Restoring my AR3's from 1967

[Vern48]

Recently completed restoring my AR3 speaker pair, purchased February 27, 1967. [Yes, I have the receipt.]

Replaced original pots with Violet AT-40H L-pads.

Sent midrange drivers to Roy to be refurbished. The tweeters seem to be fine at this point.

Replaced caps with Dayton 1% caps, also matched by Roy. [2.7/3.3 and 12uf X 2]

25 ohm, 10 watt resistors added on midranges and tweeters.

I reinstalled the original stuffing material, although I did not take it all out of each cabinet and weight it to determine if the amounts were uniform.

Laid in a piece of crinoline before installing the woofers. Used Parts Express gasket tape on the the mids and woofers. Checked the glue on the woofer masonite rings and spiders - didn’t note any separations. Also, did not apply sealant to the surround-didn’t conclude it’s needed at this time.

Initially, I planned to reuse the original 3 grill material, but after successfully cleaning it, realized the one piece had damage and/or shrunk a bit on the narrow ends and would not reattach properly to the plastic frame. So instead, I used AR3a frames covered with the same fabric used on my 2ax restorations. The one frame fit loosely, so I used a shim in the lower cabinet groove to hold the frame in place. May just leave them as is, if I don’t/can’t replace the material. I’m fine with the way they look.  I have the original AR badges and “3” pins, but have not reattached them.

Finished the cabinets off with several coats of linseed oil.

My goal was to restore the speakers to a proper working condition and not necessarily get every detail “period correct” if that’s even possible.

I’m grateful to this forum and the collective knowledge that is found here. I doubt if I would have attempted these repairs without this information. Many thanks are also due Roy for the support in knowledge and service to restore these vintage speakers.

[GD70]

Nice work! Unusual to have original owners of the 3 these days.

[Giorgio AR]

Bravo Bern, a wonderful pair of "preserved" AR3s with minimal restoration where needed!
The capacitors are very well fixed on the cabinet reinforcement (excellent and I will do the same with my '69 AR3a).
Only note...but at least find the brass AR inc labels...(plus the "3" pins).
Your AR3s are perfect, with just the "lax upgrade" of the grilles.
My "pack" of capacitors is definitely bulkier than yours, but placing them together between the cabinet and the bracing will be the best solution.

The dimensions of the capacitors are important, I chose oil and paper capacitors for the mid/hi section and a big Jantzen for the woofer.

[Vern48]

20 hours ago, GD70 said:

Nice work! Unusual to have original owners of the 3 these days.

Thank you. In my retirement I've decided to start down-sizing back to my roots in hifi, if you will.  Started working on the Dynaco ST-70 pair and PAS-3 preamp I assembled as kits, which were connected, of course to the 3"s. [I have the receipts for the Dynaco gear, too.  Actually, I bought the second ST-70 used.]

[Vern48]

16 hours ago, Giorgio AR said:

Only note...but at least find the brass AR inc labels...(plus the "3" pins).

I do have the original labels and "3" pins.  Didn't attach them yet  just in case I try to find some of the original grill material.

 

16 hours ago, Giorgio AR said:

The capacitors are very well fixed on the cabinet reinforcement (excellent and I will do the same with my '69 AR3a).

Attached a couple more images of that detail.