AR11 Tweeter Uses

[rl1856]

I have been an infrequent lurker for a long time. I have been a fan of AR speakers since high school; my father had several pairs when I was growing up and I got my first pair in HS and I now have several pairs (Heath 3a-AS103, 5-pr, 2 x 2ax-pr).

I have aquired a pair of AR11 speakers...they were sitting at the curb waiting for trash pick up. Woofers are shot- surrounds gone, cones very brittle, dust caps torn, one spider seems gone other ok. Both tweeters and 1 midrange look extremely good, 1 midrange looks like the foam under the screen is disintrigrating. Tweeters are black dome and mids have yellow foam, so it appears that these are 11b speakers. Cabinets are intact, but in rough shape. No grilles.

In searching the archives for information relevent to the 11 I was again reminded of the depth of information and history available on this site. It is amazing to realise the level of engineering sophistication behind the original 3 and 3a domes. These were created before computer modeling, with just intuition, trial and error and slide rules. The sonic results demonstrate that AR was at least a generation ahead of their competitors.

I realise that the 11 tweeter represents an update of the 3a tweeter design. The archives illuminate the differences quite clearly (increased sensitivity and power handling), but are unclear about the sonic effects of using the 11 tweeter in place of the 3a tweeter.

What can I expect to hear if I replace 3a tweeters with these, or 5 tweeters with these ?

Thank you,

Ross

[Guest JJS]

What can I expect to hear if I replace 3a tweeters with these, or 5 tweeters with these ?

Thank you,

Ross

Ross,

The AR 11 tweeter utilizes all the advancements AR had had made at that time. I would recommend tying to find a pair of AR 11/10pi tweeters on ebay. The AR5 had different tweeters altogether--the AR5 is an "8 ohm" speaker system and the 10pi/11 is a "4 ohm". I own 5's, as well as 10pi's and 11's and in my opinion, the 10pi's and 11's were a more refined version of the 3a. The AR5 is a fine speaker, but (again in my opinion) does not perform as well as the 12" 3 way models.

If the only choices are the 3a and 5 tweeters, go with the 3a.

I did use 3a mids in my 11's for a while as an experiment and wasn't bothered by how they sounded. They appeared to sound better when I replaced the original mids.

Hope this helps!

JS

[rl1856]

Js- Thank you for your reply.

I guess I was not clear enough in my question.

I am curious to know what I can expect to here if I replace AR3a or AR5 tweeters (non ferofluid, original design) *with* the tweeters from my pr of AR-11 (updated design, with ferofluid).

Thank you,

Ross

[KlausDK]

I am curious to know what I can expect to hear if I replace AR3a or AR5 tweeters (non ferofluid, original design) *with* the tweeters from my pair of AR-11 (updated design, with ferofluid).

... unclear about the sonic effects of using the 11 tweeter in place of the 3a tweeter.

Hi Ross

As JS points out, AR-5 tweeter is 8 Ohm, the A-11 tweeter is 4 Ohm impedance, you should not use AR-11 tweeter to replace the AR-5 tweeter.

You can replace the AR-3a tweeter with the AR-11 tweeter, but you will need to make a smaller modification to the AR-3a cross-over, you'll need to put a 0.07 mH inductance (coil) across the AR-11 tweeter to balance sound in the tweeter/midrange cross over frequencies. There are other posts that describes this issue in great detail.

In my opinion - besides the higher output due to higher efficiency - the AR-11 tweeter is a more forward sounding tweeter, the AR-3a tweeter is more delicate and airy. It is difficult to describe the difference, but it is like the sound from the AR-3a tweeter doesn't come from anywhere, it is just there, whereas the sound from the AR-11 tweeter more clearly comes from somewhere. Not that the soundstage is poorer with the 3a tweeter, it just does not as clearly come out of a speaker. I don't know if you understand what I am hinting at, but the A-3a tweeter (like the AR-5) is quite a different experience to AR-11 and in general to the type of tweeters made today.

BRgds Klaus

[Guest JJS]

Js- Thank you for your reply.

I guess I was not clear enough in my question.

I am curious to know what I can expect to here if I replace AR3a or AR5 tweeters (non ferofluid, original design) *with* the tweeters from my pr of AR-11 (updated design, with ferofluid).

Thank you,

Ross

Klaus has nailed it. Sorry for any confusion!

Js

[rl1856]

Klaus has nailed it. Sorry for any confusion!

Js

Excuse the pun, but it sounds like the off axis responce of the 11 tweeter is not as good as the 3a tweeter, hence the feeling that the 11 tweeter is more easily identifiable as a source.

Since the 11 tweeter is more sensitive, it makes sense that the output level would need to be padded down to integrate it with the midrange and woofer output.

Thanks to everyone for the info !

Best,

Ross