S-A4SPT-PM, home entertainment, s-a4spt-pm, pioneer, speakers, whiskey

Hands On the Pioneer S-A4SPT-PM Whiskey Barrel Speakers

CNet reviews a set of Pioneer's S-A4SPT-PM speakers, the first Whiskey-filled speakers to be sold in the US. What? They're not filled with whiskey? Oh, that's totally boring.

We'd initially written them off as a parlour trick. But Cnet recommends them in a bedroom or den, and gives em an 8 outta 10 because...

Speaker cabinets are usually made from cheap fiberboard, basically sawdust and glue. A single pair of these Pioneers are crafted from a solid oak, 50-year old whisky barrel, which resonates with a more mellow tone. The cost? Only $600 a pair. The electrics inside include a 4-inch woven fiber cone woofer and a 1 inch soft dome type tweeter. In my opinion, those soft driver parts could also account for the mellow sound quality these speakers produce.–Brian Lam

Pioneer S-A4SPT-PM [Cnet]

3:02 PM on Thu Sep 21 2006
By Brian Lam
814 views
12 comments

Comments

jfrost2 at 02:09 PM on 09/21/06
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Great for those who have a wooden TV.
Sockatume at 02:12 PM on 09/21/06
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An anecdote about these from New Scientist:

The head of the project noticed that the wood shavings from the prototypes had a nice whisky smell to them, so he took some and made an infusion with hot water. Sure enough it was a pleasant drink. So to promote the speakers, they sent small boxes of the shavings to audiophile magazines.

Sadly they only included instructions in Japanese, so many of the sites thought they'd just recieved the packaging for a gift and threw the whole lot in the bin.
syzygy at 02:21 PM on 09/21/06
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What's with audio companies mixing booze and speakers? First JVC makes sake-soaked cones, then Pioneer bets on whisky barrels. Just because the hooch mellows the listener doesn't mean it changes the tunes.

I bet these speakers would look and sound just as good made out of 3/4" oak-veneered MDF. And cost a fraction of $600.
Siafu at 02:22 PM on 09/21/06
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I have a pair made from wood that once held snake oil. I bet they sound every bit as mellow as do these.
syzygy at 02:24 PM on 09/21/06
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Oh, I forgot to mention - my line of beer-soaked AV cables comes out Q1 2007.
ericearlyang at 02:27 PM on 09/21/06
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i'm not an audiophile but I consider myself an audio enthusiast. that said, the difference in sounds the emits from a particle board speaker versus an all natural wood speaker is noticable. it's just too bad the costs are often out of line with the discernable difference.
jfrost2 at 02:27 PM on 09/21/06
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Why not just use a wood grain sticker or plastic like most furniture and then use cheaper solid wood...still solid...cheaper...but looks just as nice...maybe even a stained color wood look good in that speaker....
Radio_Radio at 03:36 PM on 09/21/06
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Rich tones from the wooden box remind me of the claims of numerous cable companies out there. The box's contribution to the sound of speakers is negligible in the type of design shown. The bass reflex design uses the air volume enclosed by the box to provide a resilient
BWGunner at 03:47 PM on 09/21/06
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Because the laminated wood crap you people are suggesting is the same shit you aren't buying right now, dur. You like that cheap crappy look, go buy some contact paper and have at it...your coffee table could use a refinish...try it!

I think this is all a Japanese attempt at discovering the secrets of Antonio Stradivari whose famous violins were soaked in a mystery fluid that endowed the SOLID WOOD with amazing tonal qualities.
Radio_Radio at 03:47 PM on 09/21/06
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I don't think so...
The idea that the box makes the sound better reminds me of the claims of some companies that their brand speaker wires make the sound better. The sound that the box should make in this type of design is NONE. A bass reflex speaker uses the air volume trapped by the box to provide a resilient medium for the speaker cone(s). If the box is resonating it is almost certainly an undesired effect. That's why they often fill the box with stuff to absorb sound that could cause the box to resonate.
murdog at 07:15 PM on 09/21/06
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Gimmick. (Very pretty though)
mnglwd at 11:24 AM on 09/22/06
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Sure, whiskey barrel wood is a gimmick, but wood is not. The rigidity of the box is an important factor for every speaker. While the ideal box "should" be made out of some magic material that had no effect on the sound (like in your theoretical argument), real boxes aren't and do. Better boxes sound better; Bose boxes sound bad. Cable witchcraft is not analogous. Plus, you confused bass reflex with acoustic suspension. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_reflex