AR-4x Replacement Tweeter

[Gonzo62]

One of the high range speakers in the AR-4x’s died on me. I am looking to replace both of my tweeters with original parts. Unfortunately EBay doesn’t have what I need.

Any tips on where I can find some vintage AR-4x tweeters in good condition?

Thanks!

 

[alteclipsch]

I'd do a little sleuthing before buying another. It could be a bad capacitor or dirty contacts in the control. You could move the "bad" tweeter to the other cabinet and see if it works there. I had a 4x with a dead tweeter and it came back when I cleaned the pots.

If it's truly shot, keep watching ebay and other sources here.

 

[Gonzo62]

I brought it to a buddy today who confirmed for me that it was in fact dead. Wish it wasn’t so but we did try a bunch of things.

It’s proving to be tougher than I had anticipated to find replacements. Thought I would go right on eBay and find a set. Guess not!

 

[WaynerN]

Some people are using this as a replacement. No need to change XO.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-2-4-25...150794?hash=item2325fc5b4a:g:N88AAOSwDuJW07hY

 

[ra.ra]

The 4x replacement tweeters do sometimes come up for resale, but considering how many of this model were sold - - they are just not always readily available. So here's a slightly different idea: maybe convert these to model the earlier AR-4 speakers. These tweeters are a perfect drop-in replacement, and have a wonderful midrange quality - - also, they seem to be more available on used market and at lesser cost. This solution would require a simple crossover modification - - most notably, pitching the old 20uF cap and replacing it with a new 6uF cap.

 

[elitopus]

^I had some AR-4 speakers and they sounded pretty good. A little more rolled off than the AR-4x, but not bad at all.
I forget if the later AR-4xa tweeters are a direct fit also. I had a pair of those but they weren’t as good IMO as the 4 and 4x.

 

[ra.ra]

I forget if the later AR-4xa tweeters are a direct fit also.

The 4xa tweeter has a smaller face plate and requires an adapter plate to fit the 4 or 4x opening. It's a really great tweeter, IMO, with noticeably extended HF (esp. cymbals, etc.), but lacks the warm and full midrange (female vocals, etc.) of the earlier tweeters.