



Impedance / Phase Measurement of the Pioneer SP-FS52 Tower Speaker

The Pioneer SP-FS52 speakers appear to be tuned at around 50Hz as indicated by the saddle point in the impedance graph. I measured the impedance of both speakers and they tracked pretty darn closely. In fact, they tracked better than the more expensive Infinity P363’s I recently measured. This demonstrates that Pioneer expended great efforts for quality control of their products. I must commend Pioneer for rating this as a 6 ohm speaker despite the fact that it would be rated as an 8 ohm system by the IEC method, since it doesn’t dip below 6.4 ohms. I would call this an 8 ohm speaker. You should have no fears powering them on a modest priced A/V receiver.

Impedance / Phase Measurement of the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR Bookshelf Speaker

The Pioneer SP-BS22-LR speakers appear to be tuned at around 70Hz as indicated by the saddle point in the impedance graph. I measured the impedance of both speakers and they again tracked very closely indicating Pioneer expended great efforts for quality control of their products. This is a true 6 ohm speaker as Pioneer rates it and it’s a bit more of a demanding load than the towers as a result.

Impedance / Phase Measurement of the Pioneer SP-C22 Center Speaker

The Pioneer SP-C22 speakers appear to be tuned at around 70Hz as indicated by the saddle point in the impedance graph. Like the SP-BS22-LR, this is a true 6 ohm speaker as Pioneer rates it and it’s a bit more of a demanding load than the towers as a result.

In-room 1 meter Listening Window Response: Pioneer SP-FS52 (1/12rd octave smoothed)

I measured the Pioneer SP-FS52 at 1 meter with the mic position slightly below the tweeter axis for the on-axis measurement and then averaged that response with 15 & 30 degree horizontal off-axis and 15 degrees off-axis vertically to formulate a listening window response. That response was then spliced with a ½ meter groundplane measurement at 300 Hz to produce the graph above. Pioneer specs this speaker as 87dB sensitivity but it looks to me more like around 86dB (not factoring in the rise in treble response).

This is a darn good response for a pair of modest priced towers. The SP-FS52’s exhibited usable bass extension down to 50Hz and a very linear response through the midrange. I did notice a slight elevation in treble response as can be seen by the rise in high frequency output above 8kHz. I asked Mr. Jones about this and he said it was done in part to counter grille losses and also considering the typical buyer of this speaker likely won’t be angling the speaker towards the listening area and would appreciate an elevated treble response. This measurement pretty much confirmed what I was hearing, a very airy and detailed speaker with a slight emphasis in the upper registers.

In-room 2ft Frequency Response Comparison: Pioneer SP-FS52 (1/12rd octave smoothed)

Purple trace: no grille ; Green trace: with grille

Pioneer did a really nice job of minimizing grille losses thanks to the tightly wrapped grille cloth over the frame. You can see about a 1-2dB loss in output above 5kHz but this may be welcomed for those that find the SP-FS52’s a bit too bright for their listening preferences. This is one instance I may actually advise to leave the grilles on.





In-room 1 meter Listening Window Response: Pioneer SP-BS22 (1/12rd octave smoothed)

I measured the Pioneer SP-BS22 at 1 meter with the mic position slightly below the tweeter axis for the on-axis measurement and then averaged that response with 15 & 30 degree horizontal off-axis and 15 degrees off-axis vertically to formulate a listening window response. That response was then spliced with a ½ meter groundplane measurement at 300 Hz to produce the graph above. Pioneer specs this speaker as 85dB sensitivity and that’s exactly what I measured. The SP-BS22 measured the most linearly out of all the speakers in this review. It displayed usable bass extension down to about 60Hz (perfect for blending with a good sub) and it measured flat out to 20kHz.





In-room 1 meter Listening Window Response: Pioneer SP-C22 (1/12rd octave smoothed)

I measured the Pioneer SP-C22 at 1 meter with the mic position slightly above the tweeter axis for the on-axis measurement and then averaged that response with 15 & 30 degree horizontal off-axis and 15 degrees off-axis vertically to formulate a listening window response. That response was then spliced with a ½ meter groundplane measurement at 300 Hz to produce the graph above. Pioneer specs this speaker as 88dB sensitivity though I measured about 87dB. The SP-C22 being placed horizontally was at a disadvantage just as all MTMs are but this is how it was intended to be used. In reality a small dip like this in the mid frequencies will ameliorate any harshness that is often in the movie soundtrack so it’s not such a bad thing. The SP-C22 displayed usable bass extension down to about 70Hz with an elevated treble response, slightly more pronounced than what the towers exhibited. This confirmed my listening tests that the SP-C22 was a bit bright, though not fatiguing as some speakers thanks to the well executed tweeter design.

In-room ½ Meter Groundplane Measurement: SW-8MKii Subwoofer Superimposed over SP-FS52

The SW-8MKii won’t shake your house or rattle your bones. It’s a small budget sub meant to supplement the bass of this system. You can see it does just that when I superimpose and level match its response with the SP-FS52 towers. You get a little over ½ octave bass extension using this sub in conjunction with the towers. The sub rolls off at 36 dB/octave around 35Hz which is a few Hz below its published specified frequency response. What I found surprising is how Mr. Jones expended extra care to keep the sub flat in its passband. You typically find very peaky response in budget products like this.