jayrosc Posted July 4, 2021 Report Share Posted July 4, 2021 Hello. Been awhile since I've been here enjoying this hobby due to some health issues but I'm pleased to say that I've come back with much happiness. So, this weekend I was doing what I love, which is haunting yard sales in search of cool vintage stereo stuff. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon this pair of AR 2a's and the price was right. Got them home and took the grills off and saw that someone had already done significant work on them. If you look at the pics you'll see the new drivers and the foam surround work on the woofers. I'm reaching out here to see if anyone recognizes the drivers used and if they are good choices for these iconic speakers. I suspect that whoever did this degree of work also recapped the crossovers. That said, I'd rather avoid taking them apart to see what is what. Anyone have any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted July 4, 2021 Report Share Posted July 4, 2021 Turning the two cross-fired mids into two front-firing ones probably makes the midrange too strong and very "beamy." Hopefully, the level controls are still functional so you can control it. The tweeter sort of resembles some "replacement tweeters" I've seen offered over the years, but the fact that there's a new tweeter board means it's probably not. The mids with surrounds are totally wrong. No AR-2 series model ever had acoustic suspension mids. How do they sound? Probably nothing like they did originally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayrosc Posted July 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 Have not hooked them up yet. I agree that this restoration may be a bit off course. I just don't know what an on course resto even looks like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 The 2a had cloth surround woofers (at least mine did) so I'd say none of the drivers are original and therefore this is not a "Great AR-2a Resto". It's not at restoration at all, it's a whole different speaker. Whether or not it's great depends on how they sound to you. 2 hours ago, jayrosc said: I agree that this restoration may be a bit off course. I just don't know what an on course resto even looks like! Here's what mine looked like. All original, I didn't even replace the caps because they were oil filled. Lacquerd mahogany cabs were in pretty good shape. Gotta love the grille cloth with gold threads. Eventually sold them--too little room, too many speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayrosc Posted July 5, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 So I now know I've inherited someone's hobby project. The only thing AR about these is indeed the cabinet. Just checked and they read 5 ohms across the terminals so I think it's safe to hook them up to see how they sound but I don't think these are sticking around here very long. Good news is they were thrown in when I bought a nice (and authentic) pair of KLH model 5's so the only thing I've got into them is bringing them home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 Love the Fives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phxjohn Posted July 5, 2021 Report Share Posted July 5, 2021 Here is a review of the AR 2a's from 1960: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-High-Fidelity/60s/High-Fidelity-1960-May.pdf Page: 49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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