newandold

Here’s a bit of “remember when” regarding that tweeter. When it first appeared from Allison Acoustics back in the 1970’s, a brand new factory replacement could be ordered and shipped to you from the Natick Mass. factory (along with near bulletproof packaging) for the same price (around 35 bucks)! No metal screens though....they had not come up with those yet! Bill

Yes I have seen many posts about this corrosion problem during the last 24 years or so, that I’ve followed Allison on the web. I believe there is no one single factor that makes it happen with SOME of these tweeters that have the metal screens. (I started out in 1977 with no screens). The screens were the “improved” protection that came roughly 10 years after the introduction of the original lineup. High humidity where the speakers are used is the catalyst IMHO. Perhaps that compound like you said, or a touch of rusty corrosion between that screen and the wire, but no one knows for sure. Rust on the screw heads is an indicator of where they’ve been. Bill

https://www.simplyspeakers.com/acoustic-research-replacement-woofer-12100032.html Based on reviews only, it was hard to find anyone displeased with this alternative if needed.

Roy was such a good guy and is sorely missed. Very nice story and typical of the way things were done when things were going well in Natick.

The website looks great....looks like you’ve got your place....From the posts on this I’ve read to date, it appears you’re going to need them. Bill

I’ve been collecting original spares on EBay for years....but you have to be very careful with whom you’re dealing. That being said, and especially that it’s a 3A, it would be best to have that original rebuilt. I have used Bill Legall’s Millersound in Landsdale PA and also Simply Speakers in FL. Surely there are a few guys here with some suggestions of their own Bill

Yes swapping the woofer is one of the best ways to be sure. The woofer is very old and the trip may have been just enough to shake up a voice coil that was already on the way out. Fortunately if that’s the case a woofer for that system can still be had. The seller may also work with you to some extent on some credit. I was once faced with a situation like that and the seller gave me some credit towards the repair. Bill

The terminal end is most common. but for sure follow the lead continuity to the coil.

Could be a bad solder from the voice coil to the cone. I wasn’t able to open the video unfortunately.

The A1’s appear to be in outstanding condition! Most of the Allisons that come up for sale these days are sad to look at....beat up and such.

This is interesting! My first time hearing of “Holographic” in a loudspeaker rather than “sonic holography” built into preamps from Bob Carver, intended to expand the soundstage of any loudspeaker. Those A1’s are fantastic! They were the focal point of my own system for 35 years. Bill

They are very old, so it should not be surprising to find more than one driver failing. The least invasive way to figure it out is to remove the grilles and allow music material to play softly enough to get your ear close to each driver, to figure out which ones are low, distorting or dead. For my part, I would want to pull the drivers and check every internal connection. Bill

I would also try the fuse swap as suggested by the previous poster and also run the spectral balance control all the way in both directions and listen for a smooth transition. However beyond that, you (or someone familiar with the LST,) will need to evaluate each driver and array to determine where the drop in output is coming from. Not as complicated as it is methodical with all those drivers. The sound you describe from the midrange is indicative of a driver failing (or possibly the fuse). Bill

Hi Chris, You’re right! I had the older, original lineup of Allisons in mind. (None of the cones from my A1’s (1977) were coated. All of the smaller woofers I’ve seen and Owned from the eighties and nineties were coated. I have the AL 115s, close in age to your LCs and the newer NL1440. That being said, it’s always the surrounds that go. Spiders get weak and loose compliance also. I have had both spiders and surrounds replaced in all my systems between 2012 and 2016. The quest to stay “new” continues.,...

Really, I never saw the Allison woofer cones coated until I bought a replacement woofer for an Allison One around 1994. Big changes by then within the company and that woofer (though it sounded perfectly fine) had the entire surface surround and all shiny coated. It looked different from the originals but not nearly as far of a departure as what happened later in 2000 when David Faulkner bought the company and tried to jump start it. From what I’ve seen over the years, any coating applied to the surrounds has done nothing to add to the longevity, only wishful thinking. Just a gooey mess with the surrounds rotting and the coating separating from the foam. Right now, I’m a “ crash test dummy” for all new surrounds on my current Allison’s with no coating on any of the woofer surrounds. They range between 2012 and 2016. We’ll see.... Can’t speak to the tweeters. If you’re happy with the sound then that’s all that matters. For what it’s worth, the foam surrounds of today chemically are supposed to hold up better than the foam of the 70’s and 80’s.... If true that would be the REAL ticket! Bill