ninohernes Posted April 4, 2003 Report Share Posted April 4, 2003 I purchased new grilles for my AR-3's as the old plastic ones were cracked and broken. Layne Audio had original AR-3a grilles, you know, the nice tan cloth ones. I purchased two of them. They don’t seem to fit very well in the 3 cabinet. Is there any way to make them fit well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dogmeninreno Posted April 4, 2003 Report Share Posted April 4, 2003 >I purchased new grilles for my AR-3's as the old plastic ones>were cracked and broken. Layne Audio had original AR-3a>grilles, you know, the nice tan cloth ones. I purchased two of>them. They don’t seem to fit very well in the 3 cabinet. Is>there any way to make them fit well?Well my answer off the top is NO! I usually cut new masonite supports for the fabric and re-do in AR3a fabric..The plastic 2ax stuff is OK but not very nice looking. I have a couple of the 2ax grills (grills only NOT! plastic supports) If you are interested?? $30.00 for both...Photos available...Dale in Reno..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninohernes Posted April 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2003 What is the difference between the 3 cabinent and the 3a cabinent? I obviously know that there is a difference, because the 3a grilles wont fit my 3's. The 3a grilles are wood, and the 3 grilles are plastic, thats all I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SteveG Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Joe, the opening for the grill on the 3a measures 11.5 by 22.5 inches. What is it for the 3?I seem to recall that Layne said the 3a grills they sell were cut a little oversize because there is variation from speaker to speaker. If this is so, youi may have to remove cloth and cut down the masoniote. Or is the grill from Layne too small. That would be a bigger problem.SteveG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninohernes Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 The grilles fit in the openings but they slide down and lean foward, so that there is a gap at the top. I think I am going to try some velcro to hold the grill in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 >What is the difference between the 3 cabinent and the 3a>cabinent? I obviously know that there is a difference, because>the 3a grilles wont fit my 3's. The 3a grilles are wood, and>the 3 grilles are plastic, thats all I know.Joe,There are significant differences in the AR-3 and AR-3a grill assemblies. Although the panel opening is the same on the AR-3 and AR-3a, the mounting methodology is different. An AR-3 grill will not fit an AR-3a, period. It is approximately 3/8-inch too long. An AR-3a grill will, however, fit down in an AR-3, but is not supported agaist the front panel as in the AR-3a. The grill will therefore touch the tweeters. In the AR-3, the grill frame is a relatively high-tech, molded-plastic affair, and the ivory grill material (a DuPont nylon-like material whose actual name escapes me) is wrapped around the short ends and glued and stapled to the edges. The long dimension of the grill frame is actually longer than the opening of the speaker molding frame, but the short dimension is approximately 1/8-inch narrower than the opening, just as in the AR-3a grill. The grill material is not wrapped around the long dimension of the frame, but it is glued to it. When assembling the grill panel to the AR-3, the frame (with grill cloth) is carefully "bowed" enough to snap it into the short dimension of the cabinet molding. Great care had to be used not to break the plastic frame. There is a groove in the AR-3 edge molding, and the frame snaps up into the grooves on both short ends. A small amount of glue is put on each end, and a small amount is also put along the long dimension, and a putty knife or equivalent is used to tuck in the grill material around the edges and to pull it tight. A properly-installed grill panel will be tight with no sags anywhere, and the strands will be parallel with the lines of the cabinet molding. It is for this reason that a "trained" eye can always detect when someone has tampered with or "entered" an AR-3. Practically no one is capable of replacing the grill assembly exactly like the factory did when the speaker was new. There will always be a slight sag or misalignment. It would require extraordinary skill to get it back exactly like it came from the factory, and I can tell you that I have never seen it done. Therefore, finding a pair of AR-3's in proper working order, with untampered grills, is significant.The AR-3a cabinet, on the other hand, was greatly simplified. The groove under the molding was abandoned, and a wood molding strip -- just inside the edge molding -- supports a simplified masonite speaker frame wrapped with a stapled, beige-linen grill cloth. On the majority of AR-3a's, this grill frame was attached to the speaker with hot glue on the corners and along the middle. Proper examples of this will have a grill frame with an approximately 1/16-inch gap all around the edges of the molding, and the grill is set back approximately 3/16 inches from the molding edge. The grill frame, therefore, would not be flush or close the the molding edge. It is set back slightly. Incidentally, the brass-AR-3a badge is mounted on the grill panel such that the hole is exactly 1-1/4 inches from both intersecting edges.In 1974 or 1975, AR began using velcro to attach the grill panel, and the lovely beige-linen grill material was gone, and the company began using an off-white linen. This new linen was a denser material with a closer weave and somewhat less desirable. Incidentally, despite what anyone says, the original beige linen is no longer available anywhere, althogh there are some relatively close imitations. The fine, original material appears to be gone forever. In any event, removing and replacing AR-3a grill assemblies is many-times easier than doing the same on an AR-3.--Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninohernes Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Tom, The cool thing is that I have original 3a grilles. They were found in a factory in Italy. This is the last remaining set ever, I was told. They are brand new. As I said before, they are the nice tan linen ones. So there is realy no way to fit the 3a grill in the 3 cabinent? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted April 5, 2003 Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 >Tom, The cool thing is that I have original 3a grilles. They>were found in a factory in Italy. This is the last remaining>set ever, I was told. They are brand new. As I said before,>they are the nice tan linen ones. So there is realy no way to>fit the 3a grill in the 3 cabinent? >Joe, if you put a small wood strip around the entire inside surface of the AR-3, just inside the cabinet molding, so that the AR-3a grill frame can rest upon it, then the 3a grill should work in the AR-3. You would not in this case use the slot inside the molding as with the AR-3-type plastic grill frame. There is a slight, but neglible difference in the inside dimensions of the grill molding on the AR-3 and AR-3a, but the 3a does have the wood strip on which the masonite AR-3a grill frame can rest; the AR-3 does not, of course. That wood strip varies from AR-3a to AR-3a depending on the vintage, but the overall size is just large enough (approximately 9/16" x 1/2") to hold the grill away from the drivers. You will probably want to use Velcro to fasten the grill panels, so that the grill panels are nearly flush with the inside edge of the cabinet-edge molding. This will hide the slot cut just below the inside edge of the AR-3 cabinet molding.--Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninohernes Posted April 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2003 Ok, Thanks for the help! I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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