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AR-4x help needed


Guest toz35

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Recently I have come across a pair of AR-4x's.

Soon after I hooked them up I noticed not much sound comes out at what would be a normal level coming out of the AMP. If I turn up the AMP I get sound but not much base and after closer inspection there does not appear to be anything coming out of the tweeter.

I have searched this fourm and others and have not found enough info at the level I can understand it to figure out what needs to and/or should be replaced. This is the first time I have ventured into this area so my knowledge is about nil.

What I have figured out to date is I should replace the capacitor, tweeter level control, and the tweeter. Here is where I start to have problems. I poked around on parts express and do not feel like I found much to help me. This is partly because I am really not sure what I am looking for and if I found it would it work correctly.

I did find a diagram of the Crossover on this site and that was great but I am not sure what some of the items are on it. What is the #4? Is this a coil? I do not remember my EE101 very well. If this is the coil sitting on top of what I think is the capacitor can I still use it?

http://www.arsenal.net/dc/user_files/288.gif

Now about the capacitor. I am guessing the large rectangular flat item under the coil behind the woofer is the capacitor. I was not able to find a 20uf, 50V cap on parts express. Is this really all I need and I could get it from anyplce correct? If anybody has a part number and source they know of that would be great.

The tweeter level control is an L-pad? I have never seen this term before. I found 260-254 on parts express. Would that work or should I just try and rebuild the ones I have? I have read pros and cons for both and I would rather just buy a replacement since the cost does not appear to be that big of a factor.

For the tweeter replacement I have read about using the advent tweeter. I have tried to search for one with no luck. Can someone help with part number and source?

My local speaker repair shop found factory replacement woofers for $48 ea. I did not want to buy them yet until I replaced other items that may be causing problems but it is good to know that they are available.

Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

post-101202-1104461647.gif

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Hi there and welcome

Nice schematic that you included.

The 4x's were and are a popular small speaker at an affordable price.

First thing is you said "soon after I hooked them up".

How soon?

Both channels?

Does the amp have fuses, if so check these out.

Check out that the speaker cables are not shorting out at either end.

Could these cables be running under a carpet and be twisted and shorted?

Use at least 16 guage lamp cord as a minimum.

Do you have another speaker of any kind that you know works?

Hook this up with a short piece of wire just for testing.

Disconnect both AR-4x's and try this other speaker on each channel to see if that speaker will function with each channel separately.

Is there speaker fuses?

If so check or change these.

There is speaker fusing information on this site for AR speakers in particular.

Don't remove anything from the cabinets yet.

Don't run out and buy replacement parts just yet.

Wait till you see all the suggestions that others will bring forth, when they see your plight.

We can continue tomorrow after you have tried these simple steps.

Good luck and Happy New Years

>Recently I have come across a pair of AR-4x's.

>

>Soon after I hooked them up I noticed not much sound comes out

>at what would be a normal level coming out of the AMP. If I

>turn up the AMP I get sound but not much base and after closer

>inspection there does not appear to be anything coming out of

>the tweeter.

>

>I have searched this fourm and others and have not found

>enough info at the level I can understand it to figure out

>what needs to and/or should be replaced. This is the first

>time I have ventured into this area so my knowledge is about

>nil.

>

>What I have figured out to date is I should replace the

>capacitor, tweeter level control, and the tweeter. Here is

>where I start to have problems. I poked around on parts

>express and do not feel like I found much to help me. This is

>partly because I am really not sure what I am looking for and

>if I found it would it work correctly.

>

>I did find a diagram of the Crossover on this site and that

>was great but I am not sure what some of the items are on it.

>What is the #4? Is this a coil? I do not remember my EE101

>very well. If this is the coil sitting on top of what I think

>is the capacitor can I still use it?

>

>http://www.arsenal.net/dc/user_files/288.gif

>

>Now about the capacitor. I am guessing the large rectangular

>flat item under the coil behind the woofer is the capacitor.

>I was not able to find a 20uf, 50V cap on parts express. Is

>this really all I need and I could get it from anyplce

>correct? If anybody has a part number and source they know of

>that would be great.

>

>The tweeter level control is an L-pad? I have never seen this

>term before. I found 260-254 on parts express. Would that

>work or should I just try and rebuild the ones I have? I have

>read pros and cons for both and I would rather just buy a

>replacement since the cost does not appear to be that big of a

>factor.

>

>For the tweeter replacement I have read about using the advent

>tweeter. I have tried to search for one with no luck. Can

>someone help with part number and source?

>

>My local speaker repair shop found factory replacement woofers

>for $48 ea. I did not want to buy them yet until I replaced

>other items that may be causing problems but it is good to

>know that they are available.

>

>Thanks in advance for your help and advice.

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Congratulations on your new AR-4 speakers, and welcome to the forum.

Most problems can be traced to a broken connection, a defective woofer or tweeter, or (very likely) a dirty level control.

Assuming that no one has been poking around inside the cabinet, a broken connection is unusual, making cleaning the level control a priority. Check this site for many worthwhile suggestions on the procedure.

Unless the woofer or tweeter shows signs of abuse (pushed-in domes, holes in the cones, etc.), then they're probably OK, as they were very robust to begin with. It would also be to your advantage to keep the original drivers, as any "replacement" will almost certainly not be identical, and will definitely change the sound of your speaker. If replacements *are* needed, eBay can be an excellent source.

Try not to worry about replacing the crossover components...the chance that a bad cap or coil is causing the problem is remote, so fix that level control, and let us know how things come out.

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I guess I should have anticipated some of the questions in trouble shooting this.

As soon as I had things hooked up there was very little output until I turned the volume contol up to a point that would have been very loud on most speakers. both channels are behaving the same

My source is a known good and all the cables are just fine. I am using a Denon AVR-1000 which was being used with a different set of speakers very recently and was working perfect. Just before I tried this unit I had an NAD unit attached to the speakers with the same results. The NAD is now hooked up to the same speakers the Denon was hooked up to and is working fine. I feel comfortable that my troubles begin at the speaker. I currently have the Denon and cables sitting on top of my work bench with the speakers.

By speaker fuses would you be refering to fuses that are part of the speakers? If so there are no fuses on the 4x's.

Before I posted my first post I had pulled the speaker apart since I was confident that is where the problem was. I have not actually disconected any wires inside yet. I just pulled the drivers off the cabinets to take a look at what was inside.

After I posted and reading around some more about how someone rebuilt the level control I decided to dig a little deeper and pulled the level control apart. There is some major coorosion going on in the one I looked at. I am guessing that both are like that. Know from looking at the schematic I would not expect the tweeter level contol coorosion to affect the woofer output. The only component that could affect the woofer would be the coil and it does not seem likely that could go bad unless I am missing something.

I can understand the coorosion of the tweeter level control is preventing anything coming out of the tweeters. I will try and clean up as best I can the coorosion and get some clean contacts and see what that does for me.

I did measure the cap in one speaker and found it at 19.7uF not the 20uF that it should be. Will that cause some problems as well?

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