This review is for the Pioneer DSS-9D, the higher power handling version.

I found these at a swap meet in 2004, I paid $15 for the pair as the seller couldn't get rid of them, I had a friend redo the foam surrounds and hooked them up to my Nakamichi PA-7.

Glorious is the word, I've had lots of decent speakers in my time but none could compare with these, huge deep bass, great mids and sweet highs, power handling of 300 watts per channel and sensitivity of 92 db's.

They have a composite carbon woofer, a boronized titanium midrange and a beryllium tweeter in a folded design, dual voice coils on the woofer with a separate circuit for deep bass.

Level controls for the mids and tweets, I run mine straight up.

The DSS-9D is the same speaker as the DSS-E10 the only difference being the E10 has a wood veneer, the 9D a vinyl covering, there is also a shielded version that I can't remember the model number of right now, I've done a lot of research over the years.

There are two versions of the regular DSS-9's, one a lower power than the 9D/E10, they use different drivers as you can find in pioneers online parts catalog, they come in two colors, a tan type and the charcoal version which I own.

Once you hear these playing you will know there was nothing close to them in their time, the beryllium tweeter was a selling point for new speakers 25 years after the DSS series were introduced, the legend is the drivers were sourced from TAD, the technical audio division of Pioneer, they got it right.

If you can find a set and afford it get them, don't let kids anywhere near them as the woofers cone is very brittle (around kids) but simply speakers in Florida still has recone kits and sells new foam surrounds, don't get some generic 12 inch type as they are not the same, get the ones for this speaker.

Shipping is high as they weigh around 55 pounds each, light for their time but not as compared to these days of heavy monitors, I'm building a set of cabinets to replace the factory box with a more solid modern cabinet to see what happens.

You can also bi-amp these easily as I have done, as the woofers have their own crossover you just install a new second set of terminals and remove the woofer leads from the main crossover and terminate at the new terminals on the back, it's easy to do.

I also own a pair of the DSS-E6's, the same thing in a smaller box pretty much.

There's better out there of course, but how much do you want to spend for happiness?.

I'm very happy, you could be too....

2 pairs of DSS9's make up my main stereo, and YES you heard me REAR SURROUNDS. then 5 Pairs of DSS5's make up the Front Center and Left, with the last 2 pairs in the rear, getting ready to get a ONKYO 11.2 and maybe play with BIAMPIN...

I have 2 Pioneer Car 12 inch subs in a slant box for the sub power all by M90 amps and simple Pioneer Elite 5.1 surround... the on M90 his the center speaker and the subs... also a 777 crossover that pipes Tivo Pandora into the system via regular and digital and must say the old RCA outs sound much warmer.. NO HISS and one sweet sound... and I have my good old set of Silver faced Pioneer Stuff also...

BUT THESE DSS9's kick ass if in good working shape, HPM's NO WAY... These are great rock speakers and really shine if you have a nice EQ it will make them work on most music flavors with very very little movement of the sliders... just

This is for the DSS-E10,basically the same as the DSS-9. Picked these up by chance...almost passed them by as they needed re-foaming. Do I believe in miracles now? You bet your a...ngels wings! I already had too many speakers and thought well,I'll get 'em refoamed and give them a try, the price was right. Needless to say I am now in the process of selling my "cherished" speakers. These totally blew away the competition! The competition being Boston Acoustics,Klipsch & Dahlquist. Absolutely no comparison. These are so crystal clear that I never knew half of what I was missing! Pink Floyd now resides in my room! The Cowboy Junkies just stopped by for dinner and jammed ...live! Can I hear a pin drop? Yes, and tell you what size it was, and if it bounced on the carpet! Okay,I know I kinda exaggerate but these are just some reallly nice sounding speakers! Why only 4 stars? Well, the day ain't over yet and there are a LOT of speakers waiting to be found!

These are the best speakers Pioneer ever made, good luck finding any these days!
Highs are crystalline, mids are fast and bass is just as fast. Extremely high quality drivers, and rock solid cabinets. They have a nice "Airey" sound to them, like you are on stage listening to a performance, as opposed to hearing a studio recording of the music played through other speakers.

Cymbals sound real, not too crisp or harsh. I have found new love for drums all together with these babies!

The highs go out to 50k hz..... the transient response of these speakers is off the charts, graphite cone woofers, boron midranges, and horn loaded beryllium ribbon tweeters..... BEST DRIVERS EVER. The drivers are made by TAD (technical audio devices) Research them, you will understand my praise. Also note that Boron is element number 5 and Beryllium is element number 4, they are the two lightest metals, and excellent for sound transfer applications - the motor structures on these drivers are phenominal, and the 80 watt power handling rating is a joke, although if you put that much power to them, they are plenty good and loud! Beat HPM's, beat any infinity systems I have personally owned or even heard, beat klipsch systems I have heard, basically hands down the best speaker system I have ever heard. They are, for sure, the best rock speakers, but do well at everything. I would recommend a 15" powered sub with a butt load of power for rap though - these speakers will play plenty low, but it's a balanced sound overall, there is not enough "boom" to make rap enjoyable on their own.

Rarity - good luck finding a pair!
Price - they are expensive as hell, 20 years after the fact!
The cabinets are heavy, heavy, heavy. This is really a good thing, unless you need something you can move around all the time.

My father bought a pair of these in 1986 or so. I was a young pup at the time, and he had these speakers powered by a Sansui AU-G77X through my childhood. I didn't live with my parents after the age of 12, and to make a long story short, I didn't hear these speakers after that either. In the meantime, I had become an audiophile, and always remembered what these speakers sounded like, and even knew what all my favorite songs I had never heard on them would have sounded like. Needless to say, when my dad was gonna throw them out because the surrounds were rotted, I was quick to snatch them up, and extremely happy to do so! They sat in my storage for over a year till I had space for them, and then I refoamed the original graphite woofers..... best $30 I ever spent! EVER! I have the same amp my dad had powering them.... and one set sounded so good, I ended up finding another set (for $400, plus $70 shipping - and worth every penny), and another identical amp. I have them set up at the front and rear, both running off their own amp and set to the front channels for stereo music listening. I even found a midrange, tweeter, crossover, and grille, to make a matching center channel for these babies. They sound better than any speakers I have ever heard in anyone's house, and I have owned several nice ones myself! They will blow my car system out of the water with only 100 watts - my car system is ridiculous, with 1400 watts, jl audio subs, and MB quart 3 way 8" components, and 2 sets of 5.25" components - and I really don't listen to music in my car anymore since I got these puppies in my living room, it's almost disappointing really!

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