JKent

AB Tech sells an Advent replacement that resembles the original: http://www.abtechservices.com/adventspeakers.html I'll take a photo when I can Kent

Vern, here is an original Advent driver and a comparison of the Advent (top) and Philips (bottom). The Advent had a 4-bolt mounting pattern, the Philips 8. The Philips is mounted on an aluminum adaptor plate. btw--what was the "well known speaker that was highly praised in it's day"? Kent

Interesting. I see there is a single Advent 400 speaker on ebay now and it appears to have the same driver. Was that a standard replacement? The aluminum adaptor plate appears to be manufactured--not a DIY Here's the link to the ebay item http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...:MEWA:IT&ih=019

Hi again Vern Based on your info, I found this page where the Philips AD5061/M8 is described. As follows: Philips 5" (128mm)* paper cone full range drivers with 2 3/16" (55mm) whizzer cone -- this is terminated with a flat ring which helps reduce whizzer resonances. 8 ohms (DCR=6.9 ohm). Voice Coil is 1" (25mm). It has the trademark octaganol 8-legged stamped basket. Drivers have cloth surrounds. I have brushed away the deteriorated open-cel foam that was used for a rear mount gasket. http://homepage.mac.com/planet10/vintage-d...allery/philips/ On another site, the author had this to say: For the rear drivers, I tried full-range Philips AD5061/M8, but they were not of high enough quality, power, or sensitivity. An album of Carmina Burana, with its lush chorus, has so much out-of-phase material I was getting distortion from the amp trying to drive them, and the small speakers were bottoming out. I replaced them with two of the same dome midrange drivers PMT51) I used for the front. http://www.rawsound.com/articles/MSspeaker/ Finally, these comments: The new midrange driver mentioned by Carlos Bauza as now being used in the Rectilinear HIis the Philips AD5061/M8, which Rectilinear is selling for $11.75. This unit is a high-compliance version of the earlier AD5060/M8 and may be had for $5.95 plus postage and $0.30 handling feefrom McGee Radio, 1901 McGee Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64108. The 5061/M8 is lessefficient than the old 5060/M8 and sounds worse. http://www.bostonaudiosociety.org/pdf/bass...112-760809b.pdf So not exactly rave reviews. Still, for the radio it seemed fine to me. Didn’t know what a “whizzer cone” was, so I looked that up, too: Whizzer Cone A small supplementary cone attached to the voice coil of a speaker for the purpose of producing and radiating high frequency content more effectively than the larger speaker cone. A whizzer cone is attached to the voice coil in the same place as the speaker cone; however, where whizzer cones are used it is necessary for there to be some additional flexibility in the joint between the speaker cone in the voice coil. This allows the speaker cone to become somewhat decoupled from the higher frequency motion of the voice coil so it doesn't dampen the voice coil from being able to move the whizzer cone at those higher rates. Whizzer cones have fallen out of popularity in the last couple of decades, mostly due to the added coloration of the signal produced by the necessary slop in the coupling between the speaker cone and voice coil. http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/gl.../t--WhizzerCone

Thanks Vern for the informative reply. Do you suppose this is a suitable full-range radio speaker? The KLH midrange was used as a full-range in KLH radios, so by that logic I'm thinking this should be OK. Kent

I opened up an Advent 400 speaker and found that the driver has been replaced. Sounds fine. The new driver is stamped "Made in Belgium" Here are pics of the back and front. Guess it's a coaxial design. Anyone know what it is? Thanks for any help.

Interesting--the green and yellow on my 4x are consistent with the diagram

Never heard of KLH Research Ten speakers. What are they?

funny how these threads are strung together. I made my hot cross buns observation before all the helpful info from John. You still got a deal on the drivers. 2 woofers you can use and 2 tweets to sell. Heck, you may even come out ahead! ;-) Kent

Great buy on those drivers Rick! I'm curious about the "hot cross buns" pattern on the woofers. I have a pair of KLH 33s with that pattern. Think it was to add damping to the woofer. But I have not come across it on my 3 pair of 4x's. Good luck with your restoration. You have some good advice from John and Roy--both have given me expert guidance with my restorations. btw--I put Zen caps in my first AR4x restoration (John's recommendation), but they are no longer available and were pretty expensive. My next restoration will use Carlis (Roy's recommendation) from Madisound. Clean those pots! It's not hard, just takes patience and elbow grease. Use a little deoxit or electrolytic grease to keep them working. Good luck!

Yes--watch ebay. These come up from time to time. You want a 2-way tweeter that is from any of the following Allison models: AL110; AL 115; AL120; A4; A5; A6; A7; CD6; CD7; PB 8.2; PB 66.2 (this is from the Allison website you checked). Be aware though, that there was apparently an evolution in those tweets. My A4s have tweets with delicate leads attached to brass binding posts, and exposed dustcovers that get crushed easily. Other tweets had lugs instead of leads, and others had lugs and heavy metal mesh over the tweet (there is a pair like this on ebay now). Another possibility is to replace the pair. I bought a pair of Audax tweeters from Madisound to use in an A4, but later found the "correct" parts. I bought the 4-ohm Audax Model TW025A2, the 8-ohm is TWO25A0. Purisists would probably not approve of the replacement, but these are good--they were used in the legendary Spica T50. And they were only about $22 ea. :-) Finally, I just sent off some dead tweeters today to Human speakers. Huw is going to check them out to see if he can either repair Allison tweets or manufacture suitable replacements. Stay tuned.....

you know it's odd. If you check the Allison site: http://www.allisonacoustics.com/parts.html they show that the 2-way tweeter AND the 3-way tweeter are replacements for the A4 and A5. But not ALL the speakers are listed under both 2-way and 3-way. How can this be? As far as I know, the (only) difference between the Four and Five is that the Four used two matched tweeters, while the Five was the "budget" version, using only one.

Update: I still have not gotten around to fixing this speaker, but now I have all the parts. Plan A was: I bought a pair of Audax TW025A2's from Madisound. They are 4 ohm and are the tweeters used in the legendary Spica T-50. At about $30 each I thought these would be a good choice. BUT--I found a pair of original Allison tweeters from the Allison: Five on ebay. A quick check of the Allison web site showed that the Fours and the Fives used the same tweeter (part #4010202, listed at $65 each). Of course that web site and the Allison company seem to be defunct so buying from Allison was not an option. Anyway--got the pair for $33 + S/H, so for under $45 I now have originals! There is a slight difference. The tweeters from the Fives have lugs instead of those horrible hair-thin leads and spring posts that got me in trouble in the first place. I guess I can fill the holes where the spring posts go and sell the posts on ebay! The Five tweets also have odd plastic pins protruding from the fronts (two per tweeter, although one is snapped off) So Plan B is: Use the Allison: Five tweeters, refoam the woofer, refinish the walnut veneer, and I'll have a single Allison: Four, perfect for a center channel application (or I'll sell it, and my original pair of Fours on ebay) The only downside is I'm past the return period for the Audax tweets from Madisound. Guess I'll have to sell THOSE on ebay, too! Seems all's well. Anybody see any problems I may have missed?

>Depending on your budget, this list should give you great >options on tweeters that are readily available - good luck! >My preference is the Morel's! > >The Morel MDT33, along with the Accuton C223/6, Hiquphon OW >I/II/III, Human 002, Scan-Speak R2904/7000, and the Alison >Acoustics 4010203 (previously available only as a replacement >part for Allison loudspeakers) are considered by many to be >the ultimate electrodynamic tweeters available. > >One other option maybe the Morel Supreme 110. OMG! The Morel 110s are $334/pair! I think that's more than I paid for the pair of Allison Fours (with 4 tweeters) brand new back in the day (I could be wrong, but YIKES!)

Thanks Carl and Roy Funny, I never listened to these. The fellow who sold them to me said they sounded good. This will be my second 4x restoration, so I know enough about the caps and pots, and I do have a copy of John's diagram, but thank you. Those "new" tweets are definitely going. I'll use the original woofers, cleaned up pots from my parts drawer, new Carli 20uF caps and some OEM tweets when I can get them. I also plan to replace the fiberglass, which is pretty crumbly. So--am I correct in understanding that the AR4 and AR2 both used the same tweets? What about the 5, 7? Looks like I have a lead on some, so I think I'll be OK. Too many projects going on at once: two KLH Model 21 radios--one FM and one AM/FM (I also have one for sale on ebay now), a KLH 21 extension speaker, a pair of KLH Model 33 speakers, another pair of AR 4x's that will need the #4 coil in one rewound to make it a #5, and 3 Allison Fours--my own pair and a single one that needs new foam surround, refinishing and, unfortunately, 2 new tweeters. I'm going with Audax tweets because the Allis just aren't available. And my wife wants me to put it all away and get ready for Christmas! This is an obsession! Maybe I need a shrink ;-)

Thanks Roy I checked the SN. One was missing, the other is FX276432. Opened that one up to see if there was a date stamp on the woofer (no) or a number on the inducter (no again). I did find 2 interesting things tho. There is a device(I dunno--I have almost no electronics knowledge. Looks like a cap to me--4.7 uF, but why?)wired in line with the replacement tweeter (pic attached). Then I went to pull out the pot and it is fried! Really! Melted! Check it out Kent

Thanks for the advice Carl, but I really want to know what other AR speakers used the same tweets as the 4x, so I can watch for some used ones on ebay. Seems to me classic speaker afficionados are like classic car buffs. Heaven forbid you should put hardware store carriage bolts in the bumper of your '56 Chevy! I had an experience recently when I asked for advice here and on the Yahoo Allison site regarding replacement tweeters for a lone Allison: Four I'm fixing up. The gist of the comments was "There are no suitable replacements for the Allison tweeters and the originals are no longer available. The Allison tweeters were extra-special, and you can't use anything else, so you're out of luck" (or "cannibalize tweets from another pair"--not too helpful because then what would I put in THOSE speakers??). Anyway, I did buy some 4 ohm Audax tweeters and will be installing them pretty soon. So.....What AR OEM tweets should I be looking for? Did the 4x share a tweeter with other models? thanks

Hi all I just picked up a pair of AR4x speakers (my 3rd pair) and they're in rough shape. pulling the grilles I found that some previous owner replaced the tweeters with some no-names. I figure I'll watch ebay for some original tweets, but I have 2 questions: 1. Besides watching for "AR4x" tweeters, are there other models (or even brands) that are correct replacements? 2. I read somewhere that early 4's had cone tweeters, but later 4's had dome tweets and the domes were superior. True? Should I hold out for domes? I'm attaching photos of the front & back of the no-names, in case anyone recognizes them and can tell me if they are worth keeping. Thanks!

PS I did join that forum. Got 2 replies: they can't be repaired, they can't be replaced, watch ebay. Not much help so far. Still open to suggestions re new tweeters that are good enough to use in a single Allison Four for a center chanel in a surround system. Madisound suggested the Audax TW025A0. I may go with those.

Thanks Bill No--I did not know about the Allison forum at Yahoo groups. Wish I had, because I ruined a tweeter trying to lenghthen the hair-thin lead. I just tried to look at that forum, but apparently you have to be a member. I tried to sign up, even tho they want too much info, but every screen name I tried was taken! I may try again, but it's sort of moot now, since the tweeters are toast :-( I'd be interested to know if you come up with an alternative. Simply Speakers suggested: The best tweeter we can recommend is our GT-510 for $29.95 but it needs another ¼” on the hole cut out. You have 3” and need 3 1/4” I wrote to Madisound and they asked for photos, so I'm waiting to hear back from them.

It's a long and tragic tale, but my single Allison: Four restoration is not going well. The good news: The filthy and water-stained cabinet now looks like new. The bad news: The woofer needs refoaming (but I knew that all along). And, the ugly: BOTH tweeters are toast! Any suggestions for replacement tweeters (that won't break the bank)? Thanks

>My problem is one of my cats exercised her claws on them.. >Luckily the speakers were not hurt. I got some real cheap >cloth over them now. But I would like to replace them with >something that looks close to original material. >What I am leaning towards the FR 1004 or the FR 1003 from this >site. >http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/product...coustone_cc.asp > >I can not decide which looks like the original.. Jeff: That's a good resource. If you check the site, they will send you swatches, which should be much more helpful to aid your decision. I got my swatches today--over 50 of them in folders! Good luck