Ar2a speakers new addition

[vinyl fiend]

Please join me in welcoming a pair of AR2a speakers to my family. :thmbsp: Tweeters don't work - and one woofer looks like it had a screwdriver put through it. Poor thing. Also, the speaker is lifting from the basket. lots o' tings to do. My first set of AR's though.

 

[ra.ra]

Just speculating, but "dead" tweeters may simply need a recap and a serious pot cleaning or replacement for HF resuscitation. Woofer puncture is very unfortunate, but can be readily repaired with application of coffee filter paper from backside with full-strength Elmer's or Aileen's glue. Gluing ring to basket is fairly simple, too, but not sure which glue will work best.

 

[vinyl fiend]

So, patch the woofer from the backside?

 

[GD70]

So, patch the woofer from the backside?

Yes. I recently repaired a JBL woofer and used two layers on paper napkin and a very thin epoxy so the cone was rigid and the damage would not spread further.

Get the cone back to original shape, the do the repair.

Looks like the front top section is missing veneer from the pic posted. There's several veneer suppliers, and I would go the "raw" veneer route for this. Prior to actually gluing the new piece in place, get several stain colors and experiment on scrap, test, to get a good color match.

These are very, nice. Speakers and you will be rewarded with great sound once restored.

There's several great threads covering pot cleaning as well.

Glenn

 

[stupidhead]

very nice! The reward will be well worth the investment in time and resources. I am a big fan of the grille material on those which looks to be intact on at least one of these. Is there grille material for both? Are the pots frozen or will they move? Treating the cloth surrounds on woofers will likely be beneficial and do not use anything that is not recommended in this forum. Take your time and ask lots of questions and post lots of pics!

 

[vinyl fiend]

Actually Glenn, the entire mitred wooden piece is off in the pic. I have it though. It came off real clean, so I can just glue it back on.

The pots are not frozen. The other grille has a puncture wound same as the speaker.

Anyone have a cap list I can get? I've never ordered caps before. Mouser? I've seen the posts about washing the pots in salt and vinegar. Does Roy C still sell his magic sauce?

The mid-range cones are a little wavy-gravy if ya know what I mean.

 

[jbailey930]

congrats, and good luck with the restore. I am about to pull the trigger on reconditioned AR2's. Listening and inspecting Friday. I'll ask the restore guy where he sourced his parts.

 

[stupidhead]

This thread http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=8187&hl=%2B2a+%2Bschematic#entry100204 will likely give you some insights about the crossovers.

Can't say for sure but I suspect Roy has some of the "magic sauce" you speak of, or Vintage AR sells it as well. As for resources for caps, I have had very good luck with Madisound, but there are many others.

Too bad about the other grille material, possibly you can post a pic of that.
Sounds like a fun project and looking forward to your progress on them.

Geoff

 

[GD70]

Actually Glenn, the entire mitred wooden piece is off in the pic. I have it though. It came off real clean, so I can just glue it back on.

The pots are not frozen. The other grille has a puncture wound same as the speaker.

Anyone have a cap list I can get? I've never ordered caps before. Mouser? I've seen the posts about washing the pots in salt and vinegar. Does Roy C still sell his magic sauce?

The mid-range cones are a little wavy-gravy if ya know what I mean.

Two caps. A 6 & 4 uf non polar. I got mine from PE.

The mids are wavy on every 2A I've seen.
You can get the sealer from Roy.

Glenn

 

[SiliconTi]

Nice. I just missed grabbing a set from the original owner by *this much*. I'm hoping he changes his mind.

 

[vinyl fiend]

I opened up the AR 2a with the torn woofer today. The woofer magnet has a glowing green coating to it if ya know what I mean. Right now, the pots are in a salt and vinegar bath. I'm leaning towards Elmer's white glue for the woofer repair, because it stays somewhat pliable when it dries. Or do ya think epoxy is better? It will dry rigid. Oh yeah, the speaker is torn right at the wire attached to the woofer. tricky fix.

 

[chicks]

Be super careful with the tweeter wires; they're aluminum, can't be soldered, and break easily. Ask me how I know.

 

[GD70]

I opened up the AR 2a with the torn woofer today. The woofer magnet has a glowing green coating to it if ya know what I mean. Right now, the pots are in a salt and vinegar bath. I'm leaning towards Elmer's white glue for the woofer repair, because it stays somewhat pliable when it dries. Or do ya think epoxy is better? It will dry rigid. Oh yeah, the speaker is torn right at the wire attached to the woofer. tricky fix.

It will be interesting to see what condition those pots are in after the bath. Especially the pot wiper disks.

Go slow and careful with the woofer repair and you should be good. Get it back to it's original position as possible before you start the gluing & paper process. Do it all on the back side.

Glenn

 

[Kilowatt915]

I cleaned up some AR-2s, AR-2axs this year and just finished some AR-3s. I've learned to love what these speakers can do. Incredible for early jazz. Some adjusting will be required with other genres.
Congrats and have fun.

 

[vinyl fiend]

If I replace the caps, should I snip the wires and relocate the new ones, or remove the old "peanut brittle" cap block and put the new ones in its place?

 

[gkimeng]

FYI. the AR-2 and 2a models were designed to be placed horizontally. The cross-fired tweeters produce a wide soundstage, but only if the speaker is laid on its side. Most examples of the model have one long side face that is unveneered, and that is intended to be the bottom.