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Pioneer speakers have been outputting headache-inducing rock for decades. But the company has just announced its TS-D line of speakers with cones made of basalt fabric. The company says the volcanic stone is pulverized and melted at 2700 degrees before being drawn into fibers. The resulting fabric increases the speaker cone's rigidity and strength while keeping weight low.
In a press release, Larry Rougas, Pioneer mobile business group's VP of marketing, said, "Our speaker engineers are extremely passionate in their quest to build speakers that reproduce the highest sound quality possible. They are constantly looking at different materials that can be used to make a more efficient speaker with a stronger more rigid cone. The basalt rock achieves this goal without adding weight to the cone, resulting in an open and smooth frequency response."

Their are 13 speakers in the TS-D lineup, will be on sale soon at prices starting at $150.

Read the entire press release after the jump.



PIONEER TS-D SERIES SPEAKERS SOUND "ROCK-SOLID" WITH CONES MADE OF BASALT

LAS VEGAS – CES Booth #9827 (January 6, 2008) – Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today launched its next generation TS-D series speakers which boasts a newly developed speaker cone made with basalt, a type of volcanic rock, to increase its rigidity and strength. A total of thirteen speakers in both the Pioneer and Pioneer Premier brands incorporate the newly developed Dual Layer IMX Aramid / Basalt fiber composite cone to deliver accurately detailed sound reproduction.

"Our speaker engineers are extremely passionate in their quest to build speakers that reproduce the highest sound quality possible. They are constantly looking at different materials that can be used to make a more efficient speaker with a stronger more rigid cone," said Larry Rougas, vice president of marketing and product planning for the mobile business group of Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. "The basalt rock achieves this goal without adding weight to the cone, resulting in an open and smooth frequency response."

The new cones consist of a high-tech sandwich of basalt and ceramic components. The basalt, before it is turned into a fabric, is pulverized and melted at more than 2700 degrees Fahrenheit and then drawn into fibers. The combined materials of basalt fibers, aramid fibers and ceramic are used to reinforce Pioneer's composite injection molded polypropylene (IMPP), creating an extremely strong speaker cone that can withstand flexing associated with excessive cone movement and produce an improved transient response in the mid to low frequency spectrum.

The new cones are matched with an ultra light weight soft dome tweeters in both the coaxial and component versions. The large soft dome tweeters, made of high quality laminated polyester, use a finite element method (FEM) design with a specially crafted rear chamber that prevents standing waves and creates a loading effect to help produce a wider frequency response. In the coaxial version, the tweeter is placed in a waveguide chamber to control and direct the sound to the listener's ears.

To further enhance performance and ease of installation, each TS-D speaker comes with a passive crossover network. In the component package, the speakers come with an attractive outboard passive crossover that uses an audiophile-grade film capacitor for the tweeter with a cut-off at 0 or -3dB and a metal core coil for the woofer to produce a smooth, natural response.

The new generation TS-D speakers are available in the Pioneer and Premier brand, spanning in sizes from 4" to 6" X 9". Pioneer TS-D speakers start at a suggested price of $150. Pioneer's Mobile Business Group is known for offering the kind of in-car products that make driving more enjoyable by offering high quality audio and video, advanced connectivity and Pioneer TS-D series speakers pg. 2 ease-of-use. Its focus is on the development of new digital technologies including audio, video, navigation and satellite radio, while maintaining its strong heritage in products for car audio enthusiasts and sound competitors. The company markets its products under the Pioneer and Premier brand names. When purchased from an authorized dealer, consumers receive a limited warranty for one year with Pioneer products and two years for Premier products.