sfoster137 Posted January 11 Report Share Posted January 11 I just picked up a pair of AR-5's in good shape but one needed a woofer. I had a spare AR-2ax replacement (foam surround) so thought this was perfect, as they both use a 10" woofer. From the magnet side the two woofers are identical. Well, I should have done some measuring as the frame around the 2ax is wider. The 5 is 10" and the 2ax is 11". Does it make sense to mount anyway and fill any gaps with Mortite to ensure a tight seal. The woofer won't be recessed but there's still clearance between the woofer surround and grill. Attached is a picture with a rough install. Thanks, -Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxho Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 Looks like you have a replacement for the early 10" cloth surround woofer. They have 6 holes and an ~11" frame. The later original is a ~10.25" frame and 4 holes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfoster137 Posted January 12 Author Report Share Posted January 12 Yes, just looking for opinions on going forward with this as AR-5 replacements are hard to find. The speaker does sound good and I’m enjoying a bit more top end than the 2ax’s I had. Same mid and tweeter as the 3a’s, I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aadams Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 5 hours ago, sfoster137 said: Yes, just looking for opinions on You asked for opinions. Mine is, not many here will endorse what you propose. The AR5 never had the 6 hole woofer. Will it work? Probably. Will it sound identical? Probably not. If your goal is to merely have a working speaker your solution will work. If you want your AR5 to sound mostly identical to an AR3a, as designed, make sure the mids are working, have your tweeter pair rebuilt, install lpads with resistors, probably replace the capacitors with new and install the correct woofer, which are frequently for sale on ebay and sometimes on this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted January 12 Report Share Posted January 12 If you had that spare 2ax woofer around because you also have 2ax's, might as well go ahead and use it if it sounds ok to you. But I'd keep my eye out for one of the later, correct woofers too. You might need that 2ax woofer someday for an actual 2ax repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfoster137 Posted January 13 Author Report Share Posted January 13 Thank you for the replies. This was just what I was looking for. I'll start the hunt for a proper replacement woofer and use the 2ax in the meantime. I am intending on replacing the capacitors and will consider the L-pads and tweeter rebuild. The drivers all sound good, though the one woofer I did get desperately needs a new surround. The pots are also terrible which further supports the L-pads. The pots in the 2ax's I refurbished were bad at first, but opening them up and cleaning really brought them back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted January 13 Report Share Posted January 13 Are the caps wax blocks or cans? If they're Sprague Compulytic cans, they're probably still ok as long as you don't see any splits or leaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfoster137 Posted January 13 Author Report Share Posted January 13 Looks like a wax block. Much, much larger to the one I replaced in my 2ax...which measured quite out of spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 3 hours ago, sfoster137 said: Looks like a wax block. Much, much larger to the one I replaced in my 2ax...which measured quite out of spec. It is a dual capacitor, 24uf and 72uf, serving the mid and woofer circuits respectively. The brown cylindrical capacitor above the level controls is the 4uf tweeter cap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfoster137 Posted January 14 Author Report Share Posted January 14 Thanks for this Roy. My local supplier (Parts Connection) here in Ontario has Solens in 2.0uF (x2 for the 4uF), 24uF, and 36uF (x2 for the 72uF). The 400Vdc PB series is about my budget. This should maybe be a new topic, but any advice on cleaning the grill cloth of stain? I tried to spot clean on my 2ax's and the stain just spread. So I removed and washed but they shrunk so much the fit too tight and they were fraying. I had some Guilford of Main (now Duvaltex) acoustic fabric leftover from making acoustic panels for my wife's yoga studio. I thought they turned out quite nice against the blond finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted January 14 Report Share Posted January 14 3 hours ago, sfoster137 said: This should maybe be a new topic, but any advice on cleaning the grill cloth of stain? I tried to spot clean on my 2ax's and the stain just spread. So I removed and washed but they shrunk so much the fit too tight and they were fraying. I had some Guilford of Main (now Duvaltex) acoustic fabric leftover from making acoustic panels for my wife's yoga studio. I thought they turned out quite nice against the blond finish. Some forum members have had success cleaning the original cloth, but I'm not the best person to ask. I almost always replace it. Your new 2ax cloth looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newandold Posted January 17 Report Share Posted January 17 On 1/13/2024 at 12:56 PM, sfoster137 said: Thank you for the replies. This was just what I was looking for. I'll start the hunt for a proper replacement woofer and use the 2ax in the meantime. I am intending on replacing the capacitors and will consider the L-pads and tweeter rebuild. The drivers all sound good, though the one woofer I did get desperately needs a new surround. The pots are also terrible which further supports the L-pads. The pots in the 2ax's I refurbished were bad at first, but opening them up and cleaning really brought them back. Your thread has taken me on a trip down memory lane regarding the AR five. Your thread has taken me on a trip down memory lane regarding the AR five. The first pair of AR that I owned were BRAND NEW 2ax’s. They were gifts from my very supportive parents and all of us were musicians… Dad on trombone, mom on piano, and my self on drums. those were beautiful and incredibly thoughtful gifts given to me, but later on given the choice and I was out shopping lol I would’ve gone for the AR5 But after so many years, I can’t recall why. if I were you, I would maintain an ongoing eBay search for a second pair of fives so you would have yourself some spare parts. I did such a thing for my own needs and after 10 years of collecting acquired enough to last lifetime… More than worth it if you’re hooked on the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illf8ed Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 The original woofer for AR5 is AR part number 1200004-3 which is 8 ohm impedance. Only the AR5 and LST-2 shared these. AR2 used 1200004-2 which was 4 ohm. As you mentioned the originals are very hard to find. I used 10” woofers for my AR5 that came from the AR58 which do work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfoster137 Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 On 1/17/2024 at 10:51 AM, newandold said: Your thread has taken me on a trip down memory lane regarding the AR five. Your thread has taken me on a trip down memory lane regarding the AR five. The first pair of AR that I owned were BRAND NEW 2ax’s. They were gifts from my very supportive parents and all of us were musicians… Dad on trombone, mom on piano, and my self on drums. those were beautiful and incredibly thoughtful gifts given to me, but later on given the choice and I was out shopping lol I would’ve gone for the AR5 But after so many years, I can’t recall why. if I were you, I would maintain an ongoing eBay search for a second pair of fives so you would have yourself some spare parts. I did such a thing for my own needs and after 10 years of collecting acquired enough to last lifetime… More than worth it if you’re hooked on the sound. Thanks for this great story. I'm a drummer myself, my wife plays trombone, and my mom played piano. I'm looking forward to getting the 5's in shape and will keep my eye out for the proper woofer. I had one, but they wouldn't ship to Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfoster137 Posted January 25 Author Report Share Posted January 25 Thanks for the above information on the woofer...very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newandold Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 14 hours ago, sfoster137 said: Thanks for this great story. I'm a drummer myself, my wife plays trombone, and my mom played piano. I'm looking forward to getting the 5's in shape and will keep my eye out for the proper woofer. I had one, but they wouldn't ship to Canada I once had a bit of shipping trouble with eBay between US and Canada but a happy ending at least. Selling from the United States and I was very specific about US only a fella from Canada ended up buying the amplifier I was selling. Turned out he had a post office arrangement in the United Statesand the transaction turned out to be successful. For a while we were an “AR FAMILY” LOL. 2 AR, integrated amplifiers. (my brother and I.) a pair of 2A from 1963. 4x and my 2ax. I eventually migrated to Allison’s, but the whole thing was a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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