AR-2ax's......short road trip...

[xmas111]

Pick up a set of 2ax's today that I saw on clist last weekend. Short trip this time, only 25 minutes from work and then a 1 hour drive back home.

My first set of "real" speakers were 2ax's. My father new someone at AR back in the 70's and got me the 2ax's for zippo!

Thought they were the greatest things since sliced bread till I got the AR9's. The 2ax's went back to my father (who really never used them). He ended up giving them to an consignment store when he moved back in the early 2000's.

They're in very good shape with a few minor scratches and a tiny bit of white here and there. They should cleanup very nicely.

The guy who sold them was the original owner who didn't use them any more. He told the pots will need repair......no surprise there.

I was surprised when I went to remove the grills. They were glued and stapled on. Wasn't much a an ordeal to get them off though.

Thought it was unusual to have the AR badge (AR only, not AR-2ax) and the "a" pin on the grills. Is that normal???

I'm not even going to hook them up till I replace the caps and pots. I ordered the Ohmite pots (those suckers are getting very expensive, more than I paid for the damn speakers!). But I might wait till I get the Russian pots I talked about in my other thread....here. Of course I doubt I'll have the patience to wait for the Russians ones.

I also noticed the woofers have a inner ring around the dust cap. Never seen those before.

I'll keep you all up to date as I restore these babies. Shouldn't be a whole lot of work, the xovers are pretty simplistic and as I mentioned the cabs are in good shape. Probably do the grills over with the 1-2-3 stitch material.

Anyway, here's a few pics of them.

John

[ar_pro]

Nice catch!

I once owned a single 2ax with the small "AR" logo and "a" pin - I think it was pretty common.

There's a photo on page 4 of the 1965 catalog that shows this combination.

[Steve F]

Those are first-gen "old" 2ax's, made from 1964-69. 1970 brought the 2nd-gen "new" 2ax, with the full AR-2ax brass logo.

The differences between the two versions have been documented here in great detail many times by myself and others. I think if you do a search for it, you'll find the info.

Steve F.

[RoyC]

Anyway, here's a few pics of them.

John

They appear to be fine specimens, John. The early AR-2ax is my favorite version of all the AR-2 iterations. The alnico magnet, cloth surround, woofer is excellent (I prefer it to the later ceramic magnet, foam surround woofer), and the tweeter is the same one used in the AR-3.

Roy

[xmas111]

Ok, thanks guys. I'll do some searching here and see what I can come up with.

I'll be pulling out the speakers later today and I'll post some pics for you.

John

[xmas111]

The speakers are all apart.

The crossover looks like all the other ones I've seen.

I tell getting the speakers out of the cab is a royal pain in the butt. I ended up taking an old screwdriver and heating the tip red hot then throwing in the vise and bend the very tip at a 90º angle. I was able to force it under the rim of the woofer and mid and slowly work them out.

The tweeter was another story. I couldn't get the screw driver under it so I ended up putting a block of wood in the cab under the tweeter and with a small 2x3 I was able to push it out.

The other issue is one of the leads from one of the tweeters broke as I was unhooking it from the brass push connector. Luckily it should be long enough to fit back in the connector. I know they're aluminum wires and there's no real easy repair technique available. So I'll have to be reeeeeeal careful putting back together.

All the drivers tested ok with the meter.

Next I'll start working on the cabs while I wait for the pots.

Looking forward to listening to some 2ax's for the first time in 30+ years.

Oh, the pots look pretty bad, corroded big time. I'm not going to waste my time playing around with them. If somebody wants them (three left) PM your address and I'll be happy to send them along.

John

[RoyC]

John,

While everything is apart, it would be a good time to inspect the integrity of the glue attaching the masonite rings of the woofer surrounds and spiders to the woofer frames. AR 10 and 12 inch woofers of this type often need to be repaired. See photo....

Roy

[ra.ra]

John, those look like a really terrific pair of 2ax's, and I'm sure you'll restore them to their full potential - - - even the grilles and cabinets appear to be in very fine shape for their age. SteveF's description of the product lineage, plus RoyC's caution about the potential for glue degradation, are both very helpful pieces of information.

After seeing your post about your pursuit of Bulgarian rheostats, I was wondering which speakers you may have had these devices targeted for. Now that I understand what your newest project is (2ax), I get it. Despite the fact that your original AR pot is very corroded, I might be willing to try to restore any of these pots that you think might be able to be salvaged.

Looking forward to seeing your work on these speakers.

[Chuck V]

My first post, and lucky enough to watch this restoration thread! I just picked up a pair of AR2ax's, and will be watching with great interest.

[JKent]

Welcome Chuck!
And while you're following this, also check out the AR-3a restoration manual:http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/

Much of the information there is applicable to the 3a's slightly smaller brother.

Kent

[Chuck V]

Thank you for the link Kent.

Welcome Chuck!
And while you're following this, also check out the AR-3a restoration manual:http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/

Much of the information there is applicable to the 3a's slightly smaller brother.

Kent

[xmas111]

Hi guys,

Haven't had much time to work on the 2ax's yet. The cabs are sanded and have a coating of Howards Restore-Finsh on them. Look good so far.

I'll post pics later when I get a chance.

Roy, everything is intact and solid. Thanks for reminding to check them.

John

[ra.ra]

John,

Except for your recent foray into the wild and wonderful world of ancient small speakers (AR-4x), I believe all of your AR woofers may have foam surrounds, and I just want to remind you that if your 2ax cloth woofs need any renewed dope, Roy's home brew butyl elixir is the way to go.

[xmas111]

John,

Except for your recent foray into the wild and wonderful world of ancient small speakers (AR-4x), I believe all of your AR woofers may have foam surrounds, and I just want to remind you that if your 2ax cloth woofs need any renewed dope, Roy's home brew butyl elixir is the way to go.

hi Rob,

Yup, I've been looking for the dope on ebay from vinatge-ar. He must be on vacation because there's no listings from him.

Roy, can I purchase the dope from you?

Rob, if you want the pots your more than welcome to them. Let me know and I can sent them out to you.

John

[xmas111]

Update: The crossovers are complete. These were pretty simple to do. Only the two caps and an inductor.

Ended up using the Russian pots....http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=7990 wanted to give them a try and see how they work. I don't see any problems, they're built like a tank like the Ohmite pots.

Had to build a little box to cover them up so the insulation doesn't get between the wiper and winding.

The cabs are also done. I think they came out very nice. I'll post pics once they're all back together...hopefully tomorrow or Friday. I'm waiting for the "dope" to redo the cloth surrounds.

Here's a few pics of the crossovers.

And a pic on my next project. A new turntable. Not sure it will take the place of the AR XA though.

John

[ra.ra]

Nice, John - - - another beautiful assembly. It's fun to see the care you take with the wire management, and my next project might try to emulate some of your methods. Glad to see you tried the Russian pots - - nice little protective boxes just like the Ohmites in your 3a's.

Just a few detail questions:

1. What is the black mesh material used for the "placemat"?

2. Same question, re: green material inside protective box?

3. Did you do anything with the long control stems sticking out the rear?

Great job.

[JKent]

Beautiful job John. You get the neatness award!

Kent

[xmas111]

Just a few detail questions:

1. What is the black mesh material used for the "placemat"?

2. Same question, re: green material inside protective box?

3. Did you do anything with the long control stems sticking out the rear?

Thanks!

It's not black mesh......I painted the masonite board that was already there. I read somewhere that painting it will lower the frequency response of the speaker by 1 to 2 hz..........just kidding!!!!! I just thought it looks nicer,

The green material is "felt" It covers the holes I drilled through box for heat dissipation. It's the only stuff I had laying around that works. It's pretty porous and allow good air flow.

I had to cut the shafts down to size, don't do a very good job on them but they work.l. Here's a pic of them after cutting them.

Beautiful job John. You get the neatness award!

Kent

Thanks Kent....where's my award????

John

[xmas111]

The 2ax's are all back together and waiting a sound listening test.

Just finished putting the "dope" on the surrounds so I'll let them sit for a day or so before hooking them up.

I'm happy with the outcome.....just hoping they sound as good!

I ended up redoing the grills with the 1-2-3 Stitch lambswool. Love that material!

I'll report back tomorrow with the listening test results.

John

[ra.ra]

Really fine job all around - - - cabinets, grilles and badges all look original, spankin' new upgraded crossovers, and refreshed drivers (woof).

Re: my earlier questions - - - 1) now I understand what I'm looking at - you just painted the rough side of the masonite (for performance purposes, of course); 2) I thought that might be green felt; 3) and the trimmed shafts look fine - - - with that flat side on the shaft you could always add a knob with set screw.

With your mid-range drivers, I notice that you oriented the expanded metal covers at 90 degrees to each other - - - you must be tailoring your speakers for very particular room acoustics with regards to middle frequency dispersions.

Ha! ..... just kidding here, too.

[Steve F]

These are so nice, I wish they were mine! I live in Foxboro, so I may just have to see/hear these for myself.

Now I'll get myself "uninvited" with an annoying, niggling little comment: The brass "a" is supposed to be on the same side of the cabinet as the square "AR Inc." emblem, not in the diagonally-opposite corner. These 2ax's look so good, they deserve to be perfect.

Steve F.

[xmas111]

Hi Steve,

Well that's embarrassing!

Guess I should of looked at the pics I posted when I bought them...sure enough the badge and letter "a" are on the same side.

Thanks for pointing that out! And thanks for reminding me my old age is playing tricks on me!

I fixed them...a pic to prove it.

No one is ever uninvited.

John

P.S I'll fix them tomorrow and post a real pic.....

[xmas111]

With your mid-range drivers, I notice that you oriented the expanded metal covers at 90 degrees to each other - - - you must be tailoring your speakers for very particular room acoustics with regards to middle frequency dispersions.

Ha! ..... just kidding here, too.

Rob,

You had me going for a second there.....

[xmas111]

The 2ax's are up and running. Boy, they bring back a lot of memories of yester-years

Sound excellent considering they're sitting on the kitchen table.

It's amazing how every model has their unique sound. The 9's, LST's, LST-2's, 3a's, 2ax's and 4x's all sound wonderful but different.

No even sure what I'm going to do with these. No more room in the kitchen.

Repositioned the "a" in the correct spot.

John

[xmas111]

- - - with that flat side on the shaft you could always add a knob with set screw.

Rob, that's exactly what I did.

The one thing I noticed about the speakers is they DON'T have the "Increase & Decrease" silk screened around the Mid and Hi controls like most the other AR speakers.