Rebuild Pioneer CS-88A’s
Designer:
James Audio
Project Category:
Loudspeakers/Cabinets
Project Level:
Intermediate
Project Time:
20+ Hours
Project Cost:
$100 – $500
Project Description:
To make a good sounding speakers out of nice cabinets and deteriorating drivers.
Design Goals:
Rebuild with new drivers.
Driver Selection:
New 12″ woofer 51/4 Mid and 2inch Phenolic Ring tweeter.
Enclosure Design:
Original Pioneer CS-88A design
Enclosure Assembly:
Routed new front panel and recessed speakers flush with face.
Crossover Design:
Original 4 way crossover. Using it as a 3 way. All caps were changed to Dayton Film Caps.
Tips & Tricks:
Don’t try restoring the old original speakers. I did. There 50 years old and didn’t sound that good Cost me a lot of money to try, and ended selling them on Ebay for a loss.
Conclusion:
They sound great. Cabinets weight a ton and the are bullet proof. They can really thump.
About the Designer:
Retired and know enough to be dangerous.
Project Parts List:
|
Part # |
Description |
Qty |
|
292-200 |
Pyle PDMR5 5″ Sealed Back Midrange Speaker Driver |
1 |
These look great, and I’ll bet they sound even better. The old real wood cabinets that new speakers rarely, if ever, have are my favorites. I have something similar I’ve had on my “to do” list since I retired. This inspires me to get them done! I wish build details were available, especially the front panel routing.
Those cabnits are cs-88… the cs-88a speakers are 6way speakers mate
these are the CS88 speakers. The 88A contained 6 elements. 1 woofer, 2 mid range 2 tweeters and 1 super tweeter.
I have the CS88 s as well. I could do this speaker upgrade but I can’t solder caps. Not my thing. So……not sure a speaker exchange would really work. My old 50 year old paper cones are not great at this point.