JKent

Very nice! I love the 2ax and you got a real bargain. You will certainly need new capacitors. As for the supertweeter, most likely it's the pot. Pots as you know by now can be cleaned but often get cruddy again. Try twisting the knob back & forth to scrape off some crud and see if you get sound. You can replace them with inexpensive L-pads from PE or you can PM me for the CSP price on heavy duty potentiometers. Also, whether or not the tweeters work they are probably tired. Both RoyC and chris1this1 rebuild them beautifully. As for the foam surrounds, I use these: https://www.speakerworks.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=AR-2ax+foam&Submit=. Be aware the kit is for 1 woofer. Use the LATEX glue. You probably only need 1 bottle. Email them with any questions--they're very helpful. Kent

Great 👍

Here's a pair. A little over-priced but "or best offer" so maybe you can do better eBay item number: 115458998867

Check out ebay items 165617525765, 134165175997, 134167834405, 134158439711 Those have all ended but that's what you want. I don't see any right now but keep looking.

Sounds about right. Give it a try.

PS: Some more random thoughts: Your woofers don't have foam surrounds. They're treated cloth. You may want some of Roy's sealant to improve bass response or it may not be necessary. Your speakers probably have oil filled capacitors. Best to leave them alone. Those tweeters are 5" Carbonneau full-range radio speakers and yes, the speakers were designed to be lain on their sides and the angled tweeters were designed to give wide dispersion. If one of yours does turn out to be bad check ebay. They show up from time to time and aren't expensive. Recently pairs sold for under $20. Be sure to download "Restoring the AR-3a". Much of the information is relevant to your speakers, such as how to remove the woofers. http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/

Hey Arcticfox To answer one of your questions, you can add external supertweeters. Back in the day Microstatic made some specifically for the AR and KLH speakers. They're pretty cool but lately they have gone up in price on ebay so another option is to find some other brand external supertweeters or make your own. Making your own isn't hard. You just need a tweeter and a capacitor (2uF works but you could experiment. If you want to get fancy you can add an L-pad. Set it on top and wire in parallel with the AR-2. Here's a thread on some I cobbled together: Or.... Parts Express has a range of piezo horn tweeters starting at 0.98 each (!) that don't require a capacitor and you could just set on top of the cabinet "naked". If you like the sound you could fancy it up. btw, if you find you need one or 2 new pots PM me regarding new replacements. Or you can replace the pots with inexpensive L-pads. To test the speakers use a paper towel or toilet paper tube and use it as a stethoscope (or use a stethoscope). That way you can listen to one driver at a time, Kent

This is a little OT but I'd be interested to know how you rate them. I've had all of those models but no more. I really liked the Twelves but didn't have room for them. I liked the Fives very much and sometimes regret selling them. The Seventeens and Twenties are essentially the same speakers but the 20 is 4 Ohms. Nice but I prefer my AR-4x's in that class. The outlier is the Six, which I never really listened to much--just restored them and sold them. I didn't have room for more speakers but owners of the Model Six really seem to like them.

Nice job on the speakers! I love the 2ax and along with the XA 'table that will be a really nice system. Maybe keep an eye out for an AR amp 😊 I keep meaning to get around to restoring my own XA, purchased new in 1970. There's a guy here in NJ, Steve Frosten, who does beautiful work. I bought a tone arm from him. He takes the stock arm and attaches a Technics S arm. Looks the same but you can then use an SME type universal headshells. He also rewires the arm with fancy wire and adds sapphire bearings. I thought the price was reasonable. Sometimes I think I should just take him the whole 'table and let him restore it. His wood bases are beautiful. He also replaces motor, springs, etc and will install a fancy tonearm if desired. At some time I suppose it stops being an AR but they are beauties. Be sure to post info and photos of your rest. Kent

Yeah, that's where I was about 2 decades ago when Wanted to restore my first speakers, AR-4x's. Folks here were VERY helpful. It's not hard as long as you have guidance. Kent

Not a lot of Bozak discussion here so check other forums too. Reading threads here, people who have 250s really like them. There are lots of B-199 woofers on eBay so I wouldn’t waste money on a cheap PE woofer to “slap in”. I also see a pair of B200ZC tweeters but the domes are pushed in.

Sales have slowed a bit, ordering from China has become more difficult and more expensive, and it’s time consuming to sort and pack all the crimps, washers and knobs. I probably have about 50 left and will keep selling them on eBay for $50/pr but will continue the $30/pr price for CSP until sold out. I’ve said “this is the last time” before but I really don’t want to be in the pot business 😁 I only started this to help out friends here (the CSP price is virtually break-even) after I saw another eBay seller hawking them for $50 EACH! So get ‘em before they’re gone. PM your email address for questions or orders. Thanks Kent

Sorry. Sold out.

As you know they are pretty rare. A google search only found one pair for sale, three years ago for $975 Canadian. Don’t know if they actually sold for that. Big speakers are hard to sell. I picked up a pair of KLH Model Twelves a few years back for $100 with a tuner and some other gear thrown in. Bought a pair of AR-91 s in great condition with new surrounds for $75. My point is, those may be wonderful speakers but most people never heard of them and most buyers don’t want huge floor standers. But you could get lucky. I suggest you post in our For Sale section. It’s free. Include some pictures about 100kb each and give your location for local pickup. Kent

Sorry I never replied to this. Seems like a splendid idea. And yes—I recommend some bracing. I did something similar with Avid 100 drivers in AR-4x cabinets. That was Roy’s mod and easy peasy drop-in. A more ambitious project and more similar to yours: I had some crappy Japanese no-name speakers from the Sal that I used as a basis for Johnny Richards’s “Rompicollo” speakers. I lined the thin walls with some mdf and added braces. Made grille frames and covered those in cheap irish linen cross stitch fabric. They look like KLH now but they’re ported, with PE Buyout drivers. Sound good too. Show us your progress!

Excellent! I really liked the Six but couldn’t keep them. Too many speakers and not enough room. Yours look great. I’ve always been afraid to try bleach on grilles but you give me confidence 🙂 Any estimate of the water to bleach ratio?

JBL in the CSP? Heresy! Then I read some reviews of the Studio 530s. Wow! I’d like to hear those!

Check this post. I missed the 2uF caps too but you have to break the epoxy (?) potting

The 2nd pinned post at the beginning of th AR section has a link to the document in our Library

Take a look at the AR-3a restoration guide. The 5 is essentially a slightly smaller 8 ohm version of the 3a. One of the authors, RoyC can also rebuild tweeters if needed. Mids are a bit trickier but I bet they are ok. Don’t let anyone put modern drivers in those! You’d be better off selling them as is to an AR enthusiast and buying newer speakers. No shortage of excellent speakers in the UK

Your mids and tweets are probably good—it’s the pots and maybe the caps that are bad. Take reza up on his generous offer to re-foam. Try spinning the level controls several times to scrape off any corrosion and see what happens with the mids and tweets

You could parallel a 1uF and 15uF Dayton. Or get the Solen. Doesn’t matter IMHO

PM sent. That’s my eBay ad but I sell to CSP members directly at a discount.

And PE still has the MB Quart tweeters. I'll bet these could be modified to fit. Worth a try for $25 each. https://www.parts-express.com/MB-Quart-95-7119-1-Titanium-Dome-Tweeter-with-Truncated-Faceplate-6-Ohm-279-466

Thanks Roy. Learn something new every day! So jnolan was right. I was not aware of the difference between AR and KLH cloth surrounds. Kent