AR 2ax - worth the effort?

[Childof60]

I picked up a nice pair of late AR 2ax's at a church sale recently with great condition cabinets. I have completed the normal repairs including new surrounds for the drivers and replaced the cross over capacitors. So, hooked them up to test and they sound terrible with nothing above around 9K HZ. I tested the midrange and tweeters - all are fine. So, the only other thing I can think of is the both adjustment wire wound rheostats have gone bad. Seems strange they would be bad in both speakers. I checked out the cost of replacements - over $60 for quality units - per speaker. My question is have i missed something obvious? I am not sure it is worth buying the replacements at this point - or just parting the speakers out. It would be a shame as they look really good considering the age. Thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

 

[swechsler]

Before replacing them, temporarily bypass the pots and see if that solves the problem.

 

[RxDx]

If all the drivers work, the cabinets are in great shape, and you had to buy new pots, you'd
still be well under replacement cost. If you haven't opened up the old pots, it might be
possible to save one or more of them. Dozens and dozens of threads here on that endeavor
by now.

 

[Childof60]

So, just got around to bypassing the pots. As swechsler suggested it proved the pots are the issue- thx for the suggestion. Now to find the time for the rebuild as they can be saved. Lots of other projects at the moment.

 

[baco99]

1) Yes, it's worth restoring.
2) No, do not bypass the rheostats. The system is designed to work with the rheostats to keep system impedance stable.
3) No, do not replace the rheostats with Lpads.
4) Yes, replace the caps with good quality poly film caps.

 

[trinhsman]

Trust @baco99. He’s done work for me. He knows his stuff.

 

[homebrew]

I'd restore the AR's and then sell them. I owned 2ax's for several years. Always thought they sounded fine until I heard a friend's system with real highs. The AR's sounded positively dull in comparison. It always amazes me what a restored pair sell for.