David Cutter
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Posts posted by David Cutter
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I just received a message back from the seller. "I covered them with contact paper to match my wall unit. One of them has the woofer replaced with a similar one. There’s no problem with it performance." She's asking $630!
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Just saw these for sale (not cheap) with no details...Just a couple of pics. Are they salvageable? Comments?
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OK...Mostly done. Did the grilles this afternoon. The fabric was a bit pricey so I was extra careful not to screw it up. Added pull tabs to bottoms in order to facilitate easier grill removal. I will probably make brown tabs in the future...Very happy.
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I'm not really that interested in these speakers...I just thought they were misidentified as 2ax's. I am keeping my eyes open for a some 3's or 3a's at a reasonable price that need some work. Currently there are a pair of original condition 3's for $2899 (!) on CL, as well as some 9LS's for $750.
I am happy with my newly refurbished 2ax and am enjoying their 'vintage' sound. Thanks for all of the suggestions.
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These are currently on eBay for $489.00. They look owner-modified to me, but seller says they are "All original" in the description.
Any knowledge of such a variant on this model?
Link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/183822223530?ul_noapp=true
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Found some Wharfedale W45 on CL for $30.00, a 90 min drive from my house. Seller's post says one mid driver is not working. Pics look good. Are they worth the effort?
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4 hours ago, lARrybody said:
All the time. Here is a pair of 2ax's with the little pull tab made out of white satin ribbon.
The grills are held in place with six 1/2 in round wafer magnets countersunk into the speaker baffle and six into the grill frame.
I know it's been said many times here, but you cannot get anything more authentic than the 18 count lambswool linen grill covering available from 123 stitch.com I used the shere black grill cloth from parts express first just because I didn't want to see the grill cutouts.
Excellent solutions!...I read that someone painted the grill frame black to hide the cutouts.
Magnets sound better than Velcro. Thanks.
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Well...This morning I finished/tidied up the crossover business on both boxes. Experienced some frustration screwing in the woofer bolts as a total of three T-nuts decided to pop out whilst inserting the bolts. Had to glue them in and wait. They sound great...Very happy. My first time trying something like this. Couldn't have done it as well without the helpful people here.
Next step is changing the dirty, discolored grill cloth. I've seen suggestions for replacement material that I will explore. I'm considering adding a pull tab to the grills to make removing them easier. Has anyone tried this?
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3 hours ago, JKent said:
And speaking of the guide, in there John suggests 28-count crinoline to replace the crumbling paper Kimpac. However, Roy made a brilliant (IMHO) recommendation for my current 3a restoration: Low loft poly batting from Walmart. A crib-size piece is under $4, in the fabric dept.
Good luck.
Kent
PS. This stuff: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Morning-Glory-Low-Loft-Batting-1-Each/19397503 or from JoAnn's https://www.joann.com/poly-fil-low-loft-bonded-polyester-batting-crib-size-45inx60in/7145667.html
Interesting...I have some old speaker grill fabric. Do you think that would work?
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Many thanks JKent and Aadams for your advice on this project.
The electrical tape is working ok, holding the wires together and I'll leave it alone for now. I read in another thread on this forum that a single strand of copper speaker wire can be used to patch the connection. I will look into it.
I completed the 2nd speaker in a fraction of the time that it took the 1st one. I made some better decisions the second time around that I feel I should duplicate on the first. So I will go back in and redo a few things with the wiring. The most noticeable thing I did was remove the blue plastic insulators. See photo.
I'm very pleased with how they sound and notice that their tone is much brighter now with the new caps and pots. Is the midrange or tweeter that sounds a bit shrill? I have to adjust the working pots now...
Question: What should I use as a replacement for the flimsy thin fabric that goes behind the woofer, that is supposed to keep the insulation away from the cone?
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3 hours ago, Aadams said:
Whatever you try, even if you fail, won't be fatal if you are careful not to damage the tweeter body or dome. You have repair, rebuild and replacement options.
Not sure how the wire was cut. I have been very careful to avoid touching and protecting the tweeter. Thanks again. I'm going to get started on the second speaker tonight.
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7 hours ago, JKent said:
See page 20 of Restoring the AR-3a
Thanks for that advice...Now where can I get a silver-plated butt connector for 24 gauge wire??? I've been looking without luck.
This will be a very delicate/challenging operation. The wire is as thin and wispy as cotton thread and not easy to manipulate with middle-aged men's fingers and eyesight. I've got a small piece of electrical tape temporally holding them together for now and the tweeter is working.
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I just discovered the problem...Somehow the thin wire that runs up the front is disconnected. Did not notice until I checked it with my finger and adjusted my lighting angle.
Solution???
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24 minutes ago, Aadams said:
To be clear: You connected clips to these points and could not hear the tweeter?
That is correct. The midrange made sound, but I could not detect sound from the tweeter.
I thought the tweeters worked previously. Is it possible the tweeter is not functioning? Is there a reliable test I can try to check? Hmmmm.
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10 minutes ago, Aadams said:
Do you feel comfortable putting a signal directly on the front wire tweeter terminals? If so you can quickly check for function.
Yes, I did try it with alligator clips. The midrange made sound, but I did not detect sound from the tweeter.
Did you by any chance trim off a piece of this coil wire before you reconnected?
I did not trim anything with that wire. I left the loop on and paired it with the blue wire from the capacitors. Why?
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I'm on the first speaker. Haven't started the 2nd one yet.
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I started a thread a few days ago describing my foray into refurbishing the crossover in my 1965 AR 2ax speakers.
I received lots of excellent help and advice, which I am grateful for. I bought all of the parts, tools, and misc items and followed the recommended schematic. After connecting everything back up, I am disappointed to find that the tweeter is not working. I have checked the wiring over and everything looks like it's correct...But perhaps more experienced eyeball will see the issue.
Troubleshooting advice please?? Here are some pics of what I did. Thank you in advance.
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UPDATE:
Ordered all of the necessary parts and using the standard schematics provided here, I updated the crossover. Before I close it up, here is a pic of what it looks like. I haven't tested it yet, so I have no idea if I did it correctly.
Update: Connected speaker...Tweeter not working :-(. Will open her up tomorrow and see what's up.
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On 5/10/2019 at 8:27 AM, Aadams said:
I am not sure exactly how those woofers fasten but I doubt the threads are stripped. Both topic and remedy have been discussed on this forum. When you get the woofers out supply a photo of the problem holes and someone who knows will comment.
EDIT: This link discusses your problem. You have plywood baffles not particle board. You may just have a loose fastener on the backside of the baffle.
I opened up one speaker and found the T-nut in the fiberglass. Looks like I can just glue it back in. Thanks.
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41 minutes ago, RoyC said:
I have one...the trash bin.
Corrosion and attempted cleaning have taken a severe toll. I also noticed a hole in the wiper tip in the photo, and it appears the resistor wire has been sanded or "Dremeled", which can change the resistance properties of the control. There is no value in retaining pots in this condition when reliable alternatives are available.
Roy
Yes, I agree. I ordered some L-Pads from PE. Thanks.
I enhanced a pic I took of the woofer manufacture date stamp. Looks like Nov 15 1965 or 1967 to me. Last number is very faint. Any opinions?
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Update:
I see now that previous owner cut pot wires to connector 1 and B. The inside contacts are pretty bad and I have tried a few different techniques to clean them up.
Deoxit, Dremel buffer, fine sandpaper, metal polish, elbow grease....
The brown oxidation is difficult to get off. Any ideas?
See pics.
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Well spotted by a trained expert eye! Who knows how many previous owners these had...
I will have a closer look at the insides this weekend. I'm not experienced reading electrical schematics, but I am interested in learning. They appear logical and probably elementary to an experienced person, but to a novice it's like a new language.
Thanks very much for your interest in my project.
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Thanks ra.ra.
The bolt comes out easily with a pull. It won't tighten when you insert it into the hole a turn. It just goes around. Perhaps the nut is loose as you suggested, or missing. I'll check it.
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One interesting thing...The serial numbers are close together in the 22000 range, but the finishes don't match very well when they are side by side. One is noticeably darker.
I know that in 1969 speakers were not always sold as matched pairs, and that stereophonic sound was not widespread yet. So often people just bought one for their current mono system, and bought a second one later when they upgraded to stereo.
AR 2ax Video
in Acoustic Research
Posted
Found this AR 2ax video. Check it out...
https://youtu.be/0nlQ51IltWI