xtophr Posted August 17, 2022 Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 I’m restoring a pair of AR-9s I got in eBay for $400 and I thought I was finished with the drivers, wiring and caps. The first unit went well and tested in proper working order. The second one was finished last night and I reassembled this morning. It sounded okay, but placing my fingers on the cone of the right hand woofer indicated that it was not working. I removed it and looked for obvious signs of disconnections or phase, but everything was looking correct. Then it hit me. During the removal of the dust cap, I must have been in Neanderthal Mode (hey, it happens) with the X-acto blade and I’m pretty sure I sliced the thin wire lead to the spider and voice coil. Ugh! Is this a lost cause? Is it a doable repair? Should I take it to Speaker Exchange in Tampa? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aadams Posted August 17, 2022 Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 3 hours ago, xtophr said: I removed it and looked for obvious signs of disconnections or phase, but everything was looking correct. Did you put a battery or a test signal on the removed woofer terminals? Unless it is irreparably damaged I would not send an AR woofer to Simply Speakers or Speaker Exchange for repair if they want to replace the woofer cone. @RoyC could possibly repair it without replacing the cone. Send him a private message on this site. For AR9 use the Simply Speakers replacement AR 12 inch might be an OK substitute until you can get another original woofer. woo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtophr Posted August 17, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2022 Thanks for the thoughtful reply. This is why I like this forum so much. There’s a tremendous amount of information and great, like-minded individuals in terms of keeping these great systems going. I have not tried the battery check yet, but I will as soon as I get home. The memory of poking through the area of the negative lead just hit me like a ton of bricks and I stopped wondering what happened. I definitely don’t want a recone, so I’ll avoid Speaker Exchange or the like. I’ll probably message Roy to see what he thinks. Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newandold Posted August 18, 2022 Report Share Posted August 18, 2022 I’ve had direct experience with Simply Speakers on a woofer continuity repair, involving a voice coil lead. That’s a priceless driver and I would trust them to get it working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtophr Posted August 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2022 5 hours ago, newandold said: I’ve had direct experience with Simply Speakers on a woofer continuity repair, involving a voice coil lead. That’s a priceless driver and I would trust them to get it working Hi, Are you saying that you would go to them again regarding such an issue? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtophr Posted August 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2022 On 8/17/2022 at 4:34 PM, Aadams said: Did you put a battery or a test signal on the removed woofer terminals? @RoyC could possibly repair it without replacing the cone. Send him a private message on this site. I checked out the driver with the battery test and nothing. There is definitely a continuity issue. I think I’ll ask RoyC what he thinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newandold Posted August 18, 2022 Report Share Posted August 18, 2022 29 minutes ago, xtophr said: Hi, Are you saying that you would go to them again regarding such an issue? I would indeed, but with a live call first….because admittedly, it’s been a long time since I have used their service. My other “Go to” had been Millersound in PA. Bill is getting on in years so I don’t know there. Had been a Lone Ranger but perhaps now he has help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance G Posted August 19, 2022 Report Share Posted August 19, 2022 Can you remove, are you willing to remove the dust cap to confirm your thoughts ? Likely some careful micro surgery could solve the issue? The laquer coating might need scraping back on both sides of the "broken" wire with an x-acto blade followed by some careful soldering, rejoining of the wires. Maybe a small length of fine wire might be needed to lay alongside and bridge the gap and strengthen the join against future vibration, if possible try to put something behind the join while soldering to help protect the cone from excessive heat/splatter. A little sealant to hold the join in place, similar to existing method, should hold the join in place. A continuity meter might be a useful addition to your toolbox, both for this job and potential future use. I can appreciate that the above may be too daunting/scary for you, and you may lack the confidence/experience to try, if so it makes greater sense to pass the whole driver to a "professional" who can carry out the work on your behalf. Good luck whatever route you choose, it sounds like you picked up an excellent pair of speakers at a very good price, so you can afford to invest some money in them without too much concern. Enjoy ! 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtophr Posted August 19, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2022 6 hours ago, lance G said: it makes greater sense to pass the whole driver to a "professional" who can carry out the work on your behalf. Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do, in light of the fact that RoyC has already offered to do it. I’ve read about attaching these leads and it seems like a doable thing, but RoyC has done many of these and I trust him implicitly with this valuable driver. Besides, I think I deserve an award for completely rewiring, recapping and also reforming these two without laying them down. I soldered everything while they were standing upright! The first one sounds magnificent. Shortly, so will the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtophr Posted August 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2022 RoyC and lance G have asked me to cut off the dust cap to see if I could spot the damage. The break is clearly seen. Yikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lance G Posted August 20, 2022 Report Share Posted August 20, 2022 That little gap, so near and yet so far ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtophr Posted August 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2022 Yes, I had no idea that the lead was so fine and that it was really just right there. Hindsight is just so clear, isn’t it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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