Pioneer TZ-700 Floorstanding Speakers

Pioneer TZ-700 Floorstanding Speakers 

DESCRIPTION

consists of the TZ-F700 front speakers(tower), TZ-C700 center, and TZ-S700 surround speakers.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 14  
[Jun 15, 2001]
shawn
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

looks, highs and mids,

Weakness:

looks, lows, bad plastic

i bought 3 center channel speakers (TZC700) @ $131/speaker for the center and surround channels. i like the TZC700. i was not convinced that the official surrounds were of any real value and i think i am correct (they would be good for the 6th and 7th channel in a 7.1 setup). i both love and hate the towers (TZF700) @ $281 x 2). my floors are not entirely level so i position the towers as best i can so they don't rock and make fine adjustments with the pods. that is the one thing i like about modern houses, Hell Yeah they are BUTT UGLY, but the floors are level. anyway, i am just not happy with the powered woofers, aka...built in powered subs. they are o.k. but that is it. they don't rock my world, they don't even rock my house. my hps 1000 sub really helps, the only thing better than 1 hps 1000 is 2 hps 1000's.
someday i am going to replace the woofers and maybe even the amps and tweek them to perfection.
it is a very good product at a fair price (the price i paid) but to pay full price at a dealer would be un-cool (pardon my "80's lingo).

Similar Products Used:

infinity overature 3 and 1, infinity hps 1000, dalquist, mission. carstereo-kicker solobaric, polk db, cerwin vega

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
3
[May 12, 2001]
Jeffery
Audiophile

Strength:

Powerfull, Unique, Cool looks, Clarity

Weakness:

None

I bought this set up bearing in mind that one should never buy speakers from an electronic company; however, I took a chance on this set. I love it! They look really cool and they sound it. They use a very unique tweeter in their speaker models that produces great sound. Love the Bash technology in the center and the rears really put out for small speakers. The towers stand very tall but put out the sound that I like. This is the set to buy!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 29, 2000]
Mike
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

looks

Weakness:

everything else

Is Pioneer serious with this system? It has to be the worst sounding speaker system over $1000 on the market. Even the Bose am10 sounds better, which isn't saying much. My stereo shop had this P.O.S. on demo for about 10 minutes, that includes the set up time. It took about five notes to conclude that Pioneer was really asleep at the switch. What the f*ck is that iris thing anyway?! I don't know how someone could lay out $4000+ after hearing them next to a $500 system. You are also breaking the cardnial rule of audio- never buy speakers made by an electronics company. The only possible explaination is if you are so obessive you have to match your other Pioneer Elite components, and your last name is Rockafeller. (sorry for the spelling.) I just wanted to warn anyone suckered in by a slick salesman. Do yourself a favor and listen to anything by any other company, and you will not regret it.

Similar Products Used:

infinity ovtr3, polk rt2000, rt 5000 system

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Aug 05, 2001]
Bob Prestash
Audiophile

Strength:

Superb sound,elegant styling

Weakness:

nothing for the price I paid

I have been slowly swithching over to all Pioneer Elite products..I strongly believe that the Elite series offers audiophile grade performance at AFFORDABLE real world prices..I have never experienced ANY product failure or quality control issues with any item..And,I ordered most via websites..I strongly feel that many people who criticize Pioneer are doing so unfairly and really havent used the products...However,Im not saying a certain batch didnt have had a quality control issue(as do many products from other companies),I have not however...That said on with the review...I allways thought the Elite system of speakers was striking,and read excellent reviews on the system in Stereophile,and Home Theater...Both by respected reviewers....I did think the price was to high and couldnt justify changing my speakers..However,when I saw the center on Ubid,I had to give it a go..I got the center for a steal,(269.00 and it listed for 850 originally...For a powered center,with a cutting edge American designed mid-tweeter aray,how could I go wrong?!......Though light weight,it is dampened extremelly well,and cosmetically striking...When I plugged it in and hooked it up,the improvements were dramatic.....Pinpoint imaging,dead-on tonal accuracy,non-fatiguing,and down right powerfull...I expect even better results as the unit breaks in...I can strongly reccomend the center speaker,and say that if you can get it for 269-469 grab it! Even at its original cost I feel it was fairlly priced..As for the towers,the list of 3500 is high...However,Im looking for them on Ebay,and Ubid,and if I can find them for 1000 dollars a pair,will grab them!.......I did read that on some towers,a slight rattling was noticable,(a interior wire touching one of the cones)However,the reviewer did not say it in any way took away from the great sound it was producing...If anyone cares to share more about this or knows where I can find these email me!

Similar Products Used:

Eosone,Polk

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 17, 2001]
Rick Zeitleman
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Price, Style, Sound, Big

Weakness:

Big

You could say that I got a great deal on these speakers on Ebay cause I love them. They sound awesome. Hook up these babies and you could watch DVD's all day. They have a really weird tweeter built onto the towers but it gives the speaker a very unique look to it. I am very happy with what I got especially for the price I paid. I would recommend these to anyone.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 08, 2001]
PanamaMike
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Clean sound. Sweet treble. Authoritative extended bass. Looks. Easy to drive.

Weakness:

Looks. Build quality, lack of bi-wire, rather large.

I currently have mixed feelings about these beasts. However, at the price they were offered at on ubid and add the review I read in Stereophile:

http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?148

I couldn't resist.


How I came to buy these speakers:
I had originally planned on putting together a Snell Type A speaker system for my home theater, but these plans went to the wayside. I couldn't get anyone in the country to ship them to my location due to their size and UPS shipping requirements. To say the least, I was pretty disappointed since I was very much in love with the Snell sound.

Then something unexpected happened, someone on a news group posted the stereophile article above and mentioned these speakers were being auctioned at a ridiculously low price one Ubid. After scrutinizing the article and looking at the speaker anechoic response measurements provided, thanks Stereophile! I decided to go for it.

The hell that is Ubid:
***(Skip this if you don't care)

I initally bid on both the TZS700 and TZF700 speakers and then the TZC700. I first received the TZS700's. These are the surround speakers of the group I hooked them up to my NAD 3020B and started to listen. I was somewhat disappointed. These speakers weren't too great. They totally lack a low end, and they didn't have a great treble or midrange sound on my initial listen. I did however notice that these speakers provided a nice soundstage and decent imaging if you sit directly in the sweet spot. Now I was feeling a little more impressed.

A few days pass, and now I was wondering what had happened to my TZ F700's. To make a long story short.
1: Ubid will not talk to you on the phone. They will only deal with you via e-mail.
2: Ubid is always having technical problems.
3: It took 6 responses before they were able to get me the correct answer!

I was convinced I had made a horrible mistake. I read some reviews of other peoples experience with whaferdale speakers and I was getting pretty nervous. Did I just fall into a crazy shipping markup scam? In any event I finally got the speakers.

These things came in a huge box the size of a refrigerator. All I have to say is that I'm pretty happy it was in the original OEM box or else I don't think they would have made it. The boxes had holes in them! The styrofoam was crushed! I was wondering if these things would even power up. I was relieved to learn that the speakers made it just fine with the exception of broken grills. Yes, the box states clearly stand this way up ONLY, however the UPS guys figure, why not stand it up the other way? This resulted in all the speakers’ weight to fall on the speaker grill, which results in cracking. Is it worth returning the refrigerator sized speakers for a cracked grill when it cost about $100 each to ship? I decided not to even go that route. I would have hated to receive a defective one, (I hope I don't find any problems since I'm still testing them)!

Other things I noticed that irked me are the following:

1: The serial numbers are not consecutive. In fact, I got one speaker that was built in a completely different run from the other three! Three of my speakers start with TAP the fourth SLP. I guess this isn't so important since they aren't a mirror pair.

2: These things have been sitting somewhere for a good while. How do I know this? The rubber bands basically broke off when I was unwrapping the power cord.

3: One of the speakers I received wasn't exactly in the best shape, one of the TZC700's was a little out of shape, the seam of the speaker wasn't even, however it seems to operate just fine.

So at this point I'm just praying they work. I hooked them up one by one, I then ran them through a demo cd I made to see if I could find any obvious speaker problems. One of the TZC700's I bought exhibited a rattling or buzzing from the IRIS section. This was very noticeable with heavy bass material, SADE Love Deluxe I forget the exact name of the song but it has a line in it, "Don't let them stay home, and listen to the blues..." This was how I was feeling when I heard that horrible rattle. I immediately contacted Ubid and got an RA number to return the unit. Actually this return process is still in progress, thus far its been going pretty well. Notice, if you plan on getting a whole set of these speakers and one of the speakers fail, you'll have to order another one since UBID won't replace anything! This means you get to pay 2x in shipping since this isn't refundable! Another great UBID feature. Thankfully I only had a problem with the one center speaker, I'm still keeping the old fingers crossed that nothing else will come up though.

I do have to say that UBID did follow up on it's process as should promised. Just be sure to read their policies carefully and be ready to accept them for your possible detour to UBid hell.
***End Ubid hell.

I hooked up the TZF 700's and plugged them into the wall. I anxiously hit the on switch, and thankfully all of them powered up just fine, notice they include an active 12" sub.

I hit play on my Sony S500D and sit back to listen.

Right off the bat I was impressed with the sound. These are definitely much different from the TZS 700 surround speakers. They are nice and sweet, with good clean bass. These speakers have a great level of detail and dynamic range. Wow, these speakers have a great sound. I would say they tend to sound bright, but I suspect this is due to a number of factors.

1: My downstream components, I've seen posts describing the S500D as a bit bright.
2: Source recording quality. I listened to a number of songs with different recording values, this definitely plays a big part in the sound delivered.
3: Being used to less articulate speakers. I've been living with my JBL 65's for the past year and they are dull compared to these speakers.

Taking this into account, I found the speakers to have a tight and nicely well-extended bass, great voicing for both men and women with crystal highs. Also of note, I ran one TZC 700 and one TZF 700 as a stereo pair, and they sounded perfectly matched! I didn't push highly demanding bass, but it looks like this set of speakers will make a great cohesive front sound stage for my final HT setup.

From what I can tell, this is a pretty honest speaker with a good design. Exactly what I liked about the Snell sound. I have yet to put it through a torture test considering I don't currently have a good source of amplification, but my hopes are high. There is another nice thing about these speakers. They are very easy to drive. The NAD 3020B I'm using only puts out 25 WRMS and it's more than sufficient for these speakers thanks to the built in Sub amplification.

*Another issue of note. I have a problem with some noise in the speaker. That is, when I turn off the amplifier there is a buzzing sound coming from the Iris section and a low hum from the bass unit, put ear right on bass port. This is true of all four units. I believe this is probably a ground loop problem, or an issue with other items connected to the electrical system in my home, kitchen in next room with fluorescent lighting. When the amp is powered on, this noise becomes negligible, you have to be right next to the speaker to listen to it in a quiet room. I mention this since I also hooked up my Sony STR D1011S Prologic amp the speakers. The noise was more present, leading me to believe that clean amplification and proper grounding is a must. Anyone that has posted one star or to the like probably didn't give these speakers a chance or decided to hook them up to a very poor system. The Japanese speakers suck mentality may have been at play.

I doubt that anyone can find a better speaker for the price paid on Ubid. However, when taking the original price into consideration, would I have chosen the Pioneer TZ Elite's? The jury is still out on that one. I think I'd prefer Snell or Sonus Faber. However, that's mostly because I'm not in love with the look of this speaker and the general feeling people have that the Japanese speakers suck. However I don't mind at the price I paid. Right now me feeling is Overall of 4 stars, however I have great hopes so I will give it a 5.

Similar Products Used:

Snell Type CIII, EIII, Sonus faber concerto, Maggies SMGa, JBL L56.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 09, 2001]
Mingte Cheng
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Looking, Rotatable IRIS, Powered subwoofer

Weakness:

Non so far

'Tis my first flood stand speaker and also a upgrade for my HT since I can not stand my Sony SAVE-815ED any more - it is not bad; however, the treble is somehow @#^%*(^& and I think it may due to the power of my receiver and its Sensitivity level (87db 1W, 1M). It does take me a hard time to run those satellites to best condition.
I sure UPS hates me - all four order come at the same time and this pair does heavy. When I opened the box and connect them to my receiver, I just wondered and noticed the improvment of my system. Since my center speaker is still Sony SS-MS815, I noticed the difference right away, I got to set the center to +7db in order to fit the sound of TZ-F700.
The sound is great and now I start to understand why some audiophiles keep upgrade their system. The sound is warmer than Sony SS-MS815 satellite and the bass is more clear than Sony SA-WMS815. However, the treble is still somehow bright. Anyway, it is not a big problem, I put some clothes inside the grill to cover the IRIS and it sounds better.
Although I am somehow upset for the price I bided (all the guys after that bid got the same stuff at least $60 off for a pair than mine) and the shipping ($180). I did listen a lot of speaker before I bid this one (but I never listened this one before) and I don't like polk RT serious, AR x, and infinity's stuff since their sound are not that much better than SAVE-815ED and the price is kind of high. Of course, I did find some stuff sound much batter than Pioneer TZ-F700 (B&W, Dea????? something - I forget how to spell it) but both of them run to at least $6000 a pair. Then I read a review for TZ-F700 and always want to listen how it sound like. One day I found that on ubid by unbelieveable low price and I just bided for it. And I think it is a right choice. I tested with several CD such as Turandot. The sound stage is great and I can now image the opera. Also, I do find the improvment by other CD that I brought 5 or 6 years ago. Just wonder how much detail I have missed before until I get TZ-F700 even I get the wrong placement for the TZ-F700 right now (due to the samll space, the distrance between those speaks is about 12' and I sit about no more than 9' from the middle point. And I do believe I can get better sound once I move to new apt, which is 2.5 times larger than my apt right now, next month.
By this price (including shipping), it is really a good deal for me since I am just a poor student.

Similar Products Used:

Non

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 21, 2002]
Mingte Cheng
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Looking, Rotatable IRIS, Powered subwoofer

Weakness:

too big~~~~~~ frequnce respone 25k only

This is my 2nd review for this prodect. First of all, I have to say this is a nice speak. However, pinoeer seems charge too much for the list price ( $3000 a pair ) and I do believe they don't produce it anymore. After 9 month, I still thinkit is a good speaker. However, since it was produced before SACD and DVD-A. The frequnce respone is not very high so it can't really support SACV ad DVD-A's higher frequnce. Well, since non of any human being can hear that range, not a big deal. Some may have problem for the bass respone, as I saw in those preivew. I have to say it is not the problem for the speaker but the problem while shipping. Open ur speaker and u will find all the stuff in side are aparted. UPS don't really ship those speaker with care. However, most of those problem are user fixable. Secure those part in the speaker. Those noise will be fixed.

Similar Products Used:

non

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[May 07, 2001]
Matt Gagnon
Audiophile

Strength:

I have the center channel....Iris Tweeter, BASH technology, bass, clear vocals, great sound with DVD's and great looks!

Weakness:

none

I bought this center channel and it sounds great. Iris is a new technology that has a tubular design to the tweeter that helps project the vocals and other sound. I love the way this speaker sounds. Surround sound is sweat with this addition to a home theater.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 19, 1998]
Justin Singh
an Audio Enthusiast

I checked this system out while picking up my Elite VSX-07tx receiver. The front speaker drivers include a tweeter/midrange IRIS compound array(that is what Pioneer calls it), a 6.5" midbass, and a powered 12" woofer(300w). The center has the same tweeter/midrange and two 5.25" woofers that have a 125w amp for them. That is really cool to have a powered center! The rears have one tweeter/midrange compound and a 5.25" driver. Now to how it sounds. It packs a lot of punch! I only listen to it for about ten minutes, but it was great. I think the price for the whole system was $4000-5000, but I'm not certain. For Pioneer's first ELITE tower, they've done quite well. The whole thing was designed in the US too! I really want them, but they are a little to expensive. Everything was layed out perfectly. The explosions in Tommarow Never Dies were stunning and nothing was boomy or bloated. They also look stunning. The shape of the cabinet is aerodynamic and it has a urushi piano gloss finish. Excellent!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
Showing 1-10 of 14  

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