zelgy1

I found the use of a 90 degree o-ring pick did the trick on my AR-5's. Because of the weave of the cloth, you can easily stick the pick through the cloth, through the speaker cutout, and behind the grill cover. Begin pulling gently outward, breaking the glue loose. Work your way around the grill performing this same procedure. I hope this helps. Good luck!

I have added the resistor to the mids as shown in the crossover photo, but did not on the tweeter. I had read that it was not needed. If RoyC sees this post, I'm guessing he will offer input.

Besides the shell being cracked and being epoxied, I did confirm the tweeter itself was bad after hooking it up. I have replaced both with the HiVi Q1R, which have proven to be a great replacement.

I did save the tweeters for possible restoration in the future. Regarding the woofers, I placed my trust in Bill that he was making the appropriate choice for the surrounds. As mentioned, he does great work and I highly recommend. Great individual who is passionate about his work.

Hi all! I have recently restored a pair of AR-2ax speakers. As do many of you, I appreciate pics and tips by those on this forum. Every individual puts there only little touches on restorations and I thought I would share some pics of mine in hopes of helping others that are doing the same. My primary resource was this forum and the AR-3a Restoration Guide, which much of the contents pertains to this pair of speakers. As you will see, I have replaced the original potentiometers with the Parts Express L-pads and recapped the crossover. One of the tweeters was bad, so replaced both with the HiVi Q1R's plus the added coil. The hole locations do match, but you will need to cut out the sides as shown in the pics. One of the woofer cones had separated from the spider, so I sent them both off to Millersound to be repaired/refoamed to ensure they matched. The mids were fine and no changes were necessary . I am still waiting on fabric from 123stitch to finish the grills. As far as their performance, they sound fantastic. I have restored a pair of AR-3's as well (still my favorite) , but these are a very close second. Please don't hesitate to ask questions. Enjoy!

Thanks Roy! I figured that would be the response, but wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything. I think I'm going to try the HiVi tweeter option for this project.

No input? I know you experts have something to offer. 😉

Hi all! I am restoring a pair of AR-2ax speakers. One of the tweeters has been pressed in slightly and the plastic casing has cracked. The grills appeared to have never been removed and no damage to grill cloth, so I suspect it may have always been this way. I have never played anything through these, so it's unknown if this will affect the functionality. It does ohm out ok. Wanted the groups thoughts on if I should try pressing this back into place or leave as is? I'm considering simply caulking the crack to prevent air leak and give it a run. Appreciate feedback! Thanks, Jon

Hi all! I have acquired a pair of AR-2ax speakers with both having rotted foam surrounds. One of the spiders has partially separated from the cone (see pic). I am contemplating my options before moving on with the project. I have refoamed a number of speakers, but repairing a spider is another ballgame. I would like to give this a go, so I'm reaching out to this group as I value your opinions and feedback. Do I attempt to repair the damaged/separated spider with epoxy? Please note their are slight rips in the spider. Are there new spiders available for these particular woofers? I'd like to keep these as original as possible. If replacing is an option, I assume the same must be done to the other woofer to match as best as possible? The voice coil does appear to be in decent shape. Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks, Jon!

I greatly appreciate the informative feedback!

The cabinets have the exact same dimensions.

Hi all, I purchased a pair of AR-3's and their is a gap in the serial numbers. I noticed that one unit has the plastic grill that slides into the grooves within the cabinet. However, the 2nd unit has a particle board type grill material and the speaker cabinet lacks the groove found on the other. I'm wondering if the AR factory ever utilized the AR-3a cabinet for AR-3 builds at any point? The speakers and crossovers all seem to match, only the enclosure being different. I look forward to any feedback.

Hi all! I just completed my rework of a pair of AR-3 speakers and thought I would share my findings. The AR-3a Restoration Guide was used as my primary resource. The drivers are all original and I used L-pads and new electrolytic capacitors (I'm Dutch) sourced from Parts Express. I'm finding the speakers seem to lack the sound stage that I was expecting. Seems to be very bassy and lack of highs. Just doesn't seem to be that crisp, clear sound I was expecting. I recently restored a pair of AR-5 and the sound is far improved over the AR-3, which I was not expecting. The receiver being used for testing is a Scott 380R. It should be noted that one of the mids in the AR-3's doesn't have the same output as the other, so I'm attributing that to the age and may be in need of repair. Before I start digging into the units, I'm curious if the cheaper capacitors could be the issue? I'm confident I have the wiring correct, but I'd appreciate a look over from the professionals on this site. I'm simply looking for feedback as to what could be the reason for the lack of performance, but certainly understand it may be difficult based on the info provided. Let me know if I can provide additional details. As always, I greatly appreciate the responses!

Update! May have gotten ahead of myself. After testing the 3 “clean” units, only 1 has correct readings. That being said, I’m going to opt for all new L-pads + resistor to replace the original rheostats......unless I’m swayed in a different direction.

Hi all! On to my next project, AR3 restoration. I’ve been using the AR-3a Restoration Guide, which has been very helpful. I’ve got myself into a predicament. As I was cleaning one of the rheostats, my brush caught the coil and ripped it out. Like the others, this particular unit didn’t seem to have the hardened material that keeps the coil in place. The other 3 units are clean and usable. So, do I purchase a single, new L-pad w/ resistor noted in the guide or do I try to find a replacement rheostat. Or maybe I replace all of them with L-pad and resistor. I want to ensure both speakers match as best I can. Input appreciated! I’ve attached a pic of the damaged unit to show others what NOT to do. Without the hardened material to hold in place, I don’t think it could be saved anyway.

Great insight from all of you and very much appreciated! RoyC, there was a small, square piece of fiberglass between the woofer and Kempac in both units. I shall give an update once project is complete. BTW, Howard’s Restor-a-Finish is a magical product. The enclosures look as good as new!

Just to clarify, there was no foam. Mistype on my part. They have pieced fiberglass. I weighed the fiberglass, including Kimpac, and it’s 2.05 lbs./32.8 oz. My plan will be to fill both with half original pieces fiberglass and half batting to equal the 32.8 oz.

Doh! I meant pieced fiberglass insulation, not foam.

Hi all! I greatly appreciate the feedback! The Kimpac was in both speakers, so I'm good there. For those missing the Kimpac, the hospital caps are a great idea. Food for thought! Rather than having one unit with batting, my plan is this: weigh the "unmolested" speaker insulation, remove the original insulation from the top half and replace with batting. That way both speakers have the same weight and insulation material, original pieced foam in bottom behind woofer and batting in the top behind the tweeter and mid. I'm afraid having one with batting and one filled with the original insulation may render audible differences. I may be overthinking, but would like your thoughts.

Hi all! I am currently restoring a pair of AR-5 speakers and would like to thank all of you for the information you have shared on this site. I have a question regarding the insulation within the units I acquired. Please note the speakers are within 2 serial numbers of each other and date stamp on one woofer is April 4th, 1973. I suspect this speaker is completely original. The other speaker appears to have a replacement woofer with a PN 200004-2, which from my research should be ok. My primary question has to do with the insulation. The one I suspect is original was completely filled with the pieced fiberglass insulation. The unit with the replacement woofer only had insulation behind the woofer and covering the crossover with nothing behind the tweeter and mid-range. Is it possible the unit with replacement woofer requires less insulation or did the individual replacing the woofer skimp on the amount of insulation? I was thinking about adding, in both speakers, fiberglass insulation batting acquired from local department store behind the tweeter/mid-range and the original batting behind the woofers. I would appreciate your thoughts on what I should do for insulation. Thanks in advance!