Opinions on Pioneer CS series speakers


I am looking for some SET friendly speakers for very short money . I have a chance at some Pioneer CS 88a's for @ $500 in decent shape and a pair of CS 77's (no 'a' suffix) for $250 .
Now I see that they are rated at 97db. efficiency but these things have a lot of speakers inside with 4 & 5 way crossover designs . Can these really be considered SET friendly ? I want to try 300B and maybe even 2A3 amps .

Thank You
saki70

Showing 1 response by timlub

Hi Saki70,
I have to agree with Loomis... I do see these go from $100 to $400 on occasion. They can be a bit tubby in the mid bass, but in the right room bass can be surprisingly good. The top mid range and top end are not world class by any means, but are respectable. If you buy them right and plan on keeping them, these speakers respond to modifications quite well.... i.e. cap replacements, and a little cone damping go quite far...
I would also recommend in a semi vintage speaker a JBL L100T or maybe one of the ESS models. In all the above be aware of rotting surrounds that you may need to deal with.
As far as SET Friendly. I have never seen true impedance or phase angle curves on any of these speakers, You will need to find someone with direct experience. I hope this helps, Tim