The 2-Way in the Pioneer 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers doesn’t mean THAT kind of 2-Way. in Ohio, and he writes: “Woot, the Pioneer 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers… are they listening to me?” Ha ha, no, G.K., don’t worry. So we’ve sold these Pioneer 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers before, and they always catch the eye.īut the Pioneer 2-Way Bookshelf Speakers sometime generate questions, so today we’re looking into the ol’ mailbag to see what people are asking about these Andrew Jones designed cabinet speakers. Want more great deals? Sign up for our Daily Digest emails! Reader Mailbag
From the low rumble of the turbulence to the whine of the jet engines, the SP-EBS73-LRs handled extreme dynamic range assaults with ease.The Woot-Off is dead, but these deals live on! Even with just the pair of speakers the "phantom" center channel position was rock solid, as long as we sat more or less centered between the two SP-EBS73-LRs, and this is the case for most speakers.įor "Cast Away," the scene where Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) is trapped inside a doomed FedEx transport jet, we felt like we were inside the cabin with him. We also watched a few movies, and the SP-EBS73-LR didn't let us down. That's not to say the Pioneers are harsh or bright - they're still underpinned by solid bass - they just elevate these details a little more. It's only when listening to rougher recordings - say, most rock music - that trebly instruments like cymbals can stick out on the Pioneers in a way they don't on the B&Ws. The 685 S2 slightly defocused the details of the high-resolution recording, so they were less interesting to listen to. Beck's vocals were set within a deep stage filled with lush orchestral strings, acoustic guitars and all manner of percussion instruments. The detail wasn't accompanied by added exaggerated midrange presence or treble harshness no, it was just that the SP-EBS73-LR effortlessly unraveled the subtlest details in the music. The 685 S2 was sweet and pleasant, while the SP-EBS73-LR revealed so much more detail and depth to the sound of Beck's "Sea Change" SACD.
The 685 S2 is still a wonderful speaker, but it sounded a bit muddy next to the SP-EBS73-LR. Granted, the SP-EFS73 towers' bass went a bit deeper, and they can play louder (or more easily fill large rooms with sound), but the SP-EBS73-LR, for almost half the price of the SP-EFS73, sounded awfully close! Then again, that was Jones' intention, to make all of the Elite speakers match to create seamless integration for home theater applications.Ī shootout with the Bowers & Wilkins 685 S2 confirmed our very positive impressions of the SP-EBS73-LR. Despite their difference in size, we found that the two speakers sounded nearly the same! But if you want oodles of crystal-clear detail without sacrificing bass performance, then choose the Pioneers.Īt this point we decided to compare the SP-EBS73-LR with its bigger brother SP-EFS73 tower speaker, just to see how much better that speaker could be. If you require something that will play "everything," including lower-quality recordings, the more forgiving B&Ws could be a better choice. The Bowers and Wilkins 685 S2s are still very fine speakers, but it depends on what you want. Give these a listen and the word that immediately springs to mind is "hi-fi." It's only a slight treble prominence - though not harshness - that means they are less forgiving of bright or poorly mixed material. Yes, they make the few Atmos soundtracks available now sound more alive, but it's how they handle simpler material that really makes them shine. These are no shrinking violet surrounds, but rather full-blooded stand-mount superstars. The Elite SP-EBS73-LRs were submitted to us as part of an Atmos surround set that included a pair of floor-standers, but we were immediately struck by the smaller speaker's capabilities. Less than six months later there's another contender for our favorite sub-$1,000 bookshelf speaker.
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