jayrosc

So I now know I've inherited someone's hobby project. The only thing AR about these is indeed the cabinet. Just checked and they read 5 ohms across the terminals so I think it's safe to hook them up to see how they sound but I don't think these are sticking around here very long. Good news is they were thrown in when I bought a nice (and authentic) pair of KLH model 5's so the only thing I've got into them is bringing them home.

Have not hooked them up yet. I agree that this restoration may be a bit off course. I just don't know what an on course resto even looks like!

Hello. Been awhile since I've been here enjoying this hobby due to some health issues but I'm pleased to say that I've come back with much happiness. So, this weekend I was doing what I love, which is haunting yard sales in search of cool vintage stereo stuff. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon this pair of AR 2a's and the price was right. Got them home and took the grills off and saw that someone had already done significant work on them. If you look at the pics you'll see the new drivers and the foam surround work on the woofers. I'm reaching out here to see if anyone recognizes the drivers used and if they are good choices for these iconic speakers. I suspect that whoever did this degree of work also recapped the crossovers. That said, I'd rather avoid taking them apart to see what is what. Anyone have any thoughts?

Good tip. I let the system run for about 10 hours right after I put the new caps on and have been clocking about two hours a day on them since. Nice to hear these speakers sounding full of sunshine even at the -3db setting, but if they ever start sounding a bit dull it's great to know I've got somewhere to go. Switching to the 0db setting would surely bring the highs out. BTW Stimpy, you may recall that I used a 6uf cap in one speaker and a pair of 3uf's in parallel in the other. No difference as far as I can tell, but the next time I order caps I'll add a 6uf Solen to the list and drop it in, just to be sure.

Here's a very pleasant update: First, the refoam worked perfectly. I did that over a month ago and began using these in my office, running them with a Marantz 2270. Right off the bat I noticed they were a quality pair. Unusually large sound stage for a room that is only 8' x 16'. Great imaging too. I like the punchy bass they give out AND the fact that they don't dig into the deep octaves. Just a well balanced sound. Now, about a week ago I decided they were keepers and recapped them with Solen's. They opened the sound up even more and added a degree of brightness that made them a little too hot for the room, so after a few days I switched the tweeter control over to the -3db position. They are now really dialed in, at least for classic 1970's pop hits like "Magnets and Steel," "Brandy," etc. I also notice they play quite loud with the 2270 with no real effort on the amps part. That's a real bonus. Now that I've done this pair it might halt my restoration of a pair of EPI 150's. They need EVERYTHING. Caps, tweeters and woofers. After all that effort and money I expect them to sound similar to these AR 17's. Might put them back out into the wild.

Ah ha!!! Can't wait for the weekend...this might yield some great results. I've noticed that one speaker is slightly duller than the other. Putting these new caps in might make the difference.

Yikes,,,this might be just too easy!!! I found some Solen's I had here....a 6uf and two 3uf's. My only question is do I need to just twist the wires together on the pair of threes, as in side by each other? Or do I need to set them up one after the other, like links in a chain?

Answered my own question...I remembered I took a pic of the cap. Now that I've seen the ones here I knew what to look for....yup....6uf!

Reading this thread has convinced me to re cap my set of AR17's. I got them a couple months ago, re foamed and have been using them in my office. Rather than pull a woofer and tear out the filler to check, does anyone know if the cap value on the 17's are the same as on the 18's? When I first got these I recall reading, perhaps on this site, that they were same, but I could be wrong.

I've read that tests have been done on Allison Tweeters that show the ferrofluid to still be good, or at least that the drivers continue to produce the frequencies they should. I hope the AR tweeters do the same.

Yup!!!

Here is why I asked. I saw these and they looked good enough to grab. Can't wait to re foam them.

I brought this up over on AK a few days ago. I'm trying to get a sense of the speakers generated by AR under Teledyne. To me, the tweeters look very similar to those produced by Roy Allison in his Allison speakers. Was he involved with AR under Teledyne? If not, whats up with those tweeters?

I'm wondering bassment142's Maestro's had bad woofer surrounds or maybe drivers not screwed in tight enough. Granted, Mine have been in a medium sized room (16 x 18) with lots of stuff in it, so maybe I just got lucky with a perfect room/speaker match. As for power, mine are run by a Marantz 2270. Not wimpy but no powerhouse either.

I made out very well with these maestro's. My comment is buried at the bottom of the post above yours: "Yeah. I've been playing them for about a week now. I unplugged a set of Allison Two's to give the Maestro's a try. The Allisons are great speakers and while the Maestro's won't beat them they come pretty darn close. A major feat considering the Allisons are worth like a few hundred bucks and the poor Maestro's can only bring like $50 to $100." Its now been just about a month since I hooked them up and I don't see them going anywhere soon. Silk smooth sound that fills the room with no effort. I'm actually going to list the Allison Two's for sale today. These Advents are really that good.

Yeah. I've been playing them for about a week now. I unplugged a set of Allison Two's to give the Maestro's a try. The Allisons are great speakers and while the Maestro's won't beat them they come pretty darn close. A major feat considering the Allisons are worth like a few hundred bucks and the poor Maestro's can only bring like $50 to $100.

So I just got around to the re-foam of these speakers. Think they are going to surprise me tomorrow when I hook them up. Looking forward to it.

The tweeter on the left in the bottom pic has magnetic shielding on it. Could be the only difference. The magnet might be the same size as the one on the right. Speaker companies were using shielding back then because the magnetic fields would wreak havoc on the video signal that ran though the big and heavy tube television sets back then when speakers were set close to the screen. Remember, this was the beginning of home theater.

I'll tell ya, the 4's seem to be a superior speaker to the 2's. That placement you see in the pic is not what I'm using, but I'm still messing with where I place the 4's. Throwing convention out the window I just tried them in corners about two feet off the floor, angled in about 30 degrees so the outside tweeters shoot against the side walls and the inside tweeters toe in at about a 35 degree angle. The room is small, only 8 feet wide and 16 feet long. Speakers are placed on the 8 foot wall and I'm listening at about 12 feet back from them. Guess what? So far this is the best set up. Great bass and the imaging is much better. Later on I may take the 4's out and put the 2's in the position just to see what I get.

The drivers in my A4's look just as good. Now that I'm using these regularly I wonder about power. I'm using a Marantz 2235B with 35WPC. I wonder if this is a bit light for these.

Yeah Bill, these are the old types, so I was very careful getting those wires out of the posts. I barely even moved them so as not to create a kink anywhere. On another note, amazing how similar the Two's sound to the Fours I have. They just work better in a larger room. Woofers go pretty deep for their size and they produce bass just the way I like it. Deep, tight and buttery. They make kick drums sound real too!

What a difference a couple months makes! A couple weeks ago I just decided to do the foam surrounds on these. Once done I started messing with the tweeters (after I found one on the bay for lots of $) and it turns out that they only needed a spray of deoxit on the brass posts to come to life. I now a fully functioning pair of Allsion Two's! Yay!

We will see what I think now! I just found a free pair of Maestro's that is salvageable. This winter I'll give them a little TLC and see what I get out of it. The lack of interest on these suggests that what I have here is a solidly mediocre set of Speakers that were probably sold in a Sears or Montgomery Wards back in the early 90's.

I'll probably regret this posting, but I've got a pair of Allison Two's that I realistically will never get around to restoring. I've got a pair of Fours that I did earlier this year and love them. Tired of waiting around for the two tweeters needed for the Two's. Also have not re foamed the four woofers. I know first hand that Allison parts are scarce, so if anyone wants my set of two's and is ready to drive to near Woodstock NY to get them I'll let them go. Am I allowed to mention $ on here? I know they frown on it over on AK, but I'm thinking $200 for the pair. I can photograph them if anyone is interested. Grills are good, veneer on one has a chip in the corner, etc.

I couldn't find that eBay listing, but description looks like it is the same as the ones on my speakers. I still don't know what to do with mine though! Might be worth getting a 2.2uf cap and putting it in next to the original and see what happens.