rolsonca94530 Posted November 5, 2022 Report Share Posted November 5, 2022 Dear AR audiophiles, New member here. My wife of 29 years has a pair of decrepit 2ax’s she’s owned since before we met. Over the years she’s waffled about keeping vs unloading them. For our 30th anniversary I’d like to give her these speakers restored. I plan on using the resources on this site—and elsewhere—for the process. I understand basic electronics and have some facility with a soldering iron. What I’d like to hear from you who’ve restored these are the pitfalls you wished you had known about before beginning; pitfalls that nearly derailed your restoration projects. Also, any links to “must know” resources would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. rolsonca94530 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted November 5, 2022 Report Share Posted November 5, 2022 Welcome to CSP. Your best resource available for this is the members of this forum. Post some photos so we can see what constitutes "decrepit." Shoot all sides, and if the labels are still on the backs, closeups of those. A description of how they sound would also help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted November 6, 2022 Report Share Posted November 6, 2022 Ditto Gene's comment. This is THE place for AR. Be sure th download the AR-3a restoration guide. Much of that is applicable to the 2ax. Try to resize your pics to about 100mb or so. Get a shot with the grilles off if you can. Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolsonca94530 Posted February 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Dear fellow audiophiles, Attached are some pictures of the speakers. You can see they’re in rough shape. The potentiometers turn freely, the wires bridging terminals T and 2 are intact. At low volume both woofers work—no high volume test because of their condition—tweeter X works, can’t tell if midrange X works. Neither Y tweeter nor midrange works. Thanks for looking. I’m just getting started. Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Uh, oh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 11 hours ago, ar_pro said: Uh, oh... yup, i see it, too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Well don’t keep the OP in the dark. Looks like the woofers were replaced with no-name subs, probably because of foam rot. They should look like this: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_pictures/ar-2ax_pictures_from_jkent/ar-2ax_pictures_from_jkent_.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 No-name tweeters, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 1 hour ago, genek said: No-name tweeters, too. oooo I was so focused on the woofers I missed those. rolsonca94530, This could be a big project, and not cheap. But it could also be very rewarding. The 2ax is a really nice speaker. So here's what you'll need: The cabinets need work as you can see but they look basically sound. Do you have the skills to refurbish them? The grilles aren't great and I think I see a hole. The "perfect" fabric is no longer available but you can probably find some suitable linen. Grille badges are missing. There are reproductions but they aren't perfect. The woofers have to go. They need refoaming but they are not original. Ebay often has originals. One mid is good. Let's hope the silent one is too. Could be a crossover or pot issue. The tweeters are wrong. Maybe you could keep them, since there's not that much that you'll hear in the high frequencies. Used originals will have issues. There are other options if you decide to go down that path. Capacitors have to be replaced. No biggie. The pots should probably be replaced. You could try cleaning them but they usually go bad again. You can use inexpensive L-pads or more expensive potentiometers. So. You in for a big project? You'll get plenty of advice here and IMHO the results could be well worth it. Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 Not to discourage anyone but. About $150 for used woofers. About the the same for tweeters and another $50. plus for X-over and pots, etc. Then, refinishing, leaving one too consider waiting till a more complete pair are available. Only if one was hopeful and inclined to do all the work and such, only then would it be possible to enjoy these. Or, this may end up only as fodder for forum members to comment about. Yet, the thought remains, has this forum ever turned down a possible restoration on these pages? I think not. FM P.S. Has it ever stopped me from stockpiling woofers and tweeters? No, of course not and is due to my affection of AR's sound-quality for so many years, 52 years to be exact but, that's just me. However, AR-2ax's were very popular and decent pairs are still out there for possible purchase. So, have at it but consider some costs involved from the start either way-you decide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted February 19, 2023 Report Share Posted February 19, 2023 I think the question is whether the OP wants a full-on restoration or just to get them looking and sounding halfway decent. They have aftermarket drivers that have aged out, so someone was probably listening to them not sounding original for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted February 20, 2023 Report Share Posted February 20, 2023 We all may have scared the 'OP' off or, it was too much too soon or, just too fabulous? 339 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolsonca94530 Posted April 1, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2023 (edited) Dear fellow audiophiles, OP here. Thank you for your replies. The task you all described does sound daunting. After further discussion with my wife I’m abandoning the project; she has no attachment to these speakers. Our 30th anniv. gift to each other will be something else. I really do appreciate the advice and observations made here. Thank you all, stay safe and well. Robert Edited April 1, 2023 by rolsonca94530 Missing word Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted April 1, 2023 Report Share Posted April 1, 2023 Robert Understandable. You can list them "as is" in the For Sale section of this forum. Tell people where you are and how much you want. The service is free. Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie munoz Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 On 2/19/2023 at 11:52 AM, frankmarsi said: Not to discourage anyone but. About $150 for used woofers. About the the same for tweeters and another $50. plus for X-over and pots, etc. Then, refinishing, leaving one too consider waiting till a more complete pair are available. Only if one was hopeful and inclined to do all the work and such, only then would it be possible to enjoy these. Or, this may end up only as fodder for forum members to comment about. Yet, the thought remains, has this forum ever turned down a possible restoration on these pages? I think not. FM P.S. Has it ever stopped me from stockpiling woofers and tweeters? No, of course not and is due to my affection of AR's sound-quality for so many years, 52 years to be exact but, that's just me. However, AR-2ax's were very popular and decent pairs are still out there for possible purchase. So, have at it but consider some costs involved from the start either way-you decide. I second everything Frank said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReliaBill Engineer Posted April 16, 2023 Report Share Posted April 16, 2023 I waited for a gently used pair of AR-2ax, early model. The wait/hunt has been very gratifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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