zelgy1 Posted January 21, 2021 Report Share Posted January 21, 2021 Hi all! I have recently restored a pair of AR-2ax speakers. As do many of you, I appreciate pics and tips by those on this forum. Every individual puts there only little touches on restorations and I thought I would share some pics of mine in hopes of helping others that are doing the same. My primary resource was this forum and the AR-3a Restoration Guide, which much of the contents pertains to this pair of speakers. As you will see, I have replaced the original potentiometers with the Parts Express L-pads and recapped the crossover. One of the tweeters was bad, so replaced both with the HiVi Q1R's plus the added coil. The hole locations do match, but you will need to cut out the sides as shown in the pics. One of the woofer cones had separated from the spider, so I sent them both off to Millersound to be repaired/refoamed to ensure they matched. The mids were fine and no changes were necessary . I am still waiting on fabric from 123stitch to finish the grills. As far as their performance, they sound fantastic. I have restored a pair of AR-3's as well (still my favorite) , but these are a very close second. Please don't hesitate to ask questions. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lARrybody Posted January 22, 2021 Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 Hi Jon, It looks like you have done a excellent restoration on these 2ax's. Glad you are enjoying them. A question and observation. Did you save the original tweeters? Possibly one day you might want to get them rebuilt to like new condition. The woofers repaired by Millersound appear to have filled fillet (Boston type) surrounds. These are the surrounds I prefer to use. Why not get the best performance out of your woofers. Bill does nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelgy1 Posted January 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 I did save the tweeters for possible restoration in the future. Regarding the woofers, I placed my trust in Bill that he was making the appropriate choice for the surrounds. As mentioned, he does great work and I highly recommend. Great individual who is passionate about his work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phxjohn Posted January 22, 2021 Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 Don't you have to add resistors when changing from pots to L-pads as shown in the restoration guide ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelgy1 Posted January 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 11 hours ago, Phxjohn said: Don't you have to add resistors when changing from pots to L-pads as shown in the restoration guide ? I have added the resistor to the mids as shown in the crossover photo, but did not on the tweeter. I had read that it was not needed. If RoyC sees this post, I'm guessing he will offer input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phxjohn Posted January 22, 2021 Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 Thank you for the reply. Now, I see it. Top left corner ? My AR 3a's have L-pads, HiVi Q1R tweeters but the resistors were not added and they sound horrible. I don't even use them. I will be getting them corrected. I wish they had been done properly to begin with. Edit - I'm thinking that without the resistor on the 'midrange' cone speaker circuit, the woofer and midrange response might overlap too much and you will get a peak in the response. If Roy chimes in, as you mentioned, he will know for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted January 22, 2021 Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 7 hours ago, Phxjohn said: Thank you for the reply. Now, I see it. Top left corner ? My AR 3a's have L-pads, HiVi Q1R tweeters but the resistors were not added and they sound horrible. I don't even use them. I will be getting them corrected. I wish they had been done properly to begin with. Edit - I'm thinking that without the resistor on the 'midrange' cone speaker circuit, the woofer and midrange response might overlap too much and you will get a peak in the response. If Roy chimes in, as you mentioned, he will know for sure. The resistor makes the L-pad electrically act more like the original AR control. Not using it with the midrange affects its tonal balance (specifically, crossover points) with both the woofer and tweeter. "Overlap" with the tweeter is usually a greater issue. This is sometimes the reason the HiVi tweeter is thought to be too aggressive or harsh, when in fact the offending frequencies are in the upper range of the mid frequencies. The resistor can also be used with the HiVi tweeter's L-pad to tame it a bit. On the other hand, not using the resistor with the L-pad can help coax a bit more output from typically reticent original tweeters. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phxjohn Posted January 22, 2021 Report Share Posted January 22, 2021 I was so happy to learn the reason why I don't like the sound of my AR 3a's at all. One option for me would be to just add the resistors. But I cannot do the work. With an entire shoulder and humerus replaced, I can no longer even lift them. So they will be sent out for the work. The transportation and labor will be costly so I decided to have them made as original as possible. I want to hear the AR 3a's the way they sounded 50 years ago. To recap(actually the caps should be fine LOL): L-pads will be replaced with pots. the HiVi Q1R's will be replaced with Roy's or Chris' rebuilt tweeters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatspot65 Posted December 25, 2021 Report Share Posted December 25, 2021 On 1/21/2021 at 7:27 PM, zelgy1 said: I did save the tweeters for possible restoration in the future. Regarding the woofers, I placed my trust in Bill that he was making the appropriate choice for the surrounds. As mentioned, he does great work and I highly recommend. Great individual who is passionate about his work. Hi Zelgy1...asking from NJ...would you be interested in restoring another pair of AR-2ax's...I have Parkinson's and can not undertake this project...I love my 2ax's but they are in sad shape sound wise...physically on the outside nice but sound wise terrible...12/24/21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted December 25, 2021 Report Share Posted December 25, 2021 PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarlocho Posted February 4, 2022 Report Share Posted February 4, 2022 Hi there, I just picked up a pair of AR2ax that are in beautiful cosmetic condition. But they sound muddy and lack the highs compared to the Boston Acoustic A150s I was hoping to replace. The pots on the back are in ruff shape and I have to get them in just the right position to get sound out of the mid and tweeter. T have the treble all the way up on my amp and on the speakers to try and get them close to the BAs. They do sound fuller with more presence than the BAs though. I'm wondering if replacing the pot and a recap might improve the sound or maybe They just sound as they should, and I'm not used to it. Regardless this would be my first project like this and i was wondering if you could supply some part numbers for the components you replaced. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 3 hours ago, Sarlocho said: Hi there, I just picked up a pair of AR2ax that are in beautiful cosmetic condition. But they sound muddy and lack the highs compared to the Boston Acoustic A150s I was hoping to replace. The pots on the back are in ruff shape and I have to get them in just the right position to get sound out of the mid and tweeter. T have the treble all the way up on my amp and on the speakers to try and get them close to the BAs. They do sound fuller with more presence than the BAs though. I'm wondering if replacing the pot and a recap might improve the sound or maybe They just sound as they should, and I'm not used to it. Regardless this would be my first project like this and i was wondering if you could supply some part numbers for the components you replaced. Thanks The level controls (pots) definitely need to be dealt with, though it is very unlikely it will result in a sound approaching that of the A150's without continued assistance from your amp's tone controls or an equalizer. Capacitors probably need to be replaced as well, but are even less likely to achieve your goal. Given this is your first project, I recommend sending a personal message to member JKent through the forum. He has the appropriate level controls and can provide assistance with capacitors. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarlocho Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 Thanks Roy, I will enquire with JKent. I guess I should clarify my goal is to make them sound as they should and I'm hearing from you that they are not going to sound anything like the maybe very Bright 150s. And that is okay. Maybe I'll keep both. With the treble on the tone controls turned all the way up they do sound sweet. just a little murky or muddy. Do you think that replacing the caps would improve this? I don't have much experience with different speakers and am finding just how different they can sound. BTW My system is: Dynaco PAS 3 Pre Dynaco ST70 Main I also Have a Dynaco Quadaptor that i was maybe hoping to move the a150 to the back and put the ARs up front but i might switch now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted February 5, 2022 Report Share Posted February 5, 2022 4 minutes ago, Sarlocho said: Thanks Roy, I will enquire with JKent. ...just a little murky or muddy. Do you think that replacing the caps would improve this? Perhaps, to a limited degree. Whether it does or not, it would be prudent to replace them when the cabinet is open for the level control work. Relatively speaking, replacing capacitors is not a difficult job in the 2ax. Roy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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