genek
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Posts posted by genek
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I wonder where all those screechy, boomy speakers I've heard fall in this. I haven't auditioned any new speakers in at least 10 years now, so no idea what Harman's current lines are like, but I'd be very surprised if new JBLs sound remotely reminiscent of ARs.
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To my eye, it appears that the AR curves are closest to Toole's "Trained Listeners Only."
Do we know which of these curves Harman was producing speakers to conform to in the 80s and 90s?
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I wonder how the "Harman Curve" compares to the old Harman standard, which, IIRC, was whatever the majority of listeners in Floyd Toole's 1980s blind listening tests said they liked best.
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Different. Check the AR-5 schematic in the Library for values.
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Someone who is an "original aficionado" would most likely want to see some new response curves to determine how the speakers with rebuilt tweeters compare to published curves for the speakers when new. This is the crowd who would care that the level controls don't line up with original settings and would be looking into things like adding resistors or coils to bring response back to original.
There are others who will be more flexible. These are the folks who replace original tweeters with HiVis and don't bother with adding coils, or are satisfied with L-pads instead of pots. For them, you'd probably be ok just specifying the ways in which the speakers have been modded from original.
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3 hours ago, ReliaBill Engineer said:
I will reset the second speaker so the white dots “are” at 50% of the wiper travel, as I did the first one. Makes sense to me.
Hopefully, you are not planning on reselling, because a vintage AR "aficionado" considering buying will be unhappy to discover that the white dots no longer correspond to AR's factory Normal settings.
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Microstatic marketed these as devices to widen high frequency dispersion, as opposed to just adding more highs. Their advertising brochures had photos of them on top of AR-3as, but IMO their biggest impact was when I added them to ARs that didn't have domes, like my AR-6s. I think they'd be utterly redundant on top of speakers like the LSTs and MSTs.
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I have two sets of Microstatics left (I sold the other set to one of our members a few years ago, don't remember who).
The units with two small and two large tweeters measure 9.188" across.
The units with four identical tweeters measure 9" even across.
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Even NOS would be age degraded by now. Best you can do is measure frequency response and compare to old measurements.
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My thought was a Microstatic-shaped cabinet with four HiVi QiRs. They have a response range from 2.5k-20k, the same as the the Microstatics.
If this discussion takes off, I'll move it to Mods, Tweaks and Upgrades.
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So if rebuilding a tweeter produces more output, do we know how it compares to the tweeter when new, and would more output than when new always be good...?
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Ouch. That means that when the speaker is positioned properly, there will be exposed holes.
BTW, if that is a 2a with the cross-fired mids, proper positioning is laying it down horizontally. Cross-fired drivers should not be vertical.
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A portion of this discussion has been banished to The Kitchen.
Disagree all you want about equipment and components, but not about each other's motives or behavior.
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First thing I would do is try tapping the back where the terminals on an AR would be to see if there's a hollow sound. Someone's veneer job may have been interrupted before a terminal opening got routed out and the terminals may still be there under the veneer.
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19 hours ago, JKent said:
You’re right Gene. That’s why MicroStatic sold those add-on supertweeters specifically for AR and KLH.
Most modern supertweeters are not going to provide the added "highs" that fans of modern speakers are after, because the sound most modern listeners are missing when they say ARs have no "highs" is actually mostly in the upper midrange (2kHz-4kHz) and presence (4kHz-6kHz) regions. Aperion ribbons, for example, don't kick in until 8kHz. By comparison, the Microstatic array can be set to go as low as 2.5kHz.
Longtime readers of this forum may recall that our late friend Carl Richard (Carlspeak) designed an "updated" version of the 3-series called the "Super 3a," that replaced the original dome mid and tweeter with SEAS drivers. Maybe what's needed here is a "Super 3t," with the HiVi Q1R and one of HiVi's dome midranges in a small box.
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1 hour ago, JKent said:
And it is. I believe the 2-ax “mid” is a tweeter and the driver in question is a supertweeter.
Yes, but it's a supertweeter that produces vintage AR highs. If someone wants to boost highs to modern levels, another one will be needed.
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Sounds like a job for a supertweeter.
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The models overlapped:
AR-2 1957 - 1964
AR-2x 1964-1970 "early"
AR-2a 1959 - 1969
AR-2ax 1964-1970 "early"
AR-2x 1970-1973 "late"
AR-2ax 1970-1976 "late"There are a couple of members who can rebuild tweeters. Will let them say whether their services are available.
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The 2ax was a 1964-1976. Your is an "early" model, between 64 and 70.
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If you watch the video, the covers of the books on the table are not reversed. The image is not flipped.
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It's a video.
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The logo plates appear to be on the wrong side of the grills?
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I think the question is whether the OP wants a full-on restoration or just to get them looking and sounding halfway decent. They have aftermarket drivers that have aged out, so someone was probably listening to them not sounding original for a long time.
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No-name tweeters, too.
Sacriledge. AR93Q
in Acoustic Research
Posted
If what you want is to skip the work and potential screwing up of drivers if you do it wrong, I'd just order some of the "AR replacement" drivers being offered by Simply Speakers. A halfway decent 8" woofer from Parts Express is only going to be $20 or so cheaper, and while the SS replacements won't be exactly "right," they'll likely be closer than anything you'll find after spending hours comparing no-name drivers to the old AR specs.