crumpets Posted June 8, 2023 Report Share Posted June 8, 2023 Hi everyone, I was given a pair of 2ax speakers a month or so ago. They had issues with the pots, so I replaced them and recapped with Dayton caps. They sound ok. At least all drivers are working. But, the main issue, from what I can tell, is the woofers. They appear to be the late 2ax 4hole woofers which have had the surrounds and dustcaps replaced. The surround job looks a bit rough, but it is the dustcaps that have me puzzled. They are a very fine mesh and appear to be larger than those on pics I've seen of the same drivers. The closeup shows you can see right through them. I imagine they should be sealed dustcaps for this model. Is that correct? Also, would the larger dustcaps be an indication the woofers have been modified? I have a pair of 1210040-2A woofers that I could put in them, but from what I gather these wouldn't be the best option. I'm thinking of removing the dustcaps from the correct drivers and replacing them with sealed ones. I'm pretty nervous about doing it without damaging them though. Pictures show the woofers in question and the 2ax's sporting the two different woofers. Any suggestions would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio AR Posted June 8, 2023 Report Share Posted June 8, 2023 Without taking the dust cover off, you could simply seal it by making it non-air permeable. Otherwise, to remove the oversize porous dustcap and remove the minimum of the pulp from the cone, either use a correct thinner, or even better by heating (I use to bring a soldering iron tip close to the glued edge) the glued edge..., the dust cap should detach with minimal pulp residue. This is a porous dustcap, removed from an 8" 200001-1 woofer and placed on a 12" 200003 woofer, then sealed... the glue in the photo is white, it becomes colorless when it dries! If you look carefully, you can barely notice the sign of the oversize dust cap that I removed with the "heat technique" on the cone of the 200003 woofer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted June 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2023 Porous! That's the word I was looking for. Ok, thanks. I think sealing with glue might be the way to go. Very neat work btw. I wonder why the porous dustcaps were used. Mind you, even with the porous dustcap, the performance was better than the speaker with the 1210040-2A. The other cabinet wasn't that well sealed though, so probably an unfair comparison. After sealing the dustcaps and making sure the cabinets are sealed, I'll have to make a decision about whether to replace the tweeters with hivi's. They made a huge difference to my previously restored AR5's, so I guess it's the way to go with these as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted June 8, 2023 Report Share Posted June 8, 2023 Giorgio has given good advice on removing or sealing the dust caps. The larger size isn't a problem unless the "look" bothers you. You can use Aleene's Tacky Glue, thinned a little with water, to seal them. Actually any white glue will work but I like Aleene's. I'd be more concerned about the surrounds. Whoever did the job used the wrong size, then cut it and pieced it together. Given the whole picture; wrong surrounds, wrong dust caps, I'd be inclined to have the woofers refoamed by someone who knows what he's doing. Bill LeGall would be a good choice but our own RoyC would be just as good and maybe a better price. And speaking of Roy.... the Hi-Vi tweeters are fine choices but why not ask him about rebuilding your originals? I really like the 2ax's (sorry I sold mine--both pair 🙁). Your purchase price (free) can't be beat and you've gone to the trouble of replacing the caps and pots. If these are keepers I wouldn't hesitate to ship the woofers and tweeters off to Roy. Assuming the mids are good (as they probably are) you'll have a virtually brand new pair of AR-2ax's! Just my 2 cents......... Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio AR Posted June 8, 2023 Report Share Posted June 8, 2023 I tried to enlarge the photo where you can see the tweeters, they look like Tonegen original spare parts, these should have a higher output than the originals, moreover (it's not possible to understand from the photo, but they look visually perfect) they could be the version with paper dome dedicated to the '90 AR3a Reissues, very rare and therefore sought after, they should be at 4 ohms. If Crumpets checks the domes of the tweeters he can tell us if these are made of fabric or paper, furthermore to remove any doubt, just remove a tweeter and see the code on the back, as well as a measurement with a coil resistance tester. Finally, if they are the 8 ohm version, no change in the crossover, if at 4 ohm, Roy or others can tell you how to intervene on the crossover components to adapt it to the different tweeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reza Posted June 9, 2023 Report Share Posted June 9, 2023 why are the gaskets on the front of the speakers , am I missing something or are they just for aesthetics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted June 9, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2023 Here is a photo of the tweeter. 1200013-2. It came as it is. I have only recapped and replaced the pots. I'll try and test the resistance tomorrow. JKent, I would have had the tweeters from the AR5's repaired, but I'm in Australia, so not sure if it's too costly an exercise. I'm happy with the result with the hivi's in them. Yes, the surrounds will be replaced. Not a great job at all. I'm not worried about the look of the larger dustcaps, so I'm still thinking I'll go with the glue. Sorry for the quick reply, but it's very late here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted June 9, 2023 Report Share Posted June 9, 2023 If it came with that resistor already attached, then what you have is probably a 4 ohm 1200013-1 tweeter designed for the AR-3a with the resistor added to convert it to a -2 equivalent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumpets Posted June 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2023 Good pickup genek. I peeled back the sticker and it looks like 200011 - ?. Going by the ar3 resto doc, that would put them at 4ohm and 1975 I think. I tried to measure them. I'm not exactly sure if I'm doing it correctly, but got a measurement of 3.5 for one and 3.2 for the other. When I measure the new hivi tweeters I get about 5. Just to throw another element into the picture. I also have a pair of 200013-2 tweeters that I took out of the ar5's and replaced with hivi, because one was not working. The working one measures 5.9, the other fails to get a reading. Maybe, if @RoyC is up for it, I could send both the 200011's and the 200013-2's on an overseas trip for a bit of tlc. I do have a very rugged pair of ar3a's that are in the early stages of restoration. They came with some dodgy tweeters and I was intending on going the hivi route with them also. If I could install original tweeters, that would be amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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