Pioneer S-DJ05 speakers review
Continuing in their quest to service all areas of the digital DJ market, Pioneer steps up with two sizes of active bi-amped monitors.
The S-DJ05 and S-DJ08‘s have been exclusively designed to cater for the requirements of today’s electronic musician, incorporating all the features of a top class near-field reference monitor alongside the raw power that any self respecting jock requires for those weekly DJ jam sessions between shows. On the bench today are the S-DJ05’s, the smaller of the two models, which as you’ve guessed are instantly distinguishable with their 5” woofer.
They’re not bad lookers either, with their rubberised grill-less front panels devoid of any sharp edges, input and status LEDs glowing in cool blue to your top right and the centralised main woofer looking more like a high performance chrome car part than an audio component. They’re nice and compact at 185 x 300 x 258 mm, so could quite happily be used as your main set of monitors at home or in your project studio with the option of being part of a larger monitoring system in the professional environment. One of the coolest things in the carton is the remote controller accessory which easily links up to both of the speakers, giving you control over the master volume (with mute), input and EQ setting. Sadly it’s not wireless, although the cable is long enough not to pose problems. However those of you on swivel chairs take care not to get the cord caught around your wheels as we did!
“With all EQs flat the lower frequencies translated very well with the sub being particularly accurate which is a good sign for dance music specific monitors”
At the rear of each cabinet there is a master volume knob with +/- 6dB low and high EQ control which is easily activated or bypassed, meaning you’ll be able to use your S-DJ05’s as studio monitors with flat attenuation or add/remove presence as you please in order to suit your room shape or listening preference when using them to DJ. Then there’s a manual input selector which will toggle between the XLR, 1/4 “ TRS and 2 x RCA inputs – a nice feature that allows you to have multiple configurations without all that annoying re-patching (i.e. decks going through the RCA’s, mixing desk into the XLR etc). The two PS/2 ports are for linking the monitors together for use with the remote. Below the heat-sync the power is distributed via a kettle lead with a master on/off switch that overrides the remote. The construction on the cabinet is of a professional standard and at just under 7Kg a piece you can bet your bottom dollar that the internal circuitry and components follow suit with the rest of Pioneer’s products.
“For prolonged listening the S-DJ05s are loads of fun; you can literally listen to those warm snappy tones for hours without getting tired or bored”
Installation is easy enough and once you’ve cranked them up you’ll realise there are remarkable similarities between these bins and the Jack Russell breed of dog (they are small but don’t half kick out a lot of noise!) With all EQ’s flat the lower frequencies translated very well with the sub being particularly accurate which is a good sign for dance music specific monitors. Professionally mastered techno sounded very punchy around the region of the kick, and the mid range came through very nicely, however the upper mid and highs didn’t sound quite as bright or defined as with say the KRK VXT 4/6 or Mackie HR624’s, but not enough to cause considerable complaint and easily rectified with a high EQ boost of a couple of dB.
For prolonged listening the S-DJ05s are loads of fun; you can literally listen to those warm snappy tones for hours without getting tired or bored, handling extreme bass yet exposing distortion very well which will keep fans of D&B or dubstep happy. After studying the flat frequency response you should be able to knock up something that’ll rock almost every rig you encounter – who knows, with their slight imperfections these could go on to become the Yamaha NS10’s of the dance music world and found in every project studio.
Specifications: | |
Impedance | • XLR TRS: 10 kΩ • RCA: 10 kΩ |
Sensitivity | • XLR TRS: +5.2 dBu • RCA: 0 dBu |
Frequency Range | 50 Hz – 25,000 Hz (-10 dB) |
Maximum Sound Pressure | 105 dB |
Amplifier Output | • LF: 45 W • HF: 25 W |
Power Consumption | 45 Watt |
Dimensions | 185 x 300 x 258 mm |
Weight | 13,4 (pair) kg |