TimmyTonga Posted November 24, 2016 Report Share Posted November 24, 2016 This follows on from a few previous threads regarding my AR-3a Improved restoration. I'm not sure whether anyone else has taken advantage of the voice-coil replacement service offered by Chris in NJ - he advertises on the auction site under the name 'chris1this1'. Here is a previous thread in which this is discussed; He charges $70 plus carriage for the service now, which for an Englishman, when you factor in the import duty as well, is a bit of a high-level investment. But I was interested to see what the result was, and the two matching tweeters I had were completely shot. So this is one of the pair I sent him; They weigh in at 3 ohms. What do they sound like? Well, you don't need a toilet roll to hear them - they have a LOT of output. To the point where actually, it's arguable whether they are a bit too much for the Improved, and might be better off in a 3a where you have more control. But I'm probably just used to the rather reticent tweeters in my 3as. (reticent in a very beautiful way, I hasten to add). I haven't been in a position to A/B them with other set-ups, and I haven't tried other tweets in these cabs - I've only just finished fixing them up. That will come later, and I'd be interested for someone to do something more analytical, to determine FR for example. But at this point, on an empirical level, I'm giving them a cautious thumbs-up. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted November 24, 2016 Report Share Posted November 24, 2016 I wonder if the rebuilt tweeters may be closer to later model or ABTech replacement specs than 3a. If so, adding the tweeter coil from the ADD models might help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmyTonga Posted November 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2016 31 minutes ago, genek said: I wonder if the rebuilt tweeters may be closer to later model or ABTech replacement specs than 3a. If so, adding the tweeter coil from the ADD models might help. Interestingly the tweeters in the Improved have a #16 coil already, which is 0.1mH, compared to the AR-11, which is, according to the paperwork in the library, 0.104mH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted November 24, 2016 Report Share Posted November 24, 2016 Best bet would be to find someone near you who can do FR measurements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted November 25, 2016 Report Share Posted November 25, 2016 They look great! Use series resistance to reduce output if necessary -- standard procedure for AR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike tarelli Posted November 26, 2016 Report Share Posted November 26, 2016 On 11/24/2016 at 9:17 PM, TimmyTonga said: This follows on from a few previous threads regarding my AR-3a Improved restoration. I'm not sure whether anyone else has taken advantage of the voice-coil replacement service offered by Chris in NJ - he advertises on the auction site under the name 'chris1this1'. Here is a previous thread in which this is discussed; He charges $70 plus carriage for the service now, which for an Englishman, when you factor in the import duty as well, is a bit of a high-level investment. But I was interested to see what the result was, and the two matching tweeters I had were completely shot. So this is one of the pair I sent him; They weigh in at 3 ohms. What do they sound like? Well, you don't need a toilet roll to hear them - they have a LOT of output. To the point where actually, it's arguable whether they are a bit too much for the Improved, and might be better off in a 3a where you have more control. But I'm probably just used to the rather reticent tweeters in my 3as. (reticent in a very beautiful way, I hasten to add). I haven't been in a position to A/B them with other set-ups, and I haven't tried other tweets in these cabs - I've only just finished fixing them up. That will come later, and I'd be interested for someone to do something more analytical, to determine FR for example. But at this point, on an empirical level, I'm giving them a cautious thumbs-up. Tim When I fried the tweeters on my 3a improveds in 1980, AR sent replacement AR 11 units with an in-line capacitor of 2.2 uf. Their repair agents at the time were AKG Acoustics. Sent them free too. Still in use today. The delivery note says, " 2 x AR3a TWEETERS 951 12000131 TWEETER 0.75" AR3/LST I assume the cap removes some upper mid frequency from a more sensitive unit ? I have a pair of AR11s as well and the improveds are not as bright. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike tarelli Posted November 26, 2016 Report Share Posted November 26, 2016 22 minutes ago, mike tarelli said: When I fried the tweeters on my 3a improveds in 1980, AR sent replacement AR 11 units with an in-line capacitor of 2.2 uf. Their repair agents at the time were AKG Acoustics. Sent them free too. Still in use today. The delivery note says, " 2 x AR3a TWEETERS 951 12000131 TWEETER 0.75" AR3/LST I assume the cap removes some upper mid frequency from a more sensitive unit ? I have a pair of AR11s as well and the improveds are not as bright. Mike Sorry that date should be 1990 not 1980. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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