AR 92's

[heland]

Hi ,

Would appreciate your help greatly.

I have owned a pair of AR92's since new and always loved their sound..burnt out the midranges some years ago and the Australian dealer replaced them with a midrange part number 200044-0 ,Which speakers were these for?...never seemed quite the same...now years later burnt midranges out again,Adcom mgfa555,and sent to America for replacements...received today two really terrible replacements tinny, dull,chinese copies that do not even fit properly,all this from a company who purports to be the only manufacturer of AR speakers...What is going one...money hungry?What can i do...

regards Andrew

[Robert_S]

Hello,

The (200044-0) midrange you describe is for/from the AR58s -- the correct AR92 midrange is part# 200032. I have found internet auction(s) to be the best source for used (or, if you get very lucky 'new old stock') drivers.

The 200032 midrange was also used in the AR91, AR915 and the AR925.

Hope that helps!

Robert_S

[heland]

Many thanks Robert..I shall see what is out there..does anybody have an idea on the Layneaudio upgrade ie tweeters,mids,new crossover they offer for AR3 and also the 92's...perhaps after 20 odd years the crossovers may also need attention.

regards Andrew

[rrcrain]

The crossovers probably need attention due to age, and to steal Vern's thunder, you really should fuse your speakers to keep from burning out your drivers.

Richard

[heland]

Thanks for your postings!

I am really out of my depth here!Is a Layneaudio up grade a good way to go..I live way out in the australian bush with no audio 'inputs'for hundreds of miles...how do you 'fuse' speakers?How much knowledge do I require..just loved the warmth and clarity of the ARs,now unfortunately mere shadows of their former selves.

regards Andrew

[heland]

Another post before I tear out my remaining hair.Is there no one out there who can steer me on the right track re upgrade...what to do?

Midranges seem as rare as hens teeth for these speakers.

regards Andrew

1

[ar_pro]

It won't be the same without the correct midrange - your best bet is to sit tight, and watch ebay for an exact replacement from one of the systems previously mentioned.

Your Adcom GFA-555 should be a good match for the AR-92, and cooked mids are pretty unusual. What do you think is causing the midrange burnout?

[heland]

Could I just confirm the part no...there are a pair of midranges for sale from a pair of AR92s...they are part no.200032-0...Robert suggested part no200034 .

As to reasons for burn out I do not have a lot of knowledge on the subject...ie none... I burnt out the midranges in the same speaker. I noticed one was dead ..swapped them over to check where the problem lay...left them as swapped and heard the next mid go two weeks later at low volume...the only difference is in the length of speaker cable..a long thin room leaves little option!

regards. Andrew

[KlausDK]

Hi Andrew

The 1200032-0 (or 200032-2) is the correct number for the AR 92 and AR 91 midrange.

BRgds Klaus

[dynaco_dan]

>Could I just confirm the part no...there are a pair of

>midranges for sale from a pair of AR92s...they are part

>no.200032-0...Robert suggested part no200034 .

>As to reasons for burn out I do not have a lot of knowledge on

>the subject...ie none... I burnt out the midranges in the same

>speaker. I noticed one was dead ..swapped them over to check

>where the problem lay...left them as swapped and heard the

>next mid go two weeks later at low volume...the only

>difference is in the length of speaker cable..a long thin room

>leaves little option!

>regards. Andrew

Hi there;

G'day

Your speaker cables should be of the same length.

What guage are you using and what type of wire?

Fusing is a good idea, but you have something else happening which we should get to the bottom of, as well.

See, "other forum", "fast blow fuse", for the more up to date fusing chat topic.

Can you check out each cable and see if one is shorted or pinched between the amp and speakers?

Check out you amp and speaker connections as well.

How is your hydro power in your area for stablity?

Brownouts, blackouts?

[ar_pro]

OK, as long as you're not running an equalizer with a big midrange boost, and your amplifier doesn't sound as if it's misbehaving, I'm going to guess that you have a wildly out-of-spec crossover capacitor, which is allowing bass frequencies into the midrange driver.

That is, unless someone has been inside the cabinet, and mis-wired something.

You can double-check the wiring against the good speaker, just to be certain.

Otherwise, consider replacing the crossover capacitors to protect any new drivers that you may purchase.

Just to be sure, though - have you tested the damaged drivers with a meter? Are you 100% certain that they are broken?

[heland]

Fantastic..thanks very much for your replies.I have now embarked on a steep learning curve and quite possibly total house re-arrangement.

In reply to Verns Questions The cable length will have to be addressed,the cable itself is swedish "supraclassic tinned ofc 4mm ,the cable does not appear to be kinked or pinched,connections solid,electicity supply is generally good ,few black outs,occasional brown outs.I will get somebody? to have a look at the crossovers re new caps wiring check and will certainly consider fuses when all is done.

I do not have an equaliser and the amp runs fine....when I say i have driven the speakers hard..how hard can you go with Adcom555 11 before damage is likely?

Thanks Guys

Andrew

[Guest matty g]

Hi Andrew -

Generally speaking, the victim of an over driven speaker is usually the woofer. If it is driven into clipping (distortion caused by too much bass at too high a volume/too weak of an amp) the woofer is burned out due to voice coil overheating. This is not likely with the Adcom 555, as it has plenty of "headroom" and is not likely to go into clipping. Of course, anything can be pushed too far, but I doubt that you are doing that.

The most common cause of midrange and tweeter damage (other than old age and dried out suspension components) is the crossover capacitors going bad/out of spec. Their function in the crossover network circuit is to block out the lower frequencies which are handled by the woofer. When they go bad, low frequency signals are allowed to pass through to the midrange and tweeter drivers and that's the end of 'em.

When you swapped the mids out, did you notice that the mid in question sounded harsher than it used to? This is a shure sign that the cap is bad. Replacing the mid and tweet caps on both systems would be a very good idea...and it's pretty straight forward. If you have any questions or need any help, you can surley find it here!

Good Luck

Matt

[heland]

Many thanks to you all for your help,it is fantastic to know there is so much knowledge freely given.

I will play around with your suggestions and post again when all is as it should be.

Once again thank you.

regards Andrew

[Robert_S]

Hello Andrew,

The 200032 is correct for the AR92 (my understanding is that 200032-0 indicates a service-replacement version, perhaps someone can elaborate on the AR part number amendment convention!?). Later versions of the driver (built by Tonegen, not AR) have the part number 1200032-0, according to my recollection.

My AR91 and AR92 speakers have the 200032 midrange, my AR925s the 200032-0.

An eBay auction that will be of interest to you, is currently active:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Acoustic-Research-AR...emZ140152607111

The seller has mistakenly titled the auction as being for "Acoustic Research AR9 Tweeters Speakers" but the description and photographs are of an original AR92 midrange (and show the part# as 200032).

Good luck with your search -- it's well worth the wait.

Robert_S

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