Pioneer Elite S-IW871-LR Broszura - Strona 3

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t E S t RE p O RTS

OCTOBER/09

Pioneer elite in-wall SpEakER SySTEm

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.

I first 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.

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

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

OCTOBER/2009 | SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.cOM

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.

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

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

play plenty loud with any material you

want to throw at them.

RATInGS

dESIGn

PooR

PERFoRMAncE

PooR

VALuE

PooR

oVERALL ScoRE

PooR

TesT Bench

–5

–10

–15

100

LcR

30 Hz to 20 kHz ± 4.9 dB

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.

BoTToM Line

I can't say for sure that the skunk-works approach works

miracles — after all, I've heard plenty of great speakers

Pioneer Elite in-walls conjure a certain magic that runs counter

ExcELLEnT

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

ExcELLEnT

deliver smooth, satisfying, kick-ass sound that's a joy to

experience hour after hour, day after day.

ExcELLEnT

FUll lAB RESUltS At

SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.cOM/pIO-INwAll

ExcELLEnT

10k 20k

hertz (Hz)

SuRRound

29 Hz to 20 kHz ± 5.2 dB

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.