jomede Posted March 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 I think I could refoam them without issue but I think Roy C has done thousands and probably is just a wee bit better at it than me...lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomede Posted March 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2020 I had the renowned Roy C refoam my AR3a woofers this weekend. They turned out amazing. He is definitely an artist when it comes to speaker rebuilding. Spend the money and have him do your speaker work. You will have a piece of mind knowing they are in good hands with Roy C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lARrybody Posted March 15, 2020 Report Share Posted March 15, 2020 Those woofers look fantastic. Anxious to learn what you and Roy discussed and observed about your speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomede Posted March 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2020 Not sure we came to a conclusion. He stated that AR was doing some weird stuff near the end companies demise. Limited, Asian and replicas as for a few other versions. The tweeter was what he was most Interested in. He examined them under a magnifying glass to see it's material and how the dome was attached. I will let him go into the details as he is a book of knowledge on this subject matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomede Posted May 12, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2020 Found this on a Japanese web site seems to have the same labels and tested by sticker. The same ew code before the serial number are they rare 1 set of 200 made for the Japanese market in the UK?.....https://www.hifido.co.jp/sold/18-15694-12914-00.html. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 I see you got them on Facebook... https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/263900608327598/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomede Posted May 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 Yes....I really want them to go a good home, to someone who appreciates them for what they are and will get years of enjoyment out of them. If I had room and a dedicated 2 channel listening room I would keep them. Hopefully a real collector and purist will see them and want to add them to his/her collection. I hook them up to my Kenwood KA-701 80 wpc and listen to them on the weekends in my garage they sound really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted May 13, 2020 Report Share Posted May 13, 2020 The $4,600 selling price of the Japanese pair that you reference in your Facebook ad is incorrect - they actually sold for 148,000 yen, which is not quite $1,400. The restored, more-common version of the AR-3a shown right below it sold for over $1,600. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomede Posted May 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Thanks for pointing that out. I lowered the price and revised the ad to reflect the correct Info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 So what did you end up doing about the broken terminal block? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomede Posted May 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 Just left it. It doesn't effect the playability. Will only effect it if someone wants to bi amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted May 14, 2020 Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 It's tough to tell from the photo of your speaker, but if both woofer posts are sheared off, how would you connect jumpers from the woofer section to the mid/tweeter section? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomede Posted May 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2020 The gold jumper plates that came with them work fine. They are bowed so when the mid/ tweeter binding posts are tightened they apply pressure on the woofer side. It's a good connection. No issues with the woofer even at loud volumes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted May 15, 2020 Report Share Posted May 15, 2020 It seems much longer than it actually has been since I spent a very pleasant Florida afternoon with John listening to music, examining his rare AR specimens, and re-foaming woofers. The Asian listing John referenced https://www.hifido.co.jp/sold/18-15694-12914-00.html confirms his speakers are from the "AR-3a Limited" series. It was reported by Minh Luong that over 500 AR-3a Limiteds were manufactured for the Asian market in 1989 "some with real walnut and golden oak veneer" (see JKent's post in the first page of this thread). Tags on the speakers in the listing say the pair (serial numbers EW1141 and EW1142) were part of a series of 200 "Produced Exclusively for Japan". John's appear to be identical to those in the listing, but his "EW" serial numbers are nearly 500 digits higher, suggesting there were more than 200 of this version manufactured. Based on the tags, they were all manufactured in England in 1989. Forum member fedeleluigi (Luigi) said he observed this version of the 3a Limited being assembled in Italy in 1991, so there is no way to know how many were actually manufactured. I believe the 3a Limited's Tonegen tweeter originally had a cloth dome and was retrofitted at the (Tonegen?) factory with a paper dome identical to the dome used in the original 3a. In fact, the original cloth dome's glue ring can still be seen around the dome. The replacement paper dome's rubbery suspension material appears to have been applied by hand. The tweeter is otherwise identical to Tonegen "AR-3a replacement tweeters" I purchased from AB Tech in the early 90's, but they had cloth domes, much like the AR-11 tweeter. The crossover board in John's speakers is identical to the other 3a Limited boards I have seen, including a "Buyout" pair of crossovers I purchased from Parts Express in the mid 90's. The broken terminals can only be replaced by removing the circuit board, which includes drilling out all the terminals (held in place on the underside of the board), disconnecting the off-board inductors, and breaking the glue bonds holding the circuit board spacers to the back panel. It would have been much more work than we could accomplish that afternoon. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted May 15, 2020 Report Share Posted May 15, 2020 The gold jumper plates that came with them work fine. That's great - it looks nice, too. From Roy's description of what would be involved with the crossover board, it's a good thing that they hadn't gone missing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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