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AR10 pi recommendations


Jhendy29

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I am new to this forum but have been around vintage speakers for awhile. I picked up this pair of AR10 pi speakers in the hopes I would be able to repair, recondition and enjoy. I neither have the room nor the current budget (kids, house etc...) to complete these.  I do not have the woofers.  The crossover repairs are also out of my wheelhouse.   I know these are fairly rare and users here could Love and bring these back to life.  Should they be sold as the pair as-is, should I remove the mids and tweeters and sell them all separate?  Since the crossovers are not complete I have been unable to test anything so I do not know where I stand.  Thoughts or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.  For what it’s worth my current speaker lineup is - Dahlquist DQM-907, Avid 103’s and Ryan Acoustics Mclb1 bookshelf speakers.   I am sure I will regret parting with them but I just can’t do it at this time and do not have the room to store.

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AR10pi are in a class by themselves when compared to other 3-ways, and represent state of the art speaker design for their era.  Absolutely worth refurbing.  I would put them on an auction site with lots of pictures, ask a reasonable price for start and see what happens.  Someone who has a passion for refurbishing old classics will bite.  Would love to pursue myself, but as many others on this site can attest, its not too many speakers, just not enough rooms...

Good luck

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These always seem to have a problem with the venere on the backs. I need to replace the back venere on mine. I wonder if there is a special treatment after the venere is removed and backs sanded. Maybe some kind of shellac sealer?

 

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On 7/17/2020 at 9:07 AM, briodo said:

.................................................................................... but as many others on this site can attest, its not too many speakers, just not enough rooms...

Amen, brother.

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A pair of empty 10 pi cabinets with crossovers, no drivers and decent veneer all around recently sold on eBay for $102.50. You have no woofers, untested mids and tweeters, incomplete crossovers and peeled veneer. I'm assuming you don't have original foam grills in good condition, either. Your speakers in their current condition are worth less than those empty eBay cabs. 

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Before you give up, check to see if the tweeters and midranges are blown or not.  If you don’t have a multimeter, find a friend who does, and have them measure the resistance of each driver.  If you get no reading, they are probably blown, and the others right.  The speakers aren't worth much.  However, if you get a resistance reading of around 3.5 ohms for each, then there is a good chance that the drivers are OK, and the value of the speakers probably goes up to at least $400/pair.

I wouldn’t worry about the pealing veneer on the back of the cabinet.  It’s a rectangular flat surface making the veneer easy enough to replace.  Besides it’s the back of the speaker.  Who really cares if it’s veneered?  The rest of each cabinet doesn’t look that bad.  I have restored far worse.

The crossovers on the other hand look like a lot of work, but they wouldn't be a deal breaker.

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If the tweeters and mid-range show DC resistance I would sell them separately. More value in parts than the whole speaker and much easier to ship.  The cabinets, well maybe somebody in Indiana might want them.

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On 7/19/2020 at 11:52 AM, lARrybody said:

If the tweeters and mid-range show DC resistance I would sell them separately. More value in parts than the whole speaker and much easier to ship.  The cabinets, well maybe somebody in Indiana might want them.

Does that appear to be within reason for these?  Tried to delete this as it was a duplicate.  Not sure how, 

 

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On 7/19/2020 at 10:56 AM, AR55 said:

Before you give up, check to see if the tweeters and midranges are blown or not.  If you don’t have a multimeter, find a friend who does, and have them measure the resistance of each driver.  If you get no reading, they are probably blown, and the others right.  The speakers aren't worth much.  However, if you get a resistance reading of around 3.5 ohms for each, then there is a good chance that the drivers are OK, and the value of the speakers probably goes up to at least $400/pair.

I wouldn’t worry about the pealing veneer on the back of the cabinet.  It’s a rectangular flat surface making the veneer easy enough to replace.  Besides it’s the back of the speaker.  Who really cares if it’s veneered?  The rest of each cabinet doesn’t look that bad.  I have restored far worse.

The crossovers on the other hand look like a lot of work, but they wouldn't be a deal breaker.

Does this appear within reason for these?

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Those readings look fine.  It isn't an exact number.  I have a total of (4) AR-11 tweeters and their measurements range between of 3.4 ohms to 3.7 ohms, and my (4) AR-11 midranges range between 3.3 ohms and 3.5 ohms.  Your slightly higher readings are just as likely due to the differences in the calibration our multimeters. 

It's true that you can probably make more money parting out the speakers.  There are aftermarket options for the tweeters, which could keep the price down on for those, but I am not aware of a good aftermarket 1-1/2" dome midrange option.

 

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