AR-14 Woofer

[ENGRF]

Hi,

I just bought Acoustic Research AR-14s. The foams are gone so I took out the woofers for repair. The magnets on these woofers are square? Is this how they were made? The magnet doesn't say AR anywhere on it. I am afraid if they are not original. Please help.

Any recommendation on refoam kit? Vendor suggestion? I know there are a lot of info here on how to do it etc so I am good for that stuff.

Thanks

 

[himm37]

Hi,

I just bought Acoustic Research AR-14s. The foams are gone so I took out the woofers for repair. The magnets on these woofers are square? Is this how they were made? The magnet doesn't say AR anywhere on it. I am afraid if they are not original. Please help.

Any recommendation on refoam kit? Vendor suggestion? I know there are a lot of info here on how to do it etc so I am good for that stuff.

Thanks

I'm not familiar with 14's, but many early AR's had square magnets. There's more then one member/sponsor that sells good quality kits, these are usually a very easy woofer to do!

 

[mhardy6647]

The early AR-14 had square magnets like some even older ARs. Are the tweeters in yours the earlier Peerless silk domes, or the later domes.

Early AR-14 had tweeters like this:
(this is the Peerless KO10DT with an OEM mounting plate)

Later AR-14s, like this:
(who knows who might have made these!)

 

[ENGRF]

The tweeter is like the second picture. It says Teledyne AR on it just like in the picture. There is a label as well like one shown in the second picture. I was just worried that the original owner might have put in replacements. But it seems like square magnets are okay. Thank for the replies guys... Now I have to order the foam kit... I am thinking of getting it from Orange County Speakers... any experience with their kit?

Thanks again.

 

[mhardy6647]

I refoamed the speakers in the bottom AR-14 and its mate (found them at the dump) using generic 10" surrounds from MAT Electronics with excellent results. At one point, I hooked them to a Parasound solid state (gasp!) amp I considered buying: the bass was stunning in quality and quantity.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=90539&highlight=parasound

 

[ENGRF]

Mrh,

Thanks for the pointer. Now I might go with Parts Express generic kit. They are a bit cheaper.

Thanks

 

[ENGRF]

Pre-refoam cleaning

Is it normal to hear noise when pushing on the dust cap after removing the old foam. So basically I removed the old foam and just out of curiousity pressed the center of the cone and I hear noise most likely coil rubbing against the magnet or center pin. Is this normal???? This is my first refoam so I am kind of nervous... any help is greatly appreciated...

 

[mhardy6647]

Unfortunately the answer is a definite "maybe"
IF the VC is rubbing you'll feel/hear something like what you describe.
On the other hand, if the VC's OK and you push in the cone a bit "off center", you can cause the same effect. Sit the woofer on a bench and play a LF tone through it at low level. If it doesn't buzz or rattle, you're probably fine.

Much info on the topic here at AK if you do a search.

 

[ENGRF]

MRH,

Thanks for the reply. I ordered the refoam kit from wooferrepair.com. I will post once I am done. I will probably refinish the cabinets as well. The grills are gone, might try to make a grill as well... it will be a long project. I can only spend little bit of time here and there...

Thanks,

 

[ENGRF]

I got my refoaming kit today. I have a question about the dust cap. Does bigger dust cap affects sound? I got a dust cap which is I think ~3" instead of the current ~1". I like the looks of bigger dust caps but just thought about them changing the sound of speakers? Should I be concerned? This is a two way speakers so I assume the woofer is covering a lot of midrange as well.... any thoughts?

 

[ENGRF]

Anyone?... little help here

 

[mhardy6647]

Well... it is generally not too difficult to refoam without shimming the voicecoil. "Generally" in that some drivers are more tolerant than others (literally, in terms of the size of the gap).

The dustcap may have some bearing on performance in a two-way system with a 10" woofer... but generally I'd say "don't worry about it".

 

[ENGRF]

Thanks MRH, I would do it without removing the dust cap but one of them is badly dented. I tried to lift it up without much success. I think I will have to change the dust caps, I don't like the ones there anyways .

 

[ENGRF]

Foam under cone

Hi,

Well I started with the refoaming and thought is it okay to put the foam under the cone. Originally the woofer had the cone installed on top of the cone. Has anyone done this before? Do you guys think this will be a bad thing to do? I have attached the images of the foam under the cone as I would like them to be... these are not glued or anything but just there to show you guys and get your expert opinion on this.

You can see in the picture how foam is sitting under the cone. Hope the pictures are clear and tell the story

 

[GordonW]

Keep the foam in the original place. If originally on top, put it on top, and vice-versa.

There are some very specific exceptions on this, for some weird stuff... but that AR is an entirely "normal" driver... keep it the way it was, and it'll sound better (better alignment of the cone at rest, along its travel range- less distortion).

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[ENGRF]

Refoaming done

I know I work slow... but with full time work and school I only get so much time with my hobby. Thought I should share some pictures of it... I still have to find a gasket for these. Next is the cabinet restoration... I don't know how long that is going to take...

I am impressed with the sound ... very nice... With time it should get better I think...