lance G

I appreciate the difficulty in removing the paint from the grain of the veneer, I suspect it may be water based paint that was originally applied ? Hence the difficulty in removal of same. I have had some recent experience of the "new formula", allegedly improved paint strippers, probably better for the planet but not much good at properly stripping paint anymore. Resultantly I too have ended up resorting to the hot air gun, which can be a bit brutal on some finishes. There may be a more expert wood finisher on the site with suggestions on how to soften the paint sufficiently to enable complete removal. My ramblings aside, depending on how far you want to go, your abilities and what level of finish you would be happy to end up with, might you ultimately consider completely re-veneering the cabinets ? I have done so myself in the distant past, and recall it was not too onerous a task, with a highly satisfactory outcome.

Hi Luxman. How did you initially strip the speakers ? Did you use a liquid paint stripper ?

Top Man ! Georgio, thank you for both your kind thoughts and all your previous contributions to the site, have the very best Christmas that you can under the current circumstances (one and all). Keep well !

Lovely to see 👍.

Did you get the front grilles with them ? They are not visible in the pictures. They look like potentially, unmessed with, original speakers, with the correct (hopefully all working) originally fitted drivers, I am assuming the four non pictured woofers are also original ? Your picture resolution is quite good,. Not possible to be totally sure but the serial numbers look to be close, so I think the differing midrange panel is likely from new and would have been hidden by the original, now crumbled and missing, foam inserts. I see there is a painted band around the driver on the UMR wood area, no doubt to originally 'blend' any gap. Looking at the picture/s, maybe the side grille peg/s may be broken ? I think these may still be available, I seem to recall seeing them on sale somewhere. The cabinets appear to be quite tidy, the marks on the cabinet fronts will be staple marks from the rear of the front grilles and in my experience is not unusual. Also that lower midrange dust cap needs teasing out, although the re-foam will likely see that replaced ? The tweeters and upper midrange seem to have escaped the ever present risk from pokey fingers and physically look good. I guess this would mean that to date they have largely lived with the benefit of fitted grilles ? Finally, it looks like you may have picked them up at an auction ? If so, out of interest would you care to say how much for ?! Understandable if you would rather not say. On the face of it, judging from the pictures, a solid basis for a potentially very good restoration. Depending upon what you paid, apparently well done ! Don't forget to give us all an update when they are 'in hand' ! (Anyone else spotted that beaver yet ? Talk about loudspeaker porn !).

Just to clarify, I daresay the black upper midrange panel is a painted finish, you could possibly paint the corresponding wood finish area on the other speaker to match. Or just live with it ? I assume you have the front speaker grilles ? They will of course "hide" all when attached. Also, nice Beaver !

Black/wood panel may not be an issue, how close are the speaker serial numbers ? I believe most of the "foam inserts required around the tweeter" will have fallen to bits by now and are, as far as I know, irreplaceable, and also possibly considered by some to be of little consequence. There would likely have been the same foam around the midrange/s, which would have hidden the black/wood panel matter anyway. It does look like you will need to immediately re-foam the lower midrange driver surrounds, and I daresay the side firing woofers also. A crossover capacitor change is also likely to be beneficial. IMHO, all well worth doing. Plenty of guys on here to chime in with their advice. Great speakers, get them put right and thoroughly enjoy ! They should be keepers !

ARMan, do you mean a decorative strip which covers the mounting screws ?

Gentlemen, watching this with great interest, top work. Not intending to drift off the core subject but, Stimpy (and others), thanks for your earlier help with my AR9's. Hope you (and all contributors) are keeping well. All will be well after the election !🤢

Hi, yes, that's exactly what I did, and the process worked absolutely fine with the particular marker that I used. I don't want to do this suggestion to death, buy if it helps one person on the forum I shall be happy. I find the forum to be a tremendous resource, and have received some great help from members (you know who you are !). I feel that to give a little back, however small, is the least I can do.

Hi David, As I said, each to their own ! It was just a simple way to temporarily disguise the "bling" for those that are not so keen.

Each to their own, and trying to be kind here, but I gather some people, including myself, can find the appearance of the silver/chrome finish trim on the AR9 side panels somewhat "tacky" visually. I gather some owners have even resorted to removing the plastic trim strips altogether. Possibly a shame in my opinion, as this potentially destroys the originality. My solution was to use a black indelible marker pen to disguise the trim, with the option to remove the "ink" with iso propyl alcohol (or similar) to allow a return to originality. Some apologies for showing the whole system (looking like a bit of a dog's breakfast) as opposed to just the speakers, but if doing so prompts any useful/interesting comments regarding same, I am happy to receive.

Access looks poor ? Gradual removal of sufficient of the hardened glue with a dremel type tool may help to some degree ? You may be able to clear enough away to reveal a decent enough connection/area to solder to. I have come across this glue in AR 9 speakers, but the access is pretty good for these through the opposing 12" driver holes. Any work would be much easier if you could remove the whole crossover board, but I am not that familiar with the AR-3a, so maybe this isn't possible ? Good luck !

Looking at the pictures, by golly they knew how to make things in those days. I wonder how much it would cost to just buy the wood and then make something to that basic standard of construction in this day and age ? Literally solid basis for a speaker project, if only to play with non original drivers and experimental crossover/s ? If they were on my doorstep I would consider them at the starting price/s, just to "play with". But then I am a sucker for rescuing old stuff and I like working with wood. Being what they are I suspect they will always have some sort of future re-sale value as time moves on ? Can't see if the serial numbers are close or not, but labels are present ? I had better say that I have no allegiance or relationship with the item/s or seller ! I am in the U.K. And if anyone on here buys them, please don't hold me to account ! My opinions are my own, and I sometimes seriously wonder if I should keep them to myself !

Is it worth considering that the, what is now "tired", veneer will have preserved the original cabinet ? It may (ever the optomist !) be pristine underneath ? Or of course the veneer may have been applied after the surface was subject to some degree of damage, to hide a multitude of sins ! I built a pair of speakers with KEF drivers some 40 years ago and veneered them myself with, to my mind, great success. I know the wood underneath will be pristine, shame it's only MDF !

Thanks Bill. I am intrigued as to what the difference (if any/much) in bass control/sound might be ! I have read some glowing reports of Acoustic Research and Carver turning out to be a match made in Heaven. Actually I believe the AR 9's were made (assembled ?) here in the U.K. and apparently the PM-1200 the U.S.A. and finally the PSC-50 Japan, so a bit of a cocktail. At least none of it's Chinese (no offence intended) ! There are an amount of less glowing reports regarding some Carver reliability. However we only live once so it needs to be tried ! The 9's have the low bass capability, I figure what's wrong with trying to make the very best of it ? I don't know, boys and their toys. Something to play with and for me a tick off the bucket list ! Lance.

Thanks for the replies, both John (?) and Bill. Really good information and somewhat reassuring support . Partially on the back of these replies (no potential future subsequent blame will be attributed !), I have gone ahead and it looks like I may have snagged and await the impending arrival of the following; Carver PM-1200 and a Carver PSC-50 pre-amplifier. To reiterate, I am hoping as previously stated, that they (and more particularly the PM-1200) will be a good match for my AR 9 speakers ? I currently bi-amplify them with a pair of British Quad 606 amplifiers, and Quad 66 pre-amplification. A couple of things, I may be on the lookout for a remote control for the PSC-50, I believe it's a RH-5 ? If someone has one lying in the bottom of a drawer, please let me know ! Also, I have managed to download an owners and a service manual for the PM-1200, but have only found a service manual for the PSC-50. Does anyone possibly have an owners manual that I could have a (scanned). copy of ? Also, again any further advice greatly appreciated. I am thinking these things are well over 20 years old now, the previous owner has allegedly had them for the last 22 years, I doubt he bought them new. Although, again allegedly, he has used them very little, and it appears thay are coming from a domestic environment so hopefully not flogged to the point of death, I am wondering what preventative maintenance aspects I should perhaps be considering. I have taken on board the power supply capacitor advice (thanks johnfalc), but without being overly paranoid is there anything else likely to be critical that I should consider with either amplifier ? Thanks again. P.S. I appreciate that this is the Acoustic Research speaker area of the site, but if you could all (maybe admin' ?) bear with me for the moment before you throw me off somewhere else, I would appreciate it !

In the U.K. Carver equipment is pretty rare, as are AR 9 speakers. I am lucky enough to have a good pair of the latter, and may now have the opportunity to get hold of a carver amplifier to drive them with. Specifically, it's a Carver PM-1200. From researching this forum over time I perceive that Carver amp's can be a good match for the AR 9. Could I kindly ask what opinions people/users may have ? I do have some reservations, as I believe all of the Carver amp's are fairly old now, and that some models can be a pain to repair due to their complexity. I don't know who could now be relied upon to repair a failed amp', certainly more so in the U.K. Any reply will be appreciated.

Probably an idea to look at and put a saved search on th'e-bay internet site, then if anything crops up you should be automatically notified. Of course some kind soul on this site may have something to offer ? If you are particularly fond of the specific speaker model, and/or depending how serious you are, perhaps try to source another complete working pair of speakers whilst waiting for a driver or drivers to "turn up" ? You could also then possibly have the option to switch the driver/s over to your original speakers. If in time nothing materialises replacement driver wise sell your original, or the replacement "slightly less than perfect" (being kind !) pair of speakers to offset the costs. Hope the above makes sense. I suppose it could be seen by some as an extravagant way of going about things ? IMHO it's a shame to see these things unneccessarily broken up or thrown away. Do also give some serious thought as to how/why your original tweeters blew ? Good luck !

Any conclusions worthy of mention now that you have had time to experience the fruit of your labours ?

Bump !

As the title suggests, gratitude to any and all involved in the support and administration of this site. It would appear that there has been a prolonged issue apparently now resolved ? I would be most saddened should this site ever be lost, having found it it to be a most fascinating and extremely useful resource. Well done !

Now you have run them for a while, what are your conclusions (before and after) ? I have enjoyed following your interesting ( to me ) journey. Well done, I hope the outcome was worth the work !

Get that second one done and see how they work as a pair. Awaiting the result !

"Have everything connected now. About to close this one up for a test run". Good luck !!!!!