Pioneer DJ Announces New Line of Premium VM Speakers

Pioneer today announced three new premium near-field monitor speakers as part of its VM series.

The new models—the VM-50, VM-70 and VM-80—cater to “artists looking to integrate the club and studio atmosphere into their own spaces,” a frankly tall order considering many of us haven’t seen the inside of even a bar in well over a year. Each is fairly minimal in design and stands between 12 inches to 16 inches, depending on the model.

All three of the new speakers come equipped with a Class D amplifier and 4 mm-thick aluminum baffle, as well as DSP control and 16 EQ settings for adjusting music based on the listener’s preferred style. Pioneer DJ claims that the aluminum baffle design not only offers a clean look but also helps minimize vibrations for lower audio distortion.

The company says this should help the audio be heard the way it was meant to be, though based on the price point, you’re probably not going to get the same experience as with, say, Sony’s premium RA5000 360 Reality Audio speaker. Though to be absolutely fair to Pioneer DJ, the Sony is also more than twice the cost of the most expensive speaker in the VM lineup.

The VM-50 will be available in black and white, while the VM-70 and VM-80 will be available only in black. The VM-50 will have a maximum sound pressure of 107 dB, while the VM-70 and VM-80 will have maximums of 112 dB and 115 dB, respectively.

When they become available in early April, the smallest of the three, the VM-50, will cost $169. The larger VM-70 and VM-80 units, meanwhile, will respectively retail for $229 and $289.

We’re in the process of testing out these speakers, so stay tuned for a full review.