tEST REporTS TR
OCTOBER/09
Pioneer Elite
s-iw571l & s-iw871lr
In-wall speaker system Reviewed by Brent Butterworth
here are few concepts in manufacturing |
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everything from $40-per-pair minispeakers to the |
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more hallowed than the “skunk works,” a |
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$60,000-per-pair TAD Reference One towers. |
Tdesign group that operates outside the |
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Jones’s team has recently focused on archi- |
mainstream of the corporation that employs |
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tectural speakers — i.e., in-wall and in-ceiling |
them. The name was coined to describe a Lock- |
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models. Extra effort went into the models de- |
heed facility in Palmdale, California that has |
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signed for Pioneer’s high-end Elite line, which are |
produced some of the world’s most extraordinary |
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intended to compete with the world’s most sto- |
jet aircraft. Only 80 miles away, in the nondescript |
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ried speaker brands. |
suburb of Pomona, another skunk works has |
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The Pioneer Elite architectural speakers are |
been flourishing for more than a decade. In this |
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notable for their concentric drivers, which use |
backwater of Pioneer’s worldwide operations, |
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11/2-inch titanium tweeters mounted in the |
surrounded by shelves of raw drivers and carcass- |
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center of various woofers. Pioneer refers to its |
es of past prototypes, Pioneer chief speaker de- |
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concentric designs by the acronym CST, for Co- |
signer Andrew Jones and his crew have designed |
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herent Source Transducer. |
Key Features
+S-IW571L
($699 each)
(2) 51⁄4-in woofers;
61⁄2-in midrange/woofer; 11⁄2-in tweeter; 2011⁄16 in wide; 13 lb
+S-IW871LR
($899 per pair)
8-in woofer; 11⁄2-in tweeter; 1315⁄16-in high; 7 lb
Price
$2,996 (as tested)
PIONEERELECTRONICS.COM
»up ‘n down»sound
The S-1W571L’s concentric-driver arrangement means it can be installed either horizontally or vertically with no effect on the sound.
52 OCTOBER/2009 | SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.com
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