lakecat
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Posts posted by lakecat
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Wish I was closer. Loved what this person did to these pine cabs. Seems like a great price to me...especially if you could snag stands too!
Marketplace - Acoustic Research AR-2ax Early model unaltered HUGE POST HOLIDAY PRICE DROP | Facebook
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Congrats...those looked well cared for. I have found with mine is the higher I got them...the better it sounded. They were designed as studio speakers. Remove the fuses in back and replace.
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On 1/17/2022 at 6:02 PM, Chris1this1 said:
Hey guys, bringing this up again. I have a few AR restorations in queue that will be needing grill cloth. Has anyone had any luck with the 18 count or even the 20 count fabric lately?
The 20 CT is only what is available. I see it is for sale here but it too seems limited. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wichelt-Imports-20-count-linen-Lambswool-18-x-28-cross-stitch-light-neutral-/274933454499?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
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Congrats on the cherry. I have the black pair and love them on a Pioneer SX-1980. They are the 3a on steroids!...lol.
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It doesn't matter at all. Remove them.
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Wow!...never heard of this. I have the McIntosh 2205 with the MX-117 pre with the equalizer slightly adjusted for more bass for my AR3's. Both units are recapped and the bass has always been there in spades so can't imagine needing more.
What does this unit do to the woofers? Would this be extra hard on them? Says it would damage vented cabs...so what am I missing?
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21 hours ago, DavidDru said:
Wow, nice. Great work and results.
What about the lacquering was a challenge and frustration?
Thanks!....lacquer runs so easily that I was forced into just doing one side at a time...laying horizontally. That meant taping the other sides from over spray. Even spraying fairly heavy, it still took eight coats to get it where I wanted it. Multiply that for two cabinets. I didn't do one side eight times...as I did the whole cab once....sanded it...tack clothed it...then went again....eight times!...sigh. Got one done....then had the pleasure of doing another!..lol. I think I went thru like ten cans at about eleven bucks each. Absolutely will never lacquer another speaker!
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On 10/1/2021 at 9:57 AM, Pete B said:
Fantastic job on those!
I'd like to try the Simple Green cleaning, is the procedure post on the forum?
Pete B.
Thanks Pete. The Simple Green methods is just spraying the grill material full strength....brushing lightly with a soft brush...letting it set for a few minutes....then rinsing with water. I laid them on a towel and let it dry naturally. Came out pretty well.
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16 hours ago, Ronan said:
Hello Lakecat!
Do you still use the Mac 2205 for the AR-LST, I had read over the foreign speakers forums some one upgraded the AMP for LST from the MAC 2205 to Mac 2500, the Guy said the mac 2500 is better than the 2205 when using for AR-LST, ME myself had owned the LST, in the past I had used the Mcintosh MC 275, a huge modern Mcintosh 402 weigh 120 pounds, 400 watts stereo 800 watts mono and fisher C-500 for the LST, I don't understand how come the HUGE Mac 402 , hooked up to the AR-LST, the bass is not tight as the Fisher C-500 tube receiver... so after using 3 amps for a while , result: 1. Fisher C-500, 2. Mcintosh mc 275 tube, 3. Mcintosh 402 ...so I temporary end up use the Fisher 500 C for my AR-LST,,, I am still looking for the Mac 2205 and the Phase Linear 700 series II amp that Frankmarsi recommended the best AMP for the LST....but not find both of it yet.
Hi...yes, I still use my 2205 for the 4 ohm speakers. I had it recapped so it's working great. I can't comment on the other amps as I have only had this 2205...but amazing that 402 didn't sound as good as expected.
I still haven't refinished the LST's yet. Their placement makes it tough to find a spot for them....so been on back burner.
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7 hours ago, ar_pro said:
No kidding, with the beautiful finish, restored midrange and tweeter, and that excellent woofer, these could be the most desirable AR-3s on the planet.
Plus the new caps and the new pots from Kent!...:) Been trying to be critical of the sound over being in love with them and WANTING it to sound special. I have adjusted mid to half and tweeter to about 75% for most of my music. I can't get over the bass though. These woofers are something. Yes...they are the best sounding 3's I have owned.
The lacquer has dried completely and left a nice sheen to cabs and are as smooth as a babies skin.
I didn't think anything would top my pine 3a's that I redid....but these are right in there. Not as much work as those dang pines were but just something special about these. Especially as mint as they were...for being over fifty years old.
Thank you all for the compliments. You guys know the effort put in them and I appreciate the replies.
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2 hours ago, AR surround said:
I've never thought of the classic AR's as "rock" speakers and didn't realize that they had a model advertised as such. I always thought of products like the (brutal) Marantz Imperial 7 as "rock" speakers. The AR12...I thought it was just an updated version of the AR5 and not a rock n roll speaker?
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On 9/6/2021 at 2:03 PM, ar_pro said:
Interesting....as this seems to be the baby brother to the AR12...which was touted as a rock n roll speaker also....and short lived as the 8 was. I have never seen an 8.
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2 hours ago, genek said:
Looks great. But just in case your lacquer experience wasn't painful enough, check this out...
Sheesh....and I thought I was anal..lol. Weird in that he said it took eight coats of lacquer to get where he wanted it. I found the same thing when using lacquer. I also sanded 220 on first five coats.....then used tack cloth for cleaning. I then used 1500 on the rest...and the tack cloth...which I love using.
Remember....I did one section at a time...one coat at a time....with lots of protection to keep overspray off the other sections. I went thru eight or nine cans of lacquer @ $11 each.
The finish is baby soft smooth and really like how it came out. It will patina nicely with age. As nice as these speakers were to start...it made the time worth it. With the experts refreshing drivers and getting those awesome pots that Kent sells....these are the best sounding 3's I've heard and can adjust the drivers without dropouts!..lol
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4 hours ago, ar_pro said:
Spectacular - I think this is the finest restoration I've ever seen!
Congratulations, Lakecat!
Wow!..thank you AR_pro.....that makes me proud for you to say that. It was a lot of work with that lacquer for sure. Amazing how this story turned out. I thought I was buying pine 3's to match my pine 3a's.....had never seen birch....ever.
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Thank you guys....they should age well. It was worth putting in the time and money.
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Finally finished these beautiful blonde babies yesterday. There is seven to eight coats of lacquer on these cabinets to get the look I wanted. This is pure lacquer over birch....no stain. It was very difficult for me not to use stain as I wanted to highlite the grain....but wanted them to be as close to original as possible. This will be the last lacquer job I ever do on cabinets....what a pain!.....sigh...but this was original when new.
The tweeters were sent to Chris for his refresh....mids to Roy for his magic.....got the new pots from Kent and work great. Used Jeff's suggestion and cleaned grills with Simple Green. The woofers were in such great shape and they sound the best I have had over the years....they really go low! I was very fortunate to find these rare blondes and was willing to put in the work to make them very nice again. They sound fantastic and have the love affair with them right now.....
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10 minutes ago, RoyC said:
Looks good to me, Jeff.
Roy
Thanks Roy....now onward to get her finished! ..:)
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Has been awhile since I've done new caps...etc inside cab and am using these new pots for first time. I need some expert eyes to look at pic and see if I have this correct before I finish and do other. Thanks for any help.
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Looks good! What midrange driver is that?
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13 hours ago, JeffS said:
Lakecat,
Back in 2018 I found a pair of AR-3's where the grills had been discolored due to cigarette smoke. I mixed a solution of Simple Green and water at around 1:3 and brushed it on. After letting them sit in the solution for around 10 minutes I rinsed it off and was very surprised (and very satisfied) with the result. The picture shows the small 'test' area I did before cleaning it all.
Can't wait to see how your project comes out.
That looks great! I will try it...thanks..:)
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Well...decided to go all new so removed and sanded to bare veneer. Three coats of lacquer but may do five to get a nice look. It is coming out a very nice blonde and I like it. Got the other one to do.....then the pots from Ken and caps go in.
Anyone ever clean these grills?...with success?
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On another note, I was talking to Roy after he did an awesome job on the mids on these AR3's. I asked him after the many, many AR3's he has come across....do you remember about how many birch 3's he had seen. His answer....one pair!
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7 hours ago, Giorgio AR said:
Here you will find compatible woofers for your AR5 (there are 2), they have a high price, see if you can negotiate!
Just be careful with this seller. His feedback isn't the best.
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6 hours ago, genek said:
Blonde woods like birch, maple and pine in their unfinished or newly finished state will vary in shade from nearly white to a light tan tone. As the wood and its finish ages, light and oxidation will cause the appearance to darken and move toward yellow, and this is especially so for oil based coating finishes like shellac, varnish and lacquer (water based clear finishes are mostly non-yellowing).
Chemical strippers will remove yellowed finishes, but yellowing of the wood itself (called patina) will remain unless you sand it off. If veneer is very thin, yellowing may penetrate all the way through, in which case you'll need to bleach to whiten the wood again.
The question if you're refinishing is, do you want it to look as if it just rolled out of the factory, or as if it has been well cared for and has aged gracefully?
I love the blonde look so I removed all the lacquer on cabs with lacquer thinner and fine steel wool. Little bit of work but it came out nice. Letting them set up and will do a final wipe down with steel wool. Will probably do a sealer....then the lacquer.
Showing a pic of woofer after I removed grill. The grill had never been removed. The lower bolt section of woofer shows the duct seal filling one hole. There was no bolt there....because a hurricane nut was missing. The lazy worker just filled it....and it passed inspection?...lol.
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AR11 Advice
in Acoustic Research
Posted
Yes....I did on my AR12's...but can't find the pics on here now.