[AR18s]

Hi guys so I finally found some original AR18s woofers that have been reformed and have just noticed that they have attached the foam to the rear of the cone and not the front?

will this make a difference or is it ok?

[AR18s]

1 minute ago, AR55 said:

Below is a link to a US eBay site for a pair of 200037 woofers that have been re-foamed.  The price for the pair is very good, but the shipping price ($41.12) from the US is obviously an issue.

Link to eBay listing: ebay 200037 woofers from US

If the price with shipping is more than you want to spend, I would check whatever used audio sites are available in England for a used pair.  Note that the 200001 & 210037 (Tonegen version of the 200037) are interchangeable with the 200037.  I would also consider the 200050 or 210050.  They may not be exact matches, but they have the same voice coil & specs as the 200037.

Thanks for the info I’ll keep on looking but am tempted to buy those ones on eBay.us

[AR18s]

Anyone know where I could get replacement woofers from in the UK as it seems that the ones I have are not original. 

Thanks

[AR18s]

5 minutes ago, genek said:

Did you find out what's under the black smudge on the woofers?

Yes managed to get the black stuff off but unfortunately nothing written under it?

[AR18s]

On 1/17/2022 at 11:21 PM, lARrybody said:

You do have the correct 200038-0 tweeters. One of the best sounding cone tweeters I have come across.  If you are looking for replacement woofers they were used in some other models. The AR28S and the AR18B I believe. If you can find a pair of Rock Partners they will have the Tonegen  1210037 woofers which will work just fine. 

The Rock Partners will also have the 1210038 Tonegen tweeters which can be back up replacements. Here they are the on the left and the AR USA made ones on the right.

It looks like you 5uf cap has been replaced because all of mine came with a Unicon electrolyte. I used a Dayton 5.1 and binding post from Parts Express to replace those spring clips.

Ideal thanks for the info👍🏻
will probably look at changing the spring clips like you have if I can find some replacement woofers. 

[AR18s]

58 minutes ago, cd0nc said:

The light blue Interlec caps are probably original. I have seen them on a number of later speakers in the same range as the AR8 - AR9 range here in the UK.

Thanks for the info, do you think the speaker cabinets look correct?

[AR18s]

Some more photos. The speaker cabinets seem to be made out of a chipboard type of material?

[AR18s]

13 hours ago, AR55 said:

You guys are right.  The woofers don't look like the 200037.  It looks like someone took a Sharpe and marked out the actual label and stuck on the 200037 labels.

Jas77, if you have a multimeter, check the DC resistance of the woofers.  If they don't measure somewhere between 4.4 ohms & 4.8 ohms, it is very unlikely that they are either the 200037's or 1210037's.

The resistance across the coil is about 3.2ohms

[AR18s]

16 hours ago, Aadams said:

I agree with Giorgio.  There is something odd about these woofers.  I have examined the front baffle photo on three different monitors and it looks to me like the voice coil covers are concave, the surrounds are attached on the back side of the cone and are shiny like butyl rather than dull like foam.   Tell me I am wrong please.

Hi the voice coil cover is indeed concave and as you say the surrounds are attached to the back of the cone but they are foam. 

[AR18s]

11 minutes ago, genek said:

Try the seal first and see how you like the sound. You already have the woofers AR would have provided as replacements back in the 1980s.

Thanks and will give this a go and see if there is a difference. 

[AR18s]

4 minutes ago, genek said:

These are the woofers AR listed as replacements for the 18 series in 1986. The label says they're US made, so they're not Tonegen.

Is there a gasket under the woofer? If not, you don't have a seal. Even if there is a gasket, it may be too compressed to seal well. Try some new foam tape or sealing putty and see what that does.

Thanks for the reply.
There is no gasket under woofer so will give that a go but would I be better off getting the original woofers for them as no one I have asked seems to know much about the ones a I currently have??

[AR18s]

Thanks for the reply, so I’m taking it that these are inferior and are not the correct replacements and if I manage to find the correct replacement then they would sound a lot better??

Thanks

[AR18s]

Hi all I have just acquired a pair of Acoustic Research AR18s speakers which sound a bit flat so opened them up to find the positive and negative wired incorrectly inside the speaker. With hope that this would change the lower end sound but unfortunately although better it wasn’t as good as expected! I am now wondering if the mid/bass speaker has been replaced with an inferior speaker although all the serial numbers look like they match original parts listing but I was led to believe that most of not all the speakers had the square magnet design whereas the ones installed in the speakers I have are round? If anyone could confirm this that would be great as if the case is that the speakers are incorrect then I will try to source the originals and replace them and give the speakers another go.