Got around to testing a pair of AR-2X's. and...

[TomK]

Further update, Roy sent me the sealant (he is a real gentleman),  I purchased the polyfill that JKent suggested from Amazon, and set to work after lunch.

I took the woofers back out, and scraped all the old clay out that was sealing the speakers and replace it with foam tape meant to seal speakers.   The foam tape finally sealed the speakers properly.  While the speakers were somewhat sealed before, as soon as they are sealed properly you can tell they actually resist being pushed in.   I did put a coat of the sealant on the cloth portion of the speakers and let that dry for a few hours.

I think the foam made the biggest difference, but one of the speakers clearly has air leakage at the cloth.     I still need to clean up the cabinet and  then do the speaker cloth.  

I'll give an update on how they sound tomorrow.   

[ra.ra]

3 hours ago, TomK said:

....but one of the speakers clearly has air leakage at the cloth. 

Sounds like you are making fine progress. As you now know, Roy's sealant is very easy to apply, and occasionally these cloth surrounds may require more than a single coat. But before you proceed to add extra goop unnecessarily, make a close inspection of the masonite ring under the outer diameter of the surround. It is very common for these to separate from the metal basket - - even when this occurs on a small scale, another opportunity for air leakage is present, and it might not be immediately apparent.   

[TomK]

14 hours ago, ra.ra said:

Sounds like you are making fine progress. As you now know, Roy's sealant is very easy to apply, and occasionally these cloth surrounds may require more than a single coat. But before you proceed to add extra goop unnecessarily, make a close inspection of the masonite ring under the outer diameter of the surround. It is very common for these to separate from the metal basket - - even when this occurs on a small scale, another opportunity for air leakage is present, and it might not be immediately apparent.   

I've done a single application and it seems more than enough, I think that's done.       I checked where you mentioned, and that seems fine.

I'm going to pronounce them electrically and sonically "done" at this point.

[TomK]

I enjoy getting up early on a Sunday morning, especially when it's a beautiful day like today in my area.     I ordered a well-reviewed TEAC CD player from Amazon, because I'm not quite ready and comfortable with ensuring my Dual turntable is read to go.   I checked out how the surround seal works, it's still slightly tacky, but I figured it's meant to stay that way to do its job.

Last night after it arrived I dug into my CD collection (currently put away in boxes) and pulled out some of my CD's and this morning I listened to: excerpts from

• Dianne Reeves - Sky Islands
• Rippingtons - Curves Ahead (featuring Kirk Whalum)
• Holst - The Planets (A out-of print  Chandos recording featuring the Scottish Symphony Orchestra; It's a little quirky)
• Mitsuko Uchida - Mozart: Piano Concertos No. 23, K488 & No.24, K491 (Uchida is the best at Mozart)
• Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (This is a very sad album)
• Pat Metheny  - Offramp
• Eagles - One of These Nights (IMHO, their best album)
• Steely Dan - Aja
• The Best of Earth Wind & Fire
• Capital Sings Duke Ellington (it has my favorite arrangement of Satin Doll sung by a Nancy Wilson)

I listened at a medium volume.  The bass was firmed up considerably with the fixes and I adjusted the tweeters more to my liking (basically dialed them back a bit).    The receiver I'm using currently is a Sansui 2000a, which I believe is about 35 watts/channel.   I took it apart about 3-4 weeks ago and vacuumed and then used compressed air to clean it out.    I need to clean up some noisy pots, but it otherwise works fine (no noise/hum).

Anyway, these speakers are way better than they have any right to be.    I had a stack of magazines I was looking through and I repeatedly put them down and thought "oh, I never heard that before".   They really shine with well recorded source material, the bass is solid, the treble is nicely balanced, and overall you forget about the speakers after a while and just listen to the music.

I couldn't be more pleased by them.

[TomK]

Replaced the Speaker cloth over the weekend.   I spent most of my time refoaming the woofers for my AR-LST2's, which are coming along.

I recently purchased a pneumatic upholstery stapler, which made the job go faster.  I purchased the cloth from a guy on ebay who swore it was a perfect replica of the AR speaker cloth   He lied.  But it's not ugly, and I decided to use it anyway because these are my test-mule speakers.

 

It an okay-ish job.   This cloth resisted any attempt to get the grain straight.   My wife dropped down in the basement and pronounced them "very nice", which passes the test as far as I'm concerned.  If you know a better source for the material, please let me know.

Next job is to do a quick clean of the cabinet a quick sanding and a new Linseed Oil re-finish (using some of the techniques you guys have shared in these forums), which should be quick since these speakers have a very clean and very original look.     I'll take a shot at it this weekend.

Thanks again for all your advice.

 

 

[JKent]

Check the AR-3a restoration guide http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/

then buy the cloth from 123 Stitch https://www.123stitch.com/cgi-perl/abcSearch/search.cgi

[TomK]

8 hours ago, JKent said:

Check the AR-3a restoration guide http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/

then buy the cloth from 123 Stitch https://www.123stitch.com/cgi-perl/abcSearch/search.cgi

I should check that more often.    Thanks for the tip.    I ordered the largest piece of 18-count Wichelt Lambswool linen they sold, and we'll see if I need more.

[MikeD2]

Just wanted to say "thanks" to @TomK for taking the time to photo and upload all these photos and detailed information.  I'm waiting on parts for my original-purchase AR-2ax's which are likely the same vintage (1970 if memory serves me correctly.)  Once the 2ax's are working, my 3a's will be overhauled as well.

This is an outstanding forum for novices like me.  Thanks again for sharing the experience!

[TomK]

On 10/14/2019 at 7:08 AM, MikeD2 said:

Just wanted to say "thanks" to @TomK for taking the time to photo and upload all these photos and detailed information.  I'm waiting on parts for my original-purchase AR-2ax's which are likely the same vintage (1970 if memory serves me correctly.)  Once the 2ax's are working, my 3a's will be overhauled as well.

This is an outstanding forum for novices like me.  Thanks again for sharing the experience!

Mike,  not a problem.    I haven't logged in for a bit as my work is just crazy, and weekends are crazier.    There's a lot more/better experts than me here so don't be afraid to ask questions, and I have more pictures than I've posted so let me know if you want anything else.

--Tom

 

[MikeD2]

17 hours ago, TomK said:

Mike,  not a problem.    I haven't logged in for a bit as my work is just crazy, and weekends are crazier.    There's a lot more/better experts than me here so don't be afraid to ask questions, and I have more pictures than I've posted so let me know if you want anything else.

--Tom

Thanks.  Quick correction.  My first pair of speakers are AR-4x's, not AR-2ax's.  I hadn't looked at the backs of them for years and just thought they were 2ax's.  My 3a's ARE 3a's however. ?