Stevie F

Hi all, Hoping someone can give me some advice on the chances of getting a 200014-1 tweeter repaired. I can see broken wire on the positive side, on the tweeter surface. I don't know if there is a break inside. The tweeter itself looks in very good condition. I just restored a pair of MSTs, I had to swap one out with the 2nd pair, so I am left with one tweeter needing repair for set 2 now. I just did re-foaming on the first pair but feels like trying to repair this tweeter is a big step up. Any advice? Thanks, Steve.

Hi Klaus, after a long delay I finally managed to re-foam the first set! Got the foams from Good HiFi in Netherlands, great service, came really quickly, I also bought some Arleenes Tacky Glue and was easy to work with. Really pleased with the results. The first one went well, but the 2nd one must have moved a tiny bit before it hardened. Was rubbing so had to remove the glue and do it again, this time I used pegs to help centre it. No both sound superb. Thanks for all your help, I now have my eye on a set of AR-19Bs on ebay, that only need re-foaming. Unfortunately this set of MSTs will be sold even though I have become attached to them.

Hi Martyn, Did you manage to get anywhere with sourcing tweeters for your MSTs? I am currently renovating 2 pairs, it looks like I might have some issues with 2 tweeters, one open circuit and one jus showing 4 ohms and not 8. Will be looking to source replacements or get them repaired, both options are going to be tricky. Regards, Steve.

Some good news and bad news. Good news first, renovated the first set of cabinets and very pleased with the outcome. They used nice thick veneer so was possible to get most of the scratches out, and this was the worst pair. Used a clear oil\wax treatment so they retain the original colour. Will do 4 coats and then maybe a good wax finish. Was also able to remove the old foam, even came off nice from the paper cone. And final good news, managed to source a supplier for replacement foams, Good HiFi in Netherlands so got 4 on order. The bad news, I decided to do a quick impedance check on all the tweeters, on inspection one of them looked like the fine wire from the connector to the winding was broken, and confirmed, open circuit. Its one of the middle tweeters. After taking them out it seems they use two different part numbers 200014-1 and 200014-3, one measured 9 ohms and the other 4 ohms, (side tweeter). Checked 2 of the other 4 speakers and all OK, so will finish checking the last one tonight. So my question is how easy is it to repair the tweeter, or do I need to try and find a replacement, (which I guess is going to be real hard).

Hi All, I am in the process of restoring 2 pairs of AR MSTs, sorting the cabinets and re-foaming as starters. Was posting an update to a few friends and my new neighbour just told me that he has a pair of LSTs in his garage, they were apparently from the BBC Studios here in the UK. What a co-incidence that so many rare AR speakers would end up so close to each other. He had no idea how rare or how valuable they could be until I told him. He will be delivering them to me this weekend so I can have a look, hoping they are OK. Will post some pictures when they arrive.

Quick update, I managed to hook them up to my Arcam system, good some lovely Spanish guitar playing. All three see to be OK. The good news is that I inspected all the foams, they are so perished I think the removal will be very easy. Will go ahead and try to purchased some replacement foams. Quick question, how do you ensure the foams are sitting square on the paper cones? By eye or some clever process?

Thanks for the valuable info Genek. As a test I prepared the base of one speaker using 120 to 320 GRIT sand paper, removed nearly all scratches. Then used a Clear Matt Oil-Wax (Microporous) from Osmo , I have used on solid oak worktops before. Its great at protecting\sealing and keeps the natural wood finish. See the picture, it looks like a refreshed original now. Will give it a few coats and then see if its needs a light buff up. Hi Klaus! Thanks for the weblink, I have already contacted them to confirm the correct part, hoping that the delivery is OK, they seemed worried about BREXIT delaying post but lets hope that's all settled down now. Did you ever use the glue that they supply, or is there a better alternative? I saw White Glue mentioned on other posts.

Thanks for you input Kent. The one I had in the photo was not the worst cabinet, one had a lot of scratches on the top which is a shame. I might try and pair up the best two and the worst two and decide how much restoration is required on each set. There is not a big surface area to them so it won't be such a big job as the Naim's I did, (see picture). I was going to use matt varnish as that appears to be what they are but maybe just dirty! Will give one a buff with some finishing wax and see how the good ones come up. I'll check out SpeakerWorks to see what their pricing is like, from other posts it sounds like these are very good replacements. But hopefully there is a local supplier I can use to avoid shipping and import tax. Will post up progress. Next I really need to give them a go on my system to make sure they work ok, ignoring the foam issue (so won't drive them hard). Steve.

Hi All, I just finished restoring a pair of Naim SBL Speakers, big heavy monsters but lovely sounding. My brother in law has now given me 2 pairs of AR MSTs (3 tweeter versions) to restore. I can see that these are pretty rare speakers. Firstly the cabinets are in reasonable condition, but could do with some work to remove scratches, only one needs a lot of work but if I do one I will do them all so they match up. First question is whether people think its worth doing this? I was planning to do a very high grit sand and clear re-varnish (matt) so as not to lose the original colour. The speakers covers are all in good condition with original labels, just need a clean up. I understand them are made of woven wool so maybe just a light detergent hand clean? I have not tried them hooked up to a amp yet, but on inspection over the weekend I can see that all of them need new foams. I read la lot of posts and believe that they are 8" Woofers, I am based in the UK but can anyone recommend the best kits to get? I want to avoid any cheap replacements. Watched many video's about how to replace them, as an engineer it feels like it should be a job I can handle myself, but has anyone had a big problem doing this themselves?