JKent

yeah. And I bet the silver cans are still good (but I changed them).

Nice find Larry but in the spirit of "can you top this?" I'll just rub in the fact that back in 2011 AR_Pro alerted me to a pair of nice 91s in a town near here (in fact, the town I grew up in) for $75. They were fine as-is but I didn't like the look of the re-foam job so I sent them to Bill LeGall. Then rebuilt the crossovers and of course did a little (but not much) work on the cabinets. Total cost was under $250. Woohoo! I have these set up in my shop, driven by the Adcom 555 II. Very nice. These are keepers! If they would fit in my living room they'd be there. I didn't bother replacing the felt around the mid and tweet and I think they sound good but I suppose you could adapt the rings sold by Madisound for the tweets and make some for the mids out of foam. Beautiful speakers! Good luck with them! -Kent

Yeah. Don't know why my parents (and yours) put my "first" name in the middle but yes--John Kent aka J.K., J Kent, etc. Odd to stumble across another J. Kent but IIRC there was one on another forum. It's a real pain: Got me into trouble at the DMV, my young neighbor was collecting my mail and asked "who's John?", I was in a social group and asked an acquaintance to Air Drop a picture to my iPhone and she said "I don't see you. Just 'John's iPhone'". But back on topic: I'd say Glitch really knows these speaker (I don't) so the best take-away I think is: Just enjoy them! If you want to get into a crazy hobby of tearing into old speakers to bringing them back to life (like most of us here) you'll have to go with something a bit older, like AR or KLH. -Kent

Welcome Jaykay3 A disclaimer: I'm not an ADS expert. But here is some info: http://stereonomono.blogspot.com/2012/12/ads-l730.html My advice, FWIW: If you LOVE the speakers do NOT modify them! They were carefully designed by engineers and computers, so just slapping in new drivers, no matter how good (or expensive) will alter the sound. These speakers are known for their accuracy, so why mess with that? OTOH, they are from ~1980 and assuming they have electrolytic capacitors in the crossovers, those "could" be out of spec by now. I get a little nervous when I hear Capacitors maybe. Nothing else. One poor soul on the AR thread had his vintage AR speakers "crossovers rebuilt with the most modern caps/etc" and yes--it DID make a "big difference"--it RUINED them! So. If they sound good enjoy them! If you feel comfortable poking around inside with a soldering iron go ahead and replace the old capacitors with some mylar or other film caps and/or non-polar electrolytics but leave everything else alone. -Kent PS: I was looking for info on the crossovers and found an old ad for some for sale. They've been sold but it looks like the whole crossover is fastened to the speaker terminal plate and is very easily removed. No need to pull the woofer. But it's a PCB, pretty tightly packed. I couldn't see the caps but I don't think I'd mess with it. Speaking of woofers. Do these have foam woofer surrounds? If so, that's where you should make repairs.

Hey Cat One way to prevent fraying is to cut the Mellotone grille material with a hot knife. There are specific "hot knife" tools but I think you can get a knife blade for your soldering iron. I assume you're using the Mellotone. It's hard to get it to lay flat or go around edges. Someone suggested heating it with a hair dryer. I have not tried that, after destroying some old KLH Model 21 radio grilles, but the Mellotone may be more durable. Sorry I didn't find this sooner, but when I did mine I used 3M spray adhesive. -Kent

Welcome to CSP buzuddha and Jeffh! There don't seem to be a lot of Dahlquist guys here so you may not get a lot of feedback but keep trying! Buz, that's a fantastic GW find and your new crossovers look fantastic! Very neat and professional work. I don't really understand your question; Just twist the leads together according to the schematic and solder? Your skill level seems high so I'm unsure what you are asking. -Kent

DANGER WILL ROBINSON, DANGER! I used it on an AR-3 saran grille. It oozed through the grille a bit and left noticeable pink stains on the long sides. I believe the solvent in the E6000 dissolved the plastic frame a bit, causing the pink color because the E6000 is clear. -Kent

Welcome to CSP Jasondad! Interesting. I had a pair of the Powered Partners, which are similar but not the same. There are several threads here addressing the Powered Partners. Those Active Partners appear to be ported (?). How much to pay? I dunno. They have built-in amps that are old. If they work and seem to be in good shape I wouldn't spend much. Check ebay "sold" listings for AR Rock Partners, Powered Partners, Active Partners. A pair of Active Partners with the original box, cables, transformers went for 50 bucks Dec 20. -Kent

OK. Cracked it open to install the 1000uF caps and found some other aluminum electrolytics so I replaced those too. There are also some caps that look like styrene and I didn't touch those. Nice pcb. All the components are marked with the part # and polarity. Here's what I replaced. I used caps I had on hand. The originals were axial, new ones are radial. Had to use heat shrink tubing on the lead because they cross some pcb traces. Yellow arrows on the photo show the new caps.: C1 and C2. 1,000uF/40V replaced with 1,000uF/50V Nichicon Audio C5, C8, C16, C19, C31, C37. 10uF/40V. Replaced with 10uF/63V Nichicon. Squirted the EQ/Tape switch some more. It was pretty spotty. So the result? VERY subtle with AR-91s. A tad more oomph at the bottom. I suspect it would be more impressive with a smaller speaker, like the Allison: Four or any 8" woofer AS speaker such as the AR-4. Turnover frequency points are 35.5, 41 and 48Hz. I have it set at 35.5Hz. According to the AR literature the 91's system frequency response is -3dB at 35Hz so I'm guessing the 35.5Hz turnover is right for these speakers. 35.5Hz is the recommended setting for Allison: One and Allison: Three speakers--those have 10" woofers.

Just got one (ESW, not a schematic). Had to open it up to De-Ox-It the toggle switch (I thought the unit didn't work but it was just the switch). I'll post a photo. A lot of ICs and stuff in there I wouldn't touch but there are 2 1,000uF 40V electrolytics and I happen to have a couple of nice Nichicon audio grade 1000/50 in my parts box so I may do a little surgery. Has anyone else been inside? Tom maybe? I know Tom mentioned using this with AR-303s speakers here I'm trying it out with my AR-91s. Found an interesting quote in a Stereophile review of a book by Howard Ferstler; "In Howard's mind, "the Electronic Subwoofer failed in the marketplace, in spite of its abilities, for one basic reason: it was actually too good." -Kent

Welcome Trans Disclaimer: I never heard of Norman Labs until today but from what I've read they sound fascinating. A photo would help. Does the 631 have 2 woofers? From your description I'd say yes--greens to negs and blues to pos but I'm flying blind here. Is this a 2-way or 3-way? are the tweeters (and mids?) hooked up, so all you have unhooked are the 2 woofers? A little more info.... -Kent PS. OK, Google found a photo of the outside. 3-way with 2 woofers. A photo of the innerds would help but I'd say your guess is correct.

Jasper, Be sure to look at the excellent restoration guide for the AR-3a: Your 10pi speakers are more modern versions of the 3a and much of the information in the restoration guide is relevant. Removing the woofer and the fiberglass stuffing to gain access to the crossover capacitors may seem daunting but if you have some experience using tools, maybe soldering, and have a place to work on them it's not really difficult. And there are lots of guys here to help. OTOH... Those are beautiful speakers and I'm inclined to say "if it ain't broke don't fix it." -Kent

So this IS you!

Great job. i love the grilles. Wish I'd thought of doing that for my Cizek KA-1s. The replacement foam grilles are OK but I think yours look nicer (and would have been cheaper). Keep up the good work. -Kent

Thanks Glenn. Here's what the raw ones look like. You need to remove a little tab, sand or polish the face, solder or epoxy a pin. $6 each. PM me or use my CSP screen name at p t d [dot] net

FINALLY got more "3" badges. Shown below, an original is on the left and the copy is on the right. Solid brass with a pin epoxied to the back. The brass is not coated but Gene says to wipe it with olive oil annually to maintain the shine. $9 each as shown, or if you want to attach your own pin and polish/remove burrs, $6 each. PM me if interested. -Kent

I agree and should have given a more complete explanation. Thanks. You can use the the "contact" method to attach the surround to the cone, then use it wet to self-center as Roger says, to glue the foam to the frame. -Kent

The PE ad you linked to shows the white glue. If that's what you used, seepage is no problem--you can wipe it with a damp cloth or even your finger. In fact, you can run a bead of white glue around that seam and smooth it with a wet finger to make a tapered transition from the foam to the cone. One trick with the white glue that may not have been clear in the instructions: It's a bit like contact cement. You coat both surfaces to be joined then let them set up a bit, so the glue changes from white to almost clear. Then carefully put the pieces together. They'll grab right away. -Kent

I have 2 versions of the large and small AR Inc labels now: Brushed solid brass with engraved lettering (so not black) and glossy solid brass with jet black lettering. -Kent

Good advice from Layybody. I didn't know that speaker used spring clips. If you get the Carli caps, you could go with terminal cups like this https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/terminal-cups/input-cups-d-cup/ You'll need 3" a hole saw to mount them. If you use the binding posts from PE you may as well get the Dayton 5.1 caps. No sense paying shipping charges for 2 small orders from 2 different sellers. Kent

Welcome Adam Rick Cobb and Audiodogs are sellers. Add to those http://www.speakerworks.com/speaker_repair_kits_s/65.htm JBL and Boston filled fillet are the type of foam. For that reason you are better off with one of these specialists (sellers) than with Parts Express or Simply Speakers who, I believe, sell "generic" 8 inch foams. Not all 8" foams are the same. As a first-timer you are better off with a kit, which will come with the stuff you need and instructions. The Speakerworks site I linked has a video to watch. There is some disagreement about whether you should remove the dust caps and install shims. IMHO (and that of many members here) shims are the way to go. Also, check to see what kind of glue comes with the kit you order. I'm a big fan of the white glue. It's like Aleene's Tacky glue (which can also be used). Some sellers have solvent-based glue that's like contact cement and VERY unforgiving. DO NOT GET THAT STUFF. The white glue can be smeared around with your finger and washes off with water. If you goof you can peel the foam off and try again. Use white glue. Roger recommended Madisound for Cali caps and I second that. You want film caps (Carlis are mylar film) for long life but there is no reason to buy expensive caps. I don't know the values of the caps in your 18s but you can combine caps if needed and you don't have to have the exact value (3.9 is fine for replacing 4.0). The 18 used a 6uF cap so maybe the 18s does too (some versions of the 18 series used a 5uF). Here's the 6uF https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/carli-capacitors/carli-mylar-6-mfd/ If you need 5uF you can use a 4.7uF Carli, https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/carli-capacitors/carli-mylar-4.7-mfd/ or if you want a 5 here's a Solen https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/solen-capacitors/solen-5-mfd-fast-cap-400v/ Hope this helps. -Kent PS: Rob says So either the Carli 4.7 or the Solen 5.0 should work fine. If you're compulsive about the cap value you could even add this Bennic in parallel with the Carli to make 5.03uF https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/pmt-poly-cap-630vdc/bennic-pmt-0.33mfd-polypropylene-630v-cap/ Parallel caps are not as silly as it may seem: The Carli/Bennic combo costs less than a Solen The Carli has an ESR that is closer to the original electrolytics and therefore could sound more authentic. Some people think "bypassing" a tweeter cap with a small value cap has sonic benefits, so "it couldn't hurt".

There is a current ebay listing, #122075096462 that offers "Remanufactured cross overs to suit EMI elliptical speakers 92390 or EMI350 13.5" x 8" or similar". The ad states "They are the same values as the original EMI supplied cross overs - 2.2uF capacitor and approx 310uH air cored inductor/coil. . . . The cross overs are wired thus: inductor goes across the tweeter, the capacitor joins +ve of base unit to -ve of tweeter, -ve of base unit and +ve of tweeter connected together" I do not vouch for the accuracy of this information but thought others may find it helpful. -Kent

I don't claim to be an expert but I believe that writer is mistaken. Yes, it's a cap but it's encased in an inductor (hence the "bare wires"). It's an LC crossover. -Kent

An update on the 400, in case anyone plans to re-cap theirs: There are 15 electrolytics (including the NPE in the speaker). They are gray jacketed and some are marked Unicon. They're 40 years old, so this time I replaced the ones on the amp board and the tuner board. Here is a list of the caps, along with the measurements of the ones I just pulled. When I replaced, I went up one step in voltage ratings (replaced 16v with 25v, 25v with 35v etc) and used 105 degree caps if I had them on hand. Replaced the speaker cap with a PIO. Those guys sure liked hot melt glue! 1000uF 35v radial (measured 1081) 220uF 35v radial (measured 290) (3) 100uF 25v radial (measured 133, 135 & 139) 47uF 16v radial (measured 66.4) 10uF 25v radial (measured 13.13) 10uF 16v (measured 14.46) (4) 10uF 16v axial (measured from 14 to 18) 2.2uF radial (measured 3.56) 1uF 50v radial (measured 1.47) 1uF 50v axial NPE speaker cap (tossed before measuring)

We were all in the same place once. I'm not an expert, but a typical crossover may include an inductor, a resistor and a capacitor. Inductors are also called coils or chokes and are abbreviated L so a crossover may be described as an LCR type. There's no R in the EMI. If you wanted to replace the cap in an EMI you'd have to extract it from inside the coil. I don't know how easy that is so I'm inclined not to do it. I don't think an over-powered amp will hurt any speaker, as long as you don't accidentally crank it up to ear-splitting (and cone-shattering) levels. Plenty of people here advocate using kilowatt amps to drive their classic AR speakers even though an AR amp will do just fine at only 60 watts. It's usually clipping that can fry speakers and that's caused by too little power, not too much. But you CAN blow up any speaker by being stupid. I don't know what the output of the KLH table radio is but I'm sure it's less than 5 watts and probably more like 2.