AR9 WOOFER AND LOWER MID DRIVERS

[d-rok]

I recently picked up freshly refoamed original 200003 woofers and 200027 lower midrange drivers for my 1979 AR9's.

They were done right and sound FAR BETTER than the AB Tech replacement drivers that they replaced, but they just don't look as good because they are all missing the gaskets that go around the outer edge of the basket to cosmetically cover the portion of the surrounds that glue to the basket frame itself.

Can anyone tell me if it's still possible to locate these original gaskets ? (which I'm guessing it isn't.)

Or can anyone point me in the right direction with a link to where this 1/8"to3/16" soft dense rubbery sort of dark brownish gray foam material can be purchased?

If I could find the right material, I'm thinking I can use the mounting gasket used between the driver and the cabinet as a template and cut my own.

ANY HELP, OPINIONS OR SUGGESTIONS IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.

[soundminded]

SPEAKING of WOOFERS.....I'm in need of some help. I recently picked up freshly refoamed original 200003 woofers and 200027 8" lower mid drivers for my 1979 AR-9's. They look and sound FAR BETTER than the AB Tech woofers and lower mids that they replaced....HOWEVER, none of the original drivers have the gaskets around the face of the basket to cosmetically cover the portion of the surrounds that glue to the basket like all the AB Tech drivers do.

Can anyone suggest the best method for locating this "dark brown/grayish" dense rubbery foam like material to make the gaskets myself. OR if there is a site that sells the actual gaskets for the side firing 12" woofers and 8" lower mids, that would be good to.

I'm thinking if I could locate a sheet of this material, I could basically use the mounting gasket that goes between the cabinet and the driver itself as a template and cut my own. Any suggestions??

Parts Express has exactly what you are looking for.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.c...tnumber=260-542

When you peel away the brown paper, the gasketing material is black and sticky on one side. I used it on my own AR9s, AR2axs and other speakers as well.

[dingus]

CSP member VINTAGE-AR (Larry) sells AR drivers and he might have some. for lack of anything else, you could try making your own from thick felt...

[d-rok]

Parts Express has exactly what you are looking for.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.c...tnumber=260-542

When you peel away the brown paper, the gasketing material is black and sticky on one side. I used it on my own AR9s, AR2axs and other speakers as well.

THANKS for the link. It looks to be the foam material used between the cabinet and the drivers for an "air-tight" fit, and excellent for enclosed designs.

I have new gaskets to mount the drivers in the cabinets. What I'm in search of is the rubbery foam like material used on the outside around the woofers and the lower mid range driver. It basically needs to cover the exposed metal where the surrounds glue to the driver itself. But I will look around "parts express" and maybe I will come up with a few sheets of the material Im after. Thanks again.

[Steve F]

THANKS for the link. It looks to be the foam material used between the cabinet and the drivers for an "air-tight" fit, and excellent for enclosed designs.

I have new gaskets to mount the drivers in the cabinets. What I'm in search of is the rubbery foam like material used on the outside around the woofers and the lower mid range driver. It basically needs to cover the exposed metal where the surrounds glue to the driver itself. But I will look around "parts express" and maybe I will come up with a few sheets of the material Im after. Thanks again.

As a temporary measure, you might consider painting the silver metal frames with flat (not glossy or satin) black paint. This works well to remove that "shiny" metallic look, and from a normal listening distance, the drivers' appearance will now be a non-issue.

You could do this right away, even as you continue your search for the appropriate material, and your woofers won't have that "call-attention-to-me" shiny metal look anymore.

I've done this on replacement woofers and it works well. Removes 85% of the visual objection.

Steve F.

[soundminded]

As a temporary measure, you might consider painting the silver metal frames with flat (not glossy or satin) black paint. This works well to remove that "shiny" metallic look, and from a normal listening distance, the drivers' appearance will now be a non-issue.

You could do this right away, even as you continue your search for the appropriate material, and your woofers won't have that "call-attention-to-me" shiny metal look anymore.

I've done this on replacement woofers and it works well. Removes 85% of the visual objection.

Steve F.

The gasketing material is only sticky on one side and can be used to make a coveer for the metal outer frame. It is cheap, easy to use, easily removed at any time just by peeling it back if necessary to access the screws. The entire assembly is invisible in normal operation as this is all covered by the grill cloth. Painting is not recommended. Even one drop of paint on the suspension will compromise its compliance and performace with no change in appearance in normal use as compensation.

[RoyC]

Or can anyone point me in the right direction with a link to where this 1/8"to3/16" soft dense rubbery sort of dark brownish gray foam material can be purchased?

If I could find the right material, I'm thinking I can use the mounting gasket used between the driver and the cabinet as a template and cut my own.

ANY HELP, OPINIONS OR SUGGESTIONS IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.

You could try a sheet of foam sold in crafts stores such as Michael's...see attached photo. I've used this for cosmetic and functional purposes (temporary driver-to-cabinet gaskets) in many speaker projects. It is inexpensive, and comes in a variety of colors. The crafts store will also have adhesive that works best with foam.

Roy

[Steve F]

The gasketing material is only sticky on one side and can be used to make a coveer for the metal outer frame. It is cheap, easy to use, easily removed at any time just by peeling it back if necessary to access the screws. The entire assembly is invisible in normal operation as this is all covered by the grill cloth. Painting is not recommended. Even one drop of paint on the suspension will compromise its compliance and performace with no change in appearance in normal use as compensation.

I suppose it depends on your hand's steadiness and your confidence to do this. It never even entered my mind that I'd corrupt the surround, and I never have even come close to doing so. And I'm no 'artist' by a long shot. Just a regular guy, with normal around-the-house handyman skills.

Do what you're comfortable doing, I guess. This has worked for me. Instantly takes away the objectionable metallic shininess. To each, his own.

Steve F.

[d-rok]

You could try a sheet of foam sold in crafts stores such as Michael's...see attached photo. I've used this for cosmetic and functional purposes (temporary driver-to-cabinet gaskets) in many speaker projects. It is inexpensive, and comes in a variety of colors. The crafts store will also have adhesive that works best with foam.

Roy

Roy: THANKS for that info. Sheets of the material is exactly what I'm looking for. I can use the mounting gaskets as a template and it should work just fine.

I will keep in mind that something like this could work as a "functional" application, though what I'm wanting to do at the moment is merely for cosmetic purposes only. Yeah, I know..... ya can't see the woofers or drivers with the grilles on anyway, but I'm the type that wants things to look their best. Ya may not be able to see the drivers have no outer ring gaskets, but I KNOW they don't.....at least not yet. Thanks again.

[ar_pro]

They're not "gaskets" - they performed only a cosmetic function, covering the bare steel frame with a foam-like material that was held in place by double-faced tape.

This material crumbles with age, and is one of the more disappointing cosmetic choices made by AR for the 9, 90, etc. (topped only by those craptacular vinyl stickers around the switches).

You could call Bill at Millersound, and ask him what he uses as a replacement for the cosmetic foam.

[Stimpy]

d-rok,

When I refoamed my AR90's, I was like you, and didn't like the bright, unfinished metal showing around the newly replaced surrounds

on my 90's. So, I ordered new gaskets, from this site:

http://www.speakerworks.com/speaker_gaskets_s/71.htm

They worked great for me on both the 8" mids and the 10" woofers. And the drivers looked very much 'stock' in appearance again, after adding

the gaskets.

Hope this help;s...

Stimpy

[djcheung]

Hi d-rok,

I know this is a very old post but wonder if I can ask a question.

What kind of sound would one expect with the Lower Mid driver?

Would you get bass reproduction through them?

I recently purchased a pair of AR9 but not getting much bass through the LMR.

Best regards,

David.

[Gerry S]

Hi d-rok,

I know this is a very old post but wonder if I can ask a question.

What kind of sound would one expect with the Lower Mid driver?

Would you get bass reproduction through them?

I recently purchased a pair of AR9 but not getting much bass through the LMR.

Best regards,

David.

The LMR driver is deliberately filtered below 200 hz thru the crossover to NOT reproduce bass. This is done to prevent bass frequencies from interfering with the cleanest possible reproduction of program material in the lower mid range frequencies (like vocals). Introducing bass into this driver would defeat the purpose of having the driver in the first place (lack of intermodulation distortion from bass-heavy material).

[ahannan]

On 6/5/2010 at 10:51 PM, d-rok said:

I recently picked up freshly refoamed original 200003 woofers and 200027 lower midrange drivers for my 1979 AR9's.

They were done right and sound FAR BETTER than the AB Tech replacement drivers that they replaced, but they just don't look as good because they are all missing the gaskets that go around the outer edge of the basket to cosmetically cover the portion of the surrounds that glue to the basket frame itself.

Can anyone tell me if it's still possible to locate these original gaskets ? (which I'm guessing it isn't.)

Or can anyone point me in the right direction with a link to where this 1/8"to3/16" soft dense rubbery sort of dark brownish gray foam material can be purchased?

If I could find the right material, I'm thinking I can use the mounting gasket used between the driver and the cabinet as a template and cut my own.

ANY HELP, OPINIONS OR SUGGESTIONS IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.

I'm thinking of using foam weather stripping from the hardware store.  It comes in rolls.