Connecting unused vintage Pioneer CS 503 to an avr

[Nitin K]

Hi FM's,

My father had got us a Pioneer rack system with these floor standing Pioneer CS 503 in 1984 which we had used till mid 90's.
The system and the speakers were lying unused at my brother house since then, carefully packed in acrylic boxes.
By now the amp Pioneer SA 740 may not be functional.
I don't have space in our Mumbai home for these speakers but was planning to take them & use them at our house in Udupi for sentimental reasons where we occasionally visit once in a year or two.

My query is whether I can connect them straight away to my Marantz avr and check whether they are functional or not without blowing my avr .
I am not sure about the functionality of the drivers or the board inside since they have not been used at all for over 15 years. Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Nitin

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Hi FM's,

My father had got us a Pioneer rack system with these floor standing Pioneer CS 503 in 1984 which we had used till mid 90's.
The system and the speakers were lying unused at my brother house since then, carefully packed in acrylic boxes.
By now the amp Pioneer SA 740 may not be functional.
I don't have space in our Mumbai home for these speakers but was planning to take them & use them at our house in Udupi for sentimental reasons where we occasionally visit once in a year or two.

My query is whether I can connect them straight away to my Marantz avr and check whether they are functional or not without blowing my avr .
I am not sure about the functionality of the drivers or the board inside since they have not been used at all for over 15 years. Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Nitin

Maybe you can just open the back panel where the crossovers are mounted to make sure there is no wiring short that can fry the AVR. Ideally, it is a little dangerous to power-up an old amp, because there could be DC offset that could fry the tweeters. But old speakers should be harmless, as long as the internal wiring is tidy. It will either sing or not, but should not harm the AVR.

 

[Nitin K]

Maybe you can just open the back panel where the crossovers are mounted to make sure there is no wiring short that can fry the AVR. Ideally, it is a little dangerous to power-up an old amp, because there could be DC offset that could fry the tweeters. But old speakers should be harmless, as long as the internal wiring is tidy. It will either sing or not, but should not harm the AVR.

Thanks a lot Manu, I don't think I may get the Pioneer amp repaired anytime soon. Regarding the speakers, I don't have the technical knowledge to open up the panel and check the crossovers .As of now will try to check if these speakers are working or not by connecting to my avr once they reach my place.

 

[vivek31368]

Hi FM's,

My father had got us a Pioneer rack system with these floor standing Pioneer CS 503 in 1984 which we had used till mid 90's.
The system and the speakers were lying unused at my brother house since then, carefully packed in acrylic boxes.
By now the amp Pioneer SA 740 may not be functional.
I don't have space in our Mumbai home for these speakers but was planning to take them & use them at our house in Udupi for sentimental reasons where we occasionally visit once in a year or two.

My query is whether I can connect them straight away to my Marantz avr and check whether they are functional or not without blowing my avr .
I am not sure about the functionality of the drivers or the board inside since they have not been used at all for over 15 years. Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Nitin

Hi FM's,

My father had got us a Pioneer rack system with these floor standing Pioneer CS 503 in 1984 which we had used till mid 90's.
The system and the speakers were lying unused at my brother house since then, carefully packed in acrylic boxes.
By now the amp Pioneer SA 740 may not be functional.
I don't have space in our Mumbai home for these speakers but was planning to take them & use them at our house in Udupi for sentimental reasons where we occasionally visit once in a year or two.

My query is whether I can connect them straight away to my Marantz avr and check whether they are functional or not without blowing my avr .
I am not sure about the functionality of the drivers or the board inside since they have not been used at all for over 15 years. Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Nitin

I am using the same speakers with yamaha rx v 479 from 2007 onwards with mission center and surrounds and astonia subwoofer.They are good and working fine till date.Also used them with rx v 457.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Thanks a lot Manu, I don't think I may get the Pioneer amp repaired anytime soon. Regarding the speakers, I don't have the technical knowledge to open up the panel and check the crossovers .As of now will try to check if these speakers are working or not by connecting to my avr once they reach my place.

Most welcome nitin

 

[Nitin K]

I am using the same speakers with yamaha rx v 479 from 2007 onwards with mission center and surrounds and astonia subwoofer.They are good and working fine till date.Also used them with rx v 457.

Hi Vivek,

Very glad to hear that. I guess the Pioneer SA 740 was not powerful enough to drive these to full potential.
I have some very good nostalgic memories with these speakers.
Judging by the photos the drivers look fine, let's see whether they work once they reach my place, although I have been trying to convince my brother to keep and use them.

Regards,
Nitin

 

[efernand1]

Hi FM's,

My father had got us a Pioneer rack system with these floor standing Pioneer CS 503 in 1984 which we had used till mid 90's.
The system and the speakers were lying unused at my brother house since then, carefully packed in acrylic boxes.
By now the amp Pioneer SA 740 may not be functional.
I don't have space in our Mumbai home for these speakers but was planning to take them & use them at our house in Udupi for sentimental reasons where we occasionally visit once in a year or two.

My query is whether I can connect them straight away to my Marantz avr and check whether they are functional or not without blowing my avr .
I am not sure about the functionality of the drivers or the board inside since they have not been used at all for over 15 years. Thanks a lot.

Regards,
Nitin

Based on the snaps shared, I believe they will work properly. If someone close by can lend you a small amp to test, nothing like it. If I were you and the AVR is accessible for connecting speaker wires, I would play something and quickly touch the wire bare ends to the terminals to check if the playback is coming through, if it does then it works....highly recommend you dont try this unless you have done it before

 

[Nitin K]

Based on the snaps shared, I believe they will work properly. If someone close by can lend you a small amp to test, nothing like it. If I were you and the AVR is accessible for connecting speaker wires, I would play something and quickly touch the wire bare ends to the terminals to check if the playback is coming through, if it does then it works....highly recommend you dont try this unless you have done it before

Thanks Eddie, will connect them directly to the Avr and see as it seems a safer option

 

[availlyrics]

Since the front grill is open , just check the surround foam / rubber, very gently press it and see for any cracks or degradation. If you are from Mumbai , get those repaired first if you see any cracks. As for amp , DC offset and capacitors needs to be checked first. I rescued a Technics SA-380 (1982) going to junkyard , brought it back to life after carefully servicing. I just love vintage stuff , managed to salvaged many such beautiful pieces

 

[Nitin K]

Since the front grill is open , just check the surround foam / rubber, very gently press it and see for any cracks or degradation. If you are from Mumbai , get those repaired first if you see any cracks. As for amp , DC offset and capacitors needs to be checked first. I rescued a Technics SA-380 (1982) going to junkyard , brought it back to life after carefully servicing. I just love vintage stuff , managed to salvaged many such beautiful pieces

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll check the surrounding foam/rubber.
But without checking the capacitors etc assuming it would be safe to just connect to the avr first to see if it is working or not.
I am from Mumbai, in case if they don't work, can you pls suggest me a reliable person especially for the speakers.
I have to check the amp, Equalizer , deck and tuner too, thank you.

 

[availlyrics]

Thanks a lot for the advice. I'll check the surrounding foam/rubber.
But without checking the capacitors etc assuming it would be safe to just connect to the avr first to see if it is working or not.
I am from Mumbai, in case if they don't work, can you pls suggest me a reliable person especially for the speakers.
I have to check the amp, Equalizer , deck and tuner too, thank you.

For speaker repairs only - Vinod Sound , Lamington (near RK/Paras /Hira Sound).
For amps Eq, I know one person from Ghatkopar West, not sure or in contact , if he is currently in servicing business or not, as I do my own repairs since last couple of years.
You can safely connect speakers to your AVR at lower volume without worrying too much about capacitors in speakers. Amp needs a bit careful handling, espeacially in locations near sea face

 

[Nitin K]

For speaker repairs only - Vinod Sound , Lamington (near RK/Paras /Hira Sound).
For amps Eq, I know one person from Ghatkopar West, not sure or in contact , if he is currently in servicing business or not, as I do my own repairs since last couple of years.
You can safely connect speakers to your AVR at lower volume without worrying too much about capacitors in speakers. Amp needs a bit careful handling, espeacially in locations near sea face

Thanks a lot again for the info and advice, really appreciate it.

 

[Nitin K]

Thanks a lot Manu, Eddie and Availlyrics for your advice.
Connected the speakers yesterday and they started singing after almost 18 years of non-usage.
The room though is small for these big floorstanders.
The cone drivers and its borders seem fine and soft on gently pressing them.

 

[availlyrics]

Good to hear its working again! Did you try Tuner /EQ too? What are your plans for amp ?

 

[Nitin K]

Good to hear its working again! Did you try Tuner /EQ too? What are your plans for amp ?

Thank you. I only received the speakers on Friday.
My brother will be sending the amp, deck, tuner and eq in the next few weeks. Will have to see later what works and what does not.