stupidhead Posted May 6, 2015 Report Share Posted May 6, 2015 So, I have happened in to a set of 2ax (early version-orange tweet) that I will be picking up tomorrow for rather short money. They sound like they will need some TLC for sure. The backside of one is separated from the cabinet for example. Once I have them I will post some pics. Other drivers look right, cloth woofers, dampened mids and the orange tweets. If nothing else I will get four pots out of them. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted May 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 So I have a couple pics from the seller. He described this but I guess a picture tells a thousand words. Without close inspection tough to say, but I gotta think this is fixable. but what I am really interested in is the appearance of these being an early version. I have enjoyed my other set like these over others with the foam surrounds and black tweets. but I am not sure what to make of this grille. I think I see the standard issue linen peeled back right bottom of top speaker in pic here, but what is the black?I am picking these up mid day tomorrow on a day of speaker related road tripping, including selling a set of JBL L110s and picking up an empty set of L40s for only gas money. Sometimes things just line up.Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Can't imagine what happened to that rear panel to make it completely disengage from the four sides of the cabinet, but the fix should just be simple carpentry. You may need to add some small cleats on the inside in order to have something to receive the rear panel, but they would be hidden and besides, it's only the back panel - - just be sure it's airtight, as you already know.On the black grille cabinet, I do not think that is a 2ax and it also appears to be clad in vinyl. Plus, your pics already show the two different 2ax baffle boards and drivers, so I'm guessing that oddball cabinet is just serving as a prop for the photos.Commenting on your first post, you've got a whole lot more than just four pots there. Good find - - with some attention, you'll have another pair of very fine loudspeakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Yeah, odd when you see a rear panel pulled from the sides like that. As if someone tried to get in. I have a Dynaco A25 that seems to be busting open like that, but the front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 Nice find ... looks like glue fail on the back panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michiganpat Posted May 7, 2015 Report Share Posted May 7, 2015 if I had to guess, the speaker with the black grille looks like something from the AR "S" series Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted May 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 8, 2015 so I did grab these yesterday and they are going to be a challenge for sure. I will take some pics tonight and post when I can. The black grill was not one of the 2ax and he made a reference to 48s he had as well. Roger, glue fail is right. That cheap glue just couldn't withstand the circular saw blade someone took to it.The pots are almost frozen, but the good news is the drivers seem to be OK. For sixty beans I couldn't resist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 8, 2015 Report Share Posted May 8, 2015 so I did grab these yesterday and they are going to be a challenge for sure. I will take some pics tonight and post when I can. The black grill was not one of the 2ax and he made a reference to 48s he had as well. Roger, glue fail is right. That cheap glue just couldn't withstand the circular saw blade someone took to it.The pots are almost frozen, but the good news is the drivers seem to be OK. For sixty beans I couldn't resist.Yeah, drivers are worth the price... Definitely a lot of work cutting out a back panel without messing the veneer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom H. Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 It almost looks like something got forgotten about when the cabinets were manufactured and the back separated over time. It looks like they will be good restoration candidates though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 9, 2015 Report Share Posted May 9, 2015 They are all fun to restore, for me anyway ... never met a classic AR I didn't like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted May 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 As promised, here are some pics of this set. Overall I am pleased with the acquisition, but these will be worth the effort I feel.Of course, the separated back panel is the immediate focus. It is definitely somebody's handy work, not manufacturer's fail. Clear evidence of a circular saw run down this edge.At least they set the blade depth so as to not cut deeper than the panel's thickness.More definitive evidence is the sawdust... but you can also seen that the next edge was not saw chased and appears to have just been forced to separate.Bottom line is I think this disgrace is retrievable. The next challenge is that one of the tweeters appears to be popped. My question is this in fact glue/adhesive fail? I have seen some talk about pushing this back in place and re gluing. If this is to be done, can someone describe the whole process and most importantly what adhesive/glue/epoxy? is to be used.It seems to be very tight quarters and I am intrigued by the silver wire behind the right hand lead. There also appear to be similar threads/wires at the other 1/4 hour clock positions. Is that a wrap of sorts for the voice coil, or do they have some current function? Of course this may be just a remnant and not part of manufacture, but to my eye in that photo it sure seems to be stitched in there.Then there is these. I have not extracted any of these drivers yet, but I am very excited by these woofers. What is that dried out foam ring all about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted May 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 The cabs are far from perfect, but also with some effort will be salvageable as well. Here is an example of the worst edge on the broken into cab.Of course worst is relative.The other cab has not been compromised by the surgeon. Note bottom right corner is dinged up. My veneering skills will be tested with this set for sure.and the tweeter seems to be OK on this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Looks like a lot of work but I'm sure you're up to it. Those woofers don't look like they're mounted with standard hardware. At least it appears that way,der Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 15, 2015 Report Share Posted May 15, 2015 Epoxy that one back together ... can't see much going on with the tweeter. The yellow blobs are the suspension the rest is the gap sealant... have fun ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenz66 Posted May 24, 2015 Report Share Posted May 24, 2015 Sorry to jump in here but I noticed in your posted photos (as with mine) that the AR-2ax woofers have a tic-tac-toe line pattern to them. Is there a reason for that pattern? I see that it is not on similar 10" woofers such as the AR-2. AR-2 WooferAR-2ax Woofer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Sorry to jump in here but I noticed in your posted photos (as with mine) that the AR-2ax woofers have a tic-tac-toe line pattern to them. Is there a reason for that pattern? I see that it is not on similar 10" woofers such as the AR-2.Maybe Robert will jump in here since TomT hasn't been on lately but if I remember correctly there was an acoustic reason for doing that mentioned previously by Tom having to do with attenuating a particular undesirable characteristic which escapes me at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted May 25, 2015 Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 A lot of the classic AR and KLH woofers had that pattern. I thought it was for damping the cone but not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenz66 Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Thanks guys!I went back in time and found tysontom’s posting on 25 January 2006 - 01:51 AM "KLH did use a criss-cross pattern on some of their woofers, but it was first started at AR. The material was actually a rubber "glue" and was initially used by AR on the AR-2, then later on the AR-4/AR-4x. Ed Villchur or Roy Allison engineered it. Villchur and Allison were pretty much constantly measuring and improving loudspeaker performance in the anechoic chamber on the 4th floor of the Cambridge plant, and there was a persistent problem with cone breakup at the upper end of the response. The damping rings helped suppress unwanted energy in the cone. Henry Kloss also was aware of it, as he did the same thing on some of his woofers."So I guess they did this on a as needed basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Thanks, glenz, for digging up that archival post - - I had forgotten the original reason behind this treatment, and I had also been mistakenly assuming that the decoration on the cone was simply a few brush strokes of the cloth woofer dope substance. And while the tic-tac-toe pattern is always nice, some of the 8" woofers included the addition of my favorite embellishment in the form of a floral pattern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted May 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 so the saga continues. Another set is coming my way today, mis-matched. One with orange and one with black tweeter. Cabs are in good shape and I am thinking of marrying the various components and putting a set together from the four. The older one has the cloth surround and I am told the cloth separated from frame so some permatex was used to re-adhere. Still think I will effort the cab work needed on the first one but I just couldn't resist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 27, 2015 Report Share Posted May 27, 2015 Hard to resist these and getting to pick and choose your drivers is nice.It may be easier to put flat black paint over the Permatex to improve the look or it may come off with solvent. I haven't used it but I think Permatex comes in brown also.Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenz66 Posted May 28, 2015 Report Share Posted May 28, 2015 Forgive this one last statement but those AR-4 woofers are quit amazing.An inspiring AR-2ax speaker story also. I do not yet know how you all make these great finds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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