Mark Heija

Hi lakecat, Thanks. ...I've been told the mids are "20044-0 for the AR-58s" Quite a discussion on if they're appropriate in the AR-11 at my other post: Forum: Acoustic Research Original AR-11 crossover diagnostic help 123 By Mark Heija, July 7

That was quite a wonderful encounter! I did try to meet Janis when I would tag along with my friend on his monthly visit to collect for delivering the Chronicle (our paper routes were next to each other). We'd know if Janis was staying at the house at 22nd St. and Sanches (Noe Valley Neighborhood) when her car was parked outside. She never came to the door but we did get to hear her voice inside. I did get to shake Bill Graham's hand when he came to the Fillmore West (closing week, Grateful Dead's night) and I was first in line. He had his crew bring ice cream for the dozen or so folks in line mid-afternoon. The photo of Pigpen (colorized in Photoshop)was taken that night (using the Nikon F I borrowed from my photo teacher) using a 50mm lens, my belly at the waist high stage getting head & shoulder shots of the band.

Not bad at all! As a teen I was certainly captivated by the local heroes, the Dead, the Airplane, Quicksilver & Santana. I did get to see Janis, Jimi and Jim before their untimely passings. I was a member of our neighborhood Boys & Girls Club (where I honed my woodworking skills and photography) and was asked by my photo teacher if I wanted to help move equipment for his light show company... my first live concerts were seen from the lighting balcony swirling oils on an overhead projector. Quite the eye-opener.

That's right, Jimmy Page, May 1968 (with Led Zeppelin's inception just around the corner). I saw Led Zeppelin in April the following year... so fortunate to have been around for so much great music. I still have a few go-to live acts but not like when tickets were only $2.50 and I had a paper route;-) Note: if you do a Google Image search with my name you can see a photo I took of Jerry when I was 13, also some of my psychedelic poster work... still carrying on the tradition.

Speakers went up today and I'm feeling very positive that the efforts have paid off. Sounding wonderful through a wide variety of genres... though today only had an iPod as the source. It's nice having the old Sansui 9090 in the "garage" by the larger easy chair at arms length. The next step will be to tie the two Sansui receivers together with the aim of balancing the ARs with the LaScalas (west end). The odd (but necessary) placement facing inward gives a slight imbalance so the idea is to make the ARs face the opposite corners and by adjusting the volume, create the missing balance. Should be interesting to hear. Note: I started attending live performances as a pre-teen here in San Francisco and have a collection of early rock posters on display in our apartment.

Hey Folks, I'll be installing these speakers (as is) this Wednesday and will have a listen. I do know what I like (even as a teen, switching through all the speakers in the listening room at Pacific Stereo, I was drawn to these AR-11s). It will be a different experience than I'm used to as I had them hooked up to my original Sansui 9090 at work for 40+ years and loved how they could fill the space (recently retired from running the Design Studio at the Boys & Girls Club - also where I started my woodworking at age seven in 1963 [Note: this was a plug for the good work being done by this organization]). As I attempt to integrate these components with my existing 9090DB and Klipsch LaScalas (my second important stereo purchase) it may be that the semi-horn is appropriate. Thanks for all interesting posts on the technical considerations (some somewhat over my head). I'll let you know how they sound to me soon -Mark

Thanks. I've really become a fan of the Rubio Monocoat (in this case their Walnut, which give a natural matte finish) followed with their Maintenance Oil and light buff (adding a light sheen). ZERO VOCs too! I first became aware of their products when I watched a new oak countertop at a local Deli show no signs of ware over six months of daily use. I inquired with the owner about who did the fabrication/installation and the company told me about Rubio. Actually made for floors so it's extremely durable and with the added benefit over poly-finishes that with damage to the surface a simple sanding and re-coat blends in perfectly. Cons: a long dry time and pretty expensive... but someone could put a dripping beer mug on the top and not leave a ring (not that I'd let them😉

Hey Folks, I'm pretty new to the Classic Speakers Pages (came looking for advice) and found the replies very helpful and informative (especially JKent!). Did my first soldering and applied my woodworking skills to a fine finish. Decided on stainless steel fasteners and black felt to replace the deteriorated tweeter foam surround. Thoughts? The badges polished up nice too. So thankful for all the help! Anxious to hook 'em up.

A note on the mid range drivers. I'm guessing in the 70's or early 80's I had my Sansui 9090 and the ARs at my Mom's house... I'm not really sure but I believe there was a selector not set for the desired source and she started by turning the volume up (way up!) and then tried the selector... to devastating effect. I did replace the mids (they looked like the ones in your photo) with what were then factory replacements? the woofers were replaced in the 90's when the original foam fell apart and I didn't yet grasp the notion it was something I could have fixed (also with what I was told was a comparable driver).

Well, finished the reassembly of the speakers today. Did a quick test of the crossover recap and things sound like they're working (I was holding my breath!). Only had a tiny 30w portable amp (Amazon around $25) and my trusty iPod (earlier version with a German sound card - or so I've been told). Loud ventilation in the shop didn't make for the best test space but up close everything seemed to be working fine. I like my choice of stainless steel fasteners and the black felt to replace the deteriorating foam on the tweeters. Now to get them home... I've recruited a younger, athletic neighbor to help get them up the stairs of our building and will have him over to enjoy some fine sound and my famous (original Trader Vic's) Mai Tais once set up. I'll follow-up with how the system sounds in it's new home.

Hey Folks, I've had to deal with odd speaker placement for the 40+ years my wife and I have lived in our pre-1906 earthquake Victorian apartment. The 13'x19' (redwood lathe and plaster walled) living room has 10' ceilings and bay windows at the narrow end (two big easy chairs for listening sit in the bay). Klipsch LaScalas sit just outside the bay facing inward towards each other... I call this a headphone placement. The sound is beautiful but for perfection the balance must be slightly adjusted to one side (only one chair gets the perfect). An SVS sub sits on floor on the other side of the room. My hope is that by adding the AR-11s opposite the bay seating, the correct volume from the direct facing speakers will compensate for the Klipsch balance issue? If having the ARs so close to the ceiling (on the last bit of available real estate) creates low end issues I have an old SAE parametric equalizer I can throw into the mix. I'm using a Sansui 9090DB to power the Klipsch and a Sansui 9090 for the AR's so I'll be shopping for some quality cables to tie them together. Really looking forward to melding the sound of my two favorite systems. On the AR refurbish front, I dove in and soldered the new capacitors into the first speaker today... things went well (a slight touch of the iron did get my attention pretty quick). Photo attached. I'll continue with updates -Mark

Thanks! Just wondered, 22 to ends of 100 or vice versa? Wouldn't seem to matter, but asked just in case.

Hello JKent, Sorry for the lapse in communicating... It's been that my hesitancy to plunge into snipping out the old and soldering the new that gives rise to my tendency to procrastinate. Not that I'm ignoring the project, on the contrary, I've been finding all sorts of side projects to keep me busy. 1) Used a cool online Trig calculator to determine the exact downward angle for the speakers to face the cross room listening chairs (used string to create a right triangle). This angle was translated to wood platforms, later felt lined. 2) Built risers to get the speakers high enough to clear a door in one corner of the room, as well as placing them within the cove of the ceiling (good for sound dispersion?) and on swivel platforms for fine tuning. 3) Designed a "garage" for a Sansui where when opened the door slips out of the way. 4) Fabricated cradles to adhere the capacitors to the speaker bottoms. Here's where I have some questions: Do I need to worry about the wood cradles creating an insulation that may help generate too much heat? In soldering the two capacitors (100uf & 22uf) in parallel, is there a preference as to which might attach to which? Also, cut my own foam tweeter surrounds and built some bracing to attach a circular omnidirectional FM antenna outside the window. I am starting the recap this week for sure, after I run new speaker wire along the molding 😉 Thanks again for your help, Mark

I also see variations in voltage... what should I watch for?

Got it! I'll let you know how things progress. Oh, one more question. Is that Hot Glue that holds the parts in place? Is that what I should use?

Thanks so much for helping me navigate the maze of these websites! When the description includes "poly" and "film", it was suggested these change the original sound, "brighter". Should this be a concerned about this?

Hi JKent, Non-polar (check)... can you clarify D.F.% for me? or including Aluminum in description? Thanks

Hey Folks, I have decided to replace all the capacitors but... I've been looking at a number of capacitor suppliers (Parts Express, Mouser, Digikey) and not doing so well. Trying to come up with varying combinations to arrive at 10, 40 & 122uF Electrolytic (Aluminum?) 100v non-polar (10%D.F. or 6%D.F.?) has been more difficult than expected... most are Back Ordered / Out of Stock. If you can address the Aluminum & D.F. questions and possibly how close to these numbers do I have to be, i.e. (120 for 122, 39 for 40). With this information I think I may try calling customer service to see if they can help with my order. I did find the 10uF in stock at Parts Express!Thanks again for help, Mark

Hello JKent, Thank you for clarifying my meter question, and for the parts recommendations. Fortunately, I just found out that metal shop director at the maker's space where I volunteer (teaching an intro to wood shop) is also an avid vintage HiFi enthusiast. We have an electronics bench with test equipment and he's also the resident expert in this area. I be visiting with him today to ask about an LCR meter. As you appreciated my plugs, I'm attaching some photos of a project I did with the teens at the Boys & Girls Club (I've recently retired after 43 years of running their Industrial Arts & Crafts studios). We found these cabinets being thrown away just around the corner from the Club. With some fantastic guidance from the Klipsch Online Community and parts from a wonderful gentleman Bob Crites (who recently passed) the project was a success. One pair was sold and the proceeds covered all the costs for materials and parts. The second pair is now in the Social Recreation room with a large screen TV. The kids can now really hear what audio should sound like;-)

Hey Folks, many thanks for your input. I'm not sure if the meter I have works for capacitors (photo attached) and if it does, also not sure how to test with it... but ready to give it a go.

Hello Classic Speaker Pages Folks, This is my first posting on your site and am excited to be in the company of like minded (or should I say eared) listeners. My first speaker purchase was in the mid-70's and after a lot of comparison shopping (at Pacific Stereo) the AR-11 met my ideal. I remember taking in my Round Records release of "Old and in the Way" into the listening room so I'm sure it was in 1975. Not long after (and with a better paying job) I also discovered the LaScala. I've loved how both have sounded ever since. Recently I've embarked on my first crossover check-up... I have a bit of soldering experience and used a meter to test speakers when I rebuilt four salvaged LaScalas. I'm more of a woodworker than an electrician and have the cabinets already looking like new. I was told I would probably need to replace some (or all) of the capacitors and these are the assumed current component ratings (I see five capacitors so I'm not sure about this list - from a later AR-11 version? -some in parallel?): One 10uFOne 40uFOne 50uFOne 72uF I do see these same numbers on a schematic I found online. I'm hoping to get some advice on how to check the status of these parts and how to proceed iff necessary. Photo attached. Also, included a photo of the plugs I cut to fill some screw holes... had 'em up on steel brackets with added fastener security... living here in earthquake country (San Francisco)! Thanks for any help, Mark