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Restoring AR 93 speakers from my youth


isupreme

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On 7/13/2020 at 3:25 PM, isupreme said:

I wonder if these were designed to be place right in front of a wall?   Seemed like it.

They were designed ideally to be placed on the floor, back side square against the wall for best bass but not in a corner.  Those should be good performing speakers. Even better if you could get all AR drivers.

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I am going with all AR drivers just for the sheer fun of it.   I fully expect to be transported back in time to 1981.      If not, I feel sure the sound will be sufficient for me.

I always used to run them against a wall ... guess there was a reason..    My new living space that i enjoy is 20 x 40.    A very nice sized space that i hope to enjoy to its fullest.

 

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Acoustic blanket strips are the thick felt strips around the tweeter.

Every driver will need new foam gaskets when installed to assure a proper seal. Parts Express sells very nice speaker gasket tape.

https://www.parts-express.com/parts-express-speaker-gasketing-tape-1-8-x-3-8-x-50-ft-roll--260-540

There are other options. For the tweeters you can make gaskets from foam sheets sold by Michael's under the name Creatology  https://www.michaels.com/12x18-foam-sheet-by-creatology/M10597609.html

For the mids and woofs you can get a brick of "duct seal" in the electric dept of Lowe's or Home Despot and roll out worms like you may have done as a kid with plasticene clay. https://www.amazon.com/Gardner-Bender-DS-110N-Duct-Seal/dp/B00689V41G/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=duct+seal&qid=1594942677&sr=8-5

Kent

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You know, i should have taped off that felt ... but i do tend to get in a hurry and i did not.   But I am not stressing it.   These cabinets are so rough that it is of little consequence  esthetics wise.

Thanks all for making sure i am planning to seal them with gaskets.    That is the kind of stuff one can miss if not thinking about the details.

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Today's Question.   Worth 200 points!!

How much amp can these speakers take?

Back in the day...  the 80s... ah the 80s...   well    back in the day i drove them with 2 kenwood mono amps that did, if i understand right:

100w continuous, 300w peak.      Never had any trouble with that.   Except when i thought i could use them for an outdoor party...   Boom.  Blew out the bass drivers.   Doh!   Learned about the importance of air resistance in a room vs outdoors.     Ok maybe alcohol was a factor..

If i could have my dream of maxing these without blowing them up... what can they handle?   

Truth Disclaimer:    I will probably  be driving them with some piece of shit for quite a while..  ....

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The biggest killer of speakers is distortion.  Most AR speakers with 8 inch woofers are rated at "100 watts continuous power per channel being driven to clipping 10 percent of the time, on normal music source".  You can probably handle 200wpc peaks, as long as it comes with less than 1% distortion.  Even with your 20ft x 40ft space you probably will never draw that much.  My 9Lsi speakers are powered by a 270wpc amp in a 17ft x 30ft space, and even with the most demanding music the amp's meters seldom peak above 27wpc.  Have I ever pushed the amp to peak at 270w?  Yes, a few of times, but that was with stuff like a jet taking off on a demonstration disc or the cannon fire on Telarc's 1812 Overture.  Nothing that I would recommend pushing a 8 inch woofer to try to play at high volume.  

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have drivers and am working on installing them.

Many thanks go out to  DavidR for the replacement AR drivers.    Besides doing a great job on packaging and working with me to get them delivered safely,   he took the time to mark the color codes on the driver terminals.  That has been a good reassurance and guide.   Thanks!

 I thought it would be easy enough to reassemble... BUT... at some point someone hacked big holes in wood where the tweeters go.   Ugh.    I got big gaping holes around the tweeter and almost Nowhere to screw them down.     I am doing some bondo work and some creative mounting to compensate.    Also giving all the terminal connectors a good look over as i found one that was coming off.

IMG_20200802_131207284.thumb.jpg.e02ac3251545da04bd8c6c58d7b6e8b4.jpg

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Complete!   And sounding great.

Now to clean those albums I have been holding onto all these years...

Thanks to everyone for the great help on this project.    You all are a nice group and you have really helped me make this possible.

Here are two boring shots of the finished speakers.    I kinda don't mind the random hole in the fabric sock, or the water stains and wear on the tops.  

Keep on Rockin!

 

IMG_20200803_163128884.jpg

IMG_20200803_163115997.jpg

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Just dropping more thanks to all.   ..

I am so very happy.  I cannot express the amount of joy these speakers are opening up for me.   I guess i really missed hi fidelity.   Yes i sold out to digital along with everyone else,  but i was aware of the loss in that trade and always yearned to return to analog.    It is nice to be reunited with an old and trusted friend like Hi-Fi.

I dug up some albums from my youth.    Yes.  Time travel is possible.     Listening to Dan Fogelberg will do the trick everytime.      Much like the quality of these speakers, that music has stood the test of time.

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I really appreciate this forum..   Sorry to leave on a bad note but...

I have really started enjoying my speakers.  This has lead me to Seriously enjoy Analog again.     I thought this forum would be a good place to discuss such... but I can find no place for that.    So, sadly i depart to find another community.

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16 hours ago, isupreme said:

I really appreciate this forum..   Sorry to leave on a bad note but...

I have really started enjoying my speakers.  This has lead me to Seriously enjoy Analog again.     I thought this forum would be a good place to discuss such... but I can find no place for that.    So, sadly i depart to find another community.

Not the audio site to shoot the bull. It is dedicated to the preservation of classic speakers and mainly those from the New England area. Many of the members here are also on AudioKarma. Enjoy your journey.

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  • 1 month later...

I stopped back by to give more thanks.

I am really happy with my rebuilt speakers.    It is such a joy to wake up the parts of my brain that have been asleep.    Listening to Analog music is my current joy and happiness.     Currently working thru a 100 stack of records a buddy had.

Thanks all... checking  AudioKarma   !

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