DMRanney

I already ordered two Dayton Audio PMPC-20 20uF 250V Precision Audio Capacitors from Parts-express.com. Sorry I didn't see your reply sooner! The can-type capacitor that's in there now is a Sprague, actually. Thanks, Doug

Kent and Roy, thank you so much for your patience with my ignorance. I took apart one of the pots and to my eye it seems pretty good. Would a delicate polishing of the contact surfaces be sufficient (and safe) in your opinion? And is it best practice to simply replace the capacitor as preventative maintenance? Thanks, Doug

The other cabinet had the original cloth ringed speaker (marked 4X 2748H). Strangely, though it had no sealant at all but rather this white styrofoam-ish gasket. Same for the tweeter. Can this possibly be original? Or has this one been messed with as well?

I pulled the woofers and the newer one is clearly a replacement, marked "service replacement unit." It looks like a very sloppy job: the dried up sealant was not renewed, making the speaker sit cockeyed in the opening. When I pulled out the insulation there were several chunks of dried sealant sprinkled in. The inductor coil is laying loose - not mounted on it's post over the capacitor! And to top it off, the pot seems to be wired wrong, which probably explains why the tweeter doesn't work at all.

Thanks so much for the feedback. I'll pull the woofers and see if there's some identification on the newer one. Any thoughts on that funky pressboard frame for the grille cloth? It sure looks homemade to me. -Doug

Hi all - newbie here! A friend sold me a pair of AR 4x speakers for $50 each as a refurbishment/learning project. They work but don't sound all that great right now. I pulled the grilles off and right off the bat I'm puzzled by what I see. The two woofers are obviously very different. The right one looks pretty original and crusty, with the cloth ring, and is mounted slightly recessed from the panel. The left one looks almost new, with the foam ring, and is mounted out of plane with the panel: from flush on one side to about 1/8th proud on the other side. My friend says he purchased them new as a pair while on leave from the Air Force in Tokyo in the early seventies. He has no memory of ever having one of the woofers replaced, although it's possible he's mistaken. The older-looking one is serial # 364181, and the newer-looking one is serial #FX329797. Is there any way his recollection of purchasing them new as a pair back then holds up? Is it plausible that both woofers are the originals? Other differences between the two speakers are: The right one has slightly lighter toned walnut veneer, very slightly lighter colored and heavier-feeling grille cloth, and a crudely crafted pressboard grille frame as opposed to neatly crafted black-stained wood. At a casual first listen, both woofers sound fine - it's the midrange that sounds really muddy and the pots seem completely nonfunctional. I'm just wondering if I should just shrug off the woofer puzzlement or worry about having the woofers match?