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teknofossil

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Posts posted by teknofossil

  1. On 2/8/2021 at 4:51 PM, RoyC said:

    Some people find the HiVi tweeter to be too forward. If you are using L-pad level controls I strongly suggest using a parallel 25 ohm resistor across both the tweeter and mid. Some people will also reduce the capacitor value a bit as well. It would be prudent to not button up the cabinets too tightly in case you wish to experiment with this.

    Roy

    Thank you for the advice!  -T

  2. Hello all, a I am restoring (finally) my set of hacked up Ar5 speakers. I have theHivi Q1R tweeters to replace the originals. As many of you know these were suggested as replacements for the AR3a. So, my question is for use as replacements in the AR5 are there any recommendations for altering the 4uF capacitor in the original crossover circuit or the inductor recommended for the use of the tweeter with the AR3a?

  3. I am looking for scans of the manuals for the DIY products offered by ACE. As one of my retirement projects I am putting together a library of schematics and other information of audio gear from the past. This will go on line as a on line resource of my own offering or if the Classic Speaker Pages internet gate keepers see fit to create a additional library / archive I will upload there. I know there are a lot of such collections on line. But I have a few that are tough to find. I am also open to sending files if anyone needs anything. Majority of my collection are amplifier, preamp and processor related. Oh yes. I have schematics on the ACE Zero Distortion preamp, a non kit preamp (model 3000 maybe?) and the 4000 sub sonic filter.  I had a copy of the model 5000 subwoofer crossover but it escapes me at the moment. THanks.

    Tom

  4. On 1/19/2020 at 5:25 AM, Amplifierz said:

    Hi Aadams, 

    Yes. That is a Hi-Vi Q1R. Fitted with the appropriate addons to achieve close to AR sound. Yep, i cut the screens from the mids.

    Unfortunately someone dropped a unit while i was working on them, leaving a big old dent in the screen (and the dome underneath it) Needed to remove the screen and use a vacuumcleaner and the tape method to resurrect the now inverted dome. I managed to pull it off without severe damage, but i saw no way to place the screen back. And to make them look identical i removed the screen from the other mid aswell. 

    Pots were not salvageable, 40 years of thick corrosion did its thing. Even an overnight bath in distilled white vinegar wasnt up to the task. 

    So i looked around for a good L-pad replacement. A friend of mine suggested that you don't want L-pads in the signal, so i went with the direct resistor route. After multiple hours of testing and listening i came to the right values, put them in and never looked back. They sound amazing right now.  Okay, attenuation is a bit trickier right now. But these speakers are now tuned how i like them, and they aint leaving anytime soon. 

    I have a form that I made from a good mesh AR3a grill to make a replacement.  I put protective film over a undamaged grill and poured Durhams "Rock Hard" over it with a PVC pipe connector as a outer wall.  I let the Durhams cure for a couple weeks before attempting to form the grills. These parts shown in the photo are actually formed from rain gutter guard material from Home Depot. It is very similar in appearance. This material I have is actually a steel alloy. Authentic AR parts were aluminum. If you (or anyone else) need a replacement drop me an message. All I need is the material and return postage.

    Tom Howe

    AR mesh grill.jpg

    AR mesh grill2.jpg

  5. I understand. Reveneering IMOP is the way to go. You will a very nice system when you are done. I suggest that you consider having the drivers carefully removed and stored away until the work is done and then the drivers reinstalled once the reveneering and finishing is complete. Best of luck!

     

    Tom

  6. It isn't a difficult job really. Anyway, what is the shop going to do to them? It has been my experience water stains like that penetrate deep into the veneer. What are they actually going to do to the the staining? Sanding? Dark staining as camoflage? Just as a FYI material cost for veneer and finishing materials would run less than 100 USD.  I'd estimate about 1 hour or less to apply the veneer unless the edges of the top require veneering as well. Where are you located?  -Tom

     

  7. That water damage most likely has soaked through most of the veneer. Is the veneer blistered is these areas? If not in my opinion you might want to consider buying some flexible veneer from Parts Express, Woodcrafters or Constantines (in FL). This product is available with a heat activated adhesive or the type that you use contact adhesive. If you look in the Bose section of Classic Speaker Pages you can see how the early Bose 901's that I brought back to life came out.  

     

  8. Hello. Does anyone possibly have a schematic for this module that AR sold intended to upgrade the performance of the AR1 and 1w to a AR3 levell? I'm sure my responses will say it is the same as the AR3. Does the module duplicate the whole crossover or just the the high pass filter to the midrange driver?  Thank you!

     

    Tom

     

  9. These were original grills. Stained, rather badly. I assumed they were done. Then I read something on one of the car forums which led me to a test of fabric/ carpet cleaning products, the motivation was for old car restoration.  One thing I did was I secured each panel to a piece of clean plywood. Otherwise the old Masonite will absorb the moisture on the cleaner and warp, plus the fabric wants to shrink a bit too. 

     

     

  10. Hello all. Sorry for the delay updating this project. Time is limited when you are juggling a job and caring for a ill loved one.  Well as it turns out last year I saw another series 1 cabinet on Ebay in what looked like bad shape.  So, I bought it.  Yes, it was in poor shape. A few hits with a rubber mallet and the damaged top popped off, much to my surprise. I made a new top panel from MDF then veneered before installation. After cleaning up the glue from the butt joints and gussets I bonded the new top panel in place in place.  So I now the cabinet I built is an orphan. 

     

    Damaged 901 pic1.jpg

    Damaged 901 pic2.jpg

    20190218_160529_resized.jpg

  11. Hello all,

                         to all you people that do your own surround replacements I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to MSound and/or John McPeak the company's owner? His kits were great, he delivered them promptly and in my experience always the correct foam surrounds for the make and model were delivered.  I know John changed his email at least twice and stopped selling through Ebay some years back.

    Thanks, Tom H.

  12. Hello. There were 2 versions of the original Allison 3 crossover. Later model had separate input terminals for the woofers and  midrange /tweeter section. Separated this allowed the Allison 3 to be bi-amplified . Jumpers were in place for single amplifier use.  Allison 3 systems produced after the company rose like a Phoenix may have used a different crossover since the drivers were likely somewhat different than those made decades earlier in Natick and Roy Allison, who designed these systems may have different ideas on crossover design. I have not seen a schematic for this newer design.

     

     

    Model 3.jpg

    Model 3 later model.jpg

  13. On 10/31/2019 at 11:55 AM, ra.ra said:

    Hi Giorgio, your work looks very good and is a simple and clever adaptation for cosmetic purposes. One small correction - - you seem to have the drivers mixed up - - the 032 midrange was used in the AR-92 while the 044 midrange was used in the AR-58s. More importantly, however, is that you have correctly noted that functionally, these two drivers are fully interchangeable among these 3-way speaker models.

    The plastic face plate that you have painted is termed the "semi-horn" on all of AR's fabrication drawings. There is a third AR mid-driver from this family that is very closely related and nearly identical - - part no. 200028. The 028 mid is found in the AR-9 and AR-90 - - both 4-way speaker models - - and the only physical difference is the amount of ferrofluid which affects its lower limit crossover point.

    A brief summary of these three mid-drivers:

    • mid p/n 200044 - - model AR-58s - - above 700Hz - - horn p/n 204096 - - color: all black
    • mid p/n 200032 - - model AR-91 and 92 - - above 700Hz - - horn p/n 204085 - - color: brown w/silver paint
    • mid p/n 200028 - - model AR-9 and 90 - - above 1200Hz - - horn p/n 204079 - - color: black w/silver paint

    For future reference, I'm pretty certain that the plastic semi-horn can be fairly easily removed from the robust metal parts of these drivers. I seem to recall seeing on these pages a very clever project where RoyC adapted one of these drivers for use in an AR-3a or AR-5 cabinet. In that instance, I believe he removed and abandoned the original plastic horn and - - for cosmetic purposes - - replaced it with a domed screen grille cage that is typically found on the mid drivers for the AR-3a and AR-5 speaker models.   

    028, 032 semi-horns.jpg

    044 mid driver.jpg

     

  14. Hello all,

                 This tuner listing popped up on my Facebook audio related feed. I guess FB ferrets this info out via your activity and suddenly these items for sale show up.  Since its an AR tuner I thought I'd pass it along.  https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/496342270953782/

    There are other Acoustic Research speakers here that might interest some of you AR-oh-files:  https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/112781448736001/search/?query=Acoustic Research&vertical=C2C&sort=BEST_MATCH

    I have no connection to any of these listings. I am addicted to buying old audio crap. (which is better than my brothers collecting habits: Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger sports cars, Lancia's and lots of tools that he almost never uses) Good hunting!

    -T

  15. I was wondering how the 8" Dayton full ranges would be. https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-ps220-8-8-point-source-full-range-neo-driver--295-346?gclid=Cj0KCQiA2ITuBRDkARIsAMK9Q7Mt6U3spv6JCqCR-geVkYvIN-g38UhGG2P2wKmDWAqCcQZSrHcp3DwaAi5QEALw_wcB   It would need level reduction  and a proper crossover to properly mate with the AR woofer. Also, I see that Steve at Decware created some sort of a transformer based correction device  mated with the previously mentioned Dayton that according to his posted details correct the response of the driver dramatically.  https://www.decware.com/newsite/FRX.html

    I think not......

    -Tom

  16. Interesting, those AR-1 systems. My question is "why"? Why are AR-1 systems worth so much? Is it the novelty of the fact they are the first of the "new" generation of speakers? Certainly by today's standards they are inadequate in the upper ranges. If I was inclined to spend 3 to 4 thousand dollars on a vintage AR system it would be the LST or a truck load of AR3a systems which are a better system by all standards above 575 hz. Below that there isn't any real difference, sound wise. Just as a benchmark here my uncle passed away in 2015. He had a huge collection of audio and electronics related items that went through an estate auction. Someone on these pages bought a single AR-1 at a radio swap meet for I believe was around 50 bucks. His story was the seller at the swap meet said it had come from my uncles (Ben H Tongue of Blonder Tongue Labs) estate. Also, somewhere in his home was the Jantzen 4 element ESL tweeter array. He told me decades ago the AR1/Jantzen array was THE system to own and was considered the ultimate system of the time. I think I saw the tweeter array in one of the photos. Someone missed out!

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