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52 OCTOBER/2009 | SOUNDANDVISIONMAG.COM
OCTOBER/09
TR
TEST REpORTS
T
here 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 $40-per-pair minispeakers to the
$60,000-per-pair TAD Reference One towers.
Jones’s team has recently focused on archi-
tectural speakers — i.e., in-wall and in-ceiling
models. Extra effort went into the models de-
signed for Pioneer’s high-end Elite line, which are
intended to compete with the world’s most sto-
ried speaker brands.
The Pioneer Elite architectural speakers are
notable for their concentric drivers, which use
1½-inch titanium tweeters mounted in the
center of various woofers. Pioneer refers to its
concentric designs by the acronym CST, for Co-
herent Source Transducer.
Pioneer elite
S-IW571L & S-IW871LR
IN-WALL SPEAKER SYSTEM
Reviewed by BRENT BUTTERWORTH
»
+S-IW571L
($699 each)
(2) 5
1
⁄4-in woofers;
6
1
⁄2-in midrange/woofer;
1
1
⁄2-in tweeter; 20
11
⁄16 in
wide; 13 lb
+S-IW871LR
($899 per pair)
8-in woofer; 1
1
⁄2-in
tweeter; 13
15
⁄16-in high;
7 lb
Price
$2,996 (as tested)
PIONEERELECTRONICS.COM
Key Features
The S-1W571L’s concentric-driver
arrangement means it can be installed
either horizontally or vertically with
no effect on the sound.
»
uP ‘n down sound