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AR3a Tweeter repair or replace?

lo-d dad

lo-d dad

Active Member
First of all thank you for all replies about 12.5 inches woofers. I just picked them up at the store yesterday and found out that these were 12 inches woofers. So, I am not sure what they were talking about. I came home and checked if all drivers were working. Unfortunately the one of tweeter had no sound. So, I took off those black tapes covering very thin wires connecting to the tweeter. The one of wires was disconnected. The other was gone from the bottom of the tweeter. I wonder if this is repairable for reasonable fee. If not, I need to replace it. In that case would you recommend an old tweeter from auction sites or new one from dealers? Any feedback will be appreciated.

lo-d dad
 
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I recently restored a pair of 3a speakers, with the help of a fellow AKer. One of my tweeters did not work as well. However, mine were the "back wired" models. I bought a original from eBay and have been very happy with it. I paid $56, I think. I am an "original" guy. So, no replacements for me. Good luck.
 
Oddlu enough "Big Tuna" here had a set of very rare Kenwood tweeters with a like problem. He found a jeweler that put them under his glass and repaired them!
Who knows you might find somebody like him. At any rate try to jeep tyhem original as possible- they are a fine classic speaker.
DC
 
If the wire that you describe as "gone" has been pulled completely out and there's nothing left of it coming from under the dome, then your tweeter is shot. If there is even a short bit of the fine wire still there, you might be able to splice a bit of magnet wire onto it.
 
gkimeng said:
If the wire that you describe as "gone" has been pulled completely out and there's nothing left of it coming from under the dome, then your tweeter is shot. If there is even a short bit of the fine wire still there, you might be able to splice a bit of magnet wire onto it.
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Thank you for your feedback. As you can see it on the attached picture, it's completely gone. So, I guess I have to replace it.
 

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lo-d dad said:
Thank you for your feedback. As you can see it on the attached picture, it's completely gone. So, I guess I have to replace it.
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ABtech services sells a drop in replacement for the AR3a tweeter. Those in the know recommend attaching a 0.07 mH inductor in parallel across the tweeter terminals. Put a wooden block between the tweeter magnet and the inductor and glue everything together.
 
spkrdtr said:
ABtech services sells a drop in replacement for the AR3a tweeter. Those in the know recommend attaching a 0.07 mH inductor in parallel across the tweeter terminals. Put a wooden block between the tweeter magnet and the inductor and glue everything together.
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You can also get front-wired replacements from Larry at Vintage-AR-Parts-And-Service on that auction site.
 
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spkrdtr said:
ABtech services sells a drop in replacement for the AR3a tweeter. Those in the know recommend attaching a 0.07 mH inductor in parallel across the tweeter terminals. Put a wooden block between the tweeter magnet and the inductor and glue everything together.
Click to expand...
And change out both speakers in your pair. You'll have an easier time getting used to the slight difference in sound caused by different dispersion patterns than you will in a pair that still has one speaker with its original tweeter.
 
tmad40blue said:
You can also get front-wired replacements from Chris at Vintage-AR-Parts-And-Service on that auction site.
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I believe V-AR gets their drivers from ABT and sells them for a little markup - which I can't fault them for doing.

Check out the visual appearance and pricing at both sites.
 
spkrdtr said:
I believe V-AR gets their drivers from ABT and sells them for a little markup - which I can't fault them for doing.
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Larry's current "AR-3a, AR-LST Tweeter Replacement" offering is the HiVi unit. His listings originally cited the testing that was done on CSP, but I don't think we had enough "internet presence" to be a selling point. :)
 
gkimeng said:
And change out both speakers in your pair. You'll have an easier time getting used to the slight difference in sound caused by different dispersion patterns than you will in a pair that still has one speaker with its original tweeter.
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I didn't think about that. I will replace the one first to see if I noticed the slight difference. If so, I would change the other too. Thanks!
 
gkimeng said:
Larry's current "AR-3a, AR-LST Tweeter Replacement" offering is the HiVi unit. His listings originally cited the testing that was done on CSP, but I don't think we had enough "internet presence" to be a selling point. :)
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Larry may have given up on the ABT unit. I know they were out of them for quite some time.
 
spkrdtr said:
Larry may have given up on the ABT unit. I know they were out of them for quite some time.
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Larry is selling the ABT tweeter as an AR-9 replacement tweeter, and the HiVi tweeter for the 3a, 2ax, and 5.

I personally do not like the ABT tweeter as a 3a replacement (too harsh), even with the parallel inductor. The HiVi Q1R sounds more appropriate to my ear (using the same inductor), at a bargain price. Parts Express is now recommending the Q1R for this purpose as well.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=297-417.

Roy
 
I second Roy's recommendation. I used the Q1R / inductor replacements in my 3a's with excellent results. Enjoying them right now and will be for many years to come. The Q1R also works very well in the AR2ax and AR5 with a slightly different inductor value.
 
RoyC said:
Larry is selling the ABT tweeter as an AR-9 replacement tweeter, and the HiVi tweeter for the 3a, 2ax, and 5.

I personally do not like the ABT tweeter as a 3a replacement (too harsh), even with the parallel inductor. The HiVi Q1R sounds more appropriate to my ear (using the same inductor), at a bargain price. Parts Express is now recommending the Q1R for this purpose as well.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=297-417.

Roy
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Thanks for your feedback. It looks like a good deal.


lo-d dad
 
PM sent to lo-d dad. I think I may have one of the AR3A tweeters, sitting in a box!

Regards,
Gordon.
 
BTW the serial numbers for the AR 3a that I bought are 3A 05271 and 05272. Is there a way to be able to find out roughly what year these were originally sold? Just curious.
 
lo-d dad said:
BTW the serial numbers for the AR 3a that I bought are 3A 05271 and 05272. Is there a way to be able to find out roughly what year these were originally sold? Just curious.
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They were likely manufactured in late 1967, the year the 3a was introduced. By very late 1969/very early 1970 (around serial number 3x,xxx) the alnico magnet, cloth surround woofer was replaced with the ceramic magnet, foam surround version, along with a different woofer inductor in the crossover.

Roy
 
RoyC said:
They were likely manufactured in late 1967, the year the 3a was introduced. By very late 1969/very early 1970 (around serial number 3x,xxx) the alnico magnet, cloth surround woofer was replaced with the ceramic magnet, foam surround version, along with a different woofer inductor in the crossover.

Roy
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Roy, Thank you for the info. The one woofer has cloth surround (I assume that's original), but the other one was replaced with newer woofer in some point. If that bothers me in terms of sound and apperance, I would try to find an older woofer. The overall condition is not that great, but it still sounds great.
 
lo-d dad said:
BTW the serial numbers for the AR 3a that I bought are 3A 05271 and 05272. Is there a way to be able to find out roughly what year these were originally sold? Just curious.
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The AR-3A are tops on my list of "Why did I get rid of those?"
There is a great article on the Classic Speaker Pages web site regarding the AR-3A. It has info on restoration, and also a time line with pics for the different drivers. There was quite a few changes in the models over the years. Some big, some small. IMHO, they all made some difference. I prefer to restore to original myself.
Here is the link: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/...ginal_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/
Good luck with your renovation.
G
 
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