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...
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