TOM TYSON

[Guest Ed Ruane]

In post #6395 I added in that my surrounds on my AR3 were shot.Well I went ahead and refinished the cabinets,replaced the caps. I took your advice and made sure the cabinets were tight.I did not replace the surrounds even though they look bad.The speaker sound great.I added two new wire post to replace the three old post and forgot to seal the center hole. The first time I powered up the speakers they sounded bad.They had a lot of vibration and the woofer cones sounded bad. I found the open hole and sealed it and the sound changed to wonderful.I was amazed that a 3/16 hole could change the sound so much.I researched every thing I could find on AR and it helped to understand the early speakers that they built.I have two AR2's that I am refinishing and putting in new mid/tweets.The L pads in the AR2 are large heavy duty compared to the small ones in the AR3's.The caps in my AR2's are cans and are still good but the AR3's had the old flat caps and they had lost much of there value. Thanks again for your advice to try the woofers before replacing the surrounds.

Ed Ruane

[dynaco_dan]

Hi Ed

If you were referring to the foam woofer surrounds, as being in not very good shape, use caution now.

The AR3 had a non-foam surround and didn't deteriorate.

I would suggest, if, the surrounds even have the apperance of a crack, then, replace them now.

I picked up a pair of Larger Advents, not too many years ago.

When I got home and put them into my system, after maybe 5 minutes of use, the foams just gave out.

If you turn up the volume too loud, it can happen before you can turn down the volume and maybe do physical damage to the woofers.

Good luck.

Vern

>In post #6395 I added in that my surrounds on my AR3 were

>shot.Well I went ahead and refinished the cabinets,replaced

>the caps. I took your advice and made sure the cabinets were

>tight.I did not replace the surrounds even though they look

>bad.The speaker sound great.I added two new wire post to

>replace the three old post and forgot to seal the center hole.

>The first time I powered up the speakers they sounded bad.They

>had a lot of vibration and the woofer cones sounded bad. I

>found the open hole and sealed it and the sound changed to

>wonderful.I was amazed that a 3/16 hole could change the sound

>so much.I researched every thing I could find on AR and it

>helped to understand the early speakers that they built.I have

>two AR2's that I am refinishing and putting in new

>mid/tweets.The L pads in the AR2 are large heavy duty compared

>to the small ones in the AR3's.The caps in my AR2's are cans

>and are still good but the AR3's had the old flat caps and

>they had lost much of there value. Thanks again for your

>advice to try the woofers before replacing the surrounds.

>Ed Ruane

[rrcrain]

Worse yet, if the surrounds are shot, the voice coil can rub in its slot and short out taking your amp to an eary grave.

[Guest Ed Ruane]

I am aware of all that you are talking about as I have been reconing speakers for many years.I had never run into AR cloth surround before as I had done many 1930's-50's radios and jukeboxes.If they had been foam I would have changed them as I have done hundreds of others.The cloth seemed so limp that I was wrong about them and Tom was correct to tell me to try them first. I have been running them hard for a week now on my Carver pm 900. I even rebuilt one of the midranges.

Ed