BrianO Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Hi just checking in to see if anyone has answers to the question of repair or replacement of the 3 and 3a Midranges? I have a couple of blown or low volume mids that need repair I would also like suggestions on replacement as close as possible to originals. I know this is a topic that has come up, but just wanted to see if there is any New Ideas thanks Brian O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR surround Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 Have you tried Larry at Vintage-AR? This midrange is already sold, but he may be able to help you: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACOUSTIC-RESEARCH-AR-3A-AR-LST-NEW-OLD-STOCK-MIDRANGE-REAR-TERMINAL-/162269284501?hash=item25c800c895%3Ag%3ApNIAAOSwMVdYHMge&nma=true&si=97ry4XokIaMIFxBCkwMLVz4sasg%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted January 13, 2017 Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 RoyC might be able to help with the mids. He refurbished mine. They can be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianO Posted January 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 2 hours ago, AR surround said: Have you tried Larry at Vintage-AR? This midrange is already sold, but he may be able to help you: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACOUSTIC-RESEARCH-AR-3A-AR-LST-NEW-OLD-STOCK-MIDRANGE-REAR-TERMINAL-/162269284501?hash=item25c800c895%3Ag%3ApNIAAOSwMVdYHMge&nma=true&si=97ry4XokIaMIFxBCkwMLVz4sasg%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557 surround yes I know Larry and have purchased from him just wondering if anyone had come up with any new ideas for implementing new drivers into the 3 or 3a I will send one to Larry to see if he can get it going Thanks for the resopnse Brian O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianO Posted January 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2017 2 hours ago, DavidDru said: RoyC might be able to help with the mids. He refurbished mine. They can be an issue. RoyC ?? interested in taking a refurbishing job on? (for my Mids) thanks Brian O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 Brian, Which type? With the exception of the very last AR-3's manufactured, the 3 and 3a mids are very different. Generally speaking, many AR-3 mids have output issues, but I've had some success repairing them for Vintage AR/Larry, as well as some forum members. On the other hand, 3a mids are very reliable, but are not usually repairable when they malfunction. There are no aftermarket drop-in replacements for either AR mid. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lARrybody Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 My plan is to keep a few replacements around for my 3a's and fives. Have a couple of each. They will be getting rarer as time goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 1 hour ago, RoyC said: There are no aftermarket drop-in replacements for either AR mid. but.... There are other AR mids that can replace the 3a. I know this because Roy was kind enough to sell me a pair of 10pi mids for my 3a project. Actually, truth be told, it started as an AR-3 project but I had 2 dead tweets and 1 dead mid so decided to make some quasi-3a's with Hi-Vi tweeters and 10pi mids. Probably ruined any resale value but these are keepers! So Roy, which mids are appropriate to use in the AR-3a? -Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 Any chance these mids might possibly work: p/n XXX028 (from AR-9 and 90); p/n XXX032 (from AR-91 and 92), or p/n XXX044 (from AR-58s)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 2 hours ago, ra.ra said: Any chance these mids might possibly work: p/n XXX028 (from AR-9 and 90); p/n XXX032 (from AR-91 and 92), or p/n XXX044 (from AR-58s)? I believe Tom Tyson has mentioned that the 200028 driver isn't interchangeable with the one used in the AR-91, 92, or 58S, due to an inability to handle the lower cutoff frequency of these 3-way systems. The AR-3a should present the same sort of problem, I'd guess. Using an AR-91 style crossover, I've been very pleased with the sound of the 200032 midrange in an AR-3a enclosure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted January 14, 2017 Report Share Posted January 14, 2017 3 hours ago, JKent said: but.... There are other AR mids that can replace the 3a. I know this because Roy was kind enough to sell me a pair of 10pi mids for my 3a project. Actually, truth be told, it started as an AR-3 project but I had 2 dead tweets and 1 dead mid so decided to make some quasi-3a's with Hi-Vi tweeters and 10pi mids. Probably ruined any resale value but these are keepers! So Roy, which mids are appropriate to use in the AR-3a? -Kent AR-10pi and AR-11 mids, regardless of color (like the later pink and black version), are functionally identical to the last back-wired mids used in the 3a. They are easily interchangeable. There have been other discussions here regarding the use of ferro-fluid in later mids as it applies to the suitability of the AR-9xx series/AR-58 mids. I've tried them all in the 3a, and I have dissected a few. The only easily observable differences are varying amounts of fiberglass damping material under the dome (the only one with no material under the dome is the AR-58 mid). Fortunately, they all drop into the 3a cabinet hole, and with the exception of the AR-5/LST2 version, they all have a dcr of 3 to 4 ohms (the earliest 3a mids were just under 3 ohms)...and they all have the same magnet size. Any of them are certainly much better than any non-AR mid. To be clear, mids after the AR-11/10pi era are not a perfect match to the AR-3a mid, but they can keep a 3a alive, and work reasonably well under typical conditions of use. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 15, 2017 Report Share Posted January 15, 2017 After reading these latest comments here, I was reminded of the last time this discussion came up. As outlined in this excerpt from Tim Holl's paper on the AR-9 series, ar_pro is correct to note that the 028 and 032 mid drivers did have one original difference that was engineered specifically for their intended speaker models, and this difference was the amount of ferro-fluid used in the gap which affected the lower frequency output. The 028 mid (AR-9 and 90, four-ways) with a fully filled gap, extends down to 1200 Hz; while the 032 mid (AR-91 and 92, three-ways) with a partially filled gap, extends further down to 700 Hz. But, as we concluded in the prior thread and RoyC seems to be stating here again, any of these drivers could be suitable replacements for these restoration projects, and we need to be reminded that many of these aged drivers are most likely not performing precisely as they did when they left the factory decades ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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