lakecat

What would you do with crossover plate and speaker wire terminal that has been destroyed also? Paying $50...then buying 3/4" fiberboard...then drilling holes with recessed flanges...then buying crossovers and caps...buying all drivers...wiring and stuffing...I see over $400 or more there easily. Then...refinishing cabinets...new grill cloth...and badges....to still have a hacked speaker? I will pass...:) My point of this seller being an idiot....is all he needed was a screwdriver!!!...lol...but he attacked with drills and circular saw....insane...

Lol... I can't even begin to understand what their thought process was before they gutted the front of these great speakers. And to think they now have value?!!! Crazy...crazy...

Saw this and just shook my head..... sigh.....https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Acoustic-Research-AR-3A-Speaker-Cabinets-ONLY/223669620490?epid=1537429139&hash=item3413bf8f0a:g:q7EAAOSwf-5dgXKG

Of course the 303 is an improved version of the 3a or Ken would never had done his job..:). It is much stronger and drivers are better. It handles 250 watts per. The bass is super strong. I have the black pair..mint...and played thru a Pioneer SX-1980. Awesome match.

Not a problem with sharing. Congrats on getting those. Good luck with the restore!

Yes...twas me with that pine heathen! Yet to find a match....and it is a 3a with alnico woofer. Maybe someday...sigh.

Certainly pine!...but stained. The one on left is certainly the one I would love to find. I have had a 3a for two years now looking for a single that has that great graining in it that matches.

I am.passing. They are wanting $450 so with that tear....no way. Not even close.

Is this a repair on woofer cone? I can't expand it to see closely.

I am still debating on these. I am deciding if I am crossing the "hoarder" line!...and if want is more than need. These are being sold thru a consignment so I doubt if I could even hear them before buying. My attraction is the rarity and having that beast mode look...and probably sound of them. I had the fives that I completely redid and liked them...but moved them on when they just couldn't outdo the 3a.

Completely rebuilt with crossovers....and cabs redone. Are they worth pursuing?...with me having AR 3's and 3a's?.... I read the woofers are different than on 5's. Does this mean one could never find this woofer if something happened? Thanks for any replies.

Thanks for the testing and reply. I have a pair of Hi-Vi's in my original 3a's that Roy helped me with. The sound is superb and with being my keepers...not worried about resell value. But......I do keep a pair of 3a tweeters in storage....in case!...:) The quality of the Hi-Vi's is a tribute to Roy for his testing and work on finding a reasonable cost alternative to the 3a tweeter when it wasn't repairable.

Nice work!...:) I love this version of the 3a. Look forward to hearing your thoughts on those tweeters. Turning it down halfway is a good sign!

Thanks Glenn...he deserved it.

Ha.....the only thing I owe you mister is a hard time!....:)….and it's a SMOKED brisket for your dining pleasure....twelve hours of slave work but they are scrumptious. I wasn't being generous with that Marantz Model 7.... without you mentioning that I should look at that again.....I would have passed on it. When I saw the completed sales of them on Ebay, I about crapped my pants! That was how sorry of an audio guy I am/was..lol. I paid $600 for it....took it to an audio shop near me and spent $100 for new tubes and a going over. I put it on Ebay and got nearly five grand for it. One of the best deals I had ever done so a ten percent helpers fee went to the MAN!....:) I will make it up there to see you one of these day my good man....and as you know....always welcome here too.....

Yes....one of the most unselfish people you come across in the audio world. He took this AR rookie and soooo patiently shared his time and knowledge to set me up correctly with the many sets of speakers I have redone. He is a great mentor and I am sure I have amused him with some of my ideas over the years....;) Thank you Roy for being so generous.

The 117 is the perfect match for the 2205 but the others you mention would do fine.

I got these LST's two summers ago and when I brought them home, I tested them on a Sansui G-8000. Knowing it couldn't handle the 4ohm with much volume, I still really like the sound. They were set up on top of some 3a's I had set up at the time so no further testing was done as I wanted to refinish them and update them before I actually used them. Life got in the way and time passed. I did purchase some Polk SRS SDA 1.2tl's last summer after visiting a friend in Cincy that had them and really, really liked the sound.....so the LST's got put on a back burner and had been stored in my office. Last week, I finally decided to get the LST's out and test them.....and get them refinished and updated when weather changed. I had bought new fuses so put them in after carrying the heavy beasts downstairs to great room. Seeing they were studio monitors, I decided to put them up high.....and had my son help me get them on top of the Polks which have a height of 64". I hooked them up to my McIntosh 2205 and put in a cd. I set everything flat on the MX-117 pre-amp and sat down about twenty feet away.....with volume at about ten watts. I about fell over! The sound was just awesome. Clarity, depth, sound stage, plenty of bass, and highs that were crisp and clear. Voices were so forward that they seem to be in the room. I was simply shocked! It was 3a's on steroids!..lol. I have been playing them for two weeks now and waiting for my ears to say.... ( I am tired of them now...let's move on)...but nope....every time I sit down with these, I sit there with a smile....and find I am muttering to myself....:) Now the Polks are as dynamic in their own right but now I am in love with both and troubled by what to do. I know when I refinish the LST's, I will get attached to them even more. It is like being in love with a beautiful blonde and a brunette!..lol. I am half joking of course but damn these bad boys are something....and to go toe to toe with the Polks is impressive! Frank....I understand your passion now...high five! As of now....keeping both but the only negative I see with the LST's is the needed height for them to sound correct. (dang it....had pics but getting error message....and this was after deleting a ton of pics.)

Thanks Tom....I do flip it occasionally but supporting it is a good idea and will do it.

I have to ask as I am storing an alnico woofer, is how can it be stored? Just rotate the woofer occasionally?

Bill....I use clamps like these. You just buy lengths of 3/4" iron pipe for your needs. I have two foot to six foot pieces of pipe for use.

It is W10.....but received a message that I am close to max. So got to go delete some pics and see if that takes care of it. Don't know why phone pics were never accepted here.

I have always been able to upload pics from my camera via laptop to this site. My phone.....was not able to ever. Now....I am getting an error message when trying to use my camera pics from laptop to upload on here. Anyone explain why?

Very nice David....and how nice to have access to da machine...:)

Pots are the same so depends on location if anything. Never needed to buy insulation but there is threads here telling which kind to buy. Polyfill I think. Might be in the 3a guide. I've used bar clamps with 1x2 oak pieces for clamping. I pour in the wood glue...getting it saturated...then clamp and really...really get it under pressure. It has worked so far....:)