One AR-2ax rebuilt, working on the second and some questions

[Guest Chris]

Thanks for previously replying to my questions, and for all the information contained in the archives. It has really helped in my quest to bring a neglected pair of AR-2ax speakers back to life. So far I have replaced the capacitors, rheostats and fashioned a cover for the ohmites using a 6"x6" piece of handy panel supported by two oak sides. Since someone had previously been inside these speakers and might have possibility neglected to replace all the insulation, I restuffed with 30oz of new OW R-13. The 3M strip caulk worked great for sealing the speakers. So far I have only been able to listen to an FM signal source with this speaker, and it sounds fantastic for classical and jazz.

Now for the questions:

After I reinstalled the woofer, I noticed that there is a half inch flat spot on the surround that I might have caused when I sat the speaker on it's face while placing sealer around the opening. Attached are some pictures of the woofer. Is this something to work about?

Last night I started to work on the second speaker, and discovered that the tweeter is open. The serial numbers of my speakers are unknown, but the date on the tweeter was Nov 6, 1966. The other tweeter in the pair is working fine, so I am trying to weight my options. Should I try to find another used tweeter, and if so what years? Or since I am more interested in sound quality that absolute restoration, is there any tweeters on the new market that I can use on both speakers?

Thanks,

Chris

[genek]

After I reinstalled the woofer, I noticed that there is a half inch flat spot on the surround that I might have caused when I sat the speaker on it's face while placing sealer around the opening. Attached are some pictures of the woofer. Is this something to work about?

Last night I started to work on the second speaker, and discovered that the tweeter is open. The serial numbers of my speakers are unknown, but the date on the tweeter was Nov 6, 1966. The other tweeter in the pair is working fine, so I am trying to weight my options. Should I try to find another used tweeter, and if so what years? Or since I am more interested in sound quality that absolute restoration, is there any tweeters on the new market that I can use on both speakers?

It's hard to tell for sure from the picture, but I don't see any sharp bends on the flat spot. As long as it sounds ok it will probably be ok.

Is this the hard or soft dome tweeter? We've gone over the chances of finding a new-tweeter alternative to the AR-3a soft dome that will equal the dispersion (there are none), and I would expect the answer to be the same for the 8-ohm version of that same tweeter used in the 2ax. I don't think there's been a similar discussion about the earlier hard dome tweeter.

[Guest Chris]

Is this the hard or soft dome tweeter? We've gone over the chances of finding a new-tweeter alternative to the AR-3a soft dome that will equal the dispersion (there are none), and I would expect the answer to be the same for the 8-ohm version of that same tweeter used in the 2ax. I don't think there's been a similar discussion about the earlier hard dome tweeter.

It the 1-3/8"-diameter phenolic dome (burnt orange color) tweeter. The Nov 4, 1966 date seems kind of odd for an AR-2ax since this model was not available until 1969. I think it is possible that the tweeters came out of a AR-2a or AR-3. I am going to have to see about finding a used one.

Chris