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## bmdtech (Dec 17, 2011)

That sounds awesome, I have the first gen system now and would love to hear your thoughts.


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

TheLaw612 said:


> Probably going to pick up the towers this weekend and test them against in the Gen 1 towers since I have some BB gift cards lying around. Wife will be gone all weekend so I'll be able to crank em up.





bmdtech said:


> That sounds awesome, I have the first gen system now and would love to hear your thoughts.



I have the 1st gen speakers too and would love to read / here your impressions between the two. Also does anyone know if the 1st gen speaker grills on the towers fit on the 2nd gen towers?


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## TheLaw612 (Jan 17, 2012)

hyghwayman said:


> I have the 1st gen speakers too and would love to read / here your impressions between the two. Also does anyone know if the 1st gen speaker grills on the towers fit on the 2nd gen towers?


I doubt they would fit because they're different designs. The 2nd generation towers are fabric grills that pop in the peg holes and the 1st generation had the metal grills. I've also read that it is a bit of a struggle to get the metal grills off without bending them.


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## TheLaw612 (Jan 17, 2012)

Man, BB and its employees never fail to amaze me. After waiting probably 15 minutes for an employee to _find someone else_ to get the speakers down for me he finally comes up to me:

Employee: How can I help you?
Me: I want to buy those Pioneer towers up there
Employee: Are you sure? They're pretty cheap and not that good. They get returned a lot.
Me: They're actually really amazing for their price. If they get returned a lot, do you have any open box? Do you know who designed them?
Employee: Pioneer? Yeah, they don't make good home theater speakers. They make pretty good car audio stuff.
Me: No, Andrew Jones, look him up.
Employee: Oh, no, I've never heard of him. Anyway, we've got some really amazing Polk subwoofers to go with these.
Me: That's okay, I have a sub from Power Sound Audio - those Polks pretty much stink.
Employee: Power Sound Audio? Never heard of it - the Polks are great.
Me: Ok... Well I'm just here for the Pioneers, thanks.

Part me feels bad for the guy. He probably has a "really great Bose setup" at his place. Anyway...

I picked the FS52's up yesterday and have just been playing movies, music and xbox on them at decent levels to get them loosened up before I run the room correction on them again. So far I absolutely love what I hear. I moved the 51's to surround duty for the time being. I don't want to give any critical impressions yet since I haven't done any serious listening. But it still amazes me that these can be had for ~$200...ridiculous.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

Hmm yeah some of those BB employees are pretty special  Glad you're liking them. I did the same with my 51's.


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

TheLaw612 said:


> Man, BB and its employees never fail to amaze me. After waiting probably 15 minutes for an employee to find someone else to get the speakers down for me he finally comes up to me:
> 
> Employee: How can I help you?
> Me: I want to buy those Pioneer towers up there
> ...


...so how did you think those Polk speakers sounded 

I've been going back and forth about getting the bookshelves/center as place holders till I can finish out my MarLo setup. I've listened to both the first and second gen Andrew Jones and liked both very much. (Also got to meet him when he unveiled the first line as a BB exclusive) That said I'm still questioning whether or not they'll be worth it if they're just temporary. 

I also have some question about blending these speakers with my existing setup due to their low sensitivity. (Also BTW this is probably why the noob you talked to in the store thought they didn't sound good)


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

I wouldn't say they are hard to drive, but the towers especially benefit greatly from a nice amp.


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Harold Dale said:


> I wouldn't say they are hard to drive, but the towers especially benefit greatly from a nice amp.


Not an issue of hard to drive but an issue of them being I think 6ohm 86db if I'm not mistaken. They just have a different curve to their amplification.


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## TheLaw612 (Jan 17, 2012)

rab-byte said:


> ...so how did you think those Polk speakers sounded
> 
> I've been going back and forth about getting the bookshelves/center as place holders till I can finish out my MarLo setup. I've listened to both the first and second gen Andrew Jones and liked both very much. (Also got to meet him when he unveiled the first line as a BB exclusive) That said I'm still questioning whether or not they'll be worth it if they're just temporary.
> 
> I also have some question about blending these speakers with my existing setup due to their low sensitivity. (Also BTW this is probably why the noob you talked to in the store thought they didn't sound good)


I'm not a fan of the Polk Monitor line, I had the 60s and a CS2 for a few months before switching to the Pioneers. And the subs... Don't get me started... 

As far as mixing them with other speakers, I'm actually using them with an X-CS Encore center and it sounds fine to my wife and I. It is only temporary until we get a new setup in the basement after vacation but I haven't noticed any issues. But then again the Martin Logans may have a totally different sound all together. 

I don't think it would be a waste to at least try them out, they're pretty cheap right now on amazon and other places.


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

TheLaw612 said:


> I'm not a fan of the Polk Monitor line, I had the 60s and a CS2 for a few months before switching to the Pioneers. And the subs... Don't get me started...
> 
> As far as mixing them with other speakers, I'm actually using them with an X-CS Encore center and it sounds fine to my wife and I. It is only temporary until we get a new setup in the basement after vacation but I haven't noticed any issues. But then again the Martin Logans may have a totally different sound all together.
> 
> I don't think it would be a waste to at least try them out, they're pretty cheap right now on amazon and other places.


I was being sarcastic about the Polk thing. Honestly I'm suppressed the associate was pushing Polk. Usually they're hot for Klipsch. Core stores don't have higher end audio and most don't have a listening room. 

As for the Logan to pioneer thing. I may just have to drag the towers into MHT next time in in the store and really give it a good listen on one of the marantz or elite AVRs.


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## lupp5214 (Feb 15, 2013)

I've heard a lot of talk that you need a good receiver to really push these speakers. Any thoughts on a good receiver for these speakers. I've been looking at the Onkyo Tx-nr809 as well as the Pioneer Sc-1222. Would either of these be a good fit or should I be looking at something different?


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

lupp5214 said:


> I've heard a lot of talk that you need a good receiver to really push these speakers. Any thoughts on a good receiver for these speakers. I've been looking at the Onkyo Tx-nr809 as well as the Pioneer Sc-1222. Would either of these be a good fit or should I be looking at something different?


When I got the 1st gen speakers I was running those w/ a older entry level Pio VSX-816 receiver and had no issues, now running them w/ a VSX-1122. So the above receivers will have no problems playing nice with those Pio speakers.


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

With lower sensitivity they will take a little more power to run but nothing beyond turning you AVR up another 5-8db. Most amps have the juice you just have to open them up slightly more. Like -20 as opposed to -25bd.


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## lupp5214 (Feb 15, 2013)

Ok perfect. That makes sense. I'm buying everything for my home theater so I'm definitely on a budget but want to make sure I don't cut corners in the wrong places. It seeems like these speakers will be perfect for a good start I just want to make sure I don't get something that won't get everything out of these speakers.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

I'd probably go with the TX-NR809, I'm running an 805 which is pretty powerful and I imagine the 809 should be similar. The 1222 likely has the better amps (Class D I think so likely more power?) but I really like Audyssey personally. I guess it's a toss up really, the Pioneer processing isn't bad either, I just really like Audyssey haha. Probably would be happy with either though. Both are very nice receivers.


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## lupp5214 (Feb 15, 2013)

Any other suggestions for a receiver that would be comparable to these but might save me a few bucks? I can find both of these online for $550-$600. Or even something that would be a good bang for your buck.


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## TheLaw612 (Jan 17, 2012)

Look on accessories4less.com for a refurbished Denon 2112 or something similar with Audyssey xt. They come with a warranty so they're a really good deal.

I drive these with an old pioneer 919 and have zero issues.


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

The Onkyo 8 series is sort of the bang for buck receiver really. Below that and you start to lose a lot of power and such, above that and returns start to be smaller.


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## OpenMindAudio (Jan 3, 2014)

Nice review - I just want to concur that the SP-BS22s (the bookshelves) are great little speakers. After reading reviews here and all over the Internet, I got a pair for $130. I loved them right out of the box, and then for curiosity did some blind A/B testing with two other bookshelf speakers I enjoy, my Ascend Acoustics CBM 170s and my Axiom Audio m3 v2s. The speakers were running off a 100 WPC Onkyo HT receiver, playing CDs from my panasonic universal CD-DVD audio player.

In the blind tests, listening to the New Pornographers, Verdi's Aida, and Sam Phillips's album Martins and Bikinis, I was able to tell the Pioneers from the other two, because they lacked just a bit of bass, but overall they more than held their own, and even excelled in some areas.

Sonically, the Pioneers were very similar to the Ascends. They lacked just a bit of bass in comparison and had a more confined soundstage, had a similar smooth warm treble, and seemed to have a bit more detail in the mid-range than the Ascends -- though this was hard to tell, since the Ascends were giving me more info on the bass end. The Ascends are a favorite of mine. But here's the thing: When I switched from A/B to just straight listening, the bass extension on the Pioneers became a non-issue. The bass is really quite sufficient on the Pioneers, for a bookshelf ... it's kind of shocking, really, and it's well integrated with the mid-range. There's a sweet, warm, tamped down sound coming from these things.

The Axioms had more pronounced bass extension over the Pioneers, with an equal or wider soundstage. In A/B testing, there was a greater difference here, because the M3s handle bass really well for a small and relatively inexpensive book shelf. But the mid-range definitely sings out from the Pioneers. With strong background vocals and multi-instrumental passages with woodwinds and violins, I preferred the Pioneers over both the Ascends and Axioms. Forced to choose, I would go with the Ascends or Axioms over the Pioneers, but both cost about 3 times as much. And the wisdom of the Pioneers is that their deficits are easy to live with. Jones made all the right compromises, it seems, to produce an enjoyably musical monitor that excels at mid-range detail and soft highs.

Two caveats many have noted: 1) The Pioneers like power - they seem to need more power than either the Ascends or the highly efficient Axiom m3s. I'm running them now off a 55 watts (into 8 ohms) digital amp, and they're fine at moderately loud volumes, but the 100 wpc Onkyo ran them much more effectively at loud volumes without a doubt. I run my Axioms off the same 55 wpc Class D amp (part of a Sonos system), and on this level of power, they more clearly outperform the Pioneers at loud volumes. 2) The tweeter height seems to be very important with these speakers. You want them on-axis with your ear height, or as close as possible. I've run them off a mantle recently, which places them about 12 inchese above my ears when I sit nearby, and that's not satisfying. For some reason, the Ascends and Axioms seem to have wider vertical dispersion. So if you pick these up, which I highly recommend, plan on getting them set up at the optimal height.


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

The pioneer are 89dB at 6ohm; they want more power than your average speaker.

I blew the mind one of the blue shirts at my local big box when I demoed the towers with the pioneer sub. He had never paid attention to them. I had to use an RX-V575 to get them going though, the smaller amps didn't do them justice. I've always wanted to hook them up to better amps like the integrated from marantz.


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## OpenMindAudio (Jan 3, 2014)

So you like the towers? I am very tempted to grab a pair for my HT set up, replacing some bookshelves, now that the Big Box has them listed at $109 a speaker, in-store. For some reason (like a low-powered amp) the towers sound pretty thin and weak in the store alongside larger Klipsch and Polk towers, but I've heard they can shine with more power, much like the bookshelves.


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

OpenMindAudio said:


> So you like the towers? I am very tempted to grab a pair for my HT set up, replacing some bookshelves, now that the Big Box has them listed at $109 a speaker, in-store. For some reason (like a low-powered amp) the towers sound pretty thin and weak in the store alongside larger Klipsch and Polk towers, but I've heard they can shine with more power, much like the bookshelves.


Exactly assuming your store has a studio room get then playing in stereo off an RX-V575 or 675. If your store has a magnolia convince the sales person to bring them in and give a listen on most any of the amps. 

Good luck. 

P.S. 
If it is a magnolia home theater location be nice and go in during the morning on a weekday, while the store is slow so they're not trying to hook stuff up while it's busy. You're also more likely to get them to agree to do it if they're not busy trying to sell a 4K TV


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## kingnoob (Mar 12, 2013)

are the towers a good deal at $109 or do they go cheaper???


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

Can't say I've paid close attention. I'm usually doing other types of systems for clients.

I've found that the folks getting tower speakers usually don't set up in home consultations. I'm usually involved with multi-zone audio and theater rooms 7K++ 

That said I've always liked how the pioneer sounded for the price. Solid performance for TV/Film in its price class. Stepping into higher price bands they will start to falter given competition from brands like DefTech and Energy (Klipsch if you like the sound).


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## kingnoob (Mar 12, 2013)

rab-byte said:


> Can't say I've paid close attention. I'm usually doing other types of systems for clients.
> 
> I've found that the folks getting tower speakers usually don't set up in home consultations. I'm usually involved with multi-zone audio and theater rooms 7K++
> 
> That said I've always liked how the pioneer sounded for the price. Solid performance for TV/Film in its price class. Stepping into higher price bands they will start to falter given competition from brands like DefTech and Energy (Klipsch if you like the sound).


can they beat Klipsch icon kf 26??? If you like Klipsch sound??:neener:


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## rab-byte (Feb 1, 2011)

You'll have to go and hear for yourself 

I bet you'll pick the Klipsch.


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## hyghwayman (Jan 15, 2008)

rab-byte said:


> The pioneer are 89dB at 6ohm; they want more power than your average speaker.
> 
> I blew the mind one of the blue shirts at my local big box when I demoed the towers with the pioneer sub. He had never paid attention to them. I had to use an RX-V575 to get them going though, the smaller amps didn't do them justice. I've always wanted to hook them up to better amps like the integrated from marantz.





OpenMindAudio said:


> So you like the towers? I am very tempted to grab a pair for my HT set up, replacing some bookshelves, now that the Big Box has them listed at $109 a speaker, in-store. For some reason (like a low-powered amp) the towers sound pretty thin and weak in the store alongside larger Klipsch and Polk towers, but I've heard they can shine with more power, much like the bookshelves.


They really do open up with good power and paired with a decent sub they just sing to my ears, at the price point the 1st and 2nd gen speakers are selling for they are truly amazing lddude:


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