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AR 4 find/question

Chianski

Chianski

New Member
Hi first time poster long time lurker. Anyway came across these AR 4 at a estate auction today and after hooking them up thru my system for a test run I came to the conclusion that the pot switches on the back are probably broken/corroded due to very low volume or no sound it was hard to tell IMG_1768.JPG IMG_1766.JPG IMG_1767.JPG
coming from the tweeters, and most likely in need of a recap and if cloth surrounds a reseal as well. My question is if the switches are bad is a replacement going to be impossible to track.
Thank you for any and all help.
 

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Hey Chianski, welcome to AK. Those are great little speakers, and yours appear to be in fine shape. First word of advice: take your time, and be careful removing the front grilles - - they are most likely attached with many small staples around the perimeter, and you want to remove all of these without damaging the cloth or the cabinet front. Also, take care when removing the woofers - - they may be very firmly set in place after 50 years have passed. The surrounds may or may not require re-sealing - - - you'll have to check that out after further inspection. And yes, the pot controls will require re-furb or replacement (with either functional vintage pots or new L-pads) and it's probably a good idea to replace the original 6uF cap, too. Great find, keep us posted.
 
Update... Getting the grill nails off wasn't too difficult, just careful prying lol. Took both potentiometers out, both were corroded to hell, one of them has a broken contact which is a drag the other is still pretty scratchy so I guess it's replacement time, ordered the caps and need to pick up some caulk or something comparable to what the sub sat in. Even with no stuffing after putting the good switch to test this speaker was so full and clear, these AR's should be a great addition to my setup. I run a Sansui AU-555 with a QS-100 for quad so these will probably replace my avid 100's in the rear channel with KLH 23's as the main front.
 
Hey,

It's been a little while since I restored my AR4x's, but I do remember replacing the pots. I don't know if the crossover/pots are the same between the AR4 and the AR4x. My pots were toast as well, burned out and useless. If you simply replace the original pots with modern l-pads you run the possibility of frying your tweeters. The l-pads when turned up too high, wherever that is, it pushes your tweeters 1 to 2 decibels too hot. It is recommended that you install a 25 ohm resistor onto the new l-pad to get it to act like the original pot. Details are buried here:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?/topic/4681-ar-potentiometer-replacement/

Here is an image I stole from the net somewheres back when I was doing mine, it helped with moving the wires from the old pot to the new l-pad.

AR4xLPAD.jpg


Using some homebrew sealant for your woofer's surrounds is a bad idea. I suggest using ebay's Vintage AR's surround sealant. It's tried, true and tested by the best. You have a rare pair of speakers with the original woofers. It'd be a shame to ruin them. Yes, I'm sure that people have used homebrew solutions and they say they've had wonderful success. But I would rather take the published results from a handful of qualified engineers.

Biggles
 
I have some Ar sealant leftover from my KLH 23 rehabs, I meant the putty stuff that the woofer sits in.
I'm pretty sure that these speakers were bought and never moved until I grabbed them yesterday stoked I got 1 original box 2 would of obviously been better lol. I really can't find any cosmetic blemishes anywhere on them, 8 sharp corners on each cabinet no scratches and still good color.
 

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drbiggles said:
Using some homebrew sealant for your woofer's surrounds is a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Biggles is correct about this regarding re-doping woofer surrounds. And just so there is no confusion, my suggestion to use the GB duct seal has nothing to do with this - - it is intended for creating an airtight gasket between the woofer basket and the cabinet baffle.

Wow, those speakers look great - - - and you've got the original shipping cartons! And yep, that pot is gone, baby, gone unless you can simply procure a new wiper part. Hello kitty in the window.
 
ra.ra said:
Biggles is correct about this regarding re-doping woofer surrounds. And just so there is no confusion, my suggestion to use the GB duct seal has nothing to do with this - - it is intended for creating an airtight gasket between the woofer basket and the cabinet baffle.
Click to expand...
That's what I meant also, I have the AR sealant, I would never use anything else on the cloth surrounds.
 
Ah! The caulk for the woofers is Mortite, or simply Rope Caulk. Take a stroll down to your local hardware store, easy peasy. When you're ready to install, use a heat-gun to gently warm it or set it in the sun. This way, when you press the woofer down into it, it'll smoosh into place easily, cool and set in place. 1 strand will take care of it, I used 2 and it was a tad much.

Biggles
 
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