Pioneer SP-SB23W

Pioneer SP-SB23W is a multi-purpose speaker system and soundbar system coming from Pioneer. It comes as no surprise how good it really is, considering it’s a part of series of speakers designed by Andrew Jones. He’s the guy behind the design of many popular speakers like ELAC Uni-Fi UB5 and KEF Q350, and you loved those, right? So this beauty comes as a welcome addition to your home theater and can be placed under your TV. The other option would be a wall-mount, but we don’t recommend that one because it needs a sturdy surface for best results.

So, how good is the sound quality exactly, you might ask? And you have every right to, it’s speakers we’re talking about. Just like the similar models, it sounds excellent and strives to have a set of good, balanced speakers. It all sounds natural and pleasant and has no excessive bass or weird sound effects. Sometimes the raw output is just the best. Next, Pioneer decided to call it a speaker back, because of all the features of Pioneer SP-SB23W consisting in form of a speaker, plus a soundbar. It sounds logical to us, but there were some legal troubles with that. Regardless, it doesn’t affect us at all.

The design isn’t revolutionary, that’s for sure, although we appreciate how small the subwoofer is. That way it can be placed on a shelf and hidden away. We recommend not placing the wooden cabinet under your TV, as it might block your remote from controlling it. Yamaha YAS-203 solved that issue by having its own IR repeater, so even if the sound bar covered your TV’s one, you still had no trouble. Another flaw with this one is – no light indicator to track if everything is powered on.

You will have to make volume and other adjustments blindly. All that makes troubleshooting and fixing issues a bit harder for you. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to those, and it works perfectly for you. The soundbar itself isn’t made of plastic but of composite wood. It adds to the insane quality it possesses, but it’s also heavier and bulkier. The remote that comes in the package has only the most basic tools, and it’s very hard to see what you’re doing unless you’re looking at it. But there’s a workaround to that, you can reprogram the system to work with your own TV remove, and hopefully solve all the issues.

Some of the specs of  Pioneer SP-SB23W are quite similar to Vizio SB3621, but the price is quite different. You see, these surely don’t come cheap, with Pioneer SP-SB23W price circling around $450. It’s not the same, very-affordable yet sleek-designed Andrew Jones speakers, but good in its own way. Luckily, the setup is pretty easy. Just pair the soundbar and wireless subwoofer by pressing the sync button on both of them. You’ll get multiple sound modes – Music, Movie, Dialogue and more. That way, whatever is playing on it, you get the best results. They modify the bass levels and adjust equalizers, while in Dialogue mode it turns the subwoofer off completely, therefore making it sound more clear.

Specs

Price

• Pioneer SP-SB23W Andrew Jones Soundbar System $449.00
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