Help identify this vintage woofer.

[slk453]

I am new to this site after stumbling upon it while trying to search the net for any info I could find on a big passive sub woofer I bought years ago and never tried. Any information or help is appreciated.

I will attach a few photos of it along with a pair of AR-2ax and a pair of AR-6 speakers I have never tried out.

The woofer, according to the terminal plate, was made by Acoustat with the number: 81109206, Spectra Passive Woofer. It appears to have at least 15" woofers on each side and one vent in the back. I can't seem to find it anywhere online.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The AR speakers I purchased from a friend over 30 years ago and never hooked up. I know, crazy right? I guess because I had more modern speakers that looked better, so I kept them stored unfortunately outside in a shop building. After viewing these on Ebay I began to realize and was surprised by the value these still have! I mean the factory cardboard box they came in for $40.00 plus $58.00 for shipping one empty box? OMG! Insane, LOL!

One year during torrential downpours the roof of my shop sprung a leak and wouldn't you know it, my speakers were stacked right underneath it. Before I noticed it, the particle board and veneer on the AR-6's began to swell. The AR-2ax having solid wood are not as bad. I thought about just cutting, gluing and clamping plywood to the cabinets and using them for sound in my shop. Better than a boombox right? 

I still have to test all 4 and replace capacitors or pots from what I've read so far. Hit me back with any info or comments. Thanks!

[ra.ra]

Hello, slk453, and welcome to the CSP forum. I've got nothing to add about that subwoofer, but based on the heavy corrosion on the terminals, it appears that it, too, may have suffered from the effects of ineffective long-term storage.

About the AR's, those are looking pretty rough, but that's not to say that they cannot be restored. Many members here have rescued and re-conditioned vintage speakers with significant flaws and non-working or missing components. If you have interest or further curiosity, I would suggest you begin a new thread (or two?) in the AR section of this forum with further descriptions and additional photos. 

The back panel of the 2ax is not solid wood - - it is plywood, but does have several characteristics which are superior to the particle board on the rear of the AR-6. And from just a quick visual assessment: it is quite possible that all of the drivers shown in your AR-2ax might be fully functional. A few years ago I restored a very similar pair of AR-6's of the same vintage (s/n 40XXX) that were in very tough shape, but with some patience and diligence and lots of help from CSP members, I was able to restore them, and now, even with their imperfections, they have become terrific loudspeakers. Before and after shown.

 

 

[JKent]

Welcome slk

Those ARs could make many of us cry. If you decide to try to save them you'll get plenty of help here. The 2ax is an outstanding speaker but they will definitely need work. The tweeters and mids probably won't work due to corroded pots and ancient capacitors so just clamping some plywood to the outside won't do. They need to be rebuilt from the inside out.

Here's a thread on the passive sub: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/acoustat-sub.242739/ Here's what JoeESP9 wrote:

The SPW-1 has 4 six inch woofers in a ported box. It is a stereo sub with a shared cabinet. It was originally sold as an option with the Spectra 22's. The crossover has a switch the engages or disengages the internal 100Hz low pass crossover. The sub has an in room response to around 30Hz (-3db point). The subs crossover works with the crossover built into the interface units in the Spectra series panels. They have a switch for full range or above 100hz operation. There are pass through 5 way binding posts for connecting the SPW-1. A full range signal is always sent to the sub. During normal operation with one stereo amp the panels crossover is set for above 100hz and the woofers crossover is set for below 100hz. 

 

[JKent]

Here's another thread: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/acoustat-model-4-with-subwoofer.739012/

There are others. Just takes a bit of searching.