Norman Nicolai Posted October 6, 2020 Report Share Posted October 6, 2020 I brought home my first ever pair of AR speakers today, a pair of AR-2ax’s I got off eBay for around $35. I picked them up in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, which I hadn’t been to in over 25 years. (I didn’t recognize it!) The cabinets and grills are in great shape. The woofers need to be re-foamed, but I knew that from the listing. I hooked them up for a few seconds and discovered that I’m getting nothing out of both tweeters, and I’m hoping that’s an L-pad or crossover capacitor, not a speaker, issue. Any advice on the L-pads? I’ve read a number of things on different sites. The options seem to be: 1. Open them up and clean them, which is supposedly a short term solution because they will foul again fairly quickly. 2. Replace them, but be careful about the parts used due to impedance issues. 3. Take them out of the circuit and live with them at the highest setting, without the ability to adjust them. I’ve already ordered the surrounds and will order the capacitors once I’ve opened the cabinets up. I’m not sure if I’m going to redo the cabinets completely or just try a light sanding and some tung oil. Any input on the rebuild, especially about the L-pads, would be appreciated! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aadams Posted October 7, 2020 Report Share Posted October 7, 2020 Welcome to the AR forum NN. 3 hours ago, Norman Nicolai said: Any input on the rebuild, especially about the L-pads, would be appreciated! Thanks. If both cabs are as pictured they appear to be a real bargain at $35 plus gas. Lpads with resistors over original pots all the way. Aadams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Nicolai Posted October 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2020 Thanks for the welcome to the AR Forum, Aadams, and thanks for your input on the L-pads. Yeah, the cabinets are in great shape and even the grills are perfect. They are not the Holy Grail of AR-3a's or Ar-11's, but I'm not sure any of my receivers have enough power to handle the demands of a power hungry 4 ohm speaker anyway. Most of my stuff is tube in the 25-35 wpc range. I've read that early AR's work better with higher power SS equipment and I have one Harman Kardon SS receiver that cranks out 120 wpc. I'll probably pair the AR-2ax's with that. Thanks, and I hope to post my progress as I rebuild them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted October 7, 2020 Report Share Posted October 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Aadams said: Welcome to the AR forum NN. If both cabs are as pictured they appear to be a real bargain at $35 plus gas. Lpads with resistors over original pots all the way. Aadams DITTO Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickB Posted October 7, 2020 Report Share Posted October 7, 2020 Great score. Your lower wattage amps etc are adequate but the Harmon will be better. Lpads and caps and maybe a rebuild on the the tweeters might be needed(Chris1, RoyC) please keep us posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted October 7, 2020 Report Share Posted October 7, 2020 Welcome. GREAT score ! Enjoy them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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