I replaced my 800's with a pair of Pioneer Speakers

[DM3000 Owner]

Its true. I replaced my B&W S800's with a pair of Pioneer speakers. :E The model is the "S-1ex" and they were released a few years ago.

I have to admit that I really like them. I attached a photo, what do you think?

[emig5m]

Where's the tweeter? :E

[Kal Rubinson]

The top driver is a coax.

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/307piosex/index.html

[Race Car Driver]

Those are a nice set of speakers. I too picked up something recently besides B&W. A set of Sonys :E

While I am waiting for them to finish getting crated before shipping this pair of Sonys had an MSRP of that inbetween N801s and N800s when they were avail. Im all excited like a little school girl. :lol:

Like my Sonys, your Pioneers are not "standard" type speakers one think of when you hear the namy Sony or Pioneer. And because of that I bet you got those speakers for a great price! :T I hope you like em, I wouldnt hesitate 1 bit to say I owned that pair. 8)

Side note, did you get rid of the 800s? I remember when you bought them, I was contemplating buying them myself, but left shipping to someone else.

[wettou]

Its true. I replaced my B&W S800's with a pair of Pioneer speakers. :E The model is the "S-1ex" and they were released a few years ago.

I have to admit that I really like them. I attached a photo, what do you think?

Outstanding where you able to get a good price on them? I heard them, at a Pioneer store no discount or negotiations! I got 20% off the B&W

[DM3000 Owner]

Oh man, you guys are all much more up n this than I am, you spoiled my fun!

I knew that Kal had heard these, but not everyone else. Thaks Kal, your review and posts in other forums influenced my decision to check these out. I actually made the deal on the 800's and these were for sale locally. The seller used the name "TAD" in the ad and I knew of TAD from my horn speaker days.

Yes on all counts to the questions, they were a great deal and they are outstanding. I also like the fact that they are 150 lb each, so I can get them to a dedicated room upstairs when it is ready.

I heard a really nice pair of Pioneer speakers at CES a few years ago that were made from car audio drivers. They had such a nice tone I just loved them. Fast forward and I found these.

These have a more mellow/warm sound than the 800's. Very pleasant and laid back. They are also very easy to set up, just like the big B&W's. I imagine that having the tweeter as a coax and B&W having the tweeter in the marlin head very close to the midrange driver both have the same effect on easy room placement, but just a guess. Imaging qualities are very similar between the B&W's and Pioneers. The Pioneers throw a little taller soundstage. Again, similar sound with the Pioneer's being a little warmer sounding. I attached a side view, they are biger than they look (but not 275 lb - the S800's were a pain to package up).

I had a few friend's over, one with Wilson Maxx's and the other with Theils, and they both really liked these.

If you stumble across any of these odd ball Japanese speakers, go check them out. It reminds me of when Lexus and Infinity first came out with Luxury cars that rivaled the European offerings.

Chris, what model Sony's did you buy?

[Race Car Driver]

I am suprised you gave up the 800s!! I still wish to have a pair some day! I picked up a pair of SS-M9ED (extended definitions)
Here is an article on them

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/391/

It will be a week or two before I have them. I have to do some repairs to them, but for $476 + shipping for the pair I cant complain, MSRP was $16kish for the pair. I also picked up 4 new woofers for $220 shipped (didnt need them, but seemd like a great price) I dont know when I will get the repairs done (going to take all the woofers/speakers/crossovers out and have the cabinets refinished) I just hope when I am done I dont like them better than my 802s... Well.. maybe I do Ive been looking for a pair for sale in the US for some time, I have only seen a few avail over seas.

I will say it, I am a HUGE Sony fan. ops: They can make (did make) some of the coolest and best home/car audio gear IMO. (I am also a big Pioneer fan, I have some of their high end ODR car stuff) For Pioneer car audio in the home at CES like you mentioned check out this video.

http://uk.cinenow.com/videos/617-pioneer-very-high-end-car-audio-ces-2007

[DM3000 Owner]

Chris,

Those are interesting. Take a lot of pictures of the restoration. Nice review, you may wind up keeping them long term as your main speakers.

I sold the 800 anticipating downsizing my system and going to an integrated amp, I just have too much equipment in our living room and taking the 800's upstairs to a good sized dedicated room was not an option. Too much risk with the special finish.

My "problem" now is that my preamp (an hybred tube one) and amps (which are way overkill on power) sound so good with these speakers that I do not want to downsize. I choose the equipment to compliment the B&W's sound and it seems to fit the Pioneers very well.

[AwArEnEsS]

You kids are crazy LoL :

[dan87951]

Where you the one selling your sig 800's on audiogon for $9500? You must prefer the Pioneers over the Signature's? How is the bass compared to the sigs? What about the tweeter? The signatures have always been a dream speaker of mine to own. They are beautiful!

[DM3000 Owner]

Where you the one selling your sig 800's on audiogon for $9500? You must prefer the Pioneers over the Signature's? How is the bass compared to the sigs? What about the tweeter? The signatures have always been a dream speaker of mine to own. They are beautiful!

Not me. I saw that ad when there were only 7 views. I thought about buying them just because the price was $4000 below market value, but then decided that it was not worth my time. Shipping is a nighmare on these, not only cost but the amount of time to coordiante it.

I did receive some low ball offers on mine, but they sold in just a few days. They do not show up often and when they do they sell in a day or so (the grey finished ones).

The Pioneers actually have a nicer tone than the S800's. Probably more of a Sonus Faber tuning with a nice mellow bass and smooth treble that is easy on the ears. The tweeters are berylluim and a coaxial design. I would not necessairily label them as better than the S800's, but the S800's always sounded outstanding to me.

Both spekaers are very easy to place in a room and disapper very easily, no doubt due to the marlin head/tweeter placement of the 800's and the coaxial design of the Pioneers. Fit and finish is actually of the same quality on both. I think of a Lexus compared to a Mercedes, the far east product gives up nothing.

The Pioneers are much more practical for me as I want to place them in a game room upstairs as a dedicated room. I would never risk moving the S800's upstairs as they are 275 lb each and awkward to handle. The Pioneers also require significantly less power, but for me that is not an issue as they sound so right with my Classe CAM 350 monoblocks that I am just going to keep them.

[DM3000 Owner]

You kids are crazy LoL :

Why do you say that? They both did quite well: :E

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/600/

http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/307piosex/

[1oldguy]

Has anyone here any experience with PSB Platinum series such as the M2 or the T6?Any thoughts on these speakers?

[wettou]

Oh man, you guys are all much more up n this than I am, you spoiled my fun!

I knew that Kal had heard these, but not everyone else. Thaks Kal, your review and posts in other forums influenced my decision to check these out. I actually made the deal on the 800's and these were for sale locally. The seller used the name "TAD" in the ad and I knew of TAD from my horn speaker days.

Yes on all counts to the questions, they were a great deal and they are outstanding. I also like the fact that they are 150 lb each, so I can get them to a dedicated room upstairs when it is ready.

I heard a really nice pair of Pioneer speakers at CES a few years ago that were made from car audio drivers. They had such a nice tone I just loved them. Fast forward and I found these.

These have a more mellow/warm sound than the 800's. Very pleasant and laid back. They are also very easy to set up, just like the big B&W's. I imagine that having the tweeter as a coax and B&W having the tweeter in the marlin head very close to the midrange driver both have the same effect on easy room placement, but just a guess. Imaging qualities are very similar between the B&W's and Pioneers. The Pioneers throw a little taller soundstage. Again, similar sound with the Pioneer's being a little warmer sounding. I attached a side view, they are biger than they look (but not 275 lb - the S800's were a pain to package up).

I had a few friend's over, one with Wilson Maxx's and the other with Theils, and they both really liked these.

If you stumble across any of these odd ball Japanese speakers, go check them out. It reminds me of when Lexus and Infinity first came out with Luxury cars that rivaled the European offerings.

Chris, what model Sony's did you buy?

The only issue is Pioneer doesn't discount

[DM3000 Owner]

The only issue is Pioneer doesn't discount

They pop up on Audiogon. There was a pair listed a week or so ago. There was also a pair listed on Ebay a month ago by a very bitter person who said that he was gong to throw them in a dumpster. He was a real piece of work.

[Orb]

To be fair there may be a good chance to get a deal on them, because here in the UK respectable audio shops outside of the main dealerships have nice discount on these speakers.
I am talking £2,000 off new S-1EX without even haggling for discount, the more unknown internet based shops have even larger discounts (but would ignore them).

Glad these speakers were raised as I nearly forgot about them, and sadly I may need to listen in 1st quarter of 2010 for replacement bookshelf (even this model is discounted heavily outside main dealers) depending what we identify causing a sound trait that is reducing my listening enjoyment.

So I will be up front to my main dealer before auditioning and mention he has his work cut out and what can he do to match (if audio shops outside main dealership can do the discounts there must be some good negotiating margins unless Pioneer is enforcing but that seems dubious if other shops can sell these models).

Do a search on google/bing and see what prices spring up for your region and check the shops out, ignoring the insanely cheap internet only shops.


Edit:
Kal, would be nice if someone could review the very special Tad reference speaker; Air's new mastering studio rate these very highly (came across in an article at Hifi News that involved interviewing the respected mastering engineers themselves in that studio)

Nudge nudge, you know you want to :T

Cheers
Orb

[DM3000 Owner]

What type of bookshelf speakers do you have now?

I found this when I was researching the Pioneers, and it was especially useful to me as I had the S800's (although unverified hearsay).

"The S1-EX received Japan's very high-end Audio Accessory magazine's 2006 Gold 'Overall Product of the Year' award, its highest honor. It also tied with the B&W 800D for 'Large Speaker of the Year'."

But if you already have N805's or 805S's, these may not be any better. I am also not saying that they are better than the 800's. They do have a warmer sound and are much more practical in the sense that they can be moved more easily and will get by on a much lower powered amplifier (much lower!).

Here is one thing to note, I went down the vinyl road and before I knew it I now listen to about 99% vinyl. So I like how pleasant vinyl is to listen to for hours without fatgiue.

I found that the a front end that worked so well with my B&W's also works very well with the Pioneers. Not a big shock, but I found that the B&W's like a more mellow front end and I am using a hybred preamp (Musical Fidelity KWP) and "warm sounding" amps (Classe CAM350's). To me, my system sounds like the many tube systems that I have heard. The Classe CAM 350's also run pure Class A up to 80 wpc and at my listening volumes I doubt that I ever make it past the first 80 wpc. (There are 2 pairs of these on Audiogon right now for an absolute steal).

What I am trying to say here is that if you have B&W 805's and do not like the sound, the Pioneers may not sound any better and you may have to look elsewhere in your system.

[wettou]

They pop up on Audiogon. There was a pair listed a week or so ago. There was also a pair listed on Ebay a month ago by a very bitter person who said that he was gong to throw them in a dumpster. He was a real piece of work.

I called the Pioneer customer service they don't even have them on display anywhere!!!

[DM3000 Owner]

I know that the ecomony has tanked to its hard to sell luxury items like this, but they really screwed up using the name Pioneer.

The only reason that I even looked at these was because I did a search for local items on Audiogon and I was extremely impressed by the Pioneer speakers that I had heard as CES a few years earlier.

Branding is especially important in high end audio. This is a crazy hobby where many believe that if something is not expensive it cannot be good. I was advised not to buy these because of the Pioneer name, until my friend then heard them. He prefers them to my S800's.

I also have gotten criticized for my Musical Fidelity equipment (I have a bunch of their gear) because of the "stigma" that they use the same brand name for their lower end offerings.

Maybe things are different in other markets such as Asian areas and maybe Pioneer received enough good press there to make it all worth it. I forget that we are not the center of the world.

In any event, if a pair pops up second hand and is close, jump on it, the sum of all of the above means that you can have speakers that perform well into the 5 digit category for a fraction of the cost.

[alebonau]

I know that the ecomony has tanked to its hard to sell luxury items like this, but they really screwed up using the name Pioneer.

The only reason that I even looked at these was because I did a search for local items on Audiogon and I was extremely impressed by the Pioneer speakers that I had heard as CES a few years earlier.

Branding is especially important in high end audio. This is a crazy hobby where many believe that if something is not expensive it cannot be good. I was advised not to buy these because of the Pioneer name, until my friend then heard them. He prefers them to my S800's.

I also have gotten criticized for my Musical Fidelity equipment (I have a bunch of their gear) because of the "stigma" that they use the same brand name for their lower end offerings.

Maybe things are different in other markets such as Asian areas and maybe Pioneer received enough good press there to make it all worth it. I forget that we are not the center of the world.

In any event, if a pair pops up second hand and is close, jump on it, the sum of all of the above means that you can have speakers that perform well into the 5 digit category for a fraction of the cost.

congrats on the speakers, good on you for seeing past the name on the box and without preconceptions

a fellow musical fidelity owner here as well, I know what you mean. but gee by the look of that pic you have some of their nicest stuff in the kwp and the rest. ps we have something in common ! is that a rega p9 I see ? never realised another p9 owner on this forum. :B

rega is another one, just because they make some budget decks, doesnt mean they cant make some really top end decks as well. a bit of a rega fan anyways so dont really care what others say of think about these things !

ps I think they call products like the pio speakers here "sleepers", in oz theyre a bit of a bargain and actually seen them discounted a fair bit. no doubt making them very good buying.

[Orb]

What type of bookshelf speakers do you have now?

I found this when I was researching the Pioneers, and it was especially useful to me as I had the S800's (although unverified hearsay).

"The S1-EX received Japan's very high-end Audio Accessory magazine's 2006 Gold 'Overall Product of the Year' award, its highest honor. It also tied with the B&W 800D for 'Large Speaker of the Year'."

But if you already have N805's or 805S's, these may not be any better. I am also not saying that they are better than the 800's. They do have a warmer sound and are much more practical in the sense that they can be moved more easily and will get by on a much lower powered amplifier (much lower!).

Here is one thing to note, I went down the vinyl road and before I knew it I now listen to about 99% vinyl. So I like how pleasant vinyl is to listen to for hours without fatgiue.

I found that the a front end that worked so well with my B&W's also works very well with the Pioneers. Not a big shock, but I found that the B&W's like a more mellow front end and I am using a hybred preamp (Musical Fidelity KWP) and "warm sounding" amps (Classe CAM350's). To me, my system sounds like the many tube systems that I have heard. The Classe CAM 350's also run pure Class A up to 80 wpc and at my listening volumes I doubt that I ever make it past the first 80 wpc. (There are 2 pairs of these on Audiogon right now for an absolute steal).

What I am trying to say here is that if you have B&W 805's and do not like the sound, the Pioneers may not sound any better and you may have to look elsewhere in your system.

Nothing against 805s but I have moved up the ladder in terms of bookshelves, tbh I was a bit frustrated that B&W really did not have a bookshelf equivalent to some of the other excellent £3,000 to £7,000 small room abled speakers.
This maybe why B&W are uprating 805 in new year, but like many say this puts it out of its current pricing zone that has many interested audio listeners - here is hoping they do not take long to introduce another range just below the 800s eh.

What I am lacking is not subjective sound per se, but the fact I am picking up a specific trait-characteristic caused by certain combinations of sounds/frequencies.
Either its a fault with my speakers and they need reparing (tested with completely different system/cables and strangely I do hope this is it), or the trait is a result of the driver/crossover design.

What the sound trait is; well I prefer not to say as others are enjoying the same speakers as I was until I trained my ears/hearing 6 months after auditioning by listening to the worst offending album and then followed by my 2nd worst offending album lol.
Goes to show that even after a thorough auditioning process a curve ball can hit ya

Of course now I am able to hone the hearing and hear it on more albums where it is very subtle (thank goodness it isnt all albums but a small %, still I notice I am not listening to music as often as I used to).

I am a long time fan and listener of B&W speakers and had a staple diet of CM2s and 803s, however with the loss of the medium size room I wanted an extremely high quality sounding speaker that would work in a smaller room, and 805s just did not match some of the more expensive speakers out there.
This is understandable as some of these more expensive bookshelves just have better design/components due to their cost (although I appreciate not all expensive speakers mean better).

At least I can add (hopefully) the new generation of 805 to the list if I do have to audition again say in March/April.
I am a great fan of Classe and also recommend it to others, but my system involved amp/preamps each side of the Classe sound; Musical Fidelity KW550 (now sold) and Chord Electronic SPM1200e and mid-ref preamp.
Even though I sold the MF hybrid, I got to say it was addictive in a good way as you know

Cheers
Orb

[Orb]

I called the Pioneer customer service they don't even have them on display anywhere!!!

I got no problem hearing these pioneer speakers at both main and independent dealers, or to find amazing prices at respected independent dealers.
Have you tried yet to search for the speakers on google/bing and narrow down the selection of prices showing to your region/country?

Cheers
orb

[alebonau]

Nothing against 805s but I have moved up the ladder in terms of bookshelves, tbh I was a bit frustrated that B&W really did not have a bookshelf equivalent to some of the other excellent £3,000 to £7,000 small room abled speakers.
This maybe why B&W are uprating 805 in new year, but like many say this puts it out of its current pricing zone that has many interested audio listeners - here is hoping they do not take long to introduce another range just below the 800s eh.

What I am lacking is not subjective sound per se, but the fact I am picking up a specific trait-characteristic caused by certain combinations of sounds/frequencies.
Either its a fault with my speakers and they need reparing (tested with completely different system/cables and strangely I do hope this is it), or the trait is a result of the driver/crossover design.

What the sound trait is; well I prefer not to say as others are enjoying the same speakers as I was until I trained my ears/hearing 6 months after auditioning by listening to the worst offending album and then followed by my 2nd worst offending album lol.
Goes to show that even after a thorough auditioning process a curve ball can hit ya

Of course now I am able to hone the hearing and hear it on more albums where it is very subtle (thank goodness it isnt all albums but a small %, still I notice I am not listening to music as often as I used to).

I am a long time fan and listener of B&W speakers and had a staple diet of CM2s and 803s, however with the loss of the medium size room I wanted an extremely high quality sounding speaker that would work in a smaller room, and 805s just did not match some of the more expensive speakers out there.
This is understandable as some of these more expensive bookshelves just have better design/components due to their cost (although I appreciate not all expensive speakers mean better).

At least I can add (hopefully) the new generation of 805 to the list if I do have to audition again say in March/April.
I am a great fan of Classe and also recommend it to others, but my system involved amp/preamps each side of the Classe sound; Musical Fidelity KW550 (now sold) and Chord Electronic SPM1200e and mid-ref preamp.
Even though I sold the MF hybrid, I got to say it was addictive in a good way as you know

Cheers
Orb

interesting thoughts there orb. I agree in a lot of ways. Done a bit of demoing of with the 805 as well. and have to agree as nice as it is there are a few other options out there that are better buying.

one to consider is the focal 1007be or 1008be a lovely speaker that I think in not only sound quality, dynamics, top end bottom end, midrange or even styling looks or build/fit and finish pretty comprehensively leaves the 805s for dead !

ofcourse speakers are such pers pref things, so can understand if you or others dont necessarily share my view in this

[dan87951]

If you dont mind me asking what did you get for your 800s?

[Orb]

If you dont mind me asking what did you get for your 800s?

The CM2s I gave away for free to a friend, the 803s I sold oooh painfully cheap to someone else I know as well.
Can you believe I also gave away recently my trusty E100 MF amp and back then top of the range Mission speakers from same year for free; that was what started to get me into audio when I was a teenager.
There are better ways to move audio gear on than what I did lol.
Looking back that cash could had been handy if I do need to replace my current speakers

Thanks alebonau for the tip, already been down the focal sound and only one that I feel I would need to audition as I missed out on it before is the Diablo, hmm think that may be out of my price range but will have to recheck.

Thanks for reminding me about focal as it did jog my memory for the Diablo.

Cheers
Orb

[Kal Rubinson]

Kal, would be nice if someone could review the very special Tad reference speaker; Air's new mastering studio rate these very highly (came across in an article at Hifi News that involved interviewing the respected mastering engineers themselves in that studio)

Nudge nudge, you know you want to :T

Cheers
Orb

They are too large for my room but I am hoping to get my hands on a pair of the smaller ones.

[style]

Hi DM3000 Owner,

theTAD are amazing in performance swith a amaiziing sound : i agree 100%
i thing 125kg each piece!!!!

if do you have the right power ampli they give you a very good sound. : I agree 100%.

the EX1 is too a very good speaker - not so "massive" like the TAD but a very concentrationof tecnoligie... and they are too expensive...

DM3000 Owner, if you have listen abd this speaker sound god with you power ampli gowithit :T :T

we wat news!

Style

[DM3000 Owner]

a fellow musical fidelity owner here as well, I know what you mean. but gee by the look of that pic you have some of their nicest stuff in the kwp and the rest. ps we have something in common ! is that a rega p9 I see ? never realised another p9 owner on this forum. :B

rega is another one, just because they make some budget decks, doesnt mean they cant make some really top end decks as well. a bit of a rega fan anyways so dont really care what others say of think about these things !

I have bought several pieces of MF gear, not just the KWP. All of their gear performs way above its price point. I just love their gear. I was worried about the top end of the KWP (I bought it without listening to it) because I was hoping that it would not be too bright with my S800's as the review said that the top end was very clear. When I got it I knew that it was the right choice. It is as smooth as can be, very detailed and still has a mellow top end. Just a dream and mates very well with the B&W's. Big soundstage.

I bought the Rega because I wanted a high end deck where I could just spin a lot of vinyl without a hassle. I had a VPI Scout and it was painful to use. Just too much work and the unipivot tonearm was painful to balance (no graduated scale) and the wobble never made me confortable. The VPI also had 4 feet instead of 3, very difficult to get level. Just not refined at all in its adjustments, remineded me of something made in someone's garage. The Rega P9 is a table that you do not want to tweak and is so user friendly. I love the classic dust cover too.

You cannot tell from the photo but I modified the Technics Sl1210 by mounting its power supply in an external box and it has a Sumiko MMT tonearm in that photo. It also has an SME IV that can be swapped in about 5 minutes. I use that table for noisey records.

I also just picked up an Empire 208 that I am going to mod with a new base and the extra SME IV arm. I have some striped ebony veneer, shoudl be beautiful when done. 3 TT's in one system, why not? My tube phono pre takes 2 tables and the KWP has a very nice phono stage built in. :T

[Kal Rubinson]

The most effective mod I had with the 208 was to replace the entire top plate with a heavy non-ringing laminate and, in the process, added the facility for a removeable/replaceable arm mounting pod.

[alebonau]

The CM2s I gave away for free to a friend, the 803s I sold oooh painfully cheap to someone else I know as well.
Can you believe I also gave away recently my trusty E100 MF amp and back then top of the range Mission speakers from same year for free; that was what started to get me into audio when I was a teenager.
There are better ways to move audio gear on than what I did lol.
Looking back that cash could had been handy if I do need to replace my current speakers

Thanks alebonau for the tip, already been down the focal sound and only one that I feel I would need to audition as I missed out on it before is the Diablo, hmm think that may be out of my price range but will have to recheck.

Thanks for reminding me about focal as it did jog my memory for the Diablo.

Cheers
Orb

wow Diablo's now that would be something :T

I have bought several pieces of MF gear, not just the KWP. All of their gear performs way above its price point. I just love their gear. I was worried about the top end of the KWP (I bought it without listening to it) because I was hoping that it would not be too bright with my S800's as the review said that the top end was very clear. When I got it I knew that it was the right choice. It is as smooth as can be, very detailed and still has a mellow top end. Just a dream and mates very well with the B&W's. Big soundstage.

I bought the Rega because I wanted a high end deck where I could just spin a lot of vinyl without a hassle. I had a VPI Scout and it was painful to use. Just too much work and the unipivot tonearm was painful to balance (no graduated scale) and the wobble never made me confortable. The VPI also had 4 feet instead of 3, very difficult to get level. Just not refined at all in its adjustments, remineded me of something made in someone's garage. The Rega P9 is a table that you do not want to tweak and is so user friendly. I love the classic dust cover too.

You cannot tell from the photo but I modified the Technics Sl1210 by mounting its power supply in an external box and it has a Sumiko MMT tonearm in that photo. It also has an SME IV that can be swapped in about 5 minutes. I use that table for noisey records.

I also just picked up an Empire 208 that I am going to mod with a new base and the extra SME IV arm. I have some striped ebony veneer, shoudl be beautiful when done. 3 TT's in one system, why not? My tube phono pre takes 2 tables and the KWP has a very nice phono stage built in. :T

wow your definitely a vinyl fan, interesting thoughts on the vpi, I know what you mean a friend of mine has an hr-x and its a complex beats. with a lot of adjustments and bits and pieces, the pivoting I too found a bit of a scary thing in use !

yes am a rega owner for over the last decade plus and had a very nice p25, previously, having looked around to upgrade on it, heard a few nice tables. But came back to rega with the P9. Gorgeous table. I love the rega ortofon sound with the tube pre I run. I really like the understated looks of the p9, fairly conventional, other table seem to have a fair bit of bling these days :B the dust cover was a must for me too, not only to keep the dust away but also prying little fingers and from my cat from jumping onto it for a ride. :lol: Am definitely not a tweaker either, so can just sit back and listen to the music rather than constantly worrying if the things setup right. absolutely love the thing through and through

you must be mighty proud of your kwp, what power amp do you run. looks like a a308 cd player. love the mf gear myself have owned something from mf for as long back as can remember. Do think too they punch way beyond their weight

[DM3000 Owner]

The most effective mod I had with the 208 was to replace the entire top plate with a heavy non-ringing laminate and, in the process, added the facility for a removeable/replaceable arm mounting pod.

Kal,

Are there any forums or places that I should be looking to for mods on the 208?

I wanted to keep the top plate as it is 1/4" cast aluminum. I have access to a friend's CNC macnine shop, so I can fabricate a top plate and plinth out of anything that I want. I guess that I can go with heavy MDF and machine several arm boards to swap different arms as I did for the Technics SL1210.

I wanted to keep the original top plate but the ebony veneer that I have is beautiful and will look good on an all wood plate.

I was thinking that the base should be layers of MDF and heavy rubber for dampening.

How will the modified 208 with an SME IV arm compare to my Rega P9?


Ale,

I love the KWP. They never come up for sale so I jumped at it when it was available. I use Classe CAM 350 monoblocks. Way more power than the Pioneer speakers need, but 80 WPC of Class A power before the Class B stage kicks in, nice sweet sound.