Giving new life to tired Aiwa CS-880 speakers.

[Superduper]

So, while I am in the mood to refoam speakers, I figured why stop with the Pioneer speakers. The Aiwa CS-880 that I got from Johnny had speakers with NO foam. Gone. Disappeared. Where'd they go? I dunno!

So, these Aiwa speakers are really something. 5-1/4" 8 ohms. Extremely well built for a boombox. Each one is twice the weight of the larger 6.5" pioneers -- I kid you not. They are more like home stereo speakers than boombox speakers. When you push down on the speaker cones and voice coil, you'll see that these speakers have lots of travel as well.

Unlike most other speakers, these Aiwas have the surround attached below the cone, not on top of it. That made it a little more challenging to install. I was actually planning on replacing these speakers completely since replacement speakers aren't all that expensive and foam surround kits ARE NOT CHEAP. In fact, I think they are a total rip off for what you are getting. Nevertheless, on good speakers such as these, refoam kits are worth it.

Here goes. I put too much adhesive along the edge of one speaker where I ran into a little bit of a snafu but I think I'm going to just go ahead and coat the entire cone with a thinned out mix of the coating since I think it'll help with durability and improve the looks anyhow. The dull paper finish isn't really too attractive.

Currently, I'm not 100% decided but if anyone needs drop in replacements for their rotted Aiwa CS-880 speakers, I might be willing to let these go. I'll first have to see what new replacements I can get. I'm shooting for white or silver coned speakers to give the Aiwa a better look. Right now, the cosmetics aren't doing it for me.

GETTING STARTED. THEY LOOK LIKE THE SURROUNDS GOT SELECTIVELY HIT BY THE GI-JOE NANOMITES.

COAT THE UNDERSIDES OF THE CONES WITH THE INCLUDED "SPECIAL" ADHESIVE (READ: ELMERS). AS IT TURNS OUT, THIS DID NOT WORK OUT WELL FOR THESE SPEAKERS AND HAD TO ABANDON THE ELMERS APPROACH AND GO WITH CONTACT CEMENT WHICH IS MUCH MORE TENACIOUS BUT MUCH HARDER TO WORK WITH.

COAT THE LIP OF THE FOAM SURROUND WITH SAME ADHESIVE. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS ADHESIVE HAD NO "BITE" AND HAD TO BE REDONE. UNLIKE A TOP GLUE DOWN APPROACH, THE UNDERSIDE APPROACH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO HOLD THE SURROUND IN PLACE WHILE WAITING FOR IT TO CURE. AS STATED ABOVE, WENT WITH CONTACT CEMENT INSTEAD.

DONE. SPEAKER GASKETS IN PLACE. READY FOR RE-INSTALLATION. IF ONLY MY BOOMBOX WAS READY TO BE REASSEMBLED. UNFORTUNATELY, THE JOB HAS JUST BEGUN ON THIS ONE. HOWEVER, I AM REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS ONE GETTING COMPLETED. IT'S GOING TO BE A CUSTOM AND NOT AN ORIGINAL SINCE IT WAS MISSING THE ORIGINAL PASSIVE RADIATOR BUT I'M FINE WITH THAT SINCE I PREFER A NICE CUSTOM ANYHOW. IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO HAVE FUN.

 

[redbenjoe]

norm -- ramon replaced his outer 880 speakers - with some better looking // great sounding
car jobs --get him to post the brand and a picture

 

[Superduper]

Yah. I saw a couple of "pretty" ones that I'm eyeballing right now. But the original Aiwas are good speakers -- amongst the best I've seen in original equipment for a boombox. Someone obsessed with originality will be interested in preserving the original Aiwas but right now, I plan on having a white passive radiator and maybe get outer speakers to match.

 

[monchito]

yea i got me some daytons for my aiwa as the originals were blown but it worked out

 

[Superduper]

Ramon, Ira said they were supposed to be better looking but I can't even see 'em

 

[redbenjoe]

its one of those ............

'ya had to be there'

deals

 

[Fatdog]

Ramon, Ira said they were supposed to be better looking but I can't even see 'em

They're ninja speakers!

Nice refoam, Norm. At least I have an idea of what is involved should my 880 foam ever disintegrate.

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Nice work Norm but I can see where you got just a little aggressive with the adhesive, good thing you didn't glue yourself to the cone.
I have some of that work waiting for me as well, where did you get the refoam kit? I'm going to have to purchase one myself.

 

[floyd]

Nice work Norm but I can see where you got just a little aggressive with the adhesive, good thing you didn't glue yourself to the cone.
I have some of that work waiting for me as well, where did you get the refoam kit? I'm going to have to purchase one myself.

http://www.speakerworks.com part # swk5 you need two of these kits.

 

[Superduper]

Nice work Norm but I can see where you got just a little aggressive with the adhesive, good thing you didn't glue yourself to the cone.
I have some of that work waiting for me as well, where did you get the refoam kit? I'm going to have to purchase one myself.

You saw that huh? The one that isn't quite as clean was the first one. I learned better on the next one. They don't show anyhow since the Aiwa grill hides the speakers well, maybe a little too well. I think I can make them look better but functionally, it's all good. Remember that most speaker foams are glued onto the top of the cones. These Aiwas have the foam beneath the cone. After buttering them up, you got to slip the wet surrounds beneath the cone which is hard to do. With extra hands, it might be easier on a large speaker but this is only a 5.25" speaker. Again, I eventually redid it using contact cement, which has way more bite than the elmers.

 

[Johnny]

Hey Norm if you wanna sell those speakers lemme know as I will buy them. I still have a AIWA that needs just that done. Thanks,

 

[MasterBlaster84]

Nice work Norm but I can see where you got just a little aggressive with the adhesive, good thing you didn't glue yourself to the cone.
I have some of that work waiting for me as well, where did you get the refoam kit? I'm going to have to purchase one myself.

http://www.speakerworks.com part # swk5 you need two of these kits.

Thanks Floyd, when I went to save the link I found I had already saved it so you must have posted this before.

 

[monchito]

norm thats one little thing that i want to do to my aiwa is the center passive with red surround as it has the black center

 

[Superduper]

Ramon. I picked up a Polk Passive Radiator and it's black as well. The cone and cap looks to be coated with some polymer resin type of thing. I think a light coat of white will make it really stand out behind the grill. It has a black rubber surround which I don't feel like cutting out in favor of red foam. However, the mounting plate is black plastic and I figure if I paint that white or silver as well, I'll have a really interesting halo type of effect. Couple that with white or silver coned outers and I think it'll look way cool. At least the way I'm imagining it anyhow. As always, I won't know for sure until it's all together. Unlike the M70, this one will be more difficult to photoshop the speakers behind the grill.

Johnny, what's wrong with your speakers? If it's just that the foam are rotted out, maybe we can swap. I've still got lots of things left to do on this CS-880 before it's at the point where I'd want to reassemble it.

 

[monchito]

sounds good if i could find at least the rubber or cloth surround that would be even better,, as for the glue i have been using elmers wood glue its done a very good job for me the school glue is a bit too weak

 

[Superduper]

The glue came with the foam as a kit, along with the brush, etc. Wood glue works great but if you get the waterproof kind, you need to be careful because it dries hard as a rock and if you need to reposition the surround because you didn't get it right the first time, you are out of luck since it will no longer reconsistute in the presence of water.

When I said it didn't have enough bite, I'm talking about the ability of the glue to hold the pieces together while it's curing. None of the paper wood glues will do that. The problem is if you install the surround behind the cone like factory, it's really hard to hold it in place while it's curing. If you reposition the foam to the front / top side of the cone, you won't have that problem.

 

[oldskool69]

its one of those ............

'ya had to be there'

deals

 

[floyd]

The glue came with the foam as a kit, along with the brush, etc. Wood glue works great but if you get the waterproof kind, you need to be careful because it dries hard as a rock and if you need to reposition the surround because you didn't get it right the first time, you are out of luck since it will no longer reconsistute in the presence of water.

When I said it didn't have enough bite, I'm talking about the ability of the glue to hold the pieces together while it's curing. None of the paper wood glues will do that. The problem is if you install the surround behind the cone like factory, it's really hard to hold it in place while it's curing. If you reposition the foam to the front / top side of the cone, you won't have that problem.

the easiest way to do it is to glue the foam to the woofer first ,let that dry then glue the foam to the frame ,as the glue is setting push in on the cone bottoming it out making sure theres no coil rub ,if you do this part before the glue sets it pretty much centers the coil with no shims being used.

 

[Johnny]

My 880 has the blue grille and the speakers have whizzer cones!!!! I have to get me some original 880 speakers Your project is shaping up, and soon you'll have one cool and rare 880!!! You're the man!!!!