Pioneer SP-BS22-LR $90, SP-FS52-LR $100 FS with Prime on Amazon SPC22 - $70

Quote from wakkoss : Quote from priceprince : Would this setup work with the HK AVR 1700 that was $200 at BB the other week? I bought that, but ended up returning it because it was only 100 W per channel. I know these Pioneer towers are like 130 W peak, so that would be too much for that receiver. Then I looked at some of the higher end Yamaha AVRs, and even those ones were only 110 W per channel max. I am kinda new at this stuff, but am I missing something? I plan on using them with the AVR 1700. 100 watts is nothing to sneeze about. What most folks don't realize is that high wattage doesn't denote loud quality sound. Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) comes into play. Lower end units will say 500 watts at >.8THD or something like that. That's terrible and means that if you crank it up it's only going to distort. A unit that says 100 watts at <.08 THD means you can actually USE the 100 watts. My old Sharp unit was only 60 watts and sounded really good, even being 14 years old. I'd still use it but it has no HDMI or optical. The speakers being 130 watts peak mean that if you put 135 watts into them, you'll likely blow the speakers, not that they're designed to run 130 watts all the time. It's like putting 120 mph tires on your car. You never do 120, but that just means they're safer when you run 85 for six hours straight.

Thanks for the reply. That's kinda what I figured. I knew I shouldn't have listened to the guy at best buy that said the AVR 1700 wasn't powerful enough to run most front tower speakers. I wish I wouldn't have returned it now, since its back to $500.
Oh well, I think I will get these speakers though.

I have not tried the new series, but have the pervious Pioneer models and absolutely love them. This is just my 2 cents worth and is for the sake of comaprison. These are my applications, and what I paid for (all from NewEgg) over the last few months:

My home theater 3.1 setup:
- Pioneer SP-FS51-LR Floorstanding Speakers Pair - $119.99
- Pioneer SP-C21 Center Channel Speaker - $49.99
- Pioneer SW-8 100W Powered Subwoofer - $69.99
- YAMAHA RX-V373BL 5.1-Channel AV Receiver - $174.97
For under $415, I have put together a pretty incredible little system. The towers stand on their own in terms of performance. The sound is rich and crisp, although naturally lacking the low end boom needed for the true HT experience. They also fit perfectly alongside my 50" Panasonic Plasma TV and look better than I thought they would. The center I added later and it makes a HUGE improvement when watching movies. Dialogue jumps out at you and I can't recommend enough the benefits adding a center channel if you are a movie fanatic.. But yes, it is gigantic and took some serious rearranging of my cabinet to make it fit. If the new model is smaller but gives similar results, that would be a good thing. The sub, while not earth shattering, produces accurate, perfectly matched lows for such a moderate system. no complaints at all.

And because I couldn't help myself:
- Pioneer SP-BS21-LR Bookshelf Loudspeakers Pair - $39.99
I could not resist buying these for the price. They are far to large to use as surrounds for my main setup (still working on a solution for that), so I put them into duty in my garage. I had a mediocre set of Sony bookshelf speakers which I though were adequate for my garage system...until I swapped them out with these. How they can produce such amazing sound with a little 4" woofer, at this price point, is beyond me. I put this together with an old JBL DCR600 HTB receiver and it's included SUB135S 8" subwoofer. It turned out to be a great way to recycle my old equipment. I am sure my neighbors hate me, but to hell with them!

All that being said (sorry for rambling), I am still trying to figure out an elegant solution for round out my HT system with some surrounds for a true 5.1 experience. As I stated, the Pioneer surrounds are much to large for my living room configuration. I am considering using 2 of my old JBL SCS135S satelite speakers in this application. They have nice wall mounting brackets that came with them. The specs are:
Impedance: 8 Ohms nominal
Sensitivity: 86dB @ 1 watt/1 meter
Tweeter: One 1/2" titanium-laminate dome
Midrange: One 3" cone

I know these are 8 Ohm vs the Pioneer 6 Ohm, so I don't know if this will create a significant impact on performance. Before I go through the nightmare of running wires under my house and through my walls, I was hoping for some SD expert advice on whether or not these would be a reasonable compliment to my setup.

Quote from priceprince : Thanks for the reply. That's kinda what I figured. I knew I shouldn't have listened to the guy at best buy that said the AVR 1700 wasn't powerful enough to run most front tower speakers. I wish I wouldn't have returned it now, since its back to $500. Oh well, I think I will get these speakers though.

Last time I was at Best Buy I overheard a BB guy telling this couple that asked about HDMI cables and the $20-30 price difference between two brands that these cheaper ones aren't as good and would wear out. WTF. Wear out. When he left I talked to them briefly to help them out.

With crap like that, I find myself not minding in the least if they go out of business someday.

Quote from sleepophile : Can someone please recommend a receiver to power these in the $300 - $400 range? I've spent the past week on AVSForums researching a receiver and the sheer number of options has my head spinning!

Try one of the Pioneer VSX 1022-K or 1122-K http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-VSX...ioneer+vsx


For these speakers, any of these should suffice and sound great.

I have some 19 year old Yamaha bookshelf speakers that are on their way out. How do these compare to other bookshelf speakers? Are floor standing speakers that much of a step up sound wise?

Quote from Superorb : I have some 19 year old Yamaha bookshelf speakers that are on their way out. How do these compare to other bookshelf speakers? Are floor standing speakers that much of a step up sound wise?

With the constant lousy service I get at BB anymore I wouldn't miss them when they go either. Notice I said WHEN they go.

Super, oh yes, definite difference. The floor standers have three woofers versus one. If you go into BB you can listen to both separately and hear for yourself. Just don't spend any money while you're in there.

Quote from GrandmasterBBC : And because I couldn't help myself: - Pioneer SP-BS21-LR Bookshelf Loudspeakers Pair - $39.99

Where'd you find that?

Quote from wakkoss : With the constant lousy service I get at BB anymore I wouldn't miss them when they go either. Notice I said WHEN they go. Super, oh yes, definite difference. The floor standers have three woofers versus one. If you go into BB you can listen to both separately and hear for yourself. Just don't spend any money while you're in there. Where'd you find that?

Best Buy had those BS21's on close out for $39.99. But you wish them gone and wouldn't spend any money . Be careful what you wish for. Less retailers is not a good thing.

Quote from MIX MASTER ICE : Best Buy had those BS21's on close out for $39.99. But you wish them gone and wouldn't spend any money . Be careful what you wish for. Less retailers is not a good thing.

Ordinarily I wouldn't feel that way, but Best Buy has pissed me off more times than not. The last time was when I spent an hour in the store, went t check out and found out the $50 off coupon was no good. It'd have been nice for them to post it on the door and save me the hour that I took off from work. They pick and choose when they want to price match, too. Screw 'em.

Quote from wakkoss : Ordinarily I wouldn't feel that way, but Best Buy has pissed me off more times than not. The last time was when I spent an hour in the store, went t check out and found out the $50 off coupon was no good. It'd have been nice for them to post it on the door and save me the hour that I took off from work. They pick and choose when they want to price match, too. Screw 'em.

I've always enjoyed being able to go to Best Buy and check stuff out in person. Just recently I picked up the Polk T15's for $39.99/pair and the HK AVR1700 for $199.99. Best Buy is really the last major electronics chain left, so I wouldn't wish them gone.

Quote from wakkoss : Where'd you find that?

The Pioneer SP-BS21-LR speakers were also a Newegg deal on 11-22-12. Unfortunately, they are listed as discontinued on Newegg, so I don't see this deal coming back any time soon. This one went Frontpage:

http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/8...akers-pair

Check that, Best Buy had/has them on clearance for $34.99.

FYI: Looks like the prices have dropped slightly lower with Tiger Direct. I chose them to avoid sales tax - and just pulled the trigger on the full set.

Price: (incl free shipping and no sales tax)
SP-C22 - $68
SP-FS52 - $98/ea
SP-BS22 - $88 set
SW-8mk2 - $90 - All in $442 for the set.

I don't have a receiver yet. My wife's already screaming - so gonna need to find something on the cheep that will work well with this speaker set and with Roku HD streaming. I'll have xbox, roku for plex streaming and blue ray hooked up, and shouldn't need many more HDMI ports. Can anyone make a good recommendation?

Quote from Spydermagnet : FYI: Looks like the prices have dropped slightly lower with Tiger Direct. I chose them to avoid sales tax - and just pulled the trigger on the full set. Price: (incl free shipping and no sales tax) SP-C22 - $68 SP-FS52 - $98/ea SP-BS22 - $88 set SW-8mk2 - $90 - All in $442 for the set. I don't have a receiver yet. My wife's already screaming - so gonna need to find something on the cheep that will work well with this speaker set and with Roku HD streaming. I'll have xbox, roku for plex streaming and blue ray hooked up, and shouldn't need many more HDMI ports. Can anyone make a good recommendation?

Well with these speakers you really don't want to get a cheap, underpowered receiver. These speakers require a little more juice, being 6ohm and inefficient. The Yamaha RX-V471 is still $199.99 @newegg. That might work.

Quote from MIX MASTER ICE : Check that, Best Buy had/has them on clearance for $34.99.

Found em at a local store. $35 can't be beat. Repped you for the heads up!