AR 2a and what to do

[Wicked Ace]

I came across a pair of AR2a (small case "a" in lower right corner) along with a pair of large Advent speakers (sorry no pics yet)and a floor jack for $60 Friday. I wired them to my amp and had a listen. These speakers imaged astonishingly well right off the bat when they were laid longways (that is how the badging is laid out) however the sound was lacking. Rolled of in the high and low end and very muffled sounding. The ear test seemed to confirm all of the drivers were working but it was down and dirty. I realize the crossover is probably 50 years old and probably in need of some help.

So my questions are where to go from here and how do I get to the drivers?

[JKent]

Welcome Ace!

Fantastic buy! The 2a is a really nice speaker (so is the Advent). Your crossover may be fine. Yes, they are half a century old, but when I opened mine up I found the caps were extremely heavy duty, mil-spec oil filled cans. No need to replace. So I think there are 2 possibilities:

1. corroded pots. This has been discussed ad nauseum here. You can clean them or replace with L-pads. One quick fix: Try rotating the Mid and Hi knobs all the way up & down quickly and repeatedly. This may scrape them clean, at least in spots. Then listen while you twist each control. You may find a good spot.
2. The tweeters have a nasty tendency to pop their domes. The center reddish dome is attached with 3 little blobs of foam adhesive. If yours is popped it cannot be fixed, but there is a pretty good replacement (hiVi, also discussed here extensively).

If you decide to pull the grilles this must be done with GREAT CARE. They are glued and stapled, are made of thin fiberboard, and break easily. There is a site that discusses this.Maybe I can find it.

Kent

edit: Here is the 2a page: http://www.mbzponton...n2awa/ar2a.html

see post #3 here: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=6273&st=0&p=86979&hl=+tweeter%20+popped&fromsearch=1entry86979 Tom Tyson has good photos of the popped tweeter

[Wicked Ace]

That was quick! Thanks. I'm not really a newbie BTW (was Bluelobster). I tried logging in under my old name and password but the login would not accept it. Anyway, it was time to move on.

You mentioned moving the pots, I know this a weak link in most all AR speakers (I played hell with my AR9's switches) so the first thing I did before trying them was to run them up and down. I would have used some Dexoit but not being able to open them that was put on hold. They did feel real rough and sticky though. I'm real interested in getting them open to examine them more closely because, as I said I was real impressed with how they put up a soundstage and that was without placing or moving them about.