Jump to content

Restoring the AR-3a


administrator

Recommended Posts

Quick clarification on the "white dot" settings in the restoration manual. I recently installed brand new 16 ohm pots (not Lpads w/ resistors) on my AR-3a's that I got from JKent for a great price and I installed them with the white dot lined up with 8ohms to center it. After checking the manual, the white dot settings are listed at 3.25 ohm for mid and 1.75 ohm for tweeter. This would mean the factory settings for the pots had them turned over 3/4 of the way to full volume on mid and tweeter?  
 

Just wanted to make sure I interpreted that right from the manual, the speakers do sound best with the pots cranked up to around 2-3 ohm output (almost full blast).  Also, I assume the ohm setting is based on the pot not hooked up to the crossover when measured?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Replies 130
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

Need advise!

I had a pair of AR3a 30 years ago an now I found and bought these:

Acoustic Research AR3a restoration ? – Hauptsache es klingt ! (apfelbeck.at)

They seemed to have some old restauration done to them but what poses big question marks to me is the foil which covers the tweeter with the sticker "Do not detach this foil" and the different woofer types. On the positive site a first listening the drivers seem to be ok.

What I found strange in addition is the non painted front? And the small trimming? 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rilke1999 said:

What I found strange in addition is the non painted front? And the small trimming? 

The cabinets are original Euro Style with removable grills. It appears the circuitry, at  minimum, has been mechanically modified to use modern connectors. 

The tweeters appear to be from a later ADD series and do not work properly with the AR3a without internal crossover changes.  The only way to know if the crossover has been modified is to open them up.

The woofers are ok but at least one of them is probably not original, which is not an important point as long as both are AR from the same era and work correctly. 

The mids appear to be original. 

You have already purchased them.  What advise are you looking for?

Aadams

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Aadams said:

 

You have already purchased them.  What advise are you looking for?

Aadams

.

Thanks for you immedeate response! I bought them because they were a bargain and I was overwhelmed by historc feelings 🙂 ) 
My main question is regarding the "repaired" tweeter. Is it some known way how to fix something covering it with a plastic foil? I will bring the home next week and than I will inspect the chassis in more detail and will also look at the crossover.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, rilke1999 said:

Is it some known way how to fix something covering it with a plastic foil? I

My guess is it has already been fixed at least once.  The "foil" covers the fragile leads from the voice coil to the terminal posts at the outer edge.  I wouldn't tamper with it except to restore the system to original front wired tweeters.  Another member may have different advice.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...