New AR4xa set

[Luxman]

Good afternoon,

last week I bought myself a new set of AR speakers on the internet.

It is my third set and I actually bought these because the logo's were still on them (to complete my two existing sets)

After checking the speakers were not that bad at all, the former owner placed an Akai woofer in it and the cabinets are painted white but this has been done this good, 

it makes me wonder if they are delivered white from the factory..

Now as an acoustic research enthousiast in the last couple of years I collected some spare parts from different speakers and also the missing woofer.

I checked my existing pair of speakers for the product number of the woofer and it seems I have a new woofer on the shelf for it..

It is the 200001-1

 

 

 

[Luxman]

the strange thing is that the speakers are painted very professional and afterwards the sheet on the back side has been glue-ed on.

On the other speaker the backside is not painted, you can see the wood as it is original and it does not have a sheet with a number.

 

[Luxman]

[Luxman]

the fronts look very nice too and it alsoo seems to be done in the factory.

Would it be possible that AR delivered this set in white and also as a pair with one old version and one "new"version?

[Giorgio AR]

Hi Luxman, your AR4xa have different cabinets in the front baffle (in the second, it is recognized late due to the lack of the masonite supporting the external contacts for the tweeter) ... it can happen in the combinations of the cabinets made by AR.
From information gathered over the years, it is certain the white paint on request in the 70s, certainly also in the AR3a, as well as the black paint job, also on request (the immaculate rear label and the masonite of the crossover without paint burrs pushes you to think about an original painting).
In the late models of AR4xa, the woofer was with ceramic magnet and foam suspension, therefore compatible with the 200001-1 woofer (referred to in the price lists as "universal 8" woofer and offered as a spare for AR4xa) ... I hope you also have 4 original screws for fix the woofer 200001-1 correctly, otherwise you have to find 4 on the web!
Finally, the frames of the grilles are original, but not the canvas, offered in classic linen, various versions and textures slightly different over the years and in the states where assembled or a thicker wire material in brown color optional, your pair should be made in Holland, as seen from the abbreviation HFX (the letter H indicates Holland).
Finally, it would be nice to buy a couple of brass labels indicating the model to be placed on the bottom right of the grilles (currently there are some for sale on the famous auction site).

Giorgio.

[Luxman]

Hello Giorgio,

Thank you for your answer.

The white paint certainly looks original, that was my first impression too.

What made me doubt was when I searched for pictures of the AR4xa I only found pictures of brown wooden cabinets, not a single

one was painted white.

The paint still looks very nice. today I repaired some small scratches and dents in the cabinets. They practically look as new now.

I ordered a new surround for the woofer so I can repair it and place it back in the cabinet.

Luckily the person who removed the original woofer placed the screws in backwards so I still have these😊

I was asking me, since the cabinets (and the woofers and tweeters) are from a different kind, Do they sound the same of is there a difference  between the two speakers?

For the fronts, I have the original (look alike) linen in white so I could replace them but for the moment I think I will leave them black because they look very nice this way.

The last thing to do is probably change the condensator in the cabinet but unfortunately then I have to remove the nasty stuffing to reach it.   

The 2 logo's were on the fronts when I bought them so I can easily place them back.

Another pair of classic speakers rescued😃

Thanks for the help !

 

Does anyone know what the white powdery stuff on the back of the woofer is? 

I have read somewhere that it is dangerous..?

 

   

 

 

[Giorgio AR]

Hi Luxman, the upper or lower wiring shouldn't change anything in the sound between the two versions, basically apart from the electrical connection (and clearly the modification of the flange for the lower passage of the contacts) the two tweeters are the same, interesting the link introduced by AR55 with the link below:

Regarding the woofer as declared by Acoustic Research, the 200001-1 one is called "universal" and offered as a replacement after the mid-70s as 8" woofer, it should maintain the family feeling therefore very similar to the previous ones with Alnico magnet, light paper cone and suspension in treated canvas, perhaps slightly different in sensitivity (here people more technically competent than me will be able to intervene), the problem may be finding the correct foam for compliance, roll diameter and other measures (no China !!), I rely on Larry, of "Vintage AR", but in the USA you will find and will be able to recommend other sellers with equally good foam.
Finally, the AR4xa early woofers are often found on sale in the USA so with a little patience you can find a replacement for a better coupling of the two speakers ... to date if I remember correctly I had seen three at auction.

Below you have several photos of 8" woofers and comments

 

[RoyC]

This pair was obviously extensively refurbished at some point.

-I am not aware of any AR model of that era being sold with special paint (or that type of grill cloth). It is much more likely that these were "unfinished pine" cabinets which were nicely painted. Unfinished pine cabinets were sold for that purpose.

-I believe the 4xa was discontinued before the ferrite/ceramic magnet woofer became available...and the one in Luxman's photo has a manufacture date stamp of 1978, which is quite some time after the 4xa was discontinued. The response is somewhat different than the alnico magnet version seen in the other cabinet.

-I do most of the technical work for Larry/Vintage AR. Unfortunately the foam he is providing for the 8 inch woofer is no longer unique, as his original replacement is no longer available. (It is now generic in nature, and is sold primarily as a Bose and JBL part.) Currently, the best surround for the "universal" AR 8 inch woofer is the Boston Acoustic 8 inch replacement. It is more compliant, unique, and available from many sellers.

Roy

[Luxman]

Thanks Giorgio and Roy for the help.

I live (and bought) the speakers in Holland so HFX will indeed stand for made in Holland.

The fact that the speakers must sound equal makes it much more worth the effort to bring them back in their original state

I bought them for parts and the logo's which I was missing from one of my other sets so actually I didn't expect to end up with 
a complete and working set 😊

The Woofer on the picture with the 1978 stamp on it was one of my donor woofers. I recently found 2 AR woofers in a thrift store which I recognised immediately as from AR. This was one of them.

The other one was from an AR 9.

a couple af days later I found a set of AR15 in a dumpster at the containerpark. The cabinets were badly damaged but the rest of the speakers were ok (these also contained the 200001-1)

I always get my foam from a site called "repair your speakers" 

My first set has also been refoamed with his parts. they are perfect.

The foam will arrive tomorrow. When finished I will place pictures