Sonnar Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Hello everyone, I bought my second pair of AR3 and I'm here because I need a little help. Loudspeakers are all originals and in excellent conditions, mortite around the woofer is intact and the speakers seems to be untouched. Sealing in excellent , woofers needs almost a second to come back in their original position, and pots are working without problems (!) , and this second pair sounds good but a little " dull " respect my first pair; highs are sparkling and clean, mid mids are a little reluctant. Of course, my first pair was recapped with Mundorf caps in 2008. Second question, what kind of wood is the furniture? My first pair is oiled walnut and it's darker. Cheers, Adriano, Rome, Italy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Pine veneer, with a dark stain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted October 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Yes probably it's pine , very beautiful and pale than traditional oiled walnut . The grille it's the original AR 3 fabric, but has a " creamy " yellow coloration dued to the ahe. Who knows what kind of fabric it is? The " Irish linen " grille of the AR 3a is very easy to find, but it's different. My first pair of AR3 have a serial number C22xxx , and this second pair is C66XXX , probably at the end of the production. Maybe the crossover is slightly different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Hi AdrianoThe grille is made of saran, a kind of plastic and it has yellowed with age.There is new material available that looks just like the original. I have some extra and will be in your beautiful city in about 2 weeks but I think it would be difficult to pack.I don't think the crossover changed. Maybe bad capacitors or even a driver problem (have you checked the mids and tweets?).Congratulations on your second pair!Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 Can you take a picture from the side? The one shot that shows some of the side looks like pine grain, but it's hard to tell for certain. The unfinished pine speakers had birch moldings on their front faces, so you can't identiy the wood just from the front of the speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Thank You Kent. Tell me about the cost of the material and the shipping and I'll send You the money. And if You 're planning to visit Rome, don't miss to tell me! We 'll have a listening session of my AR collection ( in september I and SteveF tested my AR2 upgrade ). Drivers are working correctly , and the output is the same , in mono the scene is well located at center. However , a correct tonal balance needs the pots setting at maximum increase; I suspect some problem with pots or bad capacitors. I 've found a large choice of Jensen oil and paper capacitors here in Rome, so I think to use it to recap my AR3. On the first pair I used Mundorf polypropilene, and I have a very transparent and clean sound with pots settings on normal ( white dot ). Genek, later I'll try to make a better picture of the side and post it. About the original grille, I remember my father's AR3 in 1966, a white-cream fabric with some golden filament, may be right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted October 21, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 My first pair: classic dark oiled walnut , irish linen grille, perhaps not original, AR logo and " 3 " original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 The linen wasn't original to the AR-3, although there was a brief period during which both the 3 and 3a were being sold when anything could have happened.Prior to the use of the linen, AR seems to have changed grill fabrics a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted October 21, 2013 Report Share Posted October 21, 2013 Adriano,Here is a thread where we discuss the Mellotone DF7022 material Ron (rjr513) found: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=7250&pid=92987&st=0entry92987 and I did send some to Bruce (bhamham) in the UK.The material is a polypropylene I think and it does not recover well if folded, so it has to be rolled for mailing. I'll see what I can do. Here is the "for sale" thread I posted: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=7436&hl=grilleI also have reproduction brass "3"s and brass "AR INC" labels for those speakers. Check the For Sale listings or PM me if you need some.You are right about the gold thread (some memory!). According to Tom Tyson, "there was a gold thread in the material in the early versions and (somewhere around 1962 or 1963) AR went to the straight-ivory-colored saran material. So to be technically correct, the serial number needs to be known vis-Ã -vis the gold thread."Attached is a photo of my AR-3 with the new material and reproduction "3" and "AR INC" labels and a MicroStatic super-tweeter. Looks like the material still needs to be tightened a bit on the frame.Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted October 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 Hello Kent, I sent You a message about saran grille and AR logos. Yesterday I turned the pots from decrease to increase several times , and suddenly mids and tweeters came out with their natural sounding balance, smooth undistorted midrange and vivid silky highs: so I think the problem was in pots contact failure , probably a partial ossidation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted October 22, 2013 Report Share Posted October 22, 2013 Good news on the pots. There are instructions here and elsewhere online for taking the pots apart, cleaning and applying dielectric grease. The AK thread below is very good. Other options are L-pads, new Ohmite pots (expensive and they need enclosures), Russian surplus pots or stepped attenuators.I responded to your PM. I don't usually deliver but maybe I can bring the parts you need to Roma.ciaoKentpot cleaning threads:http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=306818http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=2165stepped attenuator:http://www.jvbelectronics.com/SA-16-ARAssyMan.pdfRussian pots:http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=7990Ohmite:http://www.newark.com/ohmite/rhs15r/rheostat-wirewound-15-ohm-25w/dp/01F7551L-padhttp://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=260-248 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted October 25, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2013 After a week of listening, missing mids that makes the " dull " sound I've heard on first come out . Now my Ar3 seems very similar to the first pair I have. Probably dry caps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_wong5 Posted October 28, 2013 Report Share Posted October 28, 2013 Yes probably it's pine , very beautiful and pale than traditional oiled walnut . The grille it's the original AR 3 fabric, but has a " creamy " yellow coloration dued to the ahe. Who knows what kind of fabric it is? The " Irish linen " grille of the AR 3a is very easy to find, but it's different. My first pair of AR3 have a serial number C22xxx , and this second pair is C66XXX , probably at the end of the production. Maybe the crossover is slightly different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_wong5 Posted October 28, 2013 Report Share Posted October 28, 2013 AR3 unique "creamy" sound is also a colouration? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_wong5 Posted October 28, 2013 Report Share Posted October 28, 2013 AR3 unique "creamy" sound is also a colouration? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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