meta_noia_fot
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Posts posted by meta_noia_fot
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26 minutes ago, briodo said:
The AR303 schematics are there under the 303 series found here
These are the 303a schematics. I actually haven't seen the 303 schematics here. They should be fairly close though...the 303a's had bi-amping capabilities while the 303's did not.
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3 hours ago, DavidR said:
I've found this is the best way to rebuild the xovers.
Going back through my bookmarks, and it was your AR90 recapping thread that convinced me to give NPE's a try.
https://community.classicspeakerpages.net/topic/11173-re-cappi-my-ar90s/
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Nice find. I picked up a pair of 92's that I've been listening to for a few weeks. I recapped them using NPE's with film bypass caps. They sound really terrific.
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@JKentThank you so much. Hopefully I'll have these playing by the end of the day.
And thanks for the continued help @genek. I may see how much I like these speakers before putting more time into the finish. In any case, there's still a small amount of oil seeping out of the wood, so they'll probably still need a couple more weeks to fully cure before doing anything else.
I'm excited to hear these. I got the woofers back from MillerSound and Bill did an incredible job on them. I picked these up on a whim out of a lot on craigslist and had no expectations beyond seeing if I could get them playing again. Thanks everyone for your help.
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Maybe I've puzzled this out...sorry if this is all novice stuff. If I put the new pot in the same place, the terminals should be in the same location with B being the yellow wire. I think I was just overthinking this.
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I followed @genek's suggestion. I used a very small amount of oil-soluble dye and applied what ended up being 6 more coats on the veneers until they wouldn't accept anymore tung oil. One strip on the front is still much lighter than the rest of the veneers but the color overall is much more balanced. At this point, unless there is anything else that can be done, I'm going to take this as a learning experience and classify the lighter strips as "character."
I tested out the electronics and the pots are intermittent. I ordered replacements which should be here tomorrow. My question is about installing the new pots. I don't have a 2x schematic and referencing other schematics like 2ax and 4x didn't answer my question. Maybe someone here can help.
The pot that's installed is not clearly labeled 1, 2, and B as I've seen on other AR pots. Can someone tell me how to wire a new pot (the kind @JKent sells, thanks btw)? In the pic of the pot below, the light green goes to the tweeter and the T terminal, the yellow goes to the tweeter, and the darker green goes to a capacitor. Which of these corresponds to 1, 2, and B?
Thanks
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Thank you. Much appreciated.
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Thanks so much. I'll try that.
Is there a better way I should have approached using the tung oil from the start in order to get a more even color? Looking back on this photo I took after sanding was completed, I can now see how uneven the color is in places like that front corner. Would you use this dye from the start or some other method to stain?
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Here are a few pics. The color seems more blond and uneven than when I initially applied the oil. The coloring on the front top (and rest of the front) is the most glaring. I didn't take pics of all sides, but I'd say these are the worst.
I used a 50/50 mix of pure tung oil from Real Milk Paint and mineral spirits.
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Hoping for some help on this tung oil finish. I've put the speakers in my attic since I applied the tung oil. I took a look at them today and the color appears much more uneven and blonder than I'd hoped. I'm a novice at this and I'm guessing I didn't apply enough coats.
It's been a week and a half since sanded the veneers and applied the two coats. The finish has been curing since then. Can I simply apply a few more coats? I don't want to sand the veneers again and start over. Anyone have any advice?
Thanks
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So I decided to go with a tung oil finish based on something @genek recommended in an old thread. I sanded the veneers with an orbital sander, cleaned them with TSP, then applied two coats of tung oil. I'm very pleased with the results. I picked these 2x's up recently and don't have much attachment to them, but I wanted to try out tung oil on these before I redo the veneers on my 6's (which I am very attached to).
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For sale is a pair of AR-3a's that I personally restored using the "Restoring the 3a" guide. Asking price is $1200. Speakers are located in Bath, Maine and can be heard before purchasing. Alternatively, I am willing to meet within one-hour's driving distance to deliver them. I recently upgraded to AR9's and haven't used these much since finishing their restoration.
Caps were replaced with Solen capacitors.
Pots were opened up but still in excellent condition; I applied some dielectric grease and reinstalled them. There is no scratchiness on the pots. The knobs on the back of the pots are gone.
Veneers were sanded and I applied two coats of Danish Oil for a beautiful, oil finish.
Grills are in fair shape. There are a couple spots on one grill where the fabric is pulling away, but they are overall in nice condition. The purple embossing on the badges is gone.
When I bought these, someone had put cheap replacement woofers in them. I sourced two woofers from Vintage_AR. One is an authentic 3a woofer. The other is an aftermarket replacement. If there is a sonic difference between the two, it is not audible to me.
Here is text from the original Vintage_AR posting about the replacement woofer:
"About 10 years ago, a Warranty Shop for AR contracted to have a replacement woofer manufactured for the AR-3a. This replacement is now sold by other companies. We were likely the first to test it. The overall appearance as well as the fit is outstanding. However, the spider is too stiff which limits the low end of the range and the cone is too light and passes some of the low midrange tones.
We choose not to offer it as is but to rebuild it, replacing the spider with one correct for the AR-3a. We added weight to the cone to eliminate any midrange transmissible. We rebuilt about 3-4 for our own use but it's not economical for resale.
The original woofer resonance frequency manufactured by Tonegan for AR is about 21 Hz, this "as is" woofer resonance is about 42 Hz. Once rebuilt by VINTAGE-AR, the resonance is about 24 Hz."
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I recently acquired an early pair of AR-2x speakers. Serial numbers are in the 700's and the date stamps inside the cabinets read Oct. 1964. The masonite rings attaching the spiders and surrounds to the basket have pulled away and one cloth surround has come off entirely. Repairing these is beyond my skill so I'm working on having the woofers professionally repaired.
For now, I'm wondering about the pots. Does anyone know the specs of the pots in these early 2x's and if replacements are available? These pots are larger and of a different design than the ones I've pulled out of sets of 3a's and 6's.
Is there a schematic available for the early 2x? It's relatively simply but I haven't seen one.
I've attached some photos of the speakers and pots. Oddly enough, the pots were each covered with half a Dixie cup with a pack of silica stapled over the opening, then the cup was wrapped in skirt material.
-George
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Bumping this up. Still in the market for one of these center channel speakers.
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Great article, @tysontom! Thanks for sharing.
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Anyone have an AR205VC speaker they are willing to part with? Can't find one on any of the usual places online...hoping someone here may have one.
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A little off-topic, but I'm using a Luxman LV-105u hybrid integrated amplifier to drive my 9's. This amp uses 2x6CG7 tubes in the amp (not pre-amp) section. These amps are kind of looked down on since they're from the BPC Alpine era of Luxman. But the amp delivers 170W into 4 ohms and has powered the 9's without any problem. I usually see these amps list for around $450. I think they're a good budget option if someone wants to power 9's and wants a touch of tube sound.
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I recapped my 9's last month. I bought them for a song and figured the caps would need to be replaced due to age. I tested them briefly before recapping, and there was definitely some odd performance issues with the high-range tweeter which went away after the recap.
Ended up using a mix of Dayton and Jantzen film caps on the HF and mid-range circuits. For the woofers I used a Jantzen elecap for the 470uf and a bundle of MDL npe's for the 2500uf. All told I spent about $300 on caps and surrounds. I picked this mix of caps based on my price range and these threads:
These 9's are the only ones I've heard, so I can't comment on how much a different set of caps would change the sound or if these sound as well as designed. I will say that I love the amount of clean, accurate bass these put out. One of my favorite bass test tracks right now is 1st 44 by Aphex Twin. That track sounded great on 3a's but you really bathe in the bass when played on 9's.
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Thanks @Aadams. I think I'm experiencing the slight bass boost below 100hz the manual mentions. I'm going to experiment with EQ-ing the bass a small amount.
1 hour ago, Aadams said:Those baseboard heaters being so close would concern me but others may know better
I know in the winter I'm going to need to pull them at least a few inches away from the heaters. I'm also going to insulate those wires. The room, like the speakers, is a work in progress.
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Thanks for all the help previously, everyone. I'm in need of some more advice.
1. How should I attach new grill fabric? The previous owner had the fabric replaced at some point to a tan fabric (I hate it). The larger grills have the fabric attached just using glue. The smaller, side grills appear to be glued with a chrome frame stapled onto the grill (I assume this is the chrome piece I've seen people talk about omitting on other threads). If there is supposed to be chrome frames on the larger grills, they're missing. I've only replaced grill fabric on one set of speakers before (AR-6's) with sub-optimal results. And the only hi-fi store near me doesn't do grill fabric replacement unfortunately. If glue, any suggestions for a glue/fabric combo? Or should I just get a power stapler?
2. What about speaker spikes/feet? I noticed there are screw threads on the bottom of each speaker. Does anyone know a spike set that fits these threads? Or what the thread measurements are? I figure elevating the speakers may help keep the floating floor I'm on from vibrating during heavy bass passages.
3. Finally, any advice on placement in a small room? The centers of the vertical arrays are about 7 feet apart. Unfortunately there isn't much room between the LF woofers and the walls and a record shelf (see pic).
Thanks again for all your help.
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Thanks @DavidR. Directly behind the woofers is empty in mine but there is dense material further up the cabinet. I believe my speakers are as they should be with regards to wadding material.
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@AadamsThanks! Glad there's one less thing I need to worry about.
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Hi Everyone.
I'm working on my first pair of AR-9s. My question today is about the wadding material. Attached is a picture of the material that is in there now. The larger cabinet has the same material. Is this the correct material for these cabinets? I've only ever worked on earlier models of ARs and none had material like this. I'm wondering if this is replacement material since the LMR woofers had been replaced at some point. Thanks for your help.
-George
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Just wanted to say a quick thank you to this community and the authors of the AR-3a restoration guide. I just restored a pair that had been bowdlerized with generic, 8-ohm woofers. I sourced proper replacements from Vintage_AR, replaced the caps, and sanded and varnished the veneers with Danish Oil. They're singing again and I couldn't be happier right now. I have pairs of AR-6s and AR-8s but these 3a's are a different beast. Incredible stuff.
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Not sure if this has been reported before, but I also have problems with phishing attempts on this forum since I posted an ad wanting to buy something. They all have this format: