AR 19B Connoisseur Series (UK)

[Guest Roger Fry]

I am rather fond of my AR19 LSPs, but they are in sore need of attention. The woofers' are in need of restoration/replacement and one of the speaker sockets is broken. Does any one have any ideas of where to go in the UK?

Roger

[Robert_S]

Hello Roger,

Presuming that you do not want to go down the DIY route, here are two possibilities:

Wembley Loudspeakers (AR specialists, I can personally recommend the standard of their work), based in London:

http://www.wembleyloudspeaker.com/

The Recone Lab, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire:

http://www.richardallanaudio.com/reconelab.new/index.htm

Hope that helps.

Robert_S

[Guest Roger Fry]

Hello Roger,

Presuming that you do not want to go down the DIY route, here are two possibilities:

Wembley Loudspeakers (AR specialists, I can personally recommend the standard of their work), based in London:

http://www.wembleyloudspeaker.com/

The Recone Lab, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire:

http://www.richardallanaudio.com/reconelab.new/index.htm

Hope that helps.

Robert_S

Hello Robert

Thank you for the information. I am not averse to the DIY route. The connectors don't present a problem, but I have never attempted to repair/refurbish speakers. The butyl rubber surrounds have perished perished and the paper cones look in poor shape. Although I work in the engineering world (both electrical and mechanical) I am not quite sure how to set about a) the refurbishment, the speaker specifications and c) testing the repaired speakers. Any thoughts?

Roger

[Robert_S]

Any thoughts?

My interest and knowledge regarding AR loudspeakers is limited to the original (mid-fifties to mid-seventies) 'Classics', and the early Teledyne-era products (mid-eighties at the latest).

When faced with perished surrounds, I've often tackled a re-foam, but if a re-cone was deemed necessary, I would employ professional help. Should you decide to replace the surrounds yourself, you will find that there are two schools of thought concerning the best approach (to shim or not to shim):

School #1: You must remove the dust cap and use shims to ensure that the voice coil is centered. (Fast drying glue is popular, consequently, repositioning is difficult.)

School #2: Removal of the dust cap is not essential, the centering can be determined by touch, and/or the intermittent use of a test-tone/low voltage signal. (Slow drying glue is used, allowing for minor repositioning.)

The majority of AR woofers that I've tackled were relatively easy, practically self-centering; they did not require cutting of the dust caps and shimming. For glue, I've had good results using 'Anita's Tacky Glue PVA 60 ml' (it's available with a very fine dispensing nozzle and is of an easy-to-use consistency).

For more information, the obligatory first step, an internet search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls...amp;btnG=Search

The following link serves as a useful pictorial reference:

http://www.simplyspeakers.com/speakerrepairinstructions.htm

A quote, from Tom Tyson, regarding the shim/don't shim debate (though specific, here, to the AR 12" woofer):

[ . . .]

In any event, by "bouncing" the cone from the center dust cap, and then using slow-drying glue, the cone can be restored to its original setting pretty easily because the spider will always try to put it there. You are not forcing it, but allowing it to find its own center position. Rarely will the woofer have a rubbing voice coil if done patiently this way. You are also not disturbing the original dust cap. Removing it is somewhat hazardous because you can accidentally cut the tinsel leads from the voice coil.

I'm not saying that shimming should not be done. I'm just saying that it is unnecessary and probably not the best way to put on a new surround. I am sure that a lot of people will argue with that view point, and many have had good results with shimming and fast-drying glue, etc.

--Tom Tyson

Good luck with your project, whichever route you choose.

In closing, my advice is that since you like the AR acoustic suspension sound, you may well gain added enjoyment by further exploration (you've ambled the foothills, why not scale the slopes!). In the UK, vintage AR speakers are much undervalued, and can be had for remarkably modest expenditure; this is the direction that I have taken, and is a voyage I thoroughly enjoy.

Robert_S

[Guest Roger Fry]

Many thanks for your comprehensive thoughts. You have kindly got me off the starting blocks. I may well, though, be back for more help!

Regards

Roger

[hennessys]

Hello,

Well, this topic is old, but I would love some help with AR-19bs.

I have picked up a pair of these speakers just last week and I try to find the replacement foam to repair them. 
I found replacement kits online from the US (simplyspeakers looks promising), but I would love to get something within EU.

They are my first set of older speakers which needs some work. I put a temporary fix with foamed tape, and I really like how they sound.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
Peter
 

[Jeff_C]

Try this site

http://speakerrepairshop.nl/index.php?action=home&lang=EN

[hennessys]

Hi Jeff,

Thank you for the quick reply. As being a newbie here, it took me some time to figure out that there is a right sized foam even though the speaker is not listed.

I ended up with this:

http://speakerrepairshop.nl/index.php?action=article&aid=4727&group_id=10000071&lang=en

The cone is almost the same size and the internal diameter is good too. Is there anything I should watch out while repairing the speakers?

 

Best regards,

Peter

 

[Jeff_C]

As your speakers are not listed it may be worth emailing the proprietors to check the suitability of the surround you believe to be the correct fit.

in the hope of helping other newbies like yourself I wrote a little guide about my re-foaming experiences in the penultimate message in this thread

There are probably plenty of other good threads on re-foaming if you try searching on this site.  The only thing I would probably add to my brief guide is that some clothes pegs  (the type with springs) all around the outer edge of the new surround may help to keep it clamped in position while the glue dries.  The smaller woofers you have may be easier overall to deal with but I am no expert.

 

[hennessys]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for your help. I’m writing this post while testing the speakers and they sound amazing. The base is much stronger than before, without being “muddy”.

I’ve got the white, water based glue from http://speakerrepairshop.nl along the foam rings. I was pleasantly surprise how fast it dries.

I glued the inner foam ring to the cone first and I gave it 1 day to dry. Probably it could be done faster, but I had only limited time at the evenings. I added two thin layer of glue to the foam ring and the cone as well.

The next evening I glued the outer ring to the frame (two thin layer on the metal frame only). I was concerned about removing the dust caps, so I went with gentle push-downs centering the speakers after applying the glue. This video might help to someone new in centering:

This can be tricky, so I followed your advice and tested the woofer with 30 Hz before the glue was completely dry. One side needed a small adjustment and that’s all.

Another day to dry and try-out started today.

I had clothes pegs ready and I used a few, but I didn’t really need them. I used some clean rags to push down the ring to avoid sticky fingers and to wipe the glue excess away. I didn't waste too much time for removing the previous glue from the frame, but i gently scraped off everything from the cone.

 

It will take a while to test them properly, but I hope for the best. It’s promising after 2 hrs, but sometimes, I seem to catch some vibration in a few records. These tracks also sound strange on my headphones, so it should be fine.

 

Ciao,

Peter