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Amazon's super deals on some of Pioneer's best speakers

For a limited time you can get some of Pioneer's astonishingly good home theater speakers and sound bars at significantly discounted prices.

Steve Guttenberg
Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Stereophile.
Steve Guttenberg
2 min read

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Pioneer's SP-PK52FS Andrew Jones 5.1 Home Theater Speaker Package Sarah Tew/CNET

Pioneer's SP-PK52FS Andrew Jones 5.1 Home Theater Speaker Package received a rave review here at CNET in October 2012, and was well worth its full retail price of $650, but when we checked the price this morning Amazon had it listed for $404.96, with free shipping for Prime customers. In the review we said, "The Pioneer SP-PK52FS breaks new ground for quality sound at a budget price. The 5.1 speaker system is highlighted by two tower speakers in the front, plus a 100-watt, 8-inch powered subwoofer completes the system. And although it's not stylish, the curved wooden cabinets look better than a cheap boxy speaker."

I listened to the SP-PK52FS many times since I wrote that review, and was consistently impressed by the system's sound quality.

The SP-PK52FS is a big system, with large towers, center speaker, smaller surround speakers, and a subwoofer, but if you need a great little 5.1 system, we still recommend the Energy Take Classic 5.1 , which is currently selling for just under $400. Size matters; the Take Classic 5.1 is terrific, but the SP-PK52FS sounds better, by a large margin.

If you don't need a full surround system, Amazon is also selling the Pioneer SP-BS22-LR bookshelf speakers, which list for $130 a pair and are now $86.99. Again I know these speakers really well; it's a great deal. The SP-FS52-LR tower speakers are also available separately for $86.99 each on Amazon; they normally run $130.

The Pioneer SP-SB23W sound bar + wireless subwoofer system is discontinued, but it's not about to be replaced by a similar system; no, Pioneer will release its first pedestal base TV speaker, the SP-SB03, sometime in October. The price has yet to be announced, but I expect it to be around the same as the SP-SB23W, which was $400.

I listened to the SP-SB23W yesterday, it's clearly the best sounding 'bar I've heard in its price class, but now, at $246.99 on Amazon, it's a super deal, with free shipping for Prime customers. The larger SP-SB03, designed to fit under a TV, will likely sound great, but the smaller SP-SB23W that sits in front of a display or can be wall-mounted might be a better fit for your system. Frankly, I'm surprised the SP-SB23W is discontinued; why not offer both models, a sound bar and a pedestal base TV speaker?

These heavily discounted Amazon prices for the Pioneer speakers probably won't last, so if you're interested, don't hesitate.