tE ST REporTS
OCTOBER/09
TR
Pioneer Elite
s-iw571l & s-iw871lr
There are few concepts in manufacturing more hallowed than the “skunk works,” a design group that operates outside the mainstream of the corporation that employs them. The name was coined to describe a Lock- heed facility in Palmdale, California that has produced some of the world’s most extraordinary jet aircraft. Only 80 miles away, in the nondescript suburb of Pomona, another skunk works has been flourishing for more than a decade. In this backwater of Pioneer’s worldwide operations, surrounded by shelves of raw drivers and carcass- es of past prototypes, Pioneer chief speaker de- signer Andrew Jones and his crew have designed
everything from
Jones’s team has recently focused on archi- tectural speakers — i.e.,
The Pioneer Elite architectural speakers are notable for their concentric drivers, which use
Key Features
($699 each)
(2)
($899 per pair)
$2,996 (as tested)
PIONEERELECTRONICS.COM
»up ‘n down»sound
The
52 OCTOBER/2009 SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.com