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AR 2-A SCORE and questions...

cant wait for the surround sealer to get here and the AR 2a project will be done aside from one more good detailing...
these 2 recent AR restorations have been the coolest speaker projects ive ever worked on... thanks for all the help guys...

previously the forum had helped advise me on refoaming these AR91's... i should recap them... i need to know what caps to get.... since my AR 2a's had the oil can caps and i didnt need to update them.... i need to return the dayton audio caps to P.E. in exchange for the ones i will use to recap the 91's ....
so any help i could get identifying exactly what caps i should use on the 91's would be great....

the panorama sort of distorts the image but i have been enjoying moving these speakers all around and putting all sorts of music through them...

7VAC5t6.jpg


after i recap the 91's i have a pair of infinity rs2000's i might refoam...
but... what i would really like to do is find the right preamp to pair with my BGW 500D
amp i recently scored...

im looking at this advent model 300 for sale locally... it has a cool built in tuner and can be used as a 15watt receiver or a preamp... ive read good things about its phono
what do you guys think about pairing this advent preamp with this bgw amp? to power my hungry AR91's
JfecO2c.jpg
 
FYI, attached is the AR-91 schematic which appears to use five caps total. The hand note suggests that all original caps were 50V NPE's, but many people, myself included, would suggest using good value film caps for the tweeter and mid drivers. With some cap brands, 8 and 24uF values may be difficult to locate (Erse polyester caps are available in 4, 8 and 24uF), but certainly the more common 8.2uF would be a suitable choice as well.

Love that Advent 300 - - no first hand experience here but I've also heard great things about its pre-amp.

AR-91 xover.jpg
 
stumptacular said:
cant wait for the surround sealer to get here and the AR 2a project will be done aside from one more good detailing...
these 2 recent AR restorations have been the coolest speaker projects ive ever worked on... thanks for all the help guys...

previously the forum had helped advise me on refoaming these AR91's... i should recap them... i need to know what caps to get.... since my AR 2a's had the oil can caps and i didnt need to update them.... i need to return the dayton audio caps to P.E. in exchange for the ones i will use to recap the 91's ....
so any help i could get identifying exactly what caps i should use on the 91's would be great....

the panorama sort of distorts the image but i have been enjoying moving these speakers all around and putting all sorts of music through them...

7VAC5t6.jpg


after i recap the 91's i have a pair of infinity rs2000's i might refoam...
but... what i would really like to do is find the right preamp to pair with my BGW 500D
amp i recently scored...

im looking at this advent model 300 for sale locally... it has a cool built in tuner and can be used as a 15watt receiver or a preamp... ive read good things about its phono
what do you guys think about pairing this advent preamp with this bgw amp? to power my hungry AR91's
JfecO2c.jpg
Click to expand...
I like the looks of that preamp, but know nothing about it. Thete may be a few reviews online about it.

Looking at your setup there, you would definitely benefit spreading out those speakers, better stereo separation, and sound stage. Just my 2c.
 
stumptacular said:
thanks man! im anxiously awaiting it... do i just seal the woofer surrounds? is it that simple? a thin but thorough airtight layer correct?
Click to expand...

So I received the pots from Greg today. As noted earlier in the thread these are odd to most of us. Here they are!

old_pots_overview.jpg

similar but certainly different. the open disc on top row far right is an old example showing an edge of the disc gone from corrosion for comparison, the bottom two are the one's from stumpy. i anticipate them being buggers to re-assemble but as you see their condition looks wonderful.
a couple of observations about these early versions. opening was easy enough as you pry the three tabs away from their keeper edge on the ceramic. they will need to be bent back to straight before re-assembly as well. the clip we are familiar with has some spring to it, these tabs don't. conceptually the wiper does the same thing, the two dimples you see ride the disc and are given a little pressure from the spring on the dial stem (black) upper left. the button on the wiper is barely raised from the assembly and I wonder if adding a touch of solder to emphasize it a little would be prudent. It is easy to see the flaws knowing what we ended up with.

wipers.jpg

and yes Aetna Pollock branded.

I know Greg has his dope and look forward to hearing about that so back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Geoff
 
stupidhead said:
So I received the pots from Greg today. As noted earlier in the thread these are odd to most of us. Here they are!

View attachment 682734

similar but certainly different. the open disc on top row far right is an old example showing an edge of the disc gone from corrosion for comparison, the bottom two are the one's from stumpy. i anticipate them being buggers to re-assemble but as you see their condition looks wonderful.
a couple of observations about these early versions. opening was easy enough as you pry the three tabs away from their keeper edge on the ceramic. they will need to be bent back to straight before re-assembly as well. the clip we are familiar with has some spring to it, these tabs don't. conceptually the wiper does the same thing, the two dimples you see ride the disc and are given a little pressure from the spring on the dial stem (black) upper left. the button on the wiper is barely raised from the assembly and I wonder if adding a touch of solder to emphasize it a little would be prudent. It is easy to see the flaws knowing what we ended up with.

View attachment 682735

and yes Aetna Pollock branded.

I know Greg has his dope and look forward to hearing about that so back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Geoff
Click to expand...
Those early style pots were in my 3's, but beyond use. The pot wipers are far better in my opinion, stronger and less likely to corrode completely through like many later wipers do.
Let us know how they work out for you Geoff.

Glenn
 
Good pick up on the 300. Bought one new years ago. Very nice sound. The pre-amp was highly regarded, though the build quality was mediocre, but at the price was a great little receiver. Has it been restored?
 
stupidhead said:
I know Greg has his dope and look forward to hearing about that...

Geoff
Click to expand...

boy you can say that again... lol :beatnik:

and.... the music here has never sounded better!!!
i only have my AR91s hooked up to this so far but it sure is on a whole new level in sound quality!!!!!! It's Alive!


I8SAk4F.jpg
 
sealing the surrounds seemed to go very well...
took my time... kept it tidy and covered everything

(these 3 progress pics are of two diff woofs)

Before:
ALoYpVz.jpg


During:
J9UopMC.jpg


After:
Ow9Hguv.jpg


the AR 2-a's are all but done for me... couldnt have done it without the forum... much appreciated guys... !!!

im already having way to much fun with the BGW 500D, the Advent 300 and my AR91's
... so much more power than ive ever had in a stereo going through some of the best speakers ive ever owned... hyped.
 
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c5corvette said:
Good pick up on the 300. Bought one new years ago. Very nice sound. The pre-amp was highly regarded, though the build quality was mediocre, but at the price was a great little receiver. Has it been restored?
Click to expand...

i dont believe it has been restored..(as far as i know) . it allegedly came from an audio nut's house who keeps all his gear in good shape until his wife tells him he has too much then he gets rid of some :) .... so far.. the aux and the tuner and all of the other functions work (as far as the preamp goes) ... i thought it was a good pairing with the BGW 500D because they got good reviews, (especially as a phono preamp...) ...has a built in FM tuner (mono only??) were from the same era..('74-'76ish). the aesthetics look good to me.... but after i hooked it up... the sound blew me away... wasnt expecting such a dramatic difference from what i was listening through before
 
Amp & pre amps can have profound effects on sound quality.
Just last week I upgraded to another amp and it really was shocking in what it brought out of my speakers, and the previous amp is spectacular.
Hows the woofer seal test going now? Nice & slow return?

Glenn
 
GD70 said:
Amp & pre amps can have profound effects on sound quality.
Just last week I upgraded to another amp and it really was shocking in what it brought out of my speakers, and the previous amp is spectacular.
Hows the woofer seal test going now? Nice & slow return?

Glenn
Click to expand...

the difference from what i was using is indescribable... i can hear the entire bass drum notes separate from the other bass in a totally new way... its always cool when vintage gear yields sounds and tones you have never heard before ...in your favorite music! fingers sliding on strings etc ... my neighbors are gonna freak out... too much power for one man to wield lol (rocking that on the AR91's... the AR 2a's arent hooked up to anything at the moment)

the woofer test on the AR 2a's : fantastic on one and not so fantastic on the other....

one thing i didnt do that im realizing i should get back to and do correctly is using fresh caulking/putty under the woofs... i just revamped what was already on mine and seemingly reusable.. however... they used it so sparingly from the factory.. i just want the peace of mind to go ahead and pull the woofers and make sure i have a good seal before i start doing anything rash like gooping up my dustcaps unnecessarily.... im not even sure of what part of the dustcaps get sealed if it comes down to that???
 
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Don't seal the dust caps on these.
Get yourself a block of air duct sealer from Home Depot, or a local hardware store. Should only cost a couple bucks.
Pretty much like the original stuff, but new.
 
im stoked ... i just successfully did my first ever circuit repair....one transistor swap fixed all my issues with no stereo in FM, no Muting and no Stereo LED on the Advent 300.... i definitely feel more confident about the next repair... trying to get geared up to do some recap projects.... but for now... im just happy to have a fully functioning fm stereo... im wondering if i need to trim adjust the muting because it seems to mute right over most of the radio stations that arent a super strong signal.... ?????

39tilTM.jpg
 
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