ADC 303 Brentwood - I'm going in!

Fast_Eddie

Upper-middle fi
Hi Gang,

I have a pair of ADC 303 "Brentwood" speakers that Cubdog was good enough to leave behind when he left Denver. Ross refinished the cabs and they really are cool looking. Trouble is, they really need to be recapped. But there's just no getting into them. I mean, just no way.

I tried to sell them today on craigslist, but being the upstanding seller I am, I mentioned the cap issue and my lack of ability to get into them. I write ad copy all day. This is not good ad copy. The result, even with a very low price, there is no interest in them.

When we discussed it here at my place with a few of the guys over, the concensus was that a hole would have to be cut in the back of the cabinets and then patched once repairs were made. But as I was working on some things today I had another idea.

They have crossover pannels on the rear that are likely glued to the back of the cabinet. I'm thinking about trying to pry them away from the back, thus dropping the crossover into the cabinet. If I'm lucky, they could be then twisted in such a way that I could retrieve them. If not, I could enlarge the hole just enough to get them out. Then I could repair the crossovers and attach them to a new crossover board and glue that to the rear of the cabinet.

Anyone have any idea why that wouldn't work? Anyone ever been in a pair of these things? They play ok, so I think they must have cloth surrounds on the woofers, so hopefully no need to get the drivers out.

I'm going to think on this, but I think that might be a way to go. Just thought I'd run it by you guys.

Take care,

Ed
 
You have to remove the woofer in ADC 303's to reach the crossovers. I used to have 303AX's, a friend still has them. Great sleeper 10" 2-ways. Mine had cloth surrounds, the woofs were CTS Alnicos.

Todd in Cheesecurdistan
 
I've never been in mine, But I'm sure interested in seeing how you make out.
Sounds like it would work if you can get your hand in through the hole in the back. I don't seem to remember that panel being very big.

Steve
 
You have to remove the woofer in ADC 303's to reach the crossovers. I used to have 303AX's, a friend still has them. Great sleeper 10" 2-ways. Mine had cloth surrounds, the woofs were CTS Alnicos.

Todd in Cheesecurdistan

I have a pair of 303AX's in my office. Yes, no problem there. But the older 303 Brentwood is not the same. The grille is fixed in such a way that it can't be removed without destroying it. To make up for that, ADC made the grille on the AX in such a manner that it can't be held in place at all.
 
Sad but true,same problem with mine.
Really cheesy set on grille attachment,and way too many pieces that just fall off
 
I would guess that it would be easier to destroy the grill and replace it, than it would be to knock the crossover in and then try to fix the inevitable damage, and then to get it back so it is air tight and doesn't rattle. And if memory serves, so of the ADC have some capacitors mounted on the basket, not on the crossover plate. If you carefully cut around the perimeter of the grill cloth, you can remove it, and then figure out how to get the frame off of the baffle.
 
here is what i did .... i knocked out the crossover panel ( then replaced the old caps ) then glued the old crossover block inside the cab and ran 2 new leads to the new binding post/cups , then i cut out 2 square blocks of scrap 3/4 inch partical board @4" x 4 or so & glued them in place (old hole), then cut out the new holes with a jig saw for the round cups .( guess you could use square cups) and replaced it with some new 4" cups/ binding posts , (parts express). hit the new partical board with a touch of stain and there done !

this way you get new binding posts and a recap.
 
here is what i did .... i knocked out the crossover panel ( then replaced the old caps ) then glued the old crossover block inside the cab and ran 2 new leads to the new binding post/cups , then i cut out 2 square blocks of scrap 3/4 inch partical board @4" x 4 or so & glued them in place (old hole), then cut out the new holes with a jig saw for the round cups .( guess you could use square cups) and replaced it with some new 4" cups/ binding posts , (parts express). hit the new partical board with a touch of stain and there done !

this way you get new binding posts and a recap.

How did they sound?
 
they sound Great! i was shocked at just how good these 2-ways sounded after the recap and adding new binding post . i have them hooked up in my daughter room and they are still one of my fav's
 
I have a pair of 303AX's in my office. Yes, no problem there. But the older 303 Brentwood is not the same. The grille is fixed in such a way that it can't be removed without destroying it. To make up for that, ADC made the grille on the AX in such a manner that it can't be held in place at all.

Is the grille so unusual that it couldn't be replaced? My recollection of these is that they're similar to old AR speakers, just frames with cloth stretched over them? I would think that removing them and constructing replacements that can be easily removed if needed would be preferable to any approach that puts holes in the backs of the boxes or just ends up with crossover panels that have to be knocked out again the next time the speaker needs to have something done inside it.
 
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