Pioneer S-1EX Loudspeaker

Let me start by saying that I wish I had never sold mine. The concentric tweeter and midrange are fantastic. The bass is powerful but a little loose and rolled off around 35hz in my room. The speakers are built very well and look better in person than in pictures but in my dimly lit room they tended to look mostly black. They need an amp with a good grip on the bass to tame the slight looseness.

I was the fourth person in the US to take delivery of the S-1EX so there was a bit of a learning curve involved. In my experience I found that I needed an additional 1.5 inches of blocking in the back to get the tweet/mid aimed properly. I thought I might be crazy but then Kal's review came out in Stereophile and he discovered the same thing.

Kal and I exchanged a few emails about it and then I contacted Andrew Jones at TAD. We discussed it in great detail but I had already come up with the most workable solution. Here's the thing, the speakers have a severe rake back that aims the tweet/mid way up over your head making the speakers sound dark and closed in,which can be very pleasant to some. Once the speakers are aimed correctly the sound explodes into the room filling evey inch from top to bottom and side to side. Sweet beautiful notes hang in the air and swirl around you. All in all a totally different experience when aimed correctly.

You should also know that no one at Pioneer will know what you are talking about if you call them. If you want to know anything or need help you will need to contact TAD. Just pm me if you need any more information.

Thank you Geared-4-me, That's very helpful. I currently have the Krell Resolution 2 speakers - no slouches either, but I am hoping the Pioneers will deliver the same controlled and authoritative base as the Krells, but with a more resolving high-frequency response, I really like the Krells, but if I could just get a little more refinement in the upper mid and treble regions...

Anyone have experience with both the Krells and the Pioneers...??

Thanks...

_Ben

I am auditioning the S-1EX's in my room this weekend. So far, these are by far the best $15,0000 - $18,000 speaker I have heard in my room (they are now specially priced - new - at $7,000). I also auditioned the "2's" (the smaller "monitor" version and they are also very impressive). Wow! tough choice...

I can't believe I never hear about these truly excellent speakers...

Audio Video Logic has a few pairs left for anyone looking for a new speaker in the under-$10,000-range. I would advise those to consider these before pulling the trigger on anything in that range.

I just got a pair of Pioneer S-3EX Loudspeakers. The more you play them the better they sound. They need about 400 hours before you hear what they really can do.

How did you guys set them up and how close to the walls were they? These things are so new to the American market that's there's very little set up information to be had. I have a 16 by 14 foot room with 9 foot ceilings. Any suggestions?

I went ahead and bought the S-2EX, which are exceptionally well-built speakers. I am not currently satisfied with their sound though and I fear it is the beryllium dome tweeter that is the culprit. I have about 75-hours on them and I sure hope that, with another 200-hours or so, they will "mellow out."

They are indeed very revealing speakers and they certainly present a lot of information - very resolving. They do measure pretty flat across the spectrum, but the upper treble is just too dry for me at present. Right now, I miss my old Krell Resolution IIs, but they were a bit too rolled off in the upper treble (I've gone from one extreme to the next!).

I haven't made my final analysis yet and I hope that with additional hours on them, these speakers turn out to be keepers. They're quick, detailed and highly resolving, yet at this point they are just too thin and dry - lacking the needed air around the upper treble... I hope this isn't indicative of beryllium tweeters in general...