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Acoustic Research 318ps speaker find and update

Boonaroo

Boonaroo

Super Member
Went on a thrift store run yesterday. Wasn't looking for audio but couldn't pass up 2 things that I found at a local hole in the wall. The best was a Sony CDP-620ESII I got for $10. A bit of WD40 on the door transport pole and it is perfect. The other was a near perfect pair of AR 318ps speakers.

When I first looked at them I almost passed. They didn't look particularly special and the domes were pushed in. The grills and cabinets were in great condition so I went to the counter with one. $10 for the pair!!! Bingo. Loaded them and home I went with them and a recliner I was actually there to get.

After taking the faceplate off the mid/tweeter of one and unscrewing the tweeter, the entire magnet fell off leaving the cone and voice coil attached to the faceplate. The other speaker was intact.

Parts Express is amazing. They had a soft dome Peerless that is so close to looking like a drop in replacement, I may not need to do any mod work.

For the little effort and a few parts, I should have a decent pair of speakers for the room I am renting to a friend. It will have a vintage Nikko receiver, turntable, CD player and Paradigm sub. This should round out the system well.

I will update when I get the tweeters later this week. P1090704.JPG P1090702.JPG
 

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Received the tweeters from Parts Express this morning. Was a bit surprised at how small they were. I expected a bit larger housing but I am pleased regardless.

I was not able to use the supplied drill holes to mount the tweeters. You may find my quick fix a bit laughable but I am from the south!!! Duct tape fixes everything. They are very basic speakers with only a single banana plug input. No spikes. Just a simple ported box made out of particle board.

After a quick pop in and hookup, I am quite pleased. Don't know what they originally sounded like but now the sound is smooth and crisp. The mids are smooth and for an 8" woofer, there is plenty of bass. I am using an old Paradigm 12" sub to augment the base so no problems there.

For a $33 total investment I think I have some speakers that my roommate will appreciate. Even tho he will probably use his phone for a source, I think it will rock!!!P1090712.JPG P1090708.JPG P1090709.JPG P1090711.JPG P1090710.JPG
 
Very cool I have a set of these that I have loved to listen to for 11 years! Maybe I should replace my tweeters also.
 
Cool, I have a pair, shld I get some new tweeters? Placement is very important. When they are far from the Wall, they have no Bass
 
I ended up selling them to a local guy who has gotten a few other things from me. I ended up moving and had no use for them.
 
Boonaroo said:
I ended up selling them to a local guy who has gotten a few other things from me. I ended up moving and had no use for them.
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Sorry for replying to a dead thread, but do you remember if you replaced both of speakers' tweeter or just the one? I am about to do a repair similar to an AR 226 PS I have, and am wondering if I should just replace both tweeters, even though one still works.
 
audioman00 said:
I personally recommend replacing both. In my case, both of mine had smashed domes.
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You also performed this repair? Was it as easy as it looks? Like I don't have to solder any more resistors or anything? Sorry for so many questions but this my last hope to get these working lol
 
You could just cut and strip the wires and re-solder them to the new tweeter terminals directly,
Or simply purchase the appropriate ends and crimp them on with a set of wire crimpers.
 
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