10dollar set of ar3's

[Guest phillydog]

GUESS ILL HURRY KNOCKED ME OFF AFTER 60 MINTUES,

BEING NEW TO THE SITE AND ONLY 35 NOT REAL KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THE WORLD OF HI-FI, ANYWAY I PICKED UP A PAIR OF AR3'S AT AN LOCAL THRIFT SHOP AT AN RETIERMENT HOME, BEING IN MINT CONDITION CABINETS, LITERTURE AND SOME 4INCH OAK STANDS WITH BRASS SREWS, WHICH I DONT THINK AR OFFERED, MUST BE HOMEMADE, LOOK GREAT THOUGH.

SHELLED OUT THE TEN BUCKS FOR THEM AND PRECEIDED TO LUG THEM UP TO MY FORTH FLOOR STUDIO APT. HAVING ONLY ACHEAP BOOMBOX FOR TUNES, AFTER A NASTY DIVORE, I WAS EXCITED ABOUT GETTIN ASYSTEM TOGETHER.

HAVING NO AMP., THAT WAS MY FIRST STOP, GOING TO MY LOCAL HIFI GUY NEW AND USED, HE TALKED ME INTO AN 900 DOLLAR NACKIMICHI SR-4A 60 WPC AMP FOR 185BUCKS, THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO START.

AFTER HOOKING UP THE AR'S THEY SOUNDED FLAT, NO MIDS OR TWEETERS. THATS WHEN I STARTED DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THE SPEAKERS, HAVING FOUND THIS GREAT SITE, IVE LEARNED ALOT OF GREAT STUFF.

I FIGURED THAT THE POTS WERE CORRODED AND NOT MAKING CONTACT, SO I CAREFULLY REMOVED THE GRILLS, WHICH SHOW NO SIGNS OF TAMPERING WITH LIKE TO NOT THAT THE GRILLS ARE A PLASTIC WEAVE STAPPLED TO A HARD PLASTIC FRAME WHICH HAS CRACKED DUE TO THE GRILL SHRINKING. AND AONLY THE AR BADGE ON THE BOTTOM AND NO 3 BADGE ON THE TOP LIKE IVE SEEN?

NEED TO REPARIR OR REPLACE ?

AFTER REMOVING THE WOOFER, THE PUTTY IS AS SUPPLE AS THE DAY IT WAS ASSEMBLED. NOTING THE DATE ON THE CROSSOVER WAX BOX OF OCT 1964, I ASSUME THATS WHEN THEY WERE BUILT, DISSASSEMBLING AND CLEANING THE POTS WHICH HAD SOME COPPER CORROSIN ON THEM, ALL DONE IN THE CABNETS ONLY HAVING TO RESOLDER THE WOOFERS.

THEY SOUND GREAT BOTH WORKING EXCEPT THE MID POT ON ONE, ONLY LIVE IN ONE SPOT. QUESTION SHOULD I BYPASS OR TRY TO REPLACE THEM, IS THERE A BIG DIFFENCE IN SOUND WITH NO ADJUSTMENT?

ALSO WORKING IN A SHOESTRING BUDGET. I ALSO HEARD ABOUT PRESERVING THE CLOTH RINGS ON THE WOOFERS, WHICH ARE SUPPLE AND SHOW NO SIGNS OF DETERIATION, DOES THE ARMORALL TRICK WORK? THANKS FOR ANY INFO.,

[Guest Bret]

First a request: I think a lot of us would find it easier on our aging eyes if you'd turn-off the caps lock key. All caps is really bad on the eyes, wow. Please don't do that. No offense meant.

Congratulations on finding a "free" pair of AR3's. $10.00 is what the stands cost a long time ago, so you got the speakers for free!

See:

http://www.arsenal.net/speakers/ar/classic...AR%20stands.pdf

If those match your 4" stands, hang onto them. Honestly, I tend to prefer the speakers 4" off the ground than 11" off the ground. I think I like being off-axis a little more than the 11" stands allow.

You asked about the L-pads on the back of the 3's. I wouldn't bypass them. I understand a limited budget, but new replacement L-pads are under $10 each. If budget constraints mean you need to temporarily bypass one or the other, probably the tweeter would be the one to bypass since you'll likely want to set the midrange on or near the "normal" mark.

To the extent possible, I would recommend that you repair, rather than replace, parts. Sometimes that isn't easy. The grill frame, for instance, won't be easy but it will be much less expensive than trying to replace it. Resist all temptation to remove the grill cloth from the frame and replace it. Been there, done that, was extremely sorry. The L-pad that's bad really should be fixable, but that might not be easy, either and will certainly require its being removed from the cabinet..

Tom says use the Armor-all on the surrounds and Tom ought to know. I would trust his advice.

Congratulations again - that's one heck of a bargain you got. Yours has got to be one of the best sounding systems for under $200 ever.

Bret

[tysontom]

>GUESS ILL HURRY KNOCKED ME OFF AFTER 60 MINTUES,

> BEING NEW TO THE SITE AND ONLY 35 NOT REAL KNOWLEDGEABLE

>ABOUT THE WORLD OF HI-FI, ANYWAY I PICKED UP A PAIR OF AR3'S

>AT AN LOCAL THRIFT SHOP AT AN RETIERMENT HOME, BEING IN MINT

>CONDITION CABINETS, LITERTURE AND SOME 4INCH OAK STANDS WITH

>BRASS SREWS, WHICH I DONT THINK AR OFFERED, MUST BE HOMEMADE,

>LOOK GREAT THOUGH.

> SHELLED OUT THE TEN BUCKS FOR THEM AND PRECEIDED TO LUG THEM

>UP TO MY FORTH FLOOR STUDIO APT. HAVING ONLY ACHEAP BOOMBOX

>FOR TUNES, AFTER A NASTY DIVORE, I WAS EXCITED ABOUT GETTIN

>ASYSTEM TOGETHER.

Yes, you got quite a good deal. It's rare that you would find two properly working AR-3s in good physical condition for a sawbuck. That's impressive, but it looks like you do have some work ahead of you. I "second" the motion to turn off the caps function. I was getting a severe eyestrain by the time I got to the end of the message. Incidentally, you won't be able to take similar shortcuts on rebuilding the AR-3s: that is a difficult, tedious but certainly rewarding experience.

> I FIGURED THAT THE POTS WERE CORRODED AND NOT MAKING

>CONTACT, SO I CAREFULLY REMOVED THE GRILLS, WHICH SHOW NO

>SIGNS OF TAMPERING WITH LIKE TO NOT THAT THE GRILLS ARE A

>PLASTIC WEAVE STAPPLED TO A HARD PLASTIC FRAME WHICH HAS

>CRACKED DUE TO THE GRILL SHRINKING. AND AONLY THE AR BADGE ON

>THE BOTTOM AND NO 3 BADGE ON THE TOP LIKE IVE SEEN?

>NEED TO REPARIR OR REPLACE ?

It would be highly unusual for a nylon-based AR-3 grill material to shrink and then crack the plastic frame. Nylon is not known to do that. The frame is certainly brittle, but the cracked frame most likely came from the removal process. It takes such great patience to remove an AR-3 frame properly without doing damage. There is glue under the grill around the edges under the grill molding, and a putty knife or similar tool must be carefully placed under the molding (between the grill and molding) to break-loose this glue. This has to be done all the way around the grill. AR did not intend for the grill to ever be removed and replaced, because most repairs on AR speakers back in those days were done at the factory, and service people simply cut the grill away and replaced the grill with a new frame and material after repairs were made. Incidentally, the grill frame is narrower than the short dimension, but it is *longer* than the grill moldging itself in the long dimension. Therefore, once the grill has been loosened, it has to be pulled down slightly, then carefully bowed slightly, moved back up slightly and slipped out of the wood molding slot. It's a hard job.

> AFTER REMOVING THE WOOFER, THE PUTTY IS AS SUPPLE AS THE DAY

>IT WAS ASSEMBLED. NOTING THE DATE ON THE CROSSOVER WAX BOX OF

>OCT 1964, I ASSUME THATS WHEN THEY WERE BUILT, DISSASSEMBLING

>AND CLEANING THE POTS WHICH HAD SOME COPPER CORROSIN ON THEM,

>ALL DONE IN THE CABNETS ONLY HAVING TO RESOLDER THE WOOFERS.

> THEY SOUND GREAT BOTH WORKING EXCEPT THE MID POT ON ONE,

>ONLY LIVE IN ONE SPOT. QUESTION SHOULD I BYPASS OR TRY TO

>REPLACE THEM, IS THERE A BIG DIFFENCE IN SOUND WITH NO

>ADJUSTMENT?

You should not bypass the level controls, even though some people recommend doing that. The balance of the three drivers is different, and you need the level controls to get the sound in the right proportion. You could bypass the tweeter, but it's still best to use the original controls. They are easily rebuildable, unless the corrosion is "over the top," so-to-speak, then you have to find replacements. I haven't seen many that were so badly corroded that they couldn't be refurbished, but some speakers located near high humidity or salt air are good examples of this problem. I assume that you removed the control from the cabinet. You just about have to do that to properly clean the controls. A wiring diagram should be drawn for reference, and the orientation of the controls should be carefully noted, as there is a detent on the control that aligns with an indentation on the masonite crossover board. Make sure the rubber gasket on the inside of the shaft is still in place. A very small air leak is to be expected at the shaft itself, but this is actually desirable. No other air leaks should be tolerated.

> ALSO WORKING IN A SHOESTRING BUDGET. I ALSO HEARD ABOUT

>PRESERVING THE CLOTH RINGS ON THE WOOFERS, WHICH ARE SUPPLE

>AND SHOW NO SIGNS OF DETERIATION, DOES THE ARMORALL TRICK

>WORK? THANKS FOR ANY INFO.,

The ArmorAll thing simply helps restore the butyl-rubber and/or latex substance applied to the surround itself. It will not seal a badly-leaking cloth surround. Generally the surround has to be pretty air-tight to begin with, but two or three coats with a paint brush of ArmorAll around the surround make the material more supple. It won't last forever, but it works somewhat like it does on vinyl seats or dashboards on a car, as the stuff is absorbed by the rubber or plastic. A more supple surround material makes less noise, too.

Once the woofer has been re-installed, you can take your fingers and arrange them around the woofer dust cap and gently push-in the woofer cone about 1/2-inch or less, then release the cone quickly. If the cone returns slowly, as though it's moving through a viscous fluid, its okay; if it pops out pretty quickly you may have an unwanted air leak.

--Tom Tyson

[Guest Jotaeme]

Hello to you and to all here and congratulations on your AR buying.

In my 3a pair ($18 from a friend) at first both mid and hi pots were jumped but pianos and vocals sounded too prominent (a la JBL's). So original mid-pots were cleaned and hi-pots left direct. Later one of the mid-pots went dead and after some web browsing this 100 watts L-pad were found at Madisound's sale-page for under $6 ea.

Some rework of pot position was needed namely inserting the new mid-pot shaft in the HI-pot hole and discarding original hi-pot to make some space for the bigger new pot, also plugging a thick screw and nut in the mid-pot hole to seal air inside cabinet.

Now mids can now be attenuated but highs aren't. No loss because resulting music balance is very nice. With a borrowed Radio Shack SLM both mid-ranges can be leveled within 1 db of each other. Speaker "voice" is best by setting mids level 2-3 db lower than woofers.

Enjoy ! by the way, the idea of CAPS off seems good it's really a lot easier in the eyes.

Happy listening to all !

Jotaeme