Greetings from a newbie

[Guest Wiscoguy]

I'm pleased to be a new member of this forum now. I seem to fit right in. I bought a new pair of AR-2ax's in 1972, followed up by some new AR-3a's and stands in '74. I then gave the 2ax's to my younger brother (he turned around and sold them cheap!#!*!). I still have the 3a's and stands along with the manuals and literature from that era. The speakers need to be refoamed and no doubt have potentiometer issues. Then, "to recap or not recap?, that is the question." Madisound is convieniently located here in Madison, WI where I live although AR speakers do not seem to be their forte. Reading all the posts in this forum is going to be a big help and inspiration to me in my 3a restoration project. For now, I listen to music through a pair of refoamed AR-7's and a Kenwood KA-9100 that I got on ebay a couple years back.-David

[Carlspeak]

>I'm pleased to be a new member of this forum now. I seem to

>fit right in. I bought a new pair of AR-2ax's in 1972,

>followed up by some new AR-3a's and stands in '74. I then

>gave the 2ax's to my younger brother (he turned around and

>sold them cheap!#!*!). I still have the 3a's and stands along

>with the manuals and literature from that era. The speakers

>need to be refoamed and no doubt have potentiometer issues.

>Then, "to recap or not recap?, that is the

>question." Madisound is convieniently located here in

>Madison, WI where I live although AR speakers do not seem to

>be their forte. Reading all the posts in this forum is going

>to be a big help and inspiration to me in my 3a restoration

>project. For now, I listen to music through a pair of refoamed

>AR-7's and a Kenwood KA-9100 that I got on ebay a couple years

>back.-David

Welcom aboard David.

Much information on recapping AR speakers resides in the archives. Use the 'search' function which can be clicked on at the top of the discussion home page. Numerous refoam kits are available via refoam suppliers and ebay sites.

Let me know if you aren't willing to take the job on yourself.

It's all about the music

Carl

Carl's Custom Loudspeakers

[ar_pro]

Nice to have you, David. The 3a is a speaker that will hold its own with anything out there.

Do you have a photo of your speaker stands?

[Guest SteveG]

David welcome. I have relatives in Racine and know Madison well great place.

Get your 3a's up and running asap. At our age no time to waste. I bought my 4x's in college in 1968 or 69, and later 5's, then LST's, and well I won't go on. The 3a is a remarkable speaker and if you have enough power you will be extremely pleased with its sound. Particularly in this age of digital source material (CDs and DVDs). Hope you get surrounds o your woofers asap and fire up the rest.

At the risk of looking dumb I will admit I HAVE NEVER REPLACED A CAP AND I do not plan to unless there is a problem. I would not recommend changing them just for fun.

SteveG

[Guest robotczar]

Hi, I am a newbie, too. It is a pleasant surprise to find a forum devoted to preserving the classic AR speakers.

My very first set of speakers were AR4xes. My father always touted ARs and held the AR 3 as the ultimate speaker. He heard the live versus AR 3 test with a string group and was astounded. When I went to buy speakers, I bought AR. My father did me one better by purchasing a pair of 3as. I have them now and this forum is encouraging me to rehab them (the foam surrounds are gone).

When I built a better system after getting a real job, I bought AR98LS. These speakers were truly wonderful and it is hard to believe that "bookshelf" direct radiators could do better. They are still operative in my backup system (I use Carver AL-IIIs, a hybrid ribbon, in my primary system).

I am looking forward to reading the comments in this forum.