Pioneer CS-77A Floorstanding Speakers Reviews

Price Paid:  $50.00 from Used/Garage Sale

Summary:
This is a review for the Pioneer CS-77a speakers. They were made in the early to mid 1970s. I won't go over the specs as the 1st reviewer laid them out rather well. Even with the $25 cost to repair the tweeter, these are still a great deal. They can be had for under $200 with repairs!

Strengths:
Great midrange. When I compare these speakers to my others, it's the midrange that I like the most. They are very natural sounding speakers. They are quite efficient too! They certainly aren't shy on the bass either! I've pushed em and they just ask for more.

Weaknesses:
The high frequency. When comparing these to my other speakers, they seem muffled. Without the comparison, they still seem to be lacking the very top. It's as if they drop 6db at 8k. Or like the supertweeter isn't working. I've given them at least 50 hrs of playing to break in the redone tweeters and it improved some, but not enough.

The speaker's have level controls for the mids and highs, but the high control only seems to effect the lower highs (2k-8k) and not the higher stuff I'm talking about. I've considered replacing the crossover caps with new ones as the electrolytics dry up with age. That may fix the problem.

Also, the surround on the tweeter was made of foam! I'll never know why they did this, but they will likely need replacing. I had mine done at Orange County Speaker for right around $25 a piece.

Similar Products Used:
My other speakers are;
Altec Lansing Design 10 (2 way, 10" woofer, 2" tweeter, sealed)
Zenith Allegro (2 way, 10" woofer, horn loaded tweeter, ported)

Price Paid:  $40.00 from Yard Sale

Summary:
A wonderful mid size speaker made in the late 70's with absolutely beautiful latice work grills with green silk material behind them.The 3" cone tweeter surround always goes bad. Replacements can be found at Orange County Speaker.com. The Cones on the woofer and mid are made of pulp fiber and wool and incorporate a cloth surround that lasts and lasts.I think I will keep my set unless I am offered the right price.

Strengths:
Everything

Weaknesses:
3" tweeter surround

Price Paid:  $150.00 from a friend

Summary:
I bought these from a friend who was marrying the owner. She had them in college and they were in great shape. It was not until I hooked them to the Sansui AU 919 that I appreciated what they could do. I use the set to listen to old records only. My college age daughters can't believe the sounds that come from old records. They want to hook their cd players to it but I have resisted.

Strengths:
Heavy duty 100 watt speakers with 15 inch woofers. Pushed by a vintage Sansui AU 919 amp, this combination can't be beat.

Weaknesses:
none

Summary:
I picked up a pair of these on Ebay for $102 (before shipping). I pluged them in and configured them to my liking and cranked up the sound. A grin grew across my face to the sound of correctly reproduced musical instruments and voices. I now know what the music is supposed to sound like. Even though the surrounds of the tweeter were deteriated, they made my JVC reciever sound decent. That is amazing enoguh by itself because JVC Sucks.

The speakers look absolutly awesome. The Latice grilles and walnut wood grain make for one nice piece of furnature.

But the JVC RX-552V was the downfall is my listening experience. The lack of tone knobs on the reciever to calm to piercing highs was definatly a big problem. I am going to pitch that reciever as soon as possible and get a new one.

The specs for these speakers are as follows:

Enclosure: Totally Enclosed Type

Seakers - 4-way type
Woofer: 12-inch (30cm) cone type
Mid Range: 5-inch (12cm) cone type
Tweeter: 3-inch (7.7cm) cone type
Super Tweeter: Multicellular horn type

Crossover frequency -
Lows.....Mid Ranges 450Hz
Mid Ranges.....Highs 3,600Hz
Highs....Super Highs 14,000Hz

Impeadance: 8 ohms

Frequency Range: 35~20,000Hz

Sensitivity: 95dB/W (at/1m distance)

Max input power: 65 Watts

External Dimensions: 636(H)x 366(W)x 320(D)mm
25" x 14 13/32" x 12 19/32"

Weight: 17Kg (37 lb 6 oz)

Although these speakers arent as good as the ever so proven HPM-100 speakers, they certainly give more bang for the bick as far as I am concerned. If you are concerened about power, the CS-99A may be more in your range. But since these speakers didn't cost me $400 or more, I am very happy with these.

Strengths:
Excellent reproduction of sound, imaging, bass, tone knobs for highs and mids, inexpensive, heavy, 1970s, beautiful cabinets and grilles.

Weaknesses:
Rated for 65w, but I think they can take more.

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer HPM-100s