»tE ST REporTS TR
OCTOBER/09
results in radical changes in timbre as you move from one end of the couch to the other (and closer to either the woofer or the tweeter).
The one decision you have to make with these speakers is the setting of the treble level switch, which has positions for – (cut), 0 (flat), and + (boost). But unless you’re putting them in a room with no absorptive material at all — not even a carpet — I strongly recommend the + setting. The S-IW871L also has a bass cut switch that can help in fine-tuning the low frequencies.
Ifirst tried both the S-IW571L and the S-IW871LR as stereo speakers without a subwoofer. I then used them to create a home theater system with three S-IW571Ls up front and the two S-IW871LRs as surrounds; I alternated between Sunfire TS-SJ8 and Proficient Audio PS12 subwoofers.
MUSIC & MOVIE PERFORMANCE Sometimes a particular CD track or DVD chapter practically defines a speaker for me. That’s definitely the case with the S-IW571L, through which I played Iggy & the Stooges: Live in Detroit over and over and over again, courtesy of the Netflix streaming built into my LG Blu-ray Disc player.
region seems barely present, even with the treble switches set on +. This characteristic de-emphasized percus- sion instruments that are especially high in frequency, such as splash cym- bals and cabasa. Despite the upper treble rolloff, the stereo soundstaging was some of the best I’ve heard from in-walls. Sounds stretched to the far left and right of my room.
The S-IW571L and S-IW871LR sound similar, as you might ex- pect. I preferred the S-IW571L because its reproduction of voices is a little smoother; the S-IW871LR’s big 8-inch woofer doesn’t blend with the tweeter as evenly as the S-IW571L’s 61/2-inch midrange/woof- er does. The S-IW871LR does deliver deeper bass, though.
You kinda have to figure any speak- er that can handle the Stooges should play movie soundtracks with ease, and the S-IW571L certainly does. What proved especially compelling to me was its treatment of dialogue. I threw on DVD after DVD trying to find an ac- tor whose voice would bring out the bad side of this speaker, but I couldn’t find a single one. Even Danny DeVito’s dialogue tracks on the children’s mov- ie Matilda sounded smooth and clear; through many speakers, his voice in
»Test Bench
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lcr | | 30 hz to 20 kHz ± 4.9 dB | surround | | 29 hz to 20 kHz ± 5.2 dB | |
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Technically, the material is mediocre: video that’s barely better than VHS and a two-channel Dolby Digital sound- track. But this 2003 performance, like these speakers, is relentless and engaging; the S-IW571Ls sounded fantastic pumping out the Stooges’ visceral rock & roll. Although I expect- ed that the voice of a frantic, scream- ing, ecstatic 56-year-old man might
this movie takes on a harsh, nasal to- nality.
When I tried pushing the S-IW571L to its limits with action movies, I heard some distortion, but it wasn’t the ear- straining distortion one usually hears from speakers — it was more a sense of sonic confusion. With a subwoofer added to take over deep-bass duties, both the S-IW571L and the S-IW871LR
Mounted in a wall, both the Pioneer Elite S-IW571L and the Pioneer Elite S-IW871LR deliver smooth bass and mid- range response but exhibit some anomalies in the tweeter range; both show a broad dip in the range from about 7 to 12 kHz.
Off-axis response is fairly consis- tent out to 30° off-axis with both speakers. Both deliver fairly strong bass response between 40 and 80 Hz — average output at 10% distortion or lower is 88 dB for the S-IW571L and 93 dB for the S-IW871LR. — B.B.
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push any speaker into harshness and distortion, the Elites treated Iggy Pop with far more care than he ever lav- ished on himself.
As I explored gentler music (a cat- egory that includes almost every other recording ever made), I noticed that the Elites were just as kind to ev- ery other singer, from smooth-voiced Holly Cole to the raspy tones of Ron Sexsmith. I have heard few speakers sound so good with such a wide range of vocal styles.
One unusual aspect of the Elites’ performance is that the upper treble
play plenty loud with any material you want to throw at them.
RATINGS
DESIGN
0 poor6excellent 10
PERFORMANCE
0 | poor | 7 | excellent 10 |
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VALUE | | |
0 | poor | | 8 excellent 10 |
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OVERALL SCORE | | |
0 | poor | 7 | excellent 10 |
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»BOTTOM LINE
I can’t say for sure that the skunk-works approach works miracles — after all, I’ve heard plenty of great speakers designed by big corporate engineering crews. But these Pioneer Elite in-walls conjure a certain magic that runs counter to the usual mass-market priorities of a worldwide manufac- turing conglomerate. They may be somewhat shy in the upper treble, but both the S-IW571L and the S-IW871LR generally deliver smooth, satisfying, kick-ass sound that’s a joy to experience hour after hour, day after day. SV+
Full lab results at soundandvisionmag.com/pio-inwall
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