So, I had a set of AR4x's hooked up to my Sansui 8080DB. I have small listening room (10'x10') so the AR's fill it quite nicely and I enjoy their sound.
A buddy of mine plugged a mic into the Sansui while it was playing, intending to sing along. Big feedback squeal and everything went really bad after that.
The 8080DB dropped the left channel and everything went very muddy and muted. I have fixed the 8080DB (Full tear-down and lots of o-scope work) but upon reconnecting the AR4x's, it still sounded "muddy".
Ear up to the woofers revealed they were doing their job but the tweeters were......silent. Seems my buddy's "mic spike" is the gift that just keeps on giving......
I have a second pair of AR4x's (waiting for a resto, they've lived a harder life than my "cherry" set) so I pulled them out of storage. Upon hooking them up to the Sansui, the right speaker tweeter was working fine but the left was dead. At least I now knew that the tone issue isn't still a problem in the 8080DB.
I pulled the tweeters out of the cabinets, figuring if I meter them they should return 8 ohms. Meter them and they're both open, so I figure the voice coil is burnt.
Finding a vintage pair is unlikely (I don't think there's a way to repair the originals, please let me know if there is) so I'm looking for a recommendation for modern replacement.
I would like to keep the AR4x's sound as close as possible to original. I found a post on AK about some "Tang Band" tweeters that were close to the AR4x's originals sonic-ly, but it seems they're no longer made either.
I'm not worried about the size as long as they are smaller than the original cab holes. Making an adapter plate out of anything from wood to aluminum to steel isn't an issue for me. I have all I need out in the metal shop for that.
On a more positive note: I pulled the tweeter on the second set that wasn't working and it metered at 8 ohms, so it's likely the dirty/corroded pot issue. So at least I can continue enjoying that smooth AR sound on my second set, even if the cabs aren't as "cosmetically" nice as my first set.
