Pioneer have been making ground-breaking speakers since 1938, when founder Nozomu Matsumoto built the first pair in his garage. Today, Pioneer remains committed to their company mission – “Move the heart and touch the soul” – by making a range of entertainment electronics designed to touch the senses and stir emotions.

Pioneer invests 7% of company revenue into research and development, ensuring that their products continue to innovate and delight for every generation.

Pioneer SP-FS52 Andrew Jones

​Design

While Pioneer makes many exceptional speakers, the SP-FS52s stand out for their exceptional design. These speakers were made with attention to detail and spectacular design at every level.

The Pioneer SP-FS52s were designed by legendary chief speaker engineer Andrew Jones. While Jones has been known to design speakers that cost up to $80,000, he enjoys the special challenges of designing the best possible speakers at an affordable price. Pioneer gave Jones the ability to work with more exotic materials and methods, and to average the cost of high-end design and engineering over large numbers of consumers, making his designs accessible to everyone.

The distinctive look, feel, and sound of the Pioneer SP-FS52s are an enduring example of the expertise of Jones, and remind listeners why he is a legend in the industry. The gracefully curved cabinet has an elegant, but removable, speaker grill, if you prefer to see the drivers.

The speakers are 3 inches taller than previous models of floor standing speakers, to improve sound quality and fidelity by placing the tweeters closer to ear-level.

The stiffer design of these speakers reduces sound waves inside the cabinet, with improved rigidity that makes bass notes more responsive and accurate.

This attention to detail and superior design makes the Pioneer SP-FS52 ideal for home theater systems, where it provides exceptional quality and clarity from any audio source.

About the Pioneer SP-FS52

Aside from the elegance and detail in the design, these speakers also have a number of features that enhance your listening enjoyment:

  • ​Three 5 ¼ inch structured surface woofers with oversized magnets
  • ​One 1-inch high efficiency soft dome tweeter
  • ​8-element crossover
  • ​130-watt power
  • ​Gold 5-way binding posts
  • Each speaker is 8 7/8” x 35 3/16” x 10 5/8” and weighs 25.8 pounds

Additional Details

The woofers have a structured surface that makes them more rigid, and venting the pole improves bass response over other same-sized speakers.

In the SP-FS52, Pioneer paid special attention to the crossover.

This sophisticated crossover goes beyond just a single capacitor and inductor, with 8-component circuitry that cleanly separates audio into high-range, low-range, and mid-range frequencies.

This tweeter has a custom wave guide, which, when combined with the crossover, allows the SP-FS52 to play louder using less power.

Pioneer SP-FS52 Andrew Jones Standing Loudspeaker Jacks
Source: pioneerelectronics.com/PUSA/

What Others Say

These speakers enjoy excellent reviews from all over the web, with near-universal agreement that they deliver exceptional sound at a startlingly affordable price. These high marks from professionals and amateurs alike are even more impressive when you consider that these speakers were originally released more than 5 years ago.

The fact that they are still being purchased, discussed, reviewed, and praised even as competitors have launched years of new models is a powerful endorsement of the quality of the SP-FS52.

A few listeners with discriminating ears prefer the SP-FS52s for movies and home theater over music; they find midranges too flat and the sound stage too mobile. And still others say that they are better for music than for cinema, because the bass isn’t as punchy as film sound effects require.

But those comments are limited to a tiny percentage of very discriminating users. The vast majority of the people who have purchased these speakers enjoy them and praise their superior performance.

And remember that your particular home audio environment and the placement of floor standing speakers plays an incredibly important role in your listening experience. It’s possible that some people are hearing faults in their own environmental acoustics and blaming the speakers unnecessarily.

Buying Advice for the Pioneer SP-FS52

While it may seem obvious, the most important thing to note about these speakers is that they are priced individually. You will need to purchase a pair, and speaker cable is not included in the purchase price.

While reviewers love these speakers for producing spectacular quality in all ranges of music, some point out that the bass isn’t powerful enough for some movie experiences. If you fall into that camp, the addition of a quality subwoofer to improve the presence of bass notes would go a long way.

It is worth noting that these speakers have a 6-ohm impedance rating, which should work fine with most amplifiers or receivers. If your existing amplifier or receiver is set to 8 ohms or greater, you may need to adjust it downward to avoid overloading the power supply at high volumes.

There is often a menu during the setup procedure that will allow you to choose to set your receiver to 6 ohms (or lower: If you can only choose between 4 and 8, choose 4).

Conclusion

Originally launched in 2012, these Andrew Jones designed speakers have stood the test of time and offer truly superior home audio at an affordable price. They have enjoyed years as top-rated and top-reviewed speakers, even as other products have come and gone. The Pioneer SP-FS52 floor standing speakers prove the enduring power of superior design and superior engineering, and are still delighting listeners year after year.

Overall, we highly recommend the Pioneer SP-FS52 floor standing speakers for their elegant appearance, superior delivery of high-range, low-, and mid-range sounds, and energy efficiency. They deliver clear, dimensional instrumentation and speech, solid bass, and are designed to perform for years to come.

Our Rating

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