Pioneer CS-R500 - opinions?

DaveTV

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Hi, newbie here :) - looks like a great community! I have a chance to buy a pair of Pioneer CS-R500 speakers is excellent condition from a neighbor. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these and could offer an opinion as to what I might offer, I am sure I can get them for less than $50. Thanks!
 
Hi, newbie here :) - looks like a great community! I have a chance to buy a pair of Pioneer CS-R500 speakers is excellent condition from a neighbor. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these and could offer an opinion as to what I might offer, I am sure I can get them for less than $50. Thanks!

They fall in the middle of the CS R300 & CS R700 ( I own the 700's) Nice horn loaded speaker that's well worth the $50 price tag:yes: I would grab them asap:thmbsp: There's a nice tread in the Pioneer forum on the entire lineup:D You might get a better response there. ( Type in CS R700 in the search engine)
 
So I went over this evening and checked them out. They weren't as pristine as I was told, (I was told "very good condition") slightly beat up but grills intact with dings on the wood. The center of the midrange cones were pushed in but not broken/ripped. I offered him $30 and took them home. BUT when I hooked them up, the woofer on one does not work at all! I removed the rear cover, and there is a "motherboard" of sorts mounted inside, is this the issue? The woofer itself is intact. Wondering if this is fixable, or should I return them? I suppose they are good for parts for someone at any rate.. All advice appreciated! :)
 
Will the woofer cone move in and out when you gently and evenly push in on it? Compared to the working woofer. You can disconnect the non working woofer from the cabinet and wiring and hook it directly to your receiver turned down low.if it works that way then the problem is in the wiring or crossover in the cabinet .if not the woofer could be bad
 
THX - I hooked a working speaker wire up directly to the woofer, no go, it is quite dead. So should I return these things, the guy will probably end up tossing them or are they worth parting out here? Not really worth hunting down a woofer for this I would imagine. :)
 
THX - I hooked a working speaker wire up directly to the woofer, no go, it is quite dead. So should I return these things, the guy will probably end up tossing them or are they worth parting out here? Not really worth hunting down a woofer for this I would imagine. :)


I would post over in the Pioneer forum before you discard them, Someone may be interested in them or parts, Too bad about the condition:tears: Any pictures:scratch2:
 
Look over the small wires that go from the terminal connections on the woofer that go into the paper cone of the woofer, make sure the small wires are connected to the terminals good. Maybe even touch your speaker wire from the receiver to the tiny wires going into the cone, to make sure there's not a loose connection at the terminals
 
I've got four of the Pioneer CS-R500's that I bought new in 1971 or so and have had in continous service since then. I have found them to be a very nice speaker and a pleasure to listen too, but they do have some definite characteristics that might not appeal to everyone. They are definitely one of the old style "West Coast sound" speakers and sound great on Rock & Roll, Jazz, Blues, etc., but really aren't the best choice for Classical music.

They can also be painfully bright when driven by modern solid state (SS) gear, like my Sony TA-F45 or my Yamaha CA-400II integrated amps, but very nice sounding on vintage SS gear like my Pioneer SX-680 or Kenwood KR-6340 receivers. They also sound wonderful on tubes as I was surprised to learn when I paired mine up for a short time with McIntosh MC30 tube amps.

So, in my experience, they should be driven with at least 45w/ch. when paired with SS gear to get the best out of them. As mentioned before, they did sound great on my Mac tube amps (30w/ch.), but were definitely underdriven when paired with my Pioneer SX-626 (27w/ch.).

You don't mention what the rest of your system is, but if your one working speaker sounds good on your electronics and the "West Coast sound" is compatible with your favorite music, I would definitely spend the time and trouble to get them refurbished and operating as they should. I think you would be pleased with the result. Enjoy! :music:
 
Indeed, a wire was disconnected from the cone. I did a lil tricky soldering and it seems to have held, and works fine now! I think I will pull it out again and put a drop of glue on top of where it is connected to discourage it from breaking loose again. I treated the cabinets to some Minwax stain and rinsed the fabric face covers gently in the sink, they sound OK and look half decent actually.. :)
 
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