Michael T.
Active Member
3 days still left in auction and top bid has now hit a whopping $38 - - - still time to get back in the game!
$50.98
You called it
.
AR-2ax repair
- Thread starter Michael T.
- Start date
$50.98
You called it
.
That's still dirt cheap!$50.98
You called it
Michael T.
Active Member
Not sure if anyone is going to be looking back here after my rants earlier but I thought I'd let you all know that I did get the speakers. I'll be picking them up Friday and assessing them over the weekend.
We'll be keeping tabs. Take pics at the GW store when you pick them up, do a full documentation to the end!
mars_volta
Super Member
Cool!
Michael T.
Active Member
I will definitely post my progress and be asking questions as I go.
I ended up paying more than I originally planned because I plan to keep them around ($81). I have heard nothing but great things about them. I was talking with a guy from work and it turns out that he used to work for Teledyne Acustic Research back in the day. He raved about their products. Plus there will be that feeling of satisfaction and pride when i get them done.
The will definitely be in a loving home where they will be appreciated.
I ended up paying more than I originally planned because I plan to keep them around ($81). I have heard nothing but great things about them. I was talking with a guy from work and it turns out that he used to work for Teledyne Acustic Research back in the day. He raved about their products. Plus there will be that feeling of satisfaction and pride when i get them done.
The will definitely be in a loving home where they will be appreciated.
Michael T.
Active Member
Been doing some research and given the serial numbers on these they are definitely pre-1970, probably 1965ish, so you're right that the woofers should have the cloth surrounds. I'm now curious as to what happened.
One of those mysteries you'll probably never solve. For now, I'd get them singing, and watch for original woofers to put back in.
tyella
Super Member
Man, you aren't just buying speakers. You're buying a project, an activity, a hobby, a wholesome diversion. And in the end you'll have more than just speakers. You'll have YOUR speakers.
mars_volta
Super Member
The date should be stamped up inside the cabinet. I thought..
Those grills arent that easy to get off. Do you really think someone replaced the woofers?
Those grills arent that easy to get off. Do you really think someone replaced the woofers?
Michael T.
Active Member
I have not picked them up yet. I'm going by the serial numbers to estimate the date. They are 08375 and 08391. They began making the first gen 2ax in 1964 so my guess that they were probably made late 64 to early 65. They used cloth surrounds through 69 and started using foam surounds as well as a smaller 3/4" dome tweeter in 1970. This being said, they should have cloth surrounds but they don't appear to from the picks
Either way it's not a big thing, just a curiosity that ar.ar pointed out. I probably will not worry about "original" cloth surround woofers. I just hope that the ones in there are legit AR.
have been watching this thread from the start and glad it went this way. have seen plenty of threads over the years where it seems like the respondents are more involved/committed than the OP, an interesting situation to observe but generally fizzles out with no "happy ending".
this set will be interesting to follow as some of the oddities have been noted but still appear to be AR just not necessarily OEM. personally i like the cloth surrounds over the foam versions, and they are out there if OP wants to go back to OEM. dates will likely be attainable once woofers are extracted and backs of drivers are able to be photographed.
as already touched on the necessary things to address are drivers condition and refoam as needed (a lot of variables here so please ask for guidance before buying supplies) then the crossover refreshing as needed/if needed, pots, grilles and cabinets.
looking forward to updates and congrats.
Michael T.
Active Member
I appreciate all of you guys who have been watching and are ready to jump in with advice and help. I have been doing a lot of research since I decided to take the plunge and I am truly fascinated by AR's history as well as the huge following that their speakers have. I feel humbled by the opportunity to restore these and plan to make sure everything I do is well researched and planned out.
You might get differing opinions for doing the crossover and controls. But what seems the easiest for me is to go ahead and remove the board completely from the cabinet. I mark the inside of box with he corners of the board for placement later. This way the pots and cap work is right in front of you. I installed foam padding after tossing the old fiberglass also.
Barney
Barney
Your foam woofers have been installed using a Masonite adapter ring which is meant to fit the smaller diameter basket frame into the larger cabinet cut-out fabricated for the larger diameter original cloth woofer. If you look back at the pic posted in post #17, you can see that the woofers have two sets of screws for attachment. The outer diameter has six holes for attaching the adapter ring to the T-nuts in the cabinet. The inner diameter has four holes for attaching the foam woofer basket to the adapter ring, possibly with hex nuts used on the backside.
The pic shown here shows the correct ring, but I think it is intended to go under, rather than on top of, the metal basket rim of the woofer. To become fully "authentic", original cloth woofers would probably be the way to go for your 2ax's, but this would probably cost you more than your original investment. The newer foam woofers have been designed to virtually the same parameters and should serve your needs just fine. This newer woofer was first produced with an alnico slug magnet, but later was replaced with a square ferrite magnet. Either version is fully acceptable, but when you go to re-foam, you may want to look for the Boston "filled fillet" type of foams - - this foam has a more gradual shape than half-round roll profiles and is preferred by many users.
Edit: for some reason, am not able to upload a simple jpg file - - - will try again later.
The pic shown here shows the correct ring, but I think it is intended to go under, rather than on top of, the metal basket rim of the woofer. To become fully "authentic", original cloth woofers would probably be the way to go for your 2ax's, but this would probably cost you more than your original investment. The newer foam woofers have been designed to virtually the same parameters and should serve your needs just fine. This newer woofer was first produced with an alnico slug magnet, but later was replaced with a square ferrite magnet. Either version is fully acceptable, but when you go to re-foam, you may want to look for the Boston "filled fillet" type of foams - - this foam has a more gradual shape than half-round roll profiles and is preferred by many users.
Edit: for some reason, am not able to upload a simple jpg file - - - will try again later.
Grav
New Member
I posted this on another thread. Try K2r on the grills; two applications but don't use the plastic brush that comes with the can, use a softer one, then vacuum gently. K2r is an old product that claims to be dry cleaning in a can. It did a wonderful job on my most recent AR3a grills. Do it in a well ventilated area.
JKent
Active Member
Yeah--"flip" has a certain negative connotation. I buy old stuff, restore it and then re-sell it. It's a hobby and I can't keep everything! My favorite project is the KLH Model Eight tube radio. I typically buy one, put a lot of parts and labor into it, then pay a pro to do a final test and FM alignment. By the time I'm through I "may" break even. Sometimes I lose a few bucks, sometimes I make a few. A member of another forum once referred to this as "flipping" and I was hurt and insulted.
My point is; you'll probably never make any money flipping these, especially if you factor into it your labor. But it's a fun hobby and those are very worthy speakers. Enjoy the journey.
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Michael T.
Active Member
I got my speakers, yay! The guy at goodwill who helped me bring them out to my car had a funny look on his face when I put them in my back seat, covered them with blankets and buckled each one into a seat belt
The first thing i did when i got them home was to take pics of the exterior. I then hooked them up to my receiver. I then removed the woofer and pulled out that 50 year old insulation. After choking a bit I took my vacuum and tried to get the fibers still hanging around. I then took pics of the interior.
That's it for today....wait..what? oh you want pics and information? Well, I still need to go through the pics and pick out the best and reduce their file size. But I will give you the good, bad and the ugly (actually I am the ugly).
The cabinets are not horrible and should clean up pretty good. the chip in the corner is not as big as it looks in the pic from goodwill. Overall I am pleased with the cases.
I'm going to replace the grill cloth. there is a small hole up near the tweeter on one of them. I am not sure how thin this stuff is new, but it is pretty thin now.
When I wired them for sound the woofers worked on both of them but neither the mids nor tweets worked on either one. Of course the woofers sounded a bit blah because the surrounds are pretty bad.
I took the woofers out and found that they are mounted to the adapter ring with some kind of rivets that are typically used to attach stuff to Masonite board. On one of the woofers 2 of the rivets were barely holding on to the frame and one let go as I was working the speaker out. This should be easy enough to remedy, I am thinking that this isn't the best method for attaching them (i could be wrong). It seem that one would want the woofer mounted a bit more hard and fast. The sealing goop is pretty gross BTW.
All the wiring looks good on the inside so I went a head and gave the tweeters a signal at the terminal posts and they both work (yay). I then put a signal on the mids at the pot and they both work (yay). I am pretty sure that the pots are pretty bad since they are quite difficult to turn. I will change them and the caps.
I have already exceeded my allotted time for this project for the day (I tend to obsess and my wife will lose me for hours on end). I will get those pics up soon. I will start working on the cabinets this weekend. I will be after Christmas before I order any parts.
Thanks for your attention.
The first thing i did when i got them home was to take pics of the exterior. I then hooked them up to my receiver. I then removed the woofer and pulled out that 50 year old insulation. After choking a bit I took my vacuum and tried to get the fibers still hanging around. I then took pics of the interior.
That's it for today....wait..what? oh you want pics and information? Well, I still need to go through the pics and pick out the best and reduce their file size. But I will give you the good, bad and the ugly (actually I am the ugly).
The cabinets are not horrible and should clean up pretty good. the chip in the corner is not as big as it looks in the pic from goodwill. Overall I am pleased with the cases.
I'm going to replace the grill cloth. there is a small hole up near the tweeter on one of them. I am not sure how thin this stuff is new, but it is pretty thin now.
When I wired them for sound the woofers worked on both of them but neither the mids nor tweets worked on either one. Of course the woofers sounded a bit blah because the surrounds are pretty bad.
I took the woofers out and found that they are mounted to the adapter ring with some kind of rivets that are typically used to attach stuff to Masonite board. On one of the woofers 2 of the rivets were barely holding on to the frame and one let go as I was working the speaker out. This should be easy enough to remedy, I am thinking that this isn't the best method for attaching them (i could be wrong). It seem that one would want the woofer mounted a bit more hard and fast. The sealing goop is pretty gross BTW.
All the wiring looks good on the inside so I went a head and gave the tweeters a signal at the terminal posts and they both work (yay). I then put a signal on the mids at the pot and they both work (yay). I am pretty sure that the pots are pretty bad since they are quite difficult to turn. I will change them and the caps.
I have already exceeded my allotted time for this project for the day (I tend to obsess and my wife will lose me for hours on end). I will get those pics up soon. I will start working on the cabinets this weekend. I will be after Christmas before I order any parts.
Thanks for your attention.
