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Noob here w/project AR2Ax


Guest philmays

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Guest philmays

Hi gang,

First post ever here. My Grandfather-in-law passed this year at 102 years young. When I went down earlier in the year I saw these speakers in a van getting ready to "go to the dump".

I obvoiusly said I would like them and would be happy to pay for them but they gave them to me as a gift.

I opened them up sometime ago and saw that the woofers were dry rotted. A forum brother on the Klipsch website sent me a pair of replacements that I installed tonight.

After reading this forum for a little bit it seems I may have some "pot" work, etc to do on these.

One question I have is there are three connections for the speakers on the back. 1, 2, & T. From what I can gather, I should intstall a jumper from #2 and T. Where does the positive cable go and where does the negative cable go?

The boxes are water damaged from sitting in a garage for many years, but I really would like to get Abrahams speakers back playing music again.

I'm sure I'll be talking to you guys often as I need help!

THANKS!

Phil

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Guest matty g

Hi gang,

First post ever here. My Grandfather-in-law passed this year at 102 years young. When I went down earlier in the year I saw these speakers in a van getting ready to "go to the dump".

I obvoiusly said I would like them and would be happy to pay for them but they gave them to me as a gift.

I opened them up sometime ago and saw that the woofers were dry rotted. A forum brother on the Klipsch website sent me a pair of replacements that I installed tonight.

After reading this forum for a little bit it seems I may have some "pot" work, etc to do on these.

One question I have is there are three connections for the speakers on the back. 1, 2, & T. From what I can gather, I should intstall a jumper from #2 and T. Where does the positive cable go and where does the negative cable go?

The boxes are water damaged from sitting in a garage for many years, but I really would like to get Abrahams speakers back playing music again.

I'm sure I'll be talking to you guys often as I need help!

THANKS!

Phil

Hi Phil -

The positive goes to term. #2 and common or neg. goes to term #1 and yes there should be a strap between term 2 and T. Please don't throw out the original woofers with the rotted foam - there is no suitable replacement for them. The rotted surrounds are easily replaced for around $25 or so if you do it yourself, and you'll be glad that you saved them. The 2ax is an excellent speaker system, and in addition to refoaming the original woofers you would be wise to replace the capacitors in the crossover and clean the pots. All of the instructions you need are available on this site and there are many folks here who will be glad to assist you - don't be afraid to ask , no matter how basic the question. But first things first - don't let those woofers go out with tomorrow's trash!

Matt

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Hi Phil

Welcome and good luck with your rescued speakers. Yes--definitely keep those woofers! I just refoamed some today--it's not hard.

Too bad about the cabinets. They may be fixable, but if you happen to be anywhere near northern NJ I have a pair of 2a/2ax cabinets free for the taking.

Kent

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Guest philmays
Hi Phil

Welcome and good luck with your rescued speakers. Yes--definitely keep those woofers! I just refoamed some today--it's not hard.

Too bad about the cabinets. They may be fixable, but if you happen to be anywhere near northern NJ I have a pair of 2a/2ax cabinets free for the taking.

Kent

Thanks for the reply's.

The replacement woofers are from AR2Ax's but look different than the ones I pulled out. The ones I pulled out had a date of 10/5/65 and were attached to a wooden ring and then attached to the cabinet. The replacements that were sent to me fit into the spot perfectly without the wooden ring and had a larger magnet.

I'm in Virginia so I guess those cabinets are out. Tanks though! How hard is iot to re-laminate? I will need to research more on replacind the caps and pots for sure. Is there a place I can purchase these?

Again, thanks for the help!

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Parts Express has the caps you need. As for the pots, unless they are completely corroded I would make the effort to restore them. I used baking soda and a toothbrush for cleaning the bit of corrosion that was there, followed up with a small wire brush, shots of compressed air to dry and blow away small debris, and a shot or two of Deoxit for good measure. My pots were not that bad to begin with but bad enough that I was not able to get an ohm reading. After the cleaning I was reading 14-16 ohms consistently. No more speaker cutout. I just received my new caps from Parts Express and picked up some linen from a local fabric store that is a close match to the original grill cloth. Hope to have everything in good shape soon. Refinishing the cabinets too.

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Sounds like you have the old cabinets that were designed for the 11" woofers with cast aluminum frames. When AR went to 10" woofers with steel frames they used those adapters. Many people prefer the older woofers and it sounds like that's what you got, so all's well.

You can replace the pots with L-pads from Parts Express, or disassemble the pots and clean them. There have been discussions and pictures here on how-to.

You can of course put new veneer on the cabinets. I'd recommend the paper-backed kind that comes in uniform sizes and does not have to be pressed. The new walnut veneer is not as interesting or nice-looking as the original IMHO. Maybe you'll want to try some other wood. The possibilities are endless. Good luck!

Kent

Here are some cruddy pots, apart, and a pic of my 2ax crossover with new caps.

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Kent

Here are some cruddy pots, apart, and a pic of my 2ax crossover with new caps.

Hi Kent;

I love this, "new", site.

Nice photos, very up close and personal, you must have a good camera, or is it because I just cleaned my glasses.

The photos all seem to show up details much better now.

The editing time has been greatly extended as well.

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Guest philmays
Sounds like you have the old cabinets that were designed for the 11" woofers with cast aluminum frames. When AR went to 10" woofers with steel frames they used those adapters. Many people prefer the older woofers and it sounds like that's what you got, so all's well.

You can replace the pots with L-pads from Parts Express, or disassemble the pots and clean them. There have been discussions and pictures here on how-to.

You can of course put new veneer on the cabinets. I'd recommend the paper-backed kind that comes in uniform sizes and does not have to be pressed. The new walnut veneer is not as interesting or nice-looking as the original IMHO. Maybe you'll want to try some other wood. The possibilities are endless. Good luck!

Kent

Here are some cruddy pots, apart, and a pic of my 2ax crossover with new caps.

Hmm, I did notice a repair ticket on the cabinets from 1985. I wonder if Abe replaced the woofers back then to the newer style for what ever reason. Come to think about it, when I replaced the woofer I now remember a sauder job on the leads.

It will be interesting researching the veneer. I've never done any work like that before. To me, it seems like that could be extremely tedious...

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Veneering isn't necessarily tedious but it does require some care. You can get nice veneers from Constantine's, Rockler and others. I have also seen some in Home Depot, but it was only oak in the store near me. The speaker cabinet will have to be perfectly clean and smooth--if there are chips, fill them. You then apply contact cement (best to work outside) to the cabinet and the veneer. When the cement is totally dry, you put the 2 pieces together--you only get ONE chance. There is no repositioning. Usually you put a sheet of paper down first--it won't stick to the dry glue. Then line everything up and pull the paper out. Then you roll it or tap it down. Finally trim the excess, then go on to the next side and do the same all over again (hmm...maybe it IS tedious ;) ). If you google veneering you will find directions. Also--modern veneer is literally paper-thin, so don't plan on sanding it.

Here's one resource:

http://www.rockler.com/articles/display_ar...cfm?story_id=77

and here

http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/ww_materials...2276965,00.html

Good luck

Kent

Here are before & after shots of a KLH 21-FM radio I veneered (original was vinyl). Never did anything as large as an AR 2ax myself

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