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AR 3a performance


troppo

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I've finished my 3-a's and I couldn't be happier. When I got them they looked like candidates for the woodpile, one of the speakers had a cheap woofer tacked right over the woofer enclosure where the previous owner had "spared no expense" to update his speakers. It's a long story from there but I could not have done anything without the advice and information from this forum. Once again, (AR 2-ax, Large Advents, AR 4X) thanks everyone.

However, my question now is, how do I know if the 3-a's are performing? The bass does not seem to have the "punch" of the 2 ax's yet when I isolate the bass, as in a Jazz combo live performance, the bass tone sounds very clear. Vocals sound clear and piano is very clear and distinct. I've installed the new tweets from Vintage AR, I think that they are working fine but how do I know? Finally, my ears are in their 60th year plus. Should the AR 3-a's knock me over with their superior sound reproduction?

Phase Linear 400, Carver C-4000, Dual 1229, AR XA

Troppo

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The bass does not seem to have the "punch" of the 2 ax's

2 quick thoughts:

  1. could they be out of phase? Try reversing = and - on one speaker
  2. do you have an air leak? Push the woofer in and it should take a couple of seconds to return. If it pops right back there's a leak. If you have cloth surrounds try Roy's sealant. Also check around all the drivers for air leaks.

Kent

PS: How 'bout some photos?

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A lot of what people perceive as "punch" in bass is actually coming from the midrange, In the 3a, most of that sound is coming from the mid dome while in the 2ax a lot of it is coming from the woofer as well as the mid. Try adjusting the 3a's mid control a bit higher and see if that makes a difference.

The 2ax sound generally is a bit more "punchy" than the 3a, but that's actually something of a flaw in the frequency response resulting from a slight rise in on-axis output in the 1kHz region. This should average out as you move away from the speakers, and by the time you're 10-15 ft back it should no longer be terribly obvious.

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