Guest red55 Posted March 11, 2004 Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 I have four beautiful AR-LST's whose woofers are all have deteriorated surrounds. I think all the other drivers are in good shape. Is it worth it for me to put some money in them to get new surrounds on the woofers? Years ago someone told me I could get this done for about $70 a woofer. Will this work and make them good as new? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundminded Posted March 11, 2004 Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 These outstanding loudspeaker systems are definitely worth restoring. Whether it's just new surrounds for the woofers or additional repairs required, these speakers can give a great deal of pleasure to audiophiles looking for high accuracy sound reproduction for many years to come. If you do not want to invest the time, money, and effort yourself, there are many people including contributors on this board who would pay handsomely for the opportunity to acquire them. e-bay is another place they can be sold at a good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dogmeninreno Posted March 11, 2004 Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 >I have four beautiful AR-LST's whose woofers are all have>deteriorated surrounds. I think all the other drivers are in>good shape. Is it worth it for me to put some money in them>to get new surrounds on the woofers? Years ago someone told>me I could get this done for about $70 a woofer. Will this>work and make them good as new?>Depending what part of the country you live in you should be able to get your 12" woofers refoamed for $30-$40.00 each plus freight. You can "do it yourself" with refoam kits for about $18-$20.00 on eBay and Simply Speakers has them too.Simply Speakershttp://www.simplyspeakers.com/is in Flordia,Neals Speaker Service (whom I use)http://www.nealspeakerrepair.com/is in Sacramento Ca,I have heard several people on this forum mention Miller Sound as a good shop but I have never used them. I think AR pro on this forum offered refoaming at one time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dogmeninreno Posted March 11, 2004 Report Share Posted March 11, 2004 I found Bill Millers shop:Millersound1422 Taylor RDLandsdale PA 19446215-412-7700Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest red55 Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 Thanks guys. I've heard mixed things about the do-it-yourself surround replacement kits. Has anybody found it to be decent, or should I shell out the money to get it done right...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_laski Posted March 12, 2004 Report Share Posted March 12, 2004 I have re-foamed 20+ AR 8”, 10”, and 12” AR drivers in the past year using kits from Parts Express. The main key to success in DIY re-foaming is PATIENCE and a steady hand. If you don’t have both, pay to have a reputable shop do the work for you. If you’ve ever assembled a plastic model car or airplane, you can re-foam a speaker. Patience – You have to work slowly and carefully to remove as much of the old surround and glue material as possible without damaging the edge of the cone or the gasket on the basket frame. You will be working with a sharp knife and/or chisel so you have to be careful not to damage the cone or the gasket. Do not remove the gasket that the surround is glued to from the basket frame.I looked at the Simply Speaker instructions. They make it sound like a one to two hour job. It takes me at least that long to remove the old surround material and glue. I also allow the glue to cure overnight after gluing the surround to the cone before gluing the surround to the basket frame. Of course another day for that glue to cure.A steady hand – As I already said, while removing the old surround material you will be using a sharp knife and/or a sharp chisel to remove the old surround material and glue. One slip and you could put a nice gash in the cone. Which would require cone repair or re-coning. Fortunately, this has not happened to me yet (knock on wood).As important, you need a steady hand to cut the dust cap for shimming the voice coil. (If you believe Simply Speakers and think you can re-foam without shimming disregard this). On the AR woofer you will be passing the knife over the lead wire from the voice coil that run along the inner surface of the cone and under the dust cap. You do not want to cut these wire.It also takes a steady hand and patience to line up the cut edges of the dust cap if you reinstall the original. Unless it has been crushed you can reinstall the original dust cap on an AR 12” woofer.If you decide to have someone else re-foam your AR woofers a word of caution. DO NOT let them take a generic 12” surround, cut it and seam it together. The AR 12” woofer has a “non-standard” cone and basket frame diameter that requires a surround specifically made for it. I had to re-re-foam my brother’s LST woofers right after he bought them because of this. If you tell us what part of the country you are in, one of us can probably recommend a reputable shop in your area so you don’t have to incur shipping expenses to have your woofers "professionally" re-foamed.Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest red55 Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 yeah, from your description, I don't think I trust myself to perform such speaker surgery. I'll get it done professionally. I live in Boston, does anyone know of a reputable place where I can send the woofers?Also, any tips on getting the woofers out of the cabinet? I figure I need a soldering iron to detach the wires...is there anything I should look out for?Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_laski Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 >>Also, any tips on getting the woofers out of the cabinet? I figure I need a soldering iron to detach the wires...is there anything I should look out for?<<You can either remove the wires with a soldering iron or cut the wires as close as possible to where they are soldered to the terminals on the woofer. The soldering iron is the best way to go.I often see speakers with the soldered wires cut. The owner or a repair shop will crimp / solder female quick connects to the ends of the wires making installation and removal easier in the future. Your AR woofers should have terminals perpendicular to the ones that have the wires soldered to it. These can be used with quick connects if you cut the soldered wires and don't remove the wire and solder remnants. The correct size female quick connect is .187 inches (.250 inch quick connects are too big). These are not hard to find.The most important thing (to look out for) is to make sure you note which terminal has the red wire and which terminal has the black wire. There should be a part number sticker on the frame just above the terminals. On this sticker is a red dot. That red dot should be right above the terminal with the red wire. If the sticker is missing, mark one of the terminals (black or red) to signify which wire goes to that terminal. It is essential that you connect the wires correctly or you will reverse the phase (polarity) of the woofers and your LSTs will not sound right.>>I live in Boston, does anyone know of a reputable place where I can send the woofers?<<I remember someone else in the Boston area asking the same question. I searched “Boston” and found a thread started by iceman in Dec 2003. LOVEAR replied:>>New England Speaker refoamed all 6 of my AR9 Woofers and lower mids.They are in Stoneham. He did a good job for about $35 per. On his business card it say's "Master Reconer" so he must be good, right?<<Hope this helps.BTW, have you ever run your LSTs in a stacked pair configuration – on pair per side? If so, how did they “sound?”Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest red55 Posted March 13, 2004 Report Share Posted March 13, 2004 Thanks rich. when I had them running a few years ago I did use them in a stacked pair. I ran them off of a Amp with Room 1/Room 2 setup. The top pair was room 1 and got most of the power, and the bottom pair was room 2 and were a little softer. Not only did it sound great, but it looked damn impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r_laski Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Any chance you can post a picture of your AR-LSTs in a stacked configuration??I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I would really like to see it. Might even be able to get Mark to add it to the AR-LST section of the Classic Speaker Pages.Let us know if you have a sucessful re-foam and how those LSTs sound now.Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest red55 Posted July 18, 2004 Report Share Posted July 18, 2004 well I got my woofers re-foamed at Audio Studio in Brookline MA for $50 a woofer, and they sound great. I have them in the old stacked configuration and I couldn't be happier. If I get my hands on a digital camera, I'll post a picture. Thanks to everyone who offered advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynaco_dan Posted August 3, 2004 Report Share Posted August 3, 2004 >well I got my woofers re-foamed at Audio Studio in Brookline>MA for $50 a woofer, and they sound great. I have them in the>old stacked configuration and I couldn't be happier. If I get>my hands on a digital camera, I'll post a picture. Thanks to>everyone who offered advice. Hi thereI also faced the refoam situation about 10 years ago. At the time DIY kits were not as readily available locally here. I obtained a kit and spent 1 1/2 hours doing the first woofer and 10 minutes doing the second. I had never seen a kit previously and tried to be very cautious. Time to dry was additional of course. Care and patience, not brawn and brute force are most of what is needed. I would imagine many viewers smiled at the thought of 2 pairs of LST's. MMMMMMMMMMM me too. A picture would be nice to be sure. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninohernes Posted August 4, 2004 Report Share Posted August 4, 2004 Call Bill Miller at Millersound. He specializes in AR woofers, and his prices are very good too! He does the best work that I have ever seen.Millersound1422 Taylor RoadLansdale PA 19446Phone (215) 412-7700 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest richardkodak Posted August 25, 2004 Report Share Posted August 25, 2004 Thanks guys for the info on Millersound. I just gave him a call and arranged to have new surrounds installed in my 32 year old LSTs. He seems like a great guy and at $35 each, should be a bargain. I will let you know how it works out. I have listened to these speakers every day over the last 32 years and they are like a part of the family.Again, Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest red55 Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 I got my hands on a digital camera, so I took a few pictures of my speakers in stacked configuration. Some may groan at the speaker placement, but I've got a small living room, and a girlfriend who doesn't seem to understand the whole apartment needs to be dedicated to a perfect stereo image...I hope the attachments workhttp://www.arsenal.net/dc/user_files/289.jpghttp://www.arsenal.net/dc/user_files/290.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynaco_dan Posted January 4, 2005 Report Share Posted January 4, 2005 Hello thereNice photos.I have a few suggestions for you.Raise the units about 1 1/2 feet off of the floor, so that the lower units tweeters are at about ear level.This should lower the bass level and improve the highs as well.Invert the upper units so that the tweeters are now closer together.Sit down with your girlfriend and have a heart to heart with her seriously about the woofers and tweeters.A man has his needs, you should say.Buy pizza and invite us all over for a listening session. lolOne picture is worth a thousand words.Thank you very much for starting my morning with such a pick me up.Have a great day.>I got my hands on a digital camera, so I took a few pictures>of my speakers in stacked configuration. Some may groan at>the speaker placement, but I've got a small living room, and a>girlfriend who doesn't seem to understand the whole apartment>needs to be dedicated to a perfect stereo image...>>I hope the attachments work>>http://www.arsenal.net/dc/user_files/289.jpg>>>http://www.arsenal.net/dc/user_files/290.jpg> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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