DonT

Anyone replacing the original pots with the new ones I will take your old ones if you don't want them. Thanks

WOW those look great. You did a nice job on them.

Did you get them yet? I just looked at Ebay and I can't figure out why AR 3's are selling for more than AR 3a's? Isn't the AR 3a a better speaker?

I picked these up last Friday. I hooked them up today and they actually sound pretty nice. At this point I don't think they really need the crossovers rebuilt. The cabinets aren't in the best shape but all the drivers are original with cloth surrounds. It sucks that they have the plastic veneer instead of real wood but they need redone anyway. I have some vintage rolls of really nice veneer (Brazilian Rosewood, Black Walnut, Burled Ash) I can use on these. I must say these sound pretty nice for a small speaker.

Thanks, I was looking for that and couldn't find it.

No but it is one thing I am looking into. I really need to get that ability. It is no rush, I have let this sit for over a year at this point so I will take my time and do exactly that.

Actually the original stuff is butyl rubber. I don't have it saved anymore because I changed computers but there was a paper put out by I think KLH that talked about re sealing the cloth surrounds back in the day. It said that if the "Buytl rubber compound was to thick you just needed to thin it with toluene. Plus in my post from a year ago Roy asked me if i used "butyl rubber, like the original" This is why I have used rubber cement. Rubber cement (cow gum in British English) is an adhesive made from elastic polymers (typically latex) Link (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_cement) . Latex is natural rubber look here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_rubber ) So my sealer is made of the same stuff they originally used.

Hi all. I posted about this over a year ago. I am now almost positive it will work great on our vintage speakers. I am now going to test it on a pair of KLH 24's I have. As you can see in the video after a year and 3 months of sitting out in the open air (Why it's so dirty) it has not hardened at all. As I test it further I will post more info. I will say that the main ingredient is rubber cement and you do need toluene to thin it. But this stuff is so gooey you almost don't need to thin it to apply it. I am not trying to start any debate about existing products I am just posting my progress with mine. Thanks https://youtu.be/8S5n69AelK8

Yes I agree. It is really hard to find the correct thickness (Or in this case thinness) of thread in the weave. I have requests out for samples. We will see?

24 by my count. Thanks to all the responses. now if I can find a suitable replacement. I think the cloth I bought has threads that are to thick.

Yes I get that. I am still wondering if others have original AR 3A speakers with 24 TPI grill cloth. I need to replace mine but instead of buying something that isn't quite correct it would be nice to find something that is as close to original as possible. Especially because the cloth that most everyone was using is no longer available. So anyone with an original early set that still has the original grill cloth on them if they could chime in that would be great because I am still not 100% sure mine is original?

So in other words if I find the correct 24 TPI cloth that would be correct for these speakers. Thanks

I understand that. I know I took a chance buying the stuff I bought. But everything I have read on here says to get something with an 18 TPI thread count. But from what I can tell my original cloth on the one speaker that was not tampered with it had a 24 TPI. Is that correct? I know I need something with smaller threads. And what I bought was a stab in the dark. I am asking what others have found on there speakers that was original. Then I can try and match it because from what I can tell from mine it should be 24 TPI not 18?

That's not what concerns me. Was the original fabric 24 threads per inch?

Okay I have read the posts about getting the 18 count cloth from 123 stitch but they quit selling it. So I bought Natural Oatmeal 18 Count Zweigart Floba linen. Well now I am just a bit confused? I didn't count the threads of the linen that was on my speakers. I already knew that one cover was most likely replaced because you could see an obvious difference. Plus it had been removed and had Velcro put on it to reattach it and someone replaced the woofer on it as well. Now my other speaker I truly believe had never had the grill removed. I had to cut away small pieces of cloth to get it off. It looks all original. So I got both grills and put the new cloth I ordered over them to compare. Well they all 3 look different. The cloth on the one that I believe is original has a thread count of 24, and the one that I believe was replaced has a thread count of 32? Has anyone seen an original cloth with a thread count of 24? Also that speaker has a real low serial number as well (1121). Any info would be great.

I agree it's hard to find the right stuff. I just ordered some of this. (Natural Oatmeal 18 Count Zweigart Floba linen) We will see what it looks like when I get it.

What about this. It's 18 thread count. https://www.123stitch.com/item/Wichelt-18-Ct-Natural-Oatmeal-Floba-Needlework-Fabric-9x13/551-008W

Okay is it possible that these where original also? One smooth with foam surround and one ribbed. With the real early serial numbers on mine I am thinking no.

Very nice looking pair. I will be watching with interest.

Yes they had absolutely no clue as to the value of this stuff. They referred to the Empire as "old outdated record player"

Yes but I really don't have room for it.

It's no big deal, I got them CHEAP. But sometimes when I post a price in the past there are some that argue and say I am lying about what I paid. here is a link to the estate sale that I bought them from. It has the company contact info on it and I don't know if they will say but you can call them and ask what they sold them for. It will SHOCK you! Oh and I got all 4 speakers and the TT for the one dirt cheap price. The other speakers appear to be off brand junk but I won't know for sure until I open them up. https://www.estatesales.net/FL/Palm-Harbor/34683/2875353 Pic from the sale

Well it looks like someone replaced or reconed the woofer on one. The other has never had the grill off yet. I wonder if I can find another older style woofer. We will see?

I got the 1000 ZE in a box with it. The needle looks okay. It has an Audio Technica on it.

I went to an estate sale today and these followed me home. I feel so lucky I might go buy a lotto! Yes the Empire came with them!