crumpets Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Hi all, just wondering if anyone might have a chance to comment on whether these mids and woofers look like what I think they are before I throw my hard earned at these speakers. From what I can tell, the mid on the left looks to be the most common 3a mid(70-76). Not sure if the mid on the right is an ar3a or an ar5 mid. Any opinions would be appreciated. Also, do the woofers appear to be ones with alnico drivers? And, would they originally have had cloth surrounds? I have used the hivi tweeters before in my ar5's, so would look at doing this again if the tweeters didn't stack up. Appreciate any thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aadams Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Assuming everything works, and based on what you show in the photos; the tweeters are way wrong, the mids are probably ok though at least one is a replacement but the woofers alone with cabs could be a reason to purchase these if the price is right. That looks like black powder coat on the cabs. Edit: My current guess is they are covered with felt Adams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted November 8, 2019 Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Ditto on what Adams wrote. Looking at "Restoring the AR-3a" looks like you have early (1967-69) cloth-surround alnico AR-3 style woofers (nice IMHO and yes, the cloth is original). The mid on the left is clearly a replacement. Looks like the kind used in the 10-pi and 11 (1974-76, A.13 in Restoring the AR-3a). Very good choice. I have the ones with silver screens in my 3a's (A.14 in booklet). The mid on the right is a puzzle. No embossed "AR" and back-wired so it doesn't seem to match anything in the booklet UNLESS it's an original back-wired mid (example A.11 in the booklet, 1967-69). That's consistent with the woofers. Whoever replaced the tweeters and the one mid may have bent the tinsel leads around to the back of the driver to back-wire it (?). I "think" I see 2 strips of electrical tape. And it may be worth a listen to see how those tweeters are. I'm wondering where your second photo is from. The examples and dates are not consistent with those in Restoring the AR-3a. I'm not familiar with the black powder coat Adams mentioned but from what I see it looks awful. Who knows what's unerneath? Utility cab? Beat-up veneer? Also wondering about those attachments in the corners for the grilles. Not original so I assume there are some kind of DIY grilles (or none at all). The mods do seem to have been done neatly. -Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted November 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Thanks fellas. Yes, the cabs look like black felt and not great. I'm thinking you may bee right JKent, A.11 mid that is now backwired. That is my main concern really. I can't listen to themand I'm just worried that mid may be an ar5 mid that had been thrown in at some stage. I guess it's unlikely, but it's be nice to be sure. Would almost certainly need hivi tweeters to get anything close to original sounding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted November 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2019 Oh, i got that ar3 mid image from google. Comes from this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted August 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 Just reviving an old thread as I continue the restoration of these AR3a's. I removed the pots from one speaker to try to resurrect them, so I'm now trying to wire them back in using the other speaker as a guide. The question I have is regarding the orange wire going from 1 to B on the midrange pot. I can't see it in the AR3a guide, but I do struggle with schematics. I don't recall it being on the crossover I have already dissected, but maybe it has something to do with a replacement driver that one speaker has. Should it be there? If so, can I just use any gauge wire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted August 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 One other thing, regarding the midrange drivers...The image of the speakers at the top of this thread shows one speaker has the A.11 midrange driver(from the guide), whilst the other is a replacement A.13. I have two A.13 midrange drivers in a pair of AR3a Improved. I'd rather do the best I can to get these AR3a's I'm working on sounding good, so I don't mind sacrificing the Improved. Would it be better if I put matching A.13 drivers into these speakers, or isn't it even an issue having one A.11 and one A.13? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted August 10, 2023 Report Share Posted August 10, 2023 8 hours ago, crumpets said: One other thing, regarding the midrange drivers...The image of the speakers at the top of this thread shows one speaker has the A.11 midrange driver(from the guide), whilst the other is a replacement A.13. I have two A.13 midrange drivers in a pair of AR3a Improved. I'd rather do the best I can to get these AR3a's I'm working on sounding good, so I don't mind sacrificing the Improved. Would it be better if I put matching A.13 drivers into these speakers, or isn't it even an issue having one A.11 and one A.13? The orange wire was added by a previous owner to by-pass the corroded section of the level control/pot, and should not be there. That control is compromised. As part of any restoration of AR speakers of this era, the drivers should first be checked for functionality, then the pots fully restored or replaced before doing anything else. Based on your first photos in this thread, the tweeters should be replaced with something more appropriate. The tweeters in your photo will not provide anything close to the original sound. The mids' response will be close enough, and can always be dealt with at a later time. The back-wired mid on the left in your photo is a later AR replacement, and the one on the right appears to be original to the era. To answer your early question, there is no way to tell the higher impedance AR-5 mid from the lower impedance 3a mid without measuring resistance (DCR), but the chances are good that your mids are both satisfactory. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted August 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 Thanks Roy, that makes a lot of sense. I did "test" the pots before I took the speakers apart, but obviously not very thoroughly. I will take them out and see if I can clean them up. I have a few pots in varying conditions, so I should be able to get 2 more in shape. I'm trying to avoid replacing them with Lpads at this stage, but have some on standby, just in case. I am replacing the tweeters with HiVi's. I've included the 6uf cap in series and the 0.05 coil. Roy, I have a couple of pairs of tweeters that I would like to have rebuilt. I have a pair of 200011's and a pair of 200013-2's from my AR5's that were replaced with HiVi. Are you still doing this type of work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted August 11, 2023 Report Share Posted August 11, 2023 16 hours ago, crumpets said: Roy, I have a couple of pairs of tweeters that I would like to have rebuilt. I have a pair of 200011's and a pair of 200013-2's from my AR5's that were replaced with HiVi. Are you still doing this type of work? I am, but I don't ship internationally. Ask forum member, Chris1this1. His tweeter work is excellent, and he may be willing to deal with shipping between the US and Australia. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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