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 some nice speakers to update, not sure why people just cant admire and commend instead of always trying to correct, but any way you gave me some incentive to do some rebuilds. Nice Job!
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.
These were made from CS-88a Cabinets.
I’m working on a pair of Wharfedale’s W90D’s now.
I would like to know where I can get replacement parts for the cs88a s?
The title says Pioneer 88A rebuild. However, the speakers shown are CS-77s. The 88As had 6 drivers; a woofer, two 5 inch mids, and two 2½j inch tweeters, and one horn super-tweeter.
The CS-77s only had 3 drivers like yours. I own 3 sets of them. Really, a fine speaker with great cabinets.
He put a new front panel on CS 88a’s That’s why you all think they are 88 or 77’s
What I’d like to know is how dd you remove the existing front panel? Seems that it is notched in and glued.
the 88s have a tiny screw in each corner that holds the front panel to the cabinet. Hard to see, but they are there