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AR-6 Repair

C

cornpopz

New Member
So I found this pair of AR-6 speakers lying around the house unused, and decided to put them to work in my system :) They sound great (well, the one that works), but one of the tweeters doesnt put out any sound even though the little connection bar is in place in the back, and the pot won't do anything to make it work. I removed the front panels and found that the one with the non-working tweeter also has rips and tears all over the woofer surround. I also noticed that the two of them have different woofers, though the tweeters look similar. The broken one has the higher serial # of the two (68...number....difference between the two). Could this be a design revision at AR?

Anyway, I want to give fixing these speakers a shot, and I'm wondering should I just refoam the broken surround or replace that woofer with one that matches the good woofer (or refoam it and replace the other if its not the original woofer...if that would make it sound better). And how do I get into the cabinet to check on all the tweeter wires?

Pictures:
The two speakers
Lower serial# woofer
Higher serial# woofer
Front tweeter leads
 
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Okay...talked to my dad since they're his old speakers..yes, the woofer in the working speaker is a replacement of the factory one. I'm not sure if it's another AR woofer or if its a different brand. I know that with subwoofers, putting a different speaker in the same enclosure can result in a different sound, is this still the case with woofers and would it be worth it to track down another AR-6 woofer? Thuogh I if I can just get the tweeters working it would help me decide...
 
OK, the good news is you should remove the woofer with the bad surround and get that surround fixed. (You have a ton of caulk to cut through - good luck!) Now, once you remove the woofer, this is how you gain access to the xover and the pot.

I doubt your tweeter is bad. Vast majority of the time the pots corrode and prevent the signal from getting to the drivers.

There is an inconclusive test you can perform from the front. Scratch some black paint off of the round FAT part of the tweeter connections. (Do NOT get anywhere near the tweeter leads as they often break.) Then measure the resistance across the two now bare tweeter connections (DMM or analog VOM). If you get a reading in the 3 ohms range that is good news, but it's not conclusive.

If you get an open circuit reading, that is conclusive! The tweeter is open circuit and you'll need a new one.

Hope this helps ...

Regards,
Jerry
 
Replacing woofers is typically a bit of a crap shoot (as you suggested) unless you have T/S specs for the original (which, I assume, you don't). Unless, this woofer was an AR replacement, it's prolly less than ideal. Once you've refoamed the stock one, compare 'em. If they sound alike.....well, alright. If not, start pounding eBay for a replacement.

...and everything onplane said.

Oh, and by all means, replace the stock x/o caps.
 
HERE is the way into your AR speaker. This is a 2ax, but this whole series are the same, you go in through the woofer hole. The linked thread has loads of details, pics, and how to put it all back together.

Good Luck! :music:
 
dsc05192fl9.jpg


I was just going to link Ozmoid's excellent thread!

Better late than never :D


Here's another link to one of my AR-6 threads... http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=84247&highlight=ar-6
 
I checked the tweeter's impedance and my multimeter came up with .3-.4 ohm, not the solid 3 ohms that I'm supposed to be reading (?). The tweeter passed the continuity test, though. I'll remove the woofer and check on the innards. Does the brand or type of capacitor make much of a difference as long as its the same capacitance?
 
.3 ohms actually might be right, depending upon where you have that blasted pot set. If you move the pot, you should get different readings. Try setting it to max increase and measure again.

How did you know the tweeter passed the continuity test? Please remember the pot is usually in parallel with the tweeter.

As for the cap, what's important is that you replace with only a NON-polarized cap. The cheaper polarized electrolytics won't work in a speaker.

Regards,
Jerry

PS: When you get inside, cut the lead to the pot wiper and then measure the tweeter. Now, you'll only be measuring the tweeter. If you get a decent reading, solder that cut lead to the top of the pot. This is the same set setting a good pot to max increase, but it by-passes the wiper, which is most likely heavily corroded. Connect your amp, even with the woofer out - just make sure the woofer leads are not shorted and see if the tweeter works (naturally keep volume moderate).
 
Alright, so I've gotten around to opening up the speaker, and starting to remove stuff, but I'd like to get all the parts I need before going much further. So I ask those who have done these replacements before, what components did you use? And is this the L-Pad to use? I can only find 16-ohm rheostats in 50W models that cost over $30 each, so I think I'd rather just spend the $4.80 on something that'll work just as well, according to ozmoid's thread.
 
*bump*

Alright, the refoam kit came and I've started actually working on the speaker. I've got the basket all cleaned off and got most of the old foam off the woofer cone, but I'm not sure how to get the residue off of it. After looking at one of ozmoid's threads about the AR-2x speakers, I'm afraid to do anything other than pick at it with my exacto knife, which I've found doesnt really work at all.

I'm using one of those Speakerworld refoam kits you can buy on eBay. Is the included adhesive strong enough to stick over the bit of glue/foam that's left? Or what should I do to remove all the residue and have a nice, clean cone to work with?
 
You may be able to clean up those rheostats (originals are not l-pads) and reuse them which will be the cheapest and poosibly best solution. Using the 8 ohm PE L-Pad can change the crossover point dramatically - and thereby the speaker sound.

There's a great post here with pictures of the dissambled attenuators. They come apart easily - take of the wire that holds the two halves together. Then clean the crud (usually green) off the metal contact pieces - best to use dremel with small wire wheel. Do a search here and they'll be more info.

Well worth it as I've seen lots of great comments about the AR6.
 
cornpopz said:
*bump*

Alright, the refoam kit came and I've started actually working on the speaker. I've got the basket all cleaned off and got most of the old foam off the woofer cone, but I'm not sure how to get the residue off of it. After looking at one of ozmoid's threads about the AR-2x speakers, I'm afraid to do anything other than pick at it with my exacto knife, which I've found doesnt really work at all.

I'm using one of those Speakerworld refoam kits you can buy on eBay. Is the included adhesive strong enough to stick over the bit of glue/foam that's left? Or what should I do to remove all the residue and have a nice, clean cone to work with?
Click to expand...
Get all you can, and stick the new surround on with a good bead of glue. When it partially dries, add a little bead of glue along the edge and wipe it down with your finger - keep the glue cleaned off your finger so it doesn't spread. All you're trying to do is push it down into the edge of the joint to insure a good seal.

On my "stock" woofer, there was only a little rim of leftover adhesive that was really stuck, and it has not affected reproduction quality at all to my ears. On the DIY-refoamed woofer, there was all kinds of crap left on there, and chunks of the cone pulled up (which were repaired with coffee filter patches), and I can't HEAR a difference between it and the other.
 
Alright, so I attempted replacing the foam just now. Dry, the new surround fit fine and I got it nicely aligned with the cone. Once I put the glue on though, it just oozed out and made a sticky/stringy mess of the surround. Where once I easily centered the surround, with the glue on I found that working one section in to place wound up in the opposite side being pushed off/sliding underneath the woofer. There's gotta be an easier way to do this :sigh: Any hints/tips from anyone who's refoamed before? The helpful photo directions really aren't proving to be that helpful to me.
 
When I was doing my ar5's, I cleaned both the cone and the frame very thoroughly until there was very little residue left--pretty much completely clean (this was the most annoying and time-consuming part of the process). I then put a bead of glue on both the cone edge and the inside part of the foam, spread them with a foam q-tip type thing that partsexpress supplies (I'm sure a finger works just as well), and then waited for them to partially dry (about 5-10 minutes). This last step is essential. The glue should be mostly clear when you try to match up the foam to the cone. After you get the cone side on, let it dry for a bit (at least 20 minutes), then do the same thing to the frame side--put a bead of glue on the foam, and one on the frame, and wait 5-10 minutes. Then comes the tough part. You need to press the foam down onto the frame to secure it, but you also have to make sure that the voice coil doesn't rub. To do this, make sure you are in a quiet room, and gently push in the cone with your fingers, and listen for a scraping sound. When there is no sound, you've got good alignment, and its time to press the foam onto the frame. IMMEDIATELY after you have pressed the foam down, push the cone in and out again to test for voice coil rub again, since you may still have a chance of re-doing the foam-to-frame glue job if the coil is rubbing. If it rubs, gently remove the foam from the frame, and go for it a second time (no need to add more glue if it is still tacky).

As far as the pots go, don't bother with buying new ones. Just take out the old ones and give them a thorough cleaning. I used 000 steel wool, finished off with a little deoxit for light lubrication, and it worked just fine. Btw, that CLR stuff doesn't work (it was suggested in another thread here). I tried it and it didn't do a thing.

I am a newbie at this stuff, having refoamed only about half a dozen pairs of speakers, but this is a newbie's perspective of what was most challenging for me, so it might be of use for you. Anyone with more experience please correct me if you've got a better method.
 
Please post pics of your project. They would be good for the 'archives', so to speak.

I really like my AR-6 speakers.
 
I've taken a couple pictures but it doesnt seem that this project will be complete until the next time I'm home from school. I attempted refoaming again with judge's method, and it did make it easier to put the foam on, but I found that again, once I worked one side into place, I just could not get the surround to fit all the way around. It seems that its just slightly too large for this woofer. That or for some reason I'm still doing it wrong and I just don't know how to glue things (which I think I do, so...)
 
Now for some good news. I replaced the caps and cleaned out the L-pad, (the contacts on the wiper were pretty much entirely green, I solved that with my Dremel and a wire wheel attachment), hooked the speaker up to my stereo, and the tweeter came to life! I turned the bass all the way down and enjoyed a moment of stereo treble, although the fixed tweeter sounded a little faint compared to the working AR-6. But I noticed that woofer was still producing some frequencies, so perhaps the faintness was just due to the other AR-6 having both speakers installed.

Attached is a pic of the finished work, awaiting the woofer.
 

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A single AA-cell battery holder and two alligator clips will hold your woofer VC centered, if you don't have a power supply to use. As stated before, you absolutely must wait for the glue to start setting before trying to join the surround to the cone or basket --5 mins usually works well, if you've not used too much glue.

Disconnect the clips, and the cone should settle into place nicely, then make certain the VC is not scraping before pressing down hard on the glue, by moving the cone up and down with your battery & clips, and sliding the surround a bit, if neccessary. A power supply works wonderfully, but a battery will do, as long as you are careful.
 
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