AR4x newby?

[Guest teleman]

hello folks, new to the forum and had some ? that maybe you can help me with. I found a pair of AR4x spkrs at a yard sale about 3 yrs ago, they had been wrapped in plastic and stored for awhile ($8couldn't pass up)when I hooked them up they had the normal problem of no highs. so I searched this forum and discovered some different fixes which i haven't tried yet. what I found with the controls is that they feel as if they dont have any resistance in feel when you turn them is this normal or are they totally shot? also was curious if you could help me date them. one has ser.# fx55099 with a black controlknob the other ser.#fx550754 with red control knob I beleive they have the cloth surround also both have intact ser.#pages on back but 1(low ser.#) has a guarantee page w/tested by &final inspection @ the bottom. should both have this page or was only 1 per pair have them. thanks in advance for help you may give and I look forward to your replys

[Carlspeak]

You probably have a corroded pot. Download the AR3a restoration document and use that to learn how to salvage the ones you have so you can get the highs.

[dynaco_dan]

hello folks, new to the forum and had some ? that maybe you can help me with. I found a pair of AR4x spkrs at a yard sale about 3 yrs ago, they had been wrapped in plastic and stored for awhile ($8couldn't pass up)when I hooked them up they had the normal problem of no highs. so I searched this forum and discovered some different fixes which i haven't tried yet. what I found with the controls is that they feel as if they dont have any resistance in feel when you turn them is this normal or are they totally shot? also was curious if you could help me date them. one has ser.# fx55099 with a black controlknob the other ser.#fx550754 with red control knob I beleive they have the cloth surround also both have intact ser.#pages on back but 1(low ser.#) has a guarantee page w/tested by &final inspection @ the bottom. should both have this page or was only 1 per pair have them. thanks in advance for help you may give and I look forward to your replys

Hi there;

Great find for $8.00.

If you connect up the speakers to a system, turn the pot shafts for quite a few 1/2 turns only.

This should help, temporarily only, cause the tweeters to work.

If yes, then the pots will need a full servicing to keep things running longer.

There was a change in pot shaft colours, possibly to identify a different melting point plastic.

I cannot remember which was first but I believe black, then red and finally aluminum.

The pots are no longer available in a new state but can usually be cleaned up.

Another member keeps AR-4X data and maybe can date yours.

Unless you dropped a number, they were made quite a ways apart.

Looking at the serial numbers you've listed, it appears that black was the first used.

They has been applications where the plastic shafts were heated so high that they melted, making tweeter adjustments impossible.

Unless advised, do not rush in and try to remove the grille cloths just yet.

A very popular, low cost speaker that will, when working properly, bring you a lot of enjoyment.

[johnieo]

if you could help me date them. one has ser.# fx55099 the other ser.#fx550754

should both have this page or was only 1 per pair have them.

Hello Teleman:

ser. 55,744 was manufactured 30th week of 1966. [6630] is the way the date codes are written. So I would judge yours were made in about a month prior, give or take. I presume you made a typo in the second serial number, as only somewhat more than 400,000 were made and those later ones did not have cloth surrounds. Perchance was it 55,075 or 55,074? You will need to remove the grille to find and remove the potentiometer for cleaning. As Carl noted, all the directions for each step are included in the AR-3a restore document. Inside you will likely find a #4 inductor, and a 20-uF capacitor. You may or may not wish to change the cap at this time. Why not get it working first, then see how it sounds? Your cloth surrounds are a blessing as they will not need to be replaced.

When you do open the cabinets, I would appreciate knowing the inductor (coil) number, and the weight of the stuffing. Also if it is stuffing is brown or yellowish in color. Is the cabinet 19 or 19-1/4-in long? Many early cabinets were made from 5/8-in-thick stock and are sturdier than the later ones fabricated from 1/2-in-thick material. Those with the thinner wall are 19 in. long. If you have any questions, someone here will answer.

It is likely that one of the backside documents came unglued. I belive each cabinet came with the two that you described. Not a big deal.

No matter how much you spend on these -- $8, elbow grease, sandpaper, replacing caps, furniture polish, new putty -- the result will be a pair of speakers whose sonics cannot be equaled by the expenditure of many multiples of that amount on new speakers; enjoy, great find.

Cheers,

[Guest teleman]

Hello Teleman:

ser. 55,744 was manufactured 30th week of 1966. [6630] is the way the date codes are written. So I would judge yours were made in about a month prior, give or take. I presume you made a typo in the second serial number, as only somewhat more than 400,000 were made and those later ones did not have cloth surrounds. Perchance was it 55,075 or 55,074? You will need to remove the grille to find and remove the potentiometer for cleaning. As Carl noted, all the directions for each step are included in the AR-3a restore document. Inside you will likely find a #4 inductor, and a 20-uF capacitor. You may or may not wish to change the cap at this time. Why not get it working first, then see how it sounds? Your cloth surrounds are a blessing as they will not need to be replaced.

When you do open the cabinets, I would appreciate knowing the inductor (coil) number, and the weight of the stuffing. Also if it is stuffing is brown or yellowish in color. Is the cabinet 19 or 19-1/4-in long? Many early cabinets were made from 5/8-in-thick stock and are sturdier than the later ones fabricated from 1/2-in-thick material. Those with the thinner wall are 19 in. long. If you have any questions, someone here will answer.

It is likely that one of the backside documents came unglued. I belive each cabinet came with the two that you described. Not a big deal.

No matter how much you spend on these -- $8, elbow grease, sandpaper, replacing caps, furniture polish, new putty -- the result will be a pair of speakers whose sonics cannot be equaled by the expenditure of many multiples of that amount on new speakers; enjoy, great find.

Cheers,

you are right ser.# on 2nd one is 55754 thanks for the quick replys

[johnieo]

you are right ser.# on 2nd one is 55754 thanks for the quick replys

Teleman: Serial 55,714 was built 30 week 1966, and by 30 week 1967 were up to serial 110,700 so that is about 55,000 units that year. Assuming 250 working days a year and a linear production rate (-- a bad assumption!) gives 220 units a day. This would say that your serial 55,754 was likely made the same or adjacent day, and 55,099 was within 3-4 days earlier; definitely both the same week. These dates are determined by the most recent parts date stamped on the inside of a cabinet, a driver, or a capacitor so have some built-in delay. This may not have been what we call today "just in time" manufacturing, but considering the production rate, it was probably "pretty darn fast" manufacturing!

I have noticed few consecutively numbered cabinet pairs of any AR speaker model. Perhaps this was below the radar of most sales folks or customers?

[dynaco_dan]

Teleman: Serial 55,714 was built 30 week 1966, and by 30 week 1967 were up to serial 110,700 so that is about 55,000 units that year. Assuming 250 working days a year and a linear production rate (-- a bad assumption!) gives 220 units a day. This would say that your serial 55,754 was likely made the same or adjacent day, and 55,099 was within 3-4 days earlier; definitely both the same week. These dates are determined by the most recent parts date stamped on the inside of a cabinet, a driver, or a capacitor so have some built-in delay. This may not have been what we call today "just in time" manufacturing, but considering the production rate, it was probably "pretty darn fast" manufacturing!

I have noticed few consecutively numbered cabinet pairs of any AR speaker model. Perhaps this was below the radar of most sales folks or customers?

Hi John;

Great information John, as always, thank you.

Seeing as how the speakers, as packaged and placed on pallets at AR would keep only those cartons in a sort of sequence, if an even quantity.

Pallets would need to be on a moving belt or rollers to keep the product moving in sequence.

There would have also been odd occasional numbers sold, at retail and wholesale and when they arrived at their wholesaler, the person packing their retail sale would have needed to be aware of the consequetive numbers as well and cared about this detail.

With more care and of course the valuable time factor, more matched pairs would be around.

At the time of purchase, a buyer could have been more insistant in consecutive numbers, if there was a lot of stock on hand.

Assuming the retailer had hand bombed the speakers and kept them in numerical order.

With a small store with only a few pairs, a difficult control, their supplier would also have needed to check the serial numbers before shipping to them.

With the mass merchandisers which bought only by the multi-pallet load slightly easier.

I do not know today if anyone concerns themselves with consecutive serial numbers so much.

With the speakers that did not appear to change during production, not an issue.

Where the, AR-2AX's, AR-3's and AR-3A's for example, had more than one change, serial number would be of greater value to the buyer/owner.

I was trying to input this added information into the AR timeline history.

A manufacture could start recommending this procedure, first in, first out, but in the end, we, the end user pay for it.

I certainly would feel more confident in consecutive serial numbers, if all goes well with the product that is. LOL

This issue is not a problem with the likes of the AR-7's, which were packaged 2 to a carton, unless a buyer wanted 2 or more pairs.