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sWilly

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Posts posted by sWilly

  1. Power Amp for AR-3a's?

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    2 hours ago, samberger0357 said:

    Crown XLS 1002 will get you 350 watts at 4ohms for about $400. The amp it replaced, the XLS 1000 can be had for less with similar specs. For just over $500, you can move up in the line to the XLS 1502, which gives you 525 watts. They're considered "professional" amps, but they're very nice sounding, have all kinds of options with them as well. And they're small and light.

     

     

    Yeah, the Crowns might work well. Although, I'm not sure I can stomach putting a vintage Marantz next to a Crown from a visual standpoint. Ha. 

  2. Power Amp for AR-3a's?

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    I recently acquired a pair of 1968 AR-3a's that I am currently restoring. I understand that these require quite a bit of power to sound their best. I am looking for suggestions for power amps to pair with a Marantz 2238b or NAD3020. Hoping to keep it under $500. I'm open to vintage or newer amps. What would you suggest for minimum wattage? Thanks in advance.

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  4. AR-3a Newbie Restoration

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    4 hours ago, jnolan5784 said:

    I would also recommend having both tweeters rebuilt by Chris (contact info is on this site). I have a pair of 68 3a's that I did the restoration using the Dayton caps and new correct potentiometers (CLS with ceramic housing). After re-assembly, they sounded amazing - so I thought. I had the tweeters rebuilt and am totally amazed - didn't realize what I wasn't hearing. If you do the caps, new potentiometers, and rebuild the tweeters -they will be good for another 30 years. This particular woofer and the mids rarely if ever have issues. I didn't reseal the cloth on the woofer as per Roy on this site. 

    Good to know, thanks! I'll see how it sounds when I'm done. What was the cost of the tweeter rebuild? 

    I live in Colorado. Our climate is really dry so the potentiometers were almost perfect. I cleaned them and hope to keep them but we'll see. 

    I've heard that about having a good powerful amp. I have several nice vintage amps but none over 50 watts. I guess I'm going to have to seek out another one. Bummer. :)

  6. AR-3a Newbie Restoration

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    15 hours ago, lARrybody said:

    I agree with what David R suggest for the 50uf and 150uf caps. Here is what I plan to use on my next set of AR3a's. 

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    These are caps I had in stock and may not be available anymore, but Parts Connexion  has comparable examples.  The 100uf caps are Jantzen Audio Smooth NPE's which are the same as the Mundorf E-cap Plain. Both are no longer available, but you should be able to get the Mundorf E-cap Raw and the Jantzen EleCap.  Mine are running around 104uf. Same with the Mundorf E-cap 47uf Plain. You can get them in the Mundorf Raw and EleCap. As you can see mine are running closer to 50uf so no need to parallel a smaller value cap. For the 6uf tweeter cap I plan on paralleling two Clarity CSA 3uf film caps. The Clarity's run very true to spec. I will be finishing these AR3a up right after Christmas and things get back to normal around here.

    Thanks, I just ordered a full set of the Mundorf E-Caps. They seem like a good middle ground. We'll see!

  7. Restoring the AR-3a

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    27 minutes ago, Brad1234 said:

    I recapped my AR 3a's with the Jantzen Crosscap foil capacitors and have not really been happy with them. i have done a ton of recap jobs with the Audyn Q4 caps and they sound really nice, loud and super clear to me. I am planning to recap my AR3a's again with Audyns and see if it brightens them up some. They are not cheap and I feel bad I already spent so much on the Jantzens only to have to do it all over again. 

    Woops my fault, I meant to respond to bjmsam but it's good to get your take on the Jantzens. I think I'm going to try the Mundorf E-caps. If they don't work out it's not a huge loss. 

  11. AR-3a Newbie Restoration

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    54 minutes ago, DavidR said:

    I suggest you go with Non-Polar caps as were originally installed and not go the film cap route. They will sound as they were intended to. I have gone both routes with other AR speakers. One thing you can do is add a 0.01uF bypass film cap in parallel to the mid and tweeter caps.

    You can get good NPE caps at   https://www.partsconnexion.com/capacitors-ele.html

    Mundorf and Jantzen (both made by F&T, a German company) are of good quality. They will match caps for a $1 per pair. The president of the company is very helpful. Can't think of his first name atm but last name is Johnson. I've used the ECap70 Mundorf series. IIRC LARybody has used the Jantzen and has used both NPE and film in AR9s. I don't know if he ever gave his impressions.

    Thanks, this is helpful. The ECap 70 series looks interesting and reasonably priced but I'm not seeing the higher uF values available. I'll keep searching.

  12. Restoring the AR-3a

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    On 3/20/2022 at 6:18 PM, bjmsam said:

    Echoing feedback posted over the past fifteen years, the guide is terrific and most appreciated!  I am preparing to dig into my pair which Dad bought new in the late 60s (serial numbers 06052 and 06064).  I am comfortable with NPEs (recently employed with success in my center channel project)...

    ...but what are the early caps, exactly?  The guide seems somewhat ambiguous on this point:

     

    Also, the guide states:

    Since my woofers have cloth surrounds, the #7 inductor should not be replaced with a #9 coil, correct?

     

    Sure glad I saw this - thank you!  Perhaps the guide should be updated for those not poring over every post?

     

    I'm restoring a 1968 pair of AR-3a's now and had many of the same questions. It looks like you went with modestly priced electrolytic capacitors. Are you happy with the results. Trying to decide between those and the more expensive Daytons or Jantzens right now.

  15. AR-3a Newbie Restoration

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    I made a little progress tonight. The date stamps on the drivers are 1968. That makes them almost as old as me. Almost! I opened up and cleaned the pots. They didn't look too bad so hopefully they're going to work. 

    I haven't tested the capacitors yet but I plan to replace them regardless. Can anyone guide me on purchasing new caps and the appropriate wiring? I'll need to replace the 6mfd 50v as well as the large brick. I could really use some help there. 

    Also, I believe I have the alnico woofers with fabric surrounds. Should I treat the surrounds in any way?? 

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  16. AR-1 Newbie seeking helpful insights. NOT PARTING!

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    5 hours ago, Fasturd said:

    I have a few more listening sessions under my belt with the Ar-1s and I have to say I love what they do. I think running them the last few nights has helped everything loosen up a bit.

    I originally thought that they might need to have the highs augmented but there is a certain sweetness to listening to them as is especially with jazz.

    It's rare that a new speaker compels my partner to comment but she sat down with me last evening and said "those really sound nice." That, my friends is a huge compliment from her! The fact that the pair match the Heywood Wakefield display case they are sitting near doesnt hurt the WAF either! 

    Ha, I'm a newbie as well, just acquired a pair of 3a's. I hope I can get my wife to respond the same way!

    Jazz sounds wonderful on mine too. Modern stuff not so much. I will probably recap mine, it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

  17. AR-3a Newbie Restoration

    in Acoustic Research

    Posted

    Hi, new member here. I just purchased a pair of AR-3a's at an estate sale for $350. To be honest, I did not know much about these speakers, but a quick eBay price check convinced me to snap them up. From what I can tell, they likely had one owner who took amazingly good care of them. The cabinets are in excellent condition with only a few minor scratches and dents. The grills are near perfect with only a couple light stains. After some internet research I've come to understand the history and significance of these speakers and I'm now excited to get these speakers running their best. I did a low volume test and, after a lot of turning of the pots, everything works! I listened to some jazz and was really impressed by the sound, piano was fantastic. I did my usual Donald Fagan test and was not so impressed- really limited highs and not much punch. My suspicion is that these will benefit from a recap, but I'm hoping to get some suggestions from the experts here.

    After reading through the restoration guide (what a fantastic resource) I opened up one up to determine what year these are. Removing the grill proved extremely challenging. Starting with a screw in the badge hole, I worked on it for an hour with putty knives, long screwdrivers and whole host of other items. I got it off without any damage to the cabinet but did crack the grill frame in one spot. So there's my first question: are there any suggestions for removing the grills without damage before I attack the second one? The glue on these is crazy strong. 

    I pulled out the woofer but the year on the date stamp is not legible so I'll have to wait until I dig in a little further to know exactly what year these are. Maybe late 60's base on the look of the drivers? In any case, I'm excited to get these restored and welcome any information and suggestions as I move forward. A second question for now: should I attempt to restore the pots before buying new one's? Thanks in advance. More photos and questions to come.

     

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