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AR5,Black Edition


Amplifierz

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Amplifierz

 Regarding the fabric under the midrange screens:  I came across this tidbit in a Tysontom post from 15 years ago.  "Incidentally, the reason for the fiberglass on the outside of the dome under the protective grill was to apply an equal pressure against the dome to counteract the pressure under the dome"   You can read about the "popped out" syndrome in this thread that is mostly about tweeters.  I don't know if your mid drivers are at risk or not.  These old dome mids are very durable if not subjected to clipping amps. 

 

 

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"Regarding the fabric under the midrange screens:  I came across this tidbit in a Tysontom post from 15 years ago.  "Incidentally, the reason for the fiberglass on the outside of the dome under the protective grill was to apply an equal pressure against the dome to counteract the pressure under the dome"   You can read about the "popped out" syndrome in this thread that is mostly about tweeters.  I don't know if your mid drivers are at risk or not.  These old dome mids are very durable if not subjected to clipping amps."

Tom was referring to the AR-3 type tweeter and mid. This is not at all the case with the AR-3a/5 type of mid. There is fiberglass but no pressure under the AR-5 mid's dome, and it has a sturdy cloth roll suspension. The AR-3 drivers have packed fiberglass under their domes and urethane foam "blob" suspensions. The fiberglass pad under the screen (the pad isn't cloth) resting on the AR-5 mid dome is just a mechanical way to control output. It serves the same function as the fiberglass under the screen of the AR-2ax mid.

Roy

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@Aadams and @RoyC

Thank you both for your contributions, i managed to snag a pair of original AR5 mids. (Unmodified?

I also got me some T-nuts and matching bolts. Saw that the wood in the woofer cut out wasnt going to take another round of unit switching. Also got the message from the supplier of the L-pads that they were out of stock, so i'll have to wait for those. I am thinking of going the chris1this1 route and just order some new potmeters, but they aren't cheap plus shipping and importtax. ? Thinking about it. 

I'll keep you posted. 

Ben

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On 1/24/2020 at 2:26 AM, Amplifierz said:

@Aadams and @RoyC

Thank you both for your contributions, i managed to snag a pair of original AR5 mids. (Unmodified?

 Also got the message from the supplier of the L-pads that they were out of stock, so i'll have to wait for those.

I'll keep you posted. 

Ben

Hey Ben, what "supplier" of L-pads are you referring to? Parts Express has lots of them. I'm guessing international shipping is your problem. Where are you located?

Roy

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9 minutes ago, RoyC said:

Hey Ben, what "supplier" of L-pads are you referring to? Parts Express has lots of them. I'm guessing international shipping is your problem. Where are you located?

Roy

I'm located in The Netherlands. I found a supplier that carries the Dayton Audio L-pads. But they don't have them in stock atm. 

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6 hours ago, Amplifierz said:

some new polyfill stuffing

I think I know why you need additional wire but experience has shown that polyfill is the wrong stuffing for the early ARs.  It does change the performance.  22oz to 25 oz  so of fiberglass is the correct stuffing.   Polyfill was used by AR in its later gen speakers and i'm not saying it can't be made to work in the AR5 but nobody in these pages has reported how to use it in the old classics with satisfactory results.  Polyfill will make a perceptible, negative change in the quality of the bass.

Adams

 

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1 hour ago, Aadams said:

I think I know why you need additional wire but experience has shown that polyfill is the wrong stuffing for the early ARs.  It does change the performance.  22oz to 25 oz  so of fiberglass is the correct stuffing.   Polyfill was used by AR in its later gen speakers and i'm not saying it can't be made to work in the AR5 but nobody in these pages has reported how to use it in the old classics with satisfactory results.  Polyfill will make a perceptible, negative change in the quality of the low bass.

Adams

 

Hi Adams, thx for your reply. I have found a thread where they guy made it work and was very fond of the performance. The original fibreglass was already gone when i got the speakers. It was replaced with some random isolation material. 

 

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On 1/29/2020 at 4:27 PM, Aadams said:

Good job.  Hope it works out.

 

I hope too. But it will sure be better then before. The previous owner put some kind of construction isolation material in there randomly. So by weighing the amount of material that goes in there, copying that for the second speaker at least i have some continuity. The parts have been delivered, i started preparing by removing the banana terminals and my resistors. Already placed the new T-nuts in the cabinet and put some new gasketing tape on the units. 

Awaiting the arrival of the new wire so i can start the assembly of the L-pads. 

Cheers, 

Ben

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On 1/19/2020 at 5:25 AM, Amplifierz said:

Hi Aadams, 

Yes. That is a Hi-Vi Q1R. Fitted with the appropriate addons to achieve close to AR sound. Yep, i cut the screens from the mids.

Unfortunately someone dropped a unit while i was working on them, leaving a big old dent in the screen (and the dome underneath it) Needed to remove the screen and use a vacuumcleaner and the tape method to resurrect the now inverted dome. I managed to pull it off without severe damage, but i saw no way to place the screen back. And to make them look identical i removed the screen from the other mid aswell. 

Pots were not salvageable, 40 years of thick corrosion did its thing. Even an overnight bath in distilled white vinegar wasnt up to the task. 

So i looked around for a good L-pad replacement. A friend of mine suggested that you don't want L-pads in the signal, so i went with the direct resistor route. After multiple hours of testing and listening i came to the right values, put them in and never looked back. They sound amazing right now.  Okay, attenuation is a bit trickier right now. But these speakers are now tuned how i like them, and they aint leaving anytime soon. 

I have a form that I made from a good mesh AR3a grill to make a replacement.  I put protective film over a undamaged grill and poured Durhams "Rock Hard" over it with a PVC pipe connector as a outer wall.  I let the Durhams cure for a couple weeks before attempting to form the grills. These parts shown in the photo are actually formed from rain gutter guard material from Home Depot. It is very similar in appearance. This material I have is actually a steel alloy. Authentic AR parts were aluminum. If you (or anyone else) need a replacement drop me an message. All I need is the material and return postage.

Tom Howe

AR mesh grill.jpg

AR mesh grill2.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

Today, i finally managed to pick up the project. I've been very busy lately with no time to tinker around. So.. Progress. I prepared the L-pad for the tweeter in one speaker. It's a bit messy, but i know exactly what is what. Just wanted to check with one of the guru's here, is the way that i wired up the lpad correct? 

DSC-0083.jpg

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42 minutes ago, Amplifierz said:

Today, i finally managed to pick up the project. I've been very busy lately with no time to tinker around. So.. Progress. I prepared the L-pad for the tweeter in one speaker. It's a bit messy, but i know exactly what is what. Just wanted to check with one of the guru's here, is the way that i wired up the lpad correct? 

DSC-0083.jpg

The tweeter lpad appears correct.  A wider angle image showing the caps would be good.

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11 minutes ago, Amplifierz said:

The middle post? As in the middle cable terminal? I don't really need that i think... 

Not absolutely necessary but if you must troubleshoot later it will be a standard wiring configuration that will not in itself be an obstacle if you need help.

 

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7 minutes ago, Aadams said:

Not absolutely necessary but if you must troubleshoot later it will be a standard wiring configuration that will not in itself be an obstacle if you need help.

 

Thx Aadams. I will be leaving the third post out of the equation. The standard wiring in the restoration guide doesnt mention any difference in wiring regarding the lpads. I will be preparing the mid lpad shortly. It's dinner time here in NLD and my daughter is screaming for pancakes. So i guess duty calls. Brb

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7 minutes ago, Aadams said:

Not absolutely necessary but if you must troubleshoot later it will be a standard wiring configuration that will not in itself be an obstacle if you need help.

 

Thx Aadams. I will be leaving the third post out of the equation. The standard wiring in the restoration guide doesnt mention any difference in wiring regarding the lpads. I will be preparing the mid lpad shortly. It's dinner time here in NLD and my daughter is screaming for pancakes. So i guess duty calls. Brb

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