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Acoustic Research AR4x Potentiometer bypass.

windsorlad

windsorlad

New Member
I inherited a pair of AR4x speakers a few years ago.
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They are cosmetically in great shape, all original but they sounded like dogs. Something needed to be done.

tmad40blue's thread explains the situation far better than I can. Go here first.

Today I decided to bypass the potentiometer.

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So, as the picture says, I cut the two wires away from the potentiometer and soldered in a connecting wire.

The results have been tremendous. The speakers sound great. I am sure there will be some who say it shouldn't be done, but honestly I can't see a problem with it. However you undertake any work at your own risk. Cheers

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Bonus pic at one of my 'listening stations'. About to be swapped in place of the 3a floors.

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Those tweeter controls are actually very easy to open up and clean up so that they work properly.
They are only held together with a clip and they only go back together one way so you really can't screw them up.
I did a pair of 4x a couple of weeks ago. With the control cranked all the way up like it would be with the bypass I felt they were a little bright.
Better to have the option to turn them down a little I think.
Also a good opportunity to recap them.
I also just finished a pair of 2ax's with tweeter and mid controls along with recapping and they sound awesome now.
ar4x cap.jpg ar4x.jpg
 
Thanks for the response! Right now they are busy behind me working wonderfully. I think one of the driving forces to just bypass was the pandemic. Our stores are all shut.

I may go back in later. I would like to replace the caulking around the speakers and put new baffle in. What was the result from re-capping do you think?
 
It's hard to say about the recapping since the tweeters weren't really working before anyway. It just made sense to me to do it since I had them opened up and the old caps are really old :rolleyes: anyway.
I replaced the old caulking with 3M strip caulk. (PITA) but having an airtight seal is necessary for these speakers.
 
Llama50 said:
Those tweeter controls are actually very easy to open up and clean up so that they work properly.
They are only held together with a clip and they only go back together one way so you really can't screw them up.
I did a pair of 4x a couple of weeks ago. With the control cranked all the way up like it would be with the bypass I felt they were a little bright.
Better to have the option to turn them down a little I think.
Also a good opportunity to recap them.
I also just finished a pair of 2ax's with tweeter and mid controls along with recapping and they sound awesome now.
View attachment 2237094 View attachment 2237095
Click to expand...
I have a t shirt with the phrase , the older I get, the better I was.
 
One of my tweeters on an ar4x is dead, but it is either the cap or pot that is preventing a signal. I tested the tweeter directly and it works. Is it better to replace the insulation with new stuff or leave it in? I remember working in my house in a crawl space that had rock wool. It is nasty stuff.
 
If it really is rock wool, you'll want to replace. Rock wool is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture), which is why it's often used in hydroponic gardening, and moisture encourages corrosion. If it's fiberglass, it probably isn't worth the effort unless you find evidence that something has been nesting in the stuff or you're not certain the cabinets have the correct amount in them.

Rock wool and fiberglass are both skin and lung irritants. Work outdoors if you can and wear gloves, long sleeves and a mask while handling.
 
gkimeng said:
If it really is rock wool, you'll want to replace. Rock wool is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture), which is why it's often used in hydroponic gardening, and moisture encourages corrosion. If it's fiberglass, it probably isn't worth the effort unless you find evidence that something has been nesting in the stuff or you're not certain the cabinets have the correct amount in them.

Rock wool and fiberglass are both skin and lung irritants. Work outdoors if you can and wear gloves, long sleeves and a mask while handling.
Click to expand...
THe insulation in a crawl space in the house said mineral wool. is that rock wool? Looked like fiberglass.
 
Llama50 said:
Those tweeter controls are actually very easy to open up and clean up so that they work properly.
They are only held together with a clip and they only go back together one way so you really can't screw them up.
I did a pair of 4x a couple of weeks ago. With the control cranked all the way up like it would be with the bypass I felt they were a little bright.
Better to have the option to turn them down a little I think.
Also a good opportunity to recap them.
I also just finished a pair of 2ax's with tweeter and mid controls along with recapping and they sound awesome now.
View attachment 2237094 View attachment 2237095
Click to expand...
If you bypass the pot and the tweeter now works, does that mean the cap is good? I know I probably should replace both caps in these. want to play with them a bit before ordering caps along with several caps for other speakers thatare overdue, sound fine, but will probably sound better.
 
simplynuts said:
How do you tell the difference between rock wool and fiberglass? I pulled it out of the speaker and it looks like fiberglass. It is a clean yellow color.
Click to expand...

If it's a fairly bright yellow, it's fiberglass. Rock/mineral wool is a duller, darker color. In really old boxes from the 50s and early 60s, it may not be yellow at all.
 
gkimeng said:
If it's a fairly bright yellow, it's fiberglass. Rock/mineral wool is a duller, darker color. In really old boxes from the 50s and early 60s, it may not be yellow at all.
Click to expand...
Looks a fairly bright yellow. Not sure if someone worked on this once as the fiberglass batts were in several pieces. After all those years, does fiberglass get darker?
 
I looked at the thread for fixing the pot and noticed the woofer has a square magnet on back. Mine doesn't look like that. Are there different woofers used in the 4x or was mine replaced? The cabinet grill had glue holding it in, so doubt is was replaced.
 
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