My new AR3s!

[fast_eddie_72]

They are 3a mids. If you go back a page you can see where JKent and RoyC explained to me the difference and linked to the required crossover mod. It seems that the earlier mids are getting a little iffy at this stage in the game. Rather than trying to track down one good one and hoping that nothing broke down the road (assuming that I ended up with two that sounded the same) I figured it was better to update to the last generation of original 3s. Especially when I got great help sourcing the parts to do it! I think they should sound like they do now for a good long while, and as I listen to them, I'd say that's a very good thing!

[RoyC]

Looking good, Ed. Deal with the pots now before finalizing things. You will be glad you did.

Ligs, those are mid-70's back-wired mids used in the late AR-3a and early AR-11. Their response is virtually identical to the front-wired AR-3a mids used in the late AR-3, which necessitated the addition of the .4 mh inductor by AR to the midrange circuit at that time. Ed has added the appropriate inductor for these mids in his restoration. Original, earlier AR-3 mids are becoming quite troublsome due to suspension and response issues. Ed's restored AR-3's probably sound closer to original than most AR-3's in current use. I bet they sound great.

Roy

[fast_eddie_72]

Thanks Roy, and yeah, the pots will be coming out. The mid pot in the second speaker is in tough shape. Not unusable, but wonky enough to be really annoying. But I'm really happy to have them sounding nice here for a bit. I'll listen to them for a few weeks then pull them apart again for hopefully the last time. Then I can mount these grills!

[ligs]

They are 3a mids. If you go back a page you can see where JKent and RoyC explained to me the difference and linked to the required crossover mod. It seems that the earlier mids are getting a little iffy at this stage in the game. Rather than trying to track down one good one and hoping that nothing broke down the road (assuming that I ended up with two that sounded the same) I figured it was better to update to the last generation of original 3s. Especially when I got great help sourcing the parts to do it! I think they should sound like they do now for a good long while, and as I listen to them, I'd say that's a very good thing!

Good to know. Thanks. I had a couple pairs of 3a's in the past. One time my AR3a tweeters blew out and I asked AR for warranty service and I received the 3a midranges instead:)

After that I bought a pair of AR11 tweeters locally and modified my 3a's to 11's and liked them very much!

[RoyC]

Good to know. Thanks. I had a couple pairs of 3a's in the past. One time my AR3a tweeters blew out and I asked AR for warranty service and I received the 3a midranges instead:)

After that I bought a pair of AR11 tweeters locally and modified my 3a's to 11's and liked them very much!

Considering the plight of the AR-3a tweeter these days, you made a great decision, Ligs.

Roy

[ligs]

AR3a tweeter is a hard paper dome and I was wondering if a good modern hard dome tweeter will be a better replacement(or upgrade) for the original tweeter.

I ran into this Infinity Cascade tweeter a while back and I encourage those have the curiosity and skills to experiment with this tweeter. This tweeter sounds very natural and yet very expressive. I can listen to them for hours at a time without any fatigue

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?234245-A-scintillating-Bargain-Tweeter

You can even audition the sound of my DIY speakers too. Change the video quality to 480p will make it sound better. While many high fidelity recording devices are available, my recording was made using a simple Canon 300HS and this was meant to be a fun project. Please keep that in mind while watching these videos.

[fast_eddie_72]

I'm definitely fretting over these grilles more than I absolutely need to, but I kinda want to get them looking the best I can. Just a teaser shot for now. Not done, but close. Still need to add the snazzy "AR Inc" and "3" badges I got from JKent (along with the grill materials). That'll finish them off very nicely, I think! The one on the left is as right as I can get it. Still a little fussing to do on the one on the right. But I kind of have it down now, I think. I only want to pull them off one more time when I pull the speakers apart for (hopefully) the last time. Meanwhile, I have something in the living room that my wife shouldn't object to so much.

Oh, you can see the wires I passed through the fabric. That's just to help with positioning. They'll come out when I'm all finished.

[fast_eddie_72]

So many distractions! But, got some quality time with the ARs this weekend. I finally got around to installing the beautiful badges I got from JKent. I used epoxy to glue a small screw on the back of the "AR INC" badges, made a small hole and presto. That was pretty easy. I showed my wife how the "3"s originally attached. She was confidant she could find pins that I could solder on. And so she did! They have a small loop on them that makes them ideal. Very simple job. Look closely at one of the pics. Yes. Make sure before you solder. Luckily it cleaned up well enough and they look great on the speakers!

[HarryM]

It looks really good. You did a great job on the grill cloth, it looks nice and straight. Are you using staples to hold the cloth or glue.

[fast_eddie_72]

It looks really good. You did a great job on the grill cloth, it looks nice and straight. Are you using staples to hold the cloth or glue.

I did it exactly according to JKent's instructions. I used 3M spray adhesive, then used a general adhesive from Ace Hardware and a whole mess of clothes pins to hold it in place. I repositioned them every 10 minutes or so to be sure the glue that came through the cloth didn't glue the clothes pins to the grilles. The sides are just cut to size and tucked in with a credit card.

[JKent]

Those eye pins worked perfectly! I may have to get some of those.

If anyone else needs the "3" send me a PM. I'm out of the "AR INC" badges for now but hope to have more soon.

Still have some of the grille material, too.

Kent

[RoyC]

VERY nice!

[fast_eddie_72]

Those eye pins worked perfectly! I may have to get some of those.

If anyone else needs the "3" send me a PM. I'm out of the "AR INC" badges for now but hope to have more soon.

Still have some of the grille material, too.

Kent

Well, I got a pack of 90. I used two. I could probably spare 1 or 70. I bent them very slightly in two spots to get them to go slightly away from the 3 at the eye, then right back to make a tight fit. Worked really well.

Thanks guys. I'm really, really happy with how this project is coming together. They've been playing non-stop this weekend and I never get tired of them. I can honestly say, even though they sound better, I'd part with my 9s before I'd let these go. Can't thank you guys enough for helping me get them back in shape.

[DON]

You did a professional job on those grilles!! Beautiful restoration. I have a pair of AR2Axs and 5s that I need to recover the grilles on. I have the grille boards for the 5s and the boards for the 2AXs in the mail. I'm not clear on how to do the corners so I'll have to practice with some other cloth! Thanks for posting all the photos. They are encouraging. Don

[JKent]

Don,

See pp 17-18 of the 3a restoration guide: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/

You would use the same cloth and the same method of attaching.

Kent

[xmas111]

Very impressive restoration!

Your going to enjoy them for a long time to come.

Again, very nice job.

John

[DON]

Thanks Kent. I've looked that part of the restoration guide over a few times. The sides and tops shouldn't be too hard it's the corners that I have to practice.

[ra.ra]

Just gotta repeat what others have already stated - - - that's a real nice pair of AR-3's. All parts look terrific - - - wiring and drivers, cabinets, and the grilles are near perfect.

Aside from the particulars of the restoration, I enjoyed seeing this pair moved around your speaker palace. First, we see them against your AR-9's, and not long thereafter they are posing with your LST's and the big subwoofer. Am curious about something I see in post #32 - - - each speaker grille appears to have some swoopy fiber smack in the center of the grille cloth - - - illusion or reality? Whatever it is, I'm sure they sound just great. Really good work.

[JKent]

Thanks Kent. I've looked that part of the restoration guide over a few times. The sides and tops shouldn't be too hard it's the corners that I have to practice.

Yes, practice is best. I usually fold the corners first, at a 45 degree angle to the sides, thenfold the sides over. This can make the corners too thick, so I cut away some of the doubled-up cloth. Have to do that carefully to avoid frayed edges. I think AR just did straight folds but if memory serves they also "notched" the corners to avoid making them too thick.

Kent

[DON]

Try to post photo of AR5 corner before. No after photos yet. SHAZAM!

[fast_eddie_72]

Just gotta repeat what others have already stated - - - that's a real nice pair of AR-3's. All parts look terrific - - - wiring and drivers, cabinets, and the grilles are near perfect.

Aside from the particulars of the restoration, I enjoyed seeing this pair moved around your speaker palace. First, we see them against your AR-9's, and not long thereafter they are posing with your LST's and the big subwoofer. Am curious about something I see in post #32 - - - each speaker grille appears to have some swoopy fiber smack in the center of the grille cloth - - - illusion or reality? Whatever it is, I'm sure they sound just great. Really good work.

I have a length of very thin wire threaded through the fabric and looped around the center section of the grille. It's just to help with mounting and positioning. Once I'm confidant that they don't need to come off again, I'll pull it out.

[DON]

Yes, practice is best. I usually fold the corners first, at a 45 degree angle to the sides, thenfold the sides over. This can make the corners too thick, so I cut away some of the doubled-up cloth. Have to do that carefully to avoid frayed edges. I think AR just did straight folds but if memory serves they also "notched" the corners to avoid making them too thick.

Kent

I've just bought a pair of 2ax grilles and the cloth will have to be replaced. On these it looks as if AR cut away some of the material on the sides and just folded them over. Is the material from 123 Stitch very stretchy? The old material on these isn't stretchy at all and is very tight.

Sorry....don't mean to hijack this thread.

[JKent]

The 123 stitch material is rather stiff and not very stretchy. What I do is get it reasonably tight and then spritz the cloth with water from a spray bottle, then dry it with a hair dryer. The natural linen shrinks and makes a nice taut cover. I also give it a light spray with ScotchGuard.

Kent

[DON]

Thanks Kent.

[DON]

I purchased a tweeter that was supposed to be from an AR2Ax that looks just like the ones in these 3s. Nice heavy paper weight since it is not the same as the ones from the 2Ax.