Rlowe Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 Thanks. Found it in the Library at its new address;http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/ar/ar-9/3and9.txt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danamc Posted March 2, 2006 Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 Just curious to know why you feel that ABTech would not be of help in making his speakers sound like the originals. Have you had your speaker driver replaced by AB Tech or are you just speculating? Dana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bret Posted March 3, 2006 Report Share Posted March 3, 2006 >Have you had your speaker driver replaced by AB Tech or are you just speculating?<There was another thread, or maybe even deep in this thread somewhere, that I outlined my several experiences with the drivers that AB Tech sent to me as replacements.It's important to understand that I'm completely separating "the guys" from the product. The fellas at AB Tech have always been willing to do anything they could for me. My opinion is that the 12" I bought 4 of were sad replacements for the 12" I had. The 10" wouldn't fit in the cabinet (which I modified at their instruction) only to find that they were too efficient and had a different response than those I took out. The 4" I bought would not fit and the second 4" set were inferior in every way to the originals and to the replacements that wouldn't fit. The 1.5" were also wrong for the cabinet and when the ones that fit arrived and were tried, they were simply awful in that system. The lower 8" midranges I purchased from them were far too forward, the wrong impedance for the system, and changed the sound of the system substantially. I did not buy tweeters from them, but at the time I did buy replacement tweeters AB Tech was selling the same tweeter I bought - only at a higher price. Those tweeters are sitting in a closet, I gave the 8" away to someone who didn't much care what they sounded like, the 4, 12" were sold for about 1/3 of what I paid for them (after warning the buyer not to buy them) and the 4" were retired until they were destroyed in a test and thrown in the garbage. The 10" were taken-out by an amplifier failure and those, too were pitched in the garbage, and because I had hacked the cabinets at ABTech's instruction so went the rest of the speaker, cabinet and all.No, I'd never say what I said in pure speculation. I wish that AB Tech could help more of us than they can. Good people to deal with, willing to do whatever they can to help - but even they can't have NOS 30 year old drivers around forever.Since AR speakers weren't cobbled-together by amateurs from whatever parts were available; it's important to stick with the original parts if you want the speaker to perform like the original.And I hasten to add that with newer model speakers, AB Tech still has some drivers that not only fit, but are the right driver for that system !But not for an AR-9.I'm glad you've had a positive experience with them for both you and them.Bret Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David in MA Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 I just wanted to followup on this topic.I contacted Larry (ebay userID vintage-ar) and he had replacement parts for the upper midrange. It is cosmetically different than the original driver as it is all black. I paid $89 plus $9 shipping. I just got the driver today and WHAM!, my AR-9's are finally restored to its fullest potential. As far as I can tell, the driver Larry sent me matches very well with the original driver. I can't tell the difference.Larry also recommended that in the near future I should purchase an extra tweeter and a upper midrange just in case they fail again. He said these parts are harder to come by as years go by. I think we should all consider this, no?Anyways, so far I spent $75 for refoaming the 4 woofers and 2 midrange woofers, $50 on caps for crossover, and $98 for the upper midrange replacement. That's a total of about $225 I spent on restoring these babies. It's probably the best $225 I spent in my life, except the $200 or so I spent at the top of the hub restrauant between my wife and I on our 10th aniv...lol...Now I gotta shop for a decent pre-amp/power-amp or integrated amp...life just gets better and better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrcrain Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 Excellent idea and I'm ashamed I didn't think of it myself. Given our speakers age, it's reasonable the tweeters are destined to fail sooner or later.Your replacement upper midrange(all black) sounds like a match to my replacement upper mid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David in MA Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 >Excellent idea and I'm ashamed I didn't think of it myself.>Given our speakers age, it's reasonable the tweeters are>destined to fail sooner or later.Yep, I agree. upper mid was $89 and tweeter is about $60 so $150 investment now would save you alot of trouble later, not to mention stress over your babies not performing to their potential...lol>Your replacement upper midrange(all black) sounds like a match>to my replacement upper mid. I think so. It fit perfectly and sounds very close to the original upper mid. I'm considering painting the outer ring silver w/ model paint. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rrcrain Posted March 9, 2006 Report Share Posted March 9, 2006 I think the ring is part of the semihorn construction and if it is, I'd worry that painting the ring would alter the sound. Give it a good month for breakin and I suspect it will sound identical to the old driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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