Pioneer PE-12 full range drivers

The Pioneer PE-12 is one of those really rare drivers that you read about in some obscure online forum post from 8 or 10 years ago, but no word from since. When I lucked into a pair I fully expected this to be the holy grail of the 4 inch full range driver world. I mean, just look at that 5 or so pounds of Alnico magnet.

What an incredible driver. This thing has a build quality that you just don’t see anywhere. I mounted them into the Telefunken cabinets and they failed to impress. This is of course far from an ideal placement of this fine driver. The sound did loosen up after many hours, but never attained the level of listening satisfaction one gets from an everyday Fostex fe126 for example. This is likely a very interesting driver for a small, ported box.

Originally found in the Pioneer CS-51 bookshelf speaker from 1964, be on the lookout at your local Salvation Army.