Stimpy

Unfortunately, I've read comments from Ken, where he no longer has crossover schematics either. So, unobaitium, at this point, short of an MGC-1 owner tracing out the wiring?

That, and I'd love to see a crossover schematic...! Please...!!!

58S

Pictures will help, as I'm a little unclear as to what's been done to the LMR? Were the 8" woofers really re-coned, or just refoamed, with incorrect surrounds? And I would think the cloth surrounds should be replaced, as they won't exhibit the correct compliance, of proper foam surrounds. Incorrect surrounds can easily be removed and replaced with the correct foams.

This makes me wonder if the Simply Speakers UMR dome, is a suitable AR replacement? I believe they're the dome that KK used in the 303. Attach the semi-horn faceplate, and they'd appear to be (almost) identical. Now, I wonder how they sound?

I've wondered that very same thing...!

The 20028 mid had more ferrofluild, than the 200044 and 200032. The 200028 had ferrofluid on both sides of the voice coil, while the 44 and 32 used fluid only on one side. This slightly altered the resonance frequency, allowing the 44 and 32 to play lower in frequency, than the 28. That allowed the 200044 and 200032 mids to better blend with the woofers, in a 3-way design. Being a 4-way, the AR-9 didn't require the 200028 to respond as low, hence the higher resonance, and hopefully, better power handling, with more ferrofluid in the voice coil gap .

Any pictures...?

The 200044 domes will work fine in AR-9's. The 9's, with their LMR woofer, don't require the UMR bandwidth, that's required for 91's, 92's, or 58S's. So, you're good as is.

Very nice job. Well done. And I like those new binding posts too. I use them on my refurb's. Also, which switches did you use? I'd like to try those. Thanks.

I agree with David. Give the new caps some playing time, in order to settle in. At least 10 hours, before doing anything drastic. After that, if you still aren't satisfied, if too bright, play with the level switches. If still too bright, you can add series resistors to the new capacitors. A half Ohm to start, would compensate for ESR. Go higher, if needed. But I wouldn't start with extreme resistance. Be subtle. Now, if the speakers are somewhat opaque, not transparent enough, again, give them time. Break in will help. Also, the suggestion of adding bypass caps, is a good one. Bypass capacitors can both increase resolution and help smooth the sound. At least in my experience. I like to use the Dayton film & foil caps too. 0.01 and 0.1 work well for the high and low range capacitors. Cheap enough to try, without breaking the bank. Good luck.

The stuffing consists of 4 separate rolls, slid in and installed side by side together. Just a happy bundle. The insulation is in the upper part of the cabinet. None between the woofers. That's by design, and should be left as installed from the factory. No extra insulation should ever be added.

The .tif documents, in the Library (AR Drawings from Ken Kantor), reference the insulation. The doc gave me the impression that the insulation was installed in a very specific way, in a specific location. So, I left mine alone. I'm a coward.

Yea, I do the same. No need to cry about a few extra bucks for shipping. Hey, maybe I should start an eBay business, selling cap kits for vintage speakers. Entry level priced, with NPE's, bang for the buck kits, with film on the series caps, and cost no object, with stuff I can't afford. I wonder if they would sell?

That would be nice...!

All this cap talk, reminds me how frustrating capacitor hunting can be! Regardless, if I want to use NPE or film, no one parts site seems to have all the correct values that I need. At least in a single capacitor. I can find a few caps at one site, another cap at a 2nd site, and a couple more at yet another site. It makes me crazy, that I can't get everything I need for one store, without having to parallel caps together, to add to what I need. So, it's either mix and match, or pay extra shipping from different sites? Not a big deal, just annoying, I suppose?

The 4 and 6 caps, along with the tweeter inductor, form a 3rd order 18dB per octave crossover. Much better tweeter power handling as a result.

Wow. That's a nice recap (no pun intended). Well stated, and which proves that you have a better than "loose grasp" of the subject at hand. While I can't really address power handling, since I don't listen loud, I don't think you'll experience any issues. Many of the vintage speakers that I've rebuilt, or seen rebuilt, used capacitors with a 50V rating. Those held up for decades. Also, power handling is an additive thing. All components add to the speakers capabilities, including capacitors, inductors, resistors, and finally drivers. So, don't worry too much about the E-Caps. They're not the only part exposed to wattage. And regardless how I feel about their published specs, I like and use E-Caps, and have never had any fail. Finally, speaking of E-Caps, you can also use Jantzen Audio Premium Elko caps. E-Caps and Elko caps are made by the same manufacturer. They should sound similar. The Elko caps are available in some values different than E-Caps, which might help in the rebuild. Parts Connexion sells both NPE brands. Good luck, and Thanks for the shout-out...! Stimpy

Less politics, and more actual measurements, in this case, would inspire confidence. Something showing peak power handling. While component measurements don't describe sound quality, they would at least help demonstrate real-world wattage capacity.

Concerning the Mundorf E-Cap voltages. The E-Cap spec sheets don't disclose much info, but I've written Mundorf, and the U.S. Mundorf rep, concerning their voltage rating. Both responded with basically the same comment, "to not worry about the voltage. We've never experienced a blown E-Cap in the field". Not a response to inspire confidence. Though, I've used E-Caps without issue. But, I also add 400V film & foil bypass caps, to any electrolytic I use, and I'm sure that adds some extra power handling capability.

All NPE's, with bypass caps on the series capacitors. A cost-effective recap. Any thoughts on sound, now that the job is done? Similar to your 9's or 610's?

Some one needs to alert Mark Levinson! Cello LST's would bring a fortune. I also have to wonder, how well the Simply Speakers dome mid would work for these? They're from Ken Kantor's final series at AR. They were used in the 303's and 302's.

You scored with those speakers. Mirror imaged, refoamed, and completely rebuilt crossovers. So, how do they sound?

Wouldn't those be nice...! I'd want 3 pair. One set with original drivers, one set with AR-9 drivers, and a final set with AR303 drivers. Just because...?

Wow...!