ThePlague
Active Member
Hello all,
After finally figuring out what these really were in a previous thread, it is time to restore them. I have never done a speaker restoration myself, especially not something of this age.
To summarize the findings, these speakers are all original and the AR-2 speaker has received the AR-2X upgrade and some point in its life. The other speaker is a AR-2ax and that is what it is internally.
Starting with the AR-2ax, the obvious is that the woofer needs a re-foam. The mid-range and tweeter were not working on this speaker and I feel that is likely a result of the pots needing restored. On this model, is it worth replacing/upgrading the crossover while everything is apart?
On to the AR-2(x), there was no response out of this speaker when testing. Upon disassembly, I pushed the woofer down and after a light crack (I believe the surround sealant had become hard), the woofer is moving freely again. Of note here, when pressing down and letting go, it makes a pop sound when hitting the end of its return travel. I am not sure if this normal operation or not. What is the best product for rejuvenating/resealing the cloth woofer surrounds? I believe this will also need restoration of the pots. Again with this one, would it be worthwhile to upgrade/replace components in the crossover?
In general, what are the recommendations for resealing these back up? I highly doubt that RTV would be a good choice. It seems that original sealant was some sort of grey compound which is surprisingly still soft to this day.
I appreciate any help you guys have to offer! The pictures are ordered such that the first group is the AR-2ax.
After finally figuring out what these really were in a previous thread, it is time to restore them. I have never done a speaker restoration myself, especially not something of this age.
To summarize the findings, these speakers are all original and the AR-2 speaker has received the AR-2X upgrade and some point in its life. The other speaker is a AR-2ax and that is what it is internally.
Starting with the AR-2ax, the obvious is that the woofer needs a re-foam. The mid-range and tweeter were not working on this speaker and I feel that is likely a result of the pots needing restored. On this model, is it worth replacing/upgrading the crossover while everything is apart?
On to the AR-2(x), there was no response out of this speaker when testing. Upon disassembly, I pushed the woofer down and after a light crack (I believe the surround sealant had become hard), the woofer is moving freely again. Of note here, when pressing down and letting go, it makes a pop sound when hitting the end of its return travel. I am not sure if this normal operation or not. What is the best product for rejuvenating/resealing the cloth woofer surrounds? I believe this will also need restoration of the pots. Again with this one, would it be worthwhile to upgrade/replace components in the crossover?
In general, what are the recommendations for resealing these back up? I highly doubt that RTV would be a good choice. It seems that original sealant was some sort of grey compound which is surprisingly still soft to this day.
I appreciate any help you guys have to offer! The pictures are ordered such that the first group is the AR-2ax.
