Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Andrew Jones Home Audio Bookshelf Loudspeakers (Set of 2)

This review is for the SP-BS22-LR Bookshelf Speakers. A little about me is that I am an audio producer and have been producing music for more than 6 years. I bought these speakers when I moved into a new house and was setting up a new yoga room. I wanted good sound without spending a lot of money in my yoga room. When I very first turned these on I was disappointed, but that quickly changed once I got to know the speakers. There are many points that should be understood about these speakers: 1. There's a break in period before they start sounding good. After about 50 hours of playing music I don't notice any more changes occurring to the sound. In the first 5 hours the changes to the sound of the speaker were dramatic. At first kick drums seemed to have too much of a "pop" sound, but that has appropriately softened out. 2. After breaking the speakers in, the treble sounded like it was lacking detail. Boosting the treble on my receiver however did not solve the problem. It still sounded "washy" but then too much of it. Instead I removed the front speaker grills (this can be done with just your hand by lifting up gently by the 4 points where they're mounted). Suddenly the treble came alive. The "dark" sound of the speakers vanished and I could hear the subtle things in recordings like on my studio monitors (e.g. in a lot of piano recordings you can hear the player moving the foot pedals). Take the speaker grill off of these if you safely can (however this isn't always wise if they're in living room with kids, dogs, etc.!) 3. A lot of other reviewers describe these as "dark" (aka lacking treble). The ideal listening position for these speakers is with your ears level with the middle point between the woofer and the tweeter and the front of the speakers pointed directly at you. In this position they're actually slightly bright, and if you look at frequency response graphs, you see about 2db hill from bassline at ~12KHz (though there's also about 2db drop at 8KHz). 4. The tweeters on these speakers radiate more energy upwards than downwards when facing forward in the normal woofer at the bottom orientation. Therefore in you're going to be listening with the speakers below you, keep them in a normal orientation. However, if the speakers will be above your listening position, it works best to flip the speakers 180 degrees so that the tweeter is on bottom and woofer on top. This is what I did, as my speaker position is at chest height for a good compromise for listening both standing and sitting when practicing yoga. If your ears are below the speaker when it's normally oriented, these speakers will sound very dark. 5. These speakers resonate a lot (compared to $1000 studio monitors, in their price range they're about normal). If you look at a spectral-decay graph, there's a big region with a several millisecond delay from the mid-bass all the way to midrange. Therefore these speakers will resonate whatever you put them on. If you put them directly on a desk, TV stand, or shelf, the problem will be worsened. These speakers either need speaker stands or to be put on a piece of audio foam which will prevent most of the frequency transfer. At first, I didn't like the low and midrange until I put them on a piece of audio foam I cut up (link below for those interested) and got a huge improvement in sound. Previously the low end on anything with fast bass sounded washed out, but this cleaned up the sound of the speakers. This is why some other reviewers describe the bass like it's "trying too hard." Put these on foam! You'll be glad you did. Seismic Audio - SA-FMDM2-Charcoal - 2 Inch Charcoal Studio Acoustic Soundproof Foam Sheet - Noise Cancelling Foam Sound Dampening 6. Google speaker positioning and play around with the positions of your speakers. This can hugely affect sound. I'm limited as I wanted my speakers to use up as little room as possible (and are probably too close to the wall); but if I had more room I would likely move my speakers further from the wall. I listen to music on these with a 1-2db boost on the bass and a 1-2db cut on the treble. Overall in this configuration the speakers are slightly warm sounding, clear, and just pleasant and fun to listen to. These speakers are a steal at $100, as with the above tips you won't get better sound until you spend 3-5 times as much.

My initial experience with the SB22's did not go well. The first shipment arrived in a box that had clearly been dropped by FedEx. Cosmetically, the speakers were okay, but after hooking them up, it was clear something was wrong with one (the one, it so happens, that was on the side of the smashed box corner). So I took a flashlight and looked through the port hole in the back of the offending speaker and, lo and behold, a piece of insulation was dangling there, along with a wire. That explained the noise issue. So, I generated and RMA, and Amazon dispatched a replacement pair, along with a prepaid return label. (Long story short: "Boo, FedEx. Yay, Amazon!") Luckily, the ever-dependable UPS delivered the replacements in an immaculate box. I pulled out the new pair and everything was in order. Now I had a chance to listen to them properly. Wow. I was thrilled. For less than $100 a pair (when Amazon has them on sale, which is frequently), you simply cannot buy a better bookshelf speaker. (Okay, I've read that the Micca MB42Xs are great, too. But I haven't heard them, and the indications are that the Miccas are, at best, equal to the Pioneers.) These Pioneer's are definitely not studio monitors. If you want the most neutral speaker, that might not be ideal. But for everyday listening, that's probably a good thing. (All speakers have their own character, after all.) In the BS22s, there's a subtle bit of upper-high roll-off, as noted in some reviews, but that makes the speaker sound a bit "warmer" and makes them less fatiguing for long listening. The midrange is excellent. To a certain extent, I could hear the subtle "boxiness" in some male vocals on these speakers that a few reviewers have dinged the BS22s for. But it's very subtle, and paired with an amp or receiver that reproduces mids well, this (very minor) "boxiness" disappears. The bass is incredibly tight and robust for bookshelf speakers. Stunning, really. Using them in nearfield listening, I had to debate if I really wanted a sub. (Eventually, I did go for it, picking up the matching SW-8MK2 when it was on sale for $95 on Amazon. It's an excellent addition.) In short, these are excellent bookshelf speakers for the price. ***Update 8/22/14*** The BS22/SW8-MKII combination has broken in nicely over weeks of intensive listening. In fact, I was so thrilled with them that I snatched up another SW8-MKII and the Pioneer FS52s when they went on sale on Amazon. Once again, I have no regrets on the purchase. They are fantastic speakers for the price. Reading through the more skeptical reviews, I think there are two genuine criticisms worth addressing, and one general point to be noted: 1.) As I mentioned in my first review, the highs in both the BS22s and the FS52 (perhaps moreso in the FS52s, though I haven't listened to them enough to break them in yet) sound a bit "rolled off." Now, they don't sound muffled, and it's not clear to me that they're actually "rolled off." (Frequency response graphs that accompany several online reviews seem to indicate the high end is fairly accurate in these speakers.) The highs on these Pioneer's are very, very smooth, which is notable if you're used to a very bright speaker. At first, a bright speaker might sound better, because it grabs you more. But on long listening, you're going to prefer the one with the smoother high end. This is particularly true if you're listening to MP3s, even high birate ones. The "digital harshness" people talk about when it comes to "lossy" formats like MP3s is usually most easily heard in things like acoustic guitar string plucks or symbol crashes. The DAC you use (in your receiver, amp, or external box) will, of course, affect the extent of this harshness, but, all else equal, I find that the Pioneer speakers are very, very forgiving on digital music (even as, like all good speakers, they reveal limitations in poorly recorded albums, regardless of bitrate or format). The Pioneers eliminate much of the digital harshness, in part, because the highs on these speakers are so smooth. So, while these speakers might not satisfy those who prefer a very bright speaker, if you don't have strong feelings on the issue, you won't be sorry buying the Pioneers. 2.) Many call the sub the "weak link" in this system. Don't believe it. Or, if you do, realize that it comes with a very big asterisk. This is a great sub for the price. Very tight and musical. (It's not bloated or flabby like a lot of -- actually, nearly all -- budget subs.) Now, if you're looking for a deep-reaching sub to use for movies -- one that will rattle the fillings out of your teeth during explosions -- this sub will definitely disappoint you. However, if you want a nice musical sub that will blend in with these speakers, you're going to love it. 3.) Finally, it's worth remembering that a lot of the "these speakers are overrated" reviews on Amazon are coming from audiophiles who are used to $1k+ speakers. This is actually a compliment. Why? Because these are the people who would normally not even consider rating sub-$100 speakers. These Pioneer's are astounding in that they've received glowing reviews from publications that rarely pay attention to "budget" equipment, let along fawn over said budget equipment. (And, as mentioned above, you can look at the frequency response graphs in many of these audiophile magazine reviews to see that, despite some Amazon reviewers' protests, these are very well-balanced and accurate speakers.) I have no doubt, though, that the audiophiles used to McIntosh equipment and the like who bought these Pioneers as a throwaway whim might not think they live up to the highest of high end speakers. But isn't that actually a compliment that these Pioneers are even being evaluated alongside such expensive gear?!? I think so. Quite simply, many speakers that cost hundreds of dollars (let alone those that can be had for less than $100) sound awful. Just go into a local big-box electronics store and sample some. Their limitations are apparent very, very quickly. That's not the case with these Pioneers. Are they perfect? Of course not. But they're amazing for the money, and for the vast majority of people -- even budget audiophiles -- these are speakers that you're going to be very, very happy with.

Bom produto e entrega no prazo informado. O inconveniente é ter sido faturado duas vezes por má informação no site no momento da compra e ter sido entregue em duplicidade, o que gerou transtorno, ainda sem solução no momento deste comentário.

Bocinas de Repisa SP-BS22-LR Carácter: Neutro, sin enfatizar en particular ningún rango de frecuencias. Sonido general: Sonido natural, con buen balance y rango de frecuencias muy amplio, excelente para escuchar cualquier tipo de música. Agudos: Presentes y bien definidos pero suaves, no hay cansancio al escucharlos por horas. Medios: Impresionantemente naturales y fieles, los mejores que he oído en productos de cualquier rango de precio. Graves: Muy buenos sin ser excelentes, aunque debo decir que difícilmente encontrarás mejores graves en bocinas de este tamaño. Crossover: A los 3kHz impecable integración del woofer y el tweeter, imperceptible transición entre graves y agudos. Respuesta de frecuencia: Plana, una de las mejores gráficas de respuesta de frecuencia que he visto, desde abajo de los 60Hz hasta casi los 20kHz se mantiene prácticamente horizontal, esto difícilmente lo encontrarás en cualquier otra bocina sin importar su precio. Sensibilidad: 85dB/2.83V/m. Baja eficiencia pero se compensa subiendo un poco más el volumen. Potencia: 80watts, suficientes para llenar de sonido un ambiente 20m2 Calidad: Excelente calidad en acabados, gabinete, componentes y por supuesto sonido. Valor precio: El mejor valor por tu dinero, no encontrarás otro producto que te dé más por tu dinero. Información útil antes de comprar Subwoofer SW-8MK2 Carácter: Más enfocado a aplicación musical que para efectos sonoros de un teatro en casa. Sonido general: Sonido suave bajos agradables y naturales, no es muy explosivo ni ruidoso, es más bien afinado, preciso y natural. Tamaño de bocina: 8 pulgadas. Rango de Frecuencias: De 38Hz a 150Hz Crossover: Ajustable de 40Hz a 150kHz. Control de fase: De 0° y 180°. Potencia: 100watts máximo, suficientes para llenar de sonido un ambiente 20m2 Calidad: Muy buena calidad en acabados, gabinete, componentes y por supuesto sonido. Valor precio: El mejor valor por tu dinero si lo que ponderas es el sonido natural, por encima del ruido y las explosiones.

I tried the Edifier's R1280T, the Miccas's MB42X and they both came close to these, yet they still lacked behind. Bass and mid-range in my opinion is much better on the Pioneer BS22 as well as I don't have to use the DSP correction to make it sound better compared to the Micca where the DSP correction is much preferred to get the most out of them. The Pioneer has a great bass response, obviously not low bass as that's what a sub-woofer is for. You can use these without a sub-woofer and still get great results, but I have them paired with the Logitech X530 sub-woofer which is alright, but i's better than having nothing on the low end IMO. By low end, I mean, below 70 Hz as these speakers can go down to 55 Hz, but the volume does seem to be lower compared to my X530 sub-woofer. I will end up with a better sub-woofer (DIY 8" sub-woofer) to replace the Logitech one, but for now, it's great. If you look at NoAudiophile's review on these, he measures a peak after 12k Hz which he corrected, but in my opinion, I like that peak as the DSP just makes it sound dull. I don't find these dull sounding at all as many have said that the Micca's have better high end, but I don't agree. This is why if you want to know which you want, get both the Micca MB42X and Pioneer BS22 to compare and keep the one that sounds better to you. I can also say that both these sets sound better than the Edifier R1280T, but again, this is all OPINION. Good sound varies from one person to another as you may come from TV speakers or $2000 speakers, but want these in your bedroom or as rear speakers for your surround system. Where it's placed also is a big factor, but I have them placed a almost a meter (~3 FT) apart in a pretty big room. I also heard about the Fluance SX6, but that's $200 CAD with tax and such, so I didn't want to test them as reviews suggest that they are close to the BS22, above or below them.

I own 2 pairs of these bookshelf and their matching fs52 tower and the centre channel c22 hooked to Marantz sr6012. For the subwoofer I chose Dali concept 12 inch sub, quite impressed with the setup, they do extremely well very satisfied. Planning to import the Atmos enable t22a(crossover need to be adjusted to handle from 80hz ,the default starts from 180hz which is recommended for top firing) and wall mount them on the ceiling, hope it blends well creating the best timber matching experience.

Produto muito bom. Excelente acabamento e som.