I have inherited a pair of vintage AR-3 speakers (SNs C-63904 and C-52785) that are cosmetically very nice but which need to have some components replaced to restore good acoustic performance.
I believe that the pots and caps in the crossovers need to be replaced for each speaker to be repaired (*after operation of the woofer, mid-range speaker and tweeter are confirmed).
This site has published a very helpful write-up by John O'Hanlon and Tom Tyson that includes a schematic for AR3s of the same vintage as mine.
* Can anyone please suggest specific pots and caps (including model numbers, contact information for a source for these components and ideally skus) that will be functionally equivalent to the OEM parts?
Thanks in advance for your help
Sincerely, Ray Keogh
p.s. in case this is of interest, evidently these speakers are fairly difficult to disassemble, but I found a YouTube video providing a good explanation as to the steps required.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ALLgjlolNA
In a nutshell, I believe that the scope of work needed to make this repair is:
- Move the badges on the acoustic grilles, partly install a screw (into the frame that the acoustic cloth is attached to), then carefully pry the frame of the acoustic grille from the chassis of the speaker unit.
- Remove the acoustic putty and the woofer from each speaker.
- Check the woofer, mid-range speaker and teeter to confirm that these components are still OK.
- Replace the capacitors in the crossover and the pots using the appropriate components.
- Temporarily hook up the woofers and bench test the speaker to ensure that it is working properly.
- Solder the connections to the woofers, re-seat them into the chassis using an appropriate putty, and re-install the front grille.
- Move the badges into position to hide the holes from the removal screws, and check that the speakers look good and are working well.
