Aadams

I am impressed, sincerely. Adams

@Pete BThanks for doing this.

It is a stock 2ax. Not mine. The jumper is common on the early ARs and is required to connect the the woofer to the other drivers including the pots.

The only thing I can imagine you are describing is the jumper wire connecting T and 2 posts. There should be one on your 2ax.

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_manuals/ar_loudspeaker_manual_1973.pdf Above is a link to the AR speaker manual for 1973 from the Library. It lists the 2ax as 8ohm and recommends 18 to 16 gauge speaker wire.

This stuff works. I have used it on particle board baffles where mortite can cause problems when trying to remove woofers.

You would be better served placing this in the "For Sale/ Wanted" forum. Post photos that give a good idea of exterior condition including full shots with grills off. If the grills on the 3a will not easily detach, don't remove them. There are quite a few forum members in your area who would drive to purchase good examples.

Good job. Hope it works out.

I think I know why you need additional wire but experience has shown that polyfill is the wrong stuffing for the early ARs. It does change the performance. 22oz to 25 oz so of fiberglass is the correct stuffing. Polyfill was used by AR in its later gen speakers and i'm not saying it can't be made to work in the AR5 but nobody in these pages has reported how to use it in the old classics with satisfactory results. Polyfill will make a perceptible, negative change in the quality of the bass. Adams

Have you tried an Amplifier signal directly on the woofer +\-?

The 3a improved is not the same speaker as the 3a described in the restoration guide. Your working woofer is a later version factory replacement from Tonegan. For tweeters see the thread below on the 3a improved, with content from RoyC. I don't have a clue on the broken woofer if the lead wires are not broken. Be patient with the time zone difference. Adams

Amplifierz Regarding the fabric under the midrange screens: I came across this tidbit in a Tysontom post from 15 years ago. "Incidentally, the reason for the fiberglass on the outside of the dome under the protective grill was to apply an equal pressure against the dome to counteract the pressure under the dome" You can read about the "popped out" syndrome in this thread that is mostly about tweeters. I don't know if your mid drivers are at risk or not. These old dome mids are very durable if not subjected to clipping amps.

This thread has some good before and after images of the way it should be connected if you use original pots. This thread has an image of lpads in a 3a but the connections are the same as AR5. I think the wire colors are the same. I will pass this on from one of the experts. You aren't required to work in the box. You can prep with pigtails and install with wire nuts. Use marine grade wire 18awg

There is a benefit to fixed resistors. If you get the fixed resistance set so the crossover points are correct the mid and tweeter outputs will be matched across both cabinets without accounting for any variation between like drivers. You can use your equalizer to increase or decrease entire driver bands with modest adjustments. This is similar to later ARs made with no attenuator controls after equalizers became affordable.

Does this mean all your music files are rented or public access instead of owned. No local storage?

Do you use a turntable at all?

Sounds like you will be ok with a 10 band graphic equalizer if you ever need to adjust the mid.

Is that a Hivi QR1? It looks like you cut the screens and removed the damping material from the mids. Where are the Lpads and resistors? In another thread you said you would not bypass the pots. Adams

Powerglide Your meticulous restoration has set a new bar for all of us, especially considering the condition of these when you started. One thing you may not know is the performance of your tweeters is likely so severely degraded that a fair comparison with those JBLs is not possible without a tweeter rebuild or installing a modified HI Vi. Adams

This thread tells you how to store old AR woofers for prolonged periods. I think a few weeks would qualify as prolonged.

If your baffles are chipboard you might want to consider tape only. Mortite caulk works well on woofers but it can bond into the porous surface of chipboard and you can pull out significant chunks of mounting surface when trying to remove and replace. Tape will also be easier on flanges of tweeters and mids for future remove and replace. Adams

I see your point.

Der You haven't mentioned what you consider to be upper mid range. The trick that Roy's mod performs is the blending in the crossover area that closely mimics the transition of the original tweeter but the HiVi does not match the dispersion of the original above the crossover point. The rebuilt originals from both Roy and Chris easily match the sonic performance of a correctly adapted HiVi but hearing the difference in the 5k to 8k range without having a reference speaker will be difficult unless your ear is finely tuned. The good news is you can't go wrong either way. Adams

My two cents. You are unlikely to notice the difference unless you listen to recordings that successfully capture the live quality of a large venue performance and you also have another speaker with which to compare. So, I am saying no big payoff but I wouldn't dump those original tweeters. Adams

Reminds me of an lst post a couple of years back, the problem was in the spectral balance control. I think it needed a deoxit hit or maybe a few rotations to work it out.