Guest syao Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 I got them on ebay. My wife is mad at me, I probably paid too much. Anyway, the woofers are definitely working well, I think the midranges are OK, but the tweeters are putting out very little, if anything at all. Is this likely to be a problem with the crossover or a blown tweeter? I plan on checking the tweeter by connecting it directly to my amp and seeing if there is any output. Is this a good idea? If so, should I connect it to the 4 ohm or 8 ohm tap on the amp? If it is the crossover should I rewire with the Layne Audio circuit? I was thinking of bringing wires to the drivers out through the pot holes and then sealing it up with caulk. That way I can play with different crossovers. Is this a good idea? Any thing special I should consider? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynaco_dan Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 Hi there Steve>I got them on ebay.<A very good source for collectibles.>My wife is mad at me,<Buy her a nice card with some flowers and take her out to dinner.Buy a new pillow also as you'll be sleeping in the dog house for quite a while.I guess there was no way you could have slipped them into the house un-noticed?Oh, look dear, see what I found in the back of the closet, gee, "I wonder where they came from"?> I probably paid too much.<A really terrific, classic speaker only available used and at the current market price. > Anyway, the woofers are definitely working well, I>think the midranges are OK, but the tweeters are putting out>very little, if anything at all. Is this likely to be a>problem with the crossover or a blown tweeter?<>I plan on checking the tweeter by connecting it directly to my amp and seeing if there is any output.< This test would last about .oooo1 second or less and would not be the best of ideas.>Is this a good idea?< No>If so, should I connect it to the 4 ohm or 8 ohm tap on the amp?<If you are talking about to the original speaker terminals at the rear of the enclosure, 4 ohms. Never directly to raw drivers, particularly mids and tweeters.>If it is the crossover should I rewire with the Layne Audio>circuit? I was thinking of bringing wires to the drivers out>through the pot holes and then sealing it up with caulk. That>way I can play with different crossovers.< >Is this a good idea?<Not yet. >Any thing special I should consider? Thanks.<I do believe that you will be getting several knowledgeable opinions if I know the readers on this site.Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charger3834 Posted July 22, 2005 Report Share Posted July 22, 2005 First of all, you can't pay too much for AR-3's. Secondly, with women it's easier to get forgiveness than permission.I doubt your AR-3's have anything really wrong with them. The level controls should be cleaned like all AR speakers of this vintage. This will restore electrical contact to the tweeters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted July 23, 2005 Report Share Posted July 23, 2005 >>First of all, you can't pay too much for AR-3's.>What wisdom, Brad! Everything you say here is, I believe, totally true. Since (IMO) AR-3s are nearly "priceless," any price paid for a pair is a bargain. The AR-3 is the "father" of the modern loudspeaker as we know it today, and one day the supply of "estate-sale" AR-3s will be gone. Unless you have experienced sound reproduction from these remarkable speakers, there is a void in your life.> >Secondly, with women it's easier to get forgiveness than permission.>Right again, Brad. This is 100% correct! Wives simply won't readily grant permission (or allow "slack") to buy antique speaker boxes for "no good reason other than to satisfy personal hifi needs." One just does it and worries about it later. I am very experienced in this matter.>>I doubt your AR-3's have anything really wrong with them. The>level controls should be cleaned like all AR speakers of this>vintage. This will restore electrical contact to the tweeters.>This is probably true as well. One note of caution: safely removing the grills on the AR-3s is daunting, to put it mildly. Take your time and do it right. Getting the grills back in place without having the grill material sag is even harder, but it can be done. Good luck!--Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest syao Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 Thanks for the replies. I worked the crossover pot back and forth many times and it is now making intermittent contact, so things are basically OK. What should I do to clean them further so that they actually work? Or do I have to replace it? When the speaker works it sounds great.Also, on both speakers the top of the grill frame is broken. Is there any reasonable way to fix them, or do I have to try to find replacements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 >Thanks for the replies. I worked the crossover pot back and>forth many times and it is now making intermittent contact, so>things are basically OK. What should I do to clean them>further so that they actually work? Or do I have to replace>it? When the speaker works it sounds great.>>Also, on both speakers the top of the grill frame is broken. >Is there any reasonable way to fix them, or do I have to try>to find replacements?By working the control back and forth, you have at least made intermittant contact. I have found that by doing that quite a bit (and by spraying contact cleaner down the control shaft with the speaker face-down) the control self-cleans a tiny bit, usually enough to get satisfactory sound output. It's very hard to find the right spot on the control, however, so patience is required. The alternative is to disassemble the speaker and unsolder and remove the level controls; then you use a dremel tool or similar device to clean the contacts. This is at best tedious work. Very rarely do you need to replace the controls outright, but many do just that. Some bypass the controls, but the balance of the speaker is upset when you do that because the speaker never sounds exactly right with both controls at max level. As for the grill frames, you can remove the grill cloth (which is glued onto the plastic frames) and then use a very powerful glue to put the frames back together. Superglue or something to that effect will sometimes work, but getting the frames to stay in one piece is not easy. I've used 2-part epoxy with good results with these frames. Good luck.--Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynaco_dan Posted July 25, 2005 Report Share Posted July 25, 2005 >>>>First of all, you can't pay too much for AR-3's.>>>>What wisdom, Brad! Everything you say here is, I believe,>totally true. Since (IMO) AR-3s are nearly "priceless," any>price paid for a pair is a bargain. The AR-3 is the "father">of the modern loudspeaker as we know it today, and one day the>supply of "estate-sale" AR-3s will be gone. Unless you have>experienced sound reproduction from these remarkable speakers,>there is a void in your life.>>> >>Secondly, with women it's easier to get forgiveness than>permission.>>>>Right again, Brad. This is 100% correct! Wives simply won't>readily grant permission (or allow "slack") to buy antique>speaker boxes for "no good reason other than to satisfy>personal hifi needs." One just does it and worries about it>later. I am very experienced in this matter.Steve, if you check out the photo in the AR library section of Tom's basement speaker room, I believe you might see off to the left of the photo, a collection of pillows on a couch. LOL Have a great day.Vern >>>>>I doubt your AR-3's have anything really wrong with them.>The>>level controls should be cleaned like all AR speakers of>this>>vintage. This will restore electrical contact to the>tweeters.>>>>This is probably true as well. One note of caution: safely>removing the grills on the AR-3s is daunting, to put it>mildly. Take your time and do it right. Getting the grills>back in place without having the grill material sag is even>harder, but it can be done. Good luck!>>--Tom Tyson> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest speakertinker Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 >My wife is mad at me, I probably paid too much.WIVES ARE ALWAYS MAD AT US NO MATTER WHAT. YOU CAN'T PAY TOO MUCH FOR A MASTERPIECE.Anyway, the woofers are definitely working well, I>think the midranges are OK, but the tweeters are putting out>very little, if anything at all. Is this likely to be a>problem with the crossover or a blown tweeter? I plan on>checking the tweeter by connecting it directly to my amp and>seeing if there is any output. Is this a good idea?NAW, NAW, NAW AND NAW. THE AR TWEETER CAN HANDLE ONLY A FEW WATTS REALLY.If so, should I connect it to the 4 ohm or 8 ohm tap on the amp? If>it is the crossover should I rewire with the Layne Audio>circuit? I was thinking of bringing wires to the drivers out>through the pot holes and then sealing it up with caulk. That>way I can play with different crossovers. Is this a good>idea? Any thing special I should consider? Thanks.MY LUCKY FRIEND, JUST JUMP THE TWEETER POT. IT'S SIMPLY AN ATTENUATOR AND ATTENUATION IS NOT REALLY NEEDED FOR THE AR TWEETER. IF YOU WANT USE A REMOVABLE JUMP WITH CLIPS AT BOTH ENDS (FROM POT INPUT TO TWEETER +). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynaco_dan Posted July 29, 2005 Report Share Posted July 29, 2005 Hi SteveIf you are going to let, for ex. Deoxit or the old name Cramolin drip down the pot shaft be sure of the angle from the shaft down to the woofer.Sometimes way too much might not only lube the pot but drip down onto the rear of the woofer cone or surround.There is lots of insulation to prevent this but err the side of caution and tip the cabinet to lessen this possible accident.The other alternative but a lot more work is to remove the woofer and spray the pot from the inside.Go to the library and in the AR section is a sheet you can copy about the why's and where's of using the AR pots.Good luckVern >>My wife is mad at me, I probably paid too much.>WIVES ARE ALWAYS MAD AT US NO MATTER WHAT. YOU CAN'T PAY TOO>MUCH FOR A MASTERPIECE.>>Anyway, the woofers are definitely working well, I>>think the midranges are OK, but the tweeters are putting out>>very little, if anything at all. Is this likely to be a>>problem with the crossover or a blown tweeter? I plan on>>checking the tweeter by connecting it directly to my amp and>>seeing if there is any output. Is this a good idea?>NAW, NAW, NAW AND NAW. THE AR TWEETER CAN HANDLE ONLY A FEW>WATTS REALLY.>>If so, should I connect it to the 4 ohm or 8 ohm tap on the>amp? If>>it is the crossover should I rewire with the Layne Audio>>circuit? I was thinking of bringing wires to the drivers>out>>through the pot holes and then sealing it up with caulk. >That>>way I can play with different crossovers. Is this a good>>idea? Any thing special I should consider? Thanks.>>MY LUCKY FRIEND, JUST JUMP THE TWEETER POT. IT'S SIMPLY AN>ATTENUATOR AND ATTENUATION IS NOT REALLY NEEDED FOR THE AR>TWEETER. IF YOU WANT USE A REMOVABLE JUMP WITH CLIPS AT BOTH>ENDS (FROM POT INPUT TO TWEETER +). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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