Would you buy a pair of "giant killer" bookshelf speakers from Pioneer?

Interesting deal.

 

I've bought one of each except the towers so far.

 

I ordered a pair of BS21's for my little home studio - I'll see how they sound driven by a LM3886 amp.

 

I've got my FS51s up on low cinderblocks so the tweeter is just at ear level, which is where it should be.

As for other form factors, other drivers, etc., the whole idea of this speaker is to do the very best that can be done at this (really pretty astonishing) price point. To change anything would be to change everything--Andrew Jones designed these speakers from scratch and is getting maximum synergy from cabinet, drivers, crossover, etc. A model redesign would change the performance and no doubt the price point dramatically.

The bottom line for me is how these speakers sound, and they sound great to my ears--if they're positioned well in the room with the tweeters at ear level.

 

Figures that a week after I snag a pair of the FS51's for $150 they'd lower the price to $120!! Oh well, I think I'm going to go ahead and order another pair of FS51's, the center SP-C21, and the subwoofer SW-8 and be done with it, so I can go ahead and go 5.1 after I decide which receiver to get.

 

Call to have the price adjusted; If you purchased from Newegg, you should have no problems as their customer service is usually pretty good.


$30 is a nice amount to have back, especially if you're going to buy more speakers.


Think of it as an additional $30 discount...

 

OMG, I'm On it like fly on dog poop.

 

WOOHOO, just placed order on a pair of Pioneer SP-BS21-LR for 50 bucks!
This reminds me of that time when those At440mla were selling on amazon for 100!
I can't wait to hook it up to my Van Alstine Ultimate 70 and hear that "Andrew Jones" black voodoo magic.
Thanks for this thread Soundboy.

 

Thanks - I just sent them an email, we'll see what happens. Couldn't get through on the phone.

I really would like to get the surround speakers setup in the same style/models, these speakers look great, I think.

 

Does anyone else think that Pioneer is intentionally pricing these so low (and possibly losing money on them?) so they can get non-audiophiles to buy them and in turn get them hooked on good sound? In other words, a long-term plan for their audio division? I'm NOT complaining, because if that was actually true it sounds like a good plan to me, and not just for Pioneer's benefit!

 

As Homer Simpson said once, "Fact schmacks. You can use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" (well I can daydream right? plus I think enclosures that use the golden ratio look better than skinny towers)

 

They probably aren't losing money but they probably aren't making much on them either. Japanese companies think in terms of market share and will sell things at low profit to keep it, so that other more profitable things will also sell.

They used to often sell at a loss to get in a market, but they have learned the necessity of maintaining cash flow over the years, plus do not want "dumping" accusations. Still, they will often sell a product at marginal returns for a long time.

Downside is that when it's gone it's gone. They will almost never go back in production with something once it is stopped. And they can be astonishingly deaf to customer input at times. Part of the problem is that contrary to the twaddle we are pelted with, almost no Japanese people really speak or read English at more than a first grade level, and they are not inclined or interested with what gaijin end users think except as it is passed up through channels. (Are any non-Western-expat/tourist readers of this in Japan right now?) If the importer or US distributors don't notice the problem, it doesn't exist.

A former employer of mine used a lot of Akai tape recorders and ICOM communications radios. We had problems, not insoluble ones, but problems. We eventually fixed them and applied the fix. We told the distributor and they would not do a thing. We tried to contact the Japanese directly and always got a form letter saying contact the distributor. Years later I met a former employee of the distributor and told him. He said that they received a huge number of complaints, and several other pro users came up with the fix, and they just threw the letters in the trash. They had learned that if they politely mentioned it to the home office, the response would be 1) ignored, 2) a fix worse than the problem, or 3) no more product arriving.

Since the products are generally pretty good and last a reasonable time, therefore being merchantable, they learned to take what they got and be happy.

 

Here's my take on that. I purchased a few of these a few weeks back and the manufacture date on the speakers is "Dec. 2011". So I don't think they are discontinuing them.

I think Pioneer is now marketing some of their goods using non-traditional strategies. Correct me if I'm wrong, the only outlet for this series in the beginning (besides the 41's which were only at a couple of places like J&R and I think Vanns) were through Pioneer directly or Best Buy. Perhaps Best Buy had an exclusive that has now ended?

These speakers and a lot of other Pioneer electronics are now being sold through places like Woot.com and Newegg. In fact, just the other day Woot had the new entry-level Pioneer Elite receiver at a great price. Brand new, not a refurb.

If you think about it, how else are you going to entice consumers to jump on a product like this? Other than Best Buy many of us don't have access to a place where there are entry-level electronics where we can audition them.

Using a site that e-mails people with new deals every day is a new way to sell products to a bargain-hungry public.

 

Very interesting - thanks. Now certain things I've encountered over the years when dealing with Japanese brands make more sense. Speaking of that, last year I sent Sony customer service a brief message suggesting they sell a black version of their neat little ICF-S10MK2 portable radio which I own & have given away as gifts. I received a rather strange, very short & curt response which basically went like this (it was worded in a unfamiliar way that keeps me from remembering it 100% correctly): "Any changes to that product should be directed to the corresponding department, because customer service cannot help you with that!" Huh? Uh, never mind then....

 

I wondered about the strategy of only selling them via one brick-n-mortar retailer. But now realize in these days of internet shopping, for speakers in particular you need to provide some access to them for potential customers not just for their benefit but also to help create some online "buzz" when they post their thoughts about them e.g. here and on that 74 page discussion - so far! - over at avsforum where Andrew Jones himself joined in for awhile.

 

I don't think Pioneer knew the response would be this positive for this particular series of speakers. After all, if I remember correctly, Pioneer previously had Andrew Jones design a series of inexpensive speakers called the ISO-Drive series. Particularly interesting was the S-DF3-K, a 2-way bookshelf speaker featuring a 8" woofer! I don't remember ever seeing a professional review for any model from the ISO-Drive series, although the smaller S-DF2-K bookshelf speaker was top-ranked by one of the consumer magazines.

 

Sorry to confuse the issue with more facts-- -- but here's a link to Andrew Jones' own words on the issue.

Now I'm thinking I need another pair of these.... Talk about dreams!

 

And here's Chris Walker's explanation of the product planning criteria that went into the series.

 

Ditto. These are tremendous speakers for the price. They are a tad bass shy if you are used to a prodigious amount of bass. Adding a subwoofer wouldn't be such a bad idea to add a little bottom end. These speakers are classic overachievers and could definitely be called giant killers.

Gardo, I'll paraphrase what you've said before and just say that the floor standers sound like speakers several times the price. The amount of detail for such an inexpensive speaker could be found in some bookshelves like the Sound Dynamic RTS-3. The added bonus is that the bass response is quite good for such a diminutive floorstanding speaker.

 

Newegg just responded to my email and are crediting my account for $25, just $5 shy of the price difference.
So now, I'm going to order the matching subwoofer, center, and 2 more speakers for the rear, but can't decide whether to go for another pair of the FS51's or the smaller BS21's. Ideally the BS41's would be better, but the lowest I can find them is $149 a pair, so the FS51's are actually cheaper right now! This is for a small room, but I like the look of having 4 of the FS51's. They really are great looking speakers and 4 of them would look nice, I think.
Anyone else have 4 of them in a setup?

 

I say go for the floor-standers! The price is right and things will be tighter in the listening space BUT you won't necessarily need to buy stands. So you'll save money and have a rear speaker that has better bass response.

 

Just pulled the trigger on the subwoofer. 80.00 delivered for a sub that the reviews consistently praise as precise and musical. Still seems kinda crazy. I'm quite pleased with the quantity *and* (most importantly) the quality of bass I get from the FS51's. When that pedal bass note kicks in during "Firth of Fifth" on Selling England By The Pound, it's very well-balanced and the pitch is clearly audible as a note, not just as a room resonance. That's the kind of bass I like. While I'll get only about another octave with the SW-8, and it's not likely to shake the entire house, I figure that I'll get more of that ambient spaciousness that comes from the lower frequencies, some more of that emotional thrum on well-mastered soundtracks, more kick to the blow-em-up-real-good moments in movies, and a little more of the sense of scale I like on my organ recordings (Peter Hurford and Jehan Alain--oh yes, can't wait).

For 80.00, I figure I can afford to experiment, and even very modest enhancements to some of my listening will be worth it.

Andrew Jones and Pioneer have an accomplishment here they should be proud of--and Newegg is making it very easy to join in the fun. In a word, w00t!

 

Just ordered the floor standers... Will be here in a few days. Can't wait. will report back...

 

Mine came today. Be forwarned, the box they come in is...um...large.

 

I got in my pair of BS21s yesterday - I hooked up to a 50W tube/LM3886 amplifier in my studio. Only listened to some raw mixdowns which I normally use headphone for. I was pretty impressed by the sound. The treble is pretty smooth, bass is decent for the small woofer and no major frequency weirdness. I've heard much worse at this price range (and higher). For $50 from Newegg, they are a frickin' steal.