Reel Man

Someone recently found a Korina or Birch one of these in a thrift. Damn.

My thread on my AR-3's. It will give you an idea of the hurdles/ups and downs, as well as a few things I would have done differently.

Yes, I've been playing with an AR-3 speaker on the right, and an AR-3a on the left. At the moment; I'm preferring the 3a. It's tweeter does a better job on xylophone notes, and it has better bass volume. I read the Stereo Review article on the 3a, and it stated in a comparison between it and the 3, that one could made to sound marginally better than the other, with the pots on certain material(with the original cloth-style woofers). The mid on the 3 is actually a bit TOO loud, especially in comparison with the un-restored 3a mids, but that is an easy fix. The 3a bass is much louder, and warmer(probably because of that volume), but a bit flabby, and the 3 is better defined, but inhibited sounding. I'm thinking the acoustic seal is a bit too loose on the 3a, and a bit too tight on the three, so I'll have to fiddle with both of them in the upcoming months.

A post with the covers on. I ended up experimenting with hydrogen peroxide, watered down, exposed to the sun, then lemon juice( it was recommended for nylon clothes), neither of which worked to reverse the fade, but while they soaked, I did give them a microfiber wash-cloth treatment, which did clean them a bit. They're a smidge darker than the pictures, but they look pretty good in the sunlight.

This is also an option. https://www.fatquartershop.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=%2358+-135L

This is also available, but I haven't found a supplier who doesn't charge a price that didn't make me gasp. I elected to stick with my original covers. https://www.wendellfabrics.com/mellotone-acoustic-fabrics/

I didn't have much luck finding 18 count linen recommended in the AR-3a guide last year for my 3a's; I ended up getting some VERY reasonably priced stuff on Amazon; tighter grained/threaded than factory, but at this price, I'm not complaining. I bought Ivory, but may get light beige. https://www.amazon.com/Needlework-Embroidery-Stitching-Rose-Flavor/dp/B07C8GKLRQ?pd_rd_w=x2kUT&content-id=amzn1.sym.d7105005-1122-4ebb-804b-fda01cf6b56f&pf_rd_p=d7105005-1122-4ebb-804b-fda01cf6b56f&pf_rd_r=ZH86BP2PJK64WFJFHDM9&pd_rd_wg=Wmv2P&pd_rd_r=b7199e62-97ad-45f9-af01-5d8264462070&pd_rd_i=B07BLPWPQ7&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_t&th=1

As big a pain as it is to remove mortited speakers, I wouldn't replace the pots with the AR style ones. The rock wool is hard on the copper bits in them; my wipers broke into pieces. I used the L-pads I bought in 2017 when I rebuilt my AR-3 speakers over the last year, as well as poly capacitors, as I don't want to tear into these again for as long as possible.

Yes, I worked on them the week ending labor day. I touched-up the black paint, and it's very surreal seeing how nice they look now, and hearing the nice sound coming out of them. I still need to hook up my EQ in the other system, as I'm to used to using one. I left a card with my name, Roy's, and the gentleman who re-worked the cabs in the cabinet, with a date on it, so when it's restored in 30 years, they'll find it.

We tend to treat these speakers as Holy Objects, when to the typical workers, it was another set they needed to finish up/get out. One of my AR3-a speakers has a few nails sticking out inside, because the board on one side was not symmetrical with the other side. Oops, well......the cloth will be glued on, anyway...

Update! I eventually asked my friend about re-finishing the speakers, and he quoted a quite reasonable price. He got them in May, and surprised me this morning with them. They look great; we were both pleasantly surprised.

Pretty common on AR-3 woofers; I've never seen any mention of repair. Mine seemed to wrinkle after the acoustic seal was breached.

Unless you have similar test equipment that was used to determine the frequency response when they were new, you'll have to speculate. It was a pretty easy decision to get both mids and tweeters done, as only one worked on mine. These are OLD speakers, and this can be a restoration in the truest sense. Since you are going to be tearing into these fairly substantially, I would just go ahead and have the mids and tweeters serviced, but that's up to you. Masonite is readily available in big box hardware stores, I would cut a circular piece bigger than the hole, use sealant, and fasten with wood screws.

The mids have that white goo around the perimeter that gets less flexible after 60 years. The tweeters also tend to age. My mids and one tweeter had NO output, and Roy fixed them; he should be able to fix yours, as it's most likely age-related. You can just have him fix the non-working speakers; they will just be louder than the non-serviced ones. You'll also have to deal with the hole where the adjustment pots were located, or you will have no acoustic seal.