AR2ax restoration

[henryf]

Well, I started my restoration on my speakers today. Removed the mounting posts, capacitor box and the two pots.
Disassembled the pots and cleaned them (with the help of my dreml and brush)

I ordered replacement capacitors and new cloth through e-bay.
While waiting for the order to come in, I will sand and recoat the cabinets with a dark walnut danish oil.
The woofers appear to be in excellent condition; no need for re-foaming.
These speakers sounded great before; I hope they sound as good or better when I'm finished.

AR2ax
University classics
Dynaco Pat4 preamp
Dynaco stereo 120 pwr amp
Fisher tuner (tubes)
Sony cd
Rotex
Sony reel to reel
Denon Pma-720

 

[Argyle]

sounds like a great project. be sure to post photos and keep us up to speed!

 

[rek100]

http://myworld.ebay.com/vintage-ar/

If you decide to replace the pots this is the place to go. Larry is a very nice guy and his prices for AR pieces are very reasonable.

I've had my 2axs since I bought them new in 1973. I had the woofer refoamed about 8 years ago and replaced the pots myself last year. It's much easier to replace them in the 2ax than the 4ax, let me tell ya!

 

[henryf]

re: Pots
Thaks for the info. As I said, I cleaned up the pots (they were not bad).
Hereis a pic after cleaning.

 

[pmsummer]

re: Pots
Thaks for the info. As I said, I cleaned up the pots (they were not bad).
Hereis a pic after cleaning.

Those look new!

A question: what did the acoustic stuffing look like? And were there REAL DARK "images" om the grill cloth corresponding to the woofer?

 

[pmsummer]

Oh yeah... WELCOME to AK!

 

[henryf]

The stuffing lookrd like loose insulatin (fiberglass I think)

No dark images on the cloth just stains onthe lower part (water?)

 

[pmsummer]

The reason I asked is that AR used two types of insulation: rock wool (yellow), and fiberglass (pink?). The speakers with the rock wool have pots that are almost ruined because of corrosion, and the woofers have left a "Shroud of Turin"-like image of the woofer.

The rock wool leeches out sulphuric acid that corrodes the pots and stains the grill cloth (the stain is my opinion based on my surveys).

 

[henryf]

Now you've got me wondering. This stuff is yellow and I just surmised it was fiberglass. How else can I tell, other than color??

 

[henryf]

I just had a close look at the cloth and sure enough there is 'shroud of turin' type smudge at the woofer location.

 

[pmsummer]

If it's yellow-brown, and fairly heavy, it's rock wool (also tends to be in clumps). If it's brighter yellow (or pink), and fairly light, it's fiberglass.

If your surrounds are foam, then it's probably fiberglass, as I believe the rock wool had been phased out by the time they went away from cloth woofer surrounds.

 

[shacky]

Those pots are cherry. Much better off than with replacements which are 8 ohm L-Pads vs original 15-16 ohm rheostats. Two different animals.

How about some pics of speakers? And naked? :yes:

 

[rek100]

I dunno?

I'm not sure about the stuffing being rock wool or fiberglass? The pots did fail after 30 years.
I bought mine at the audio-club at Rhein-Main Air Force Base in Germany. The grille clothes are dark brown, as they always have been. I'm not sure they offerred that color stateside? Consequently, I can't see any images on the grillecloths at all.

Based on the vintage (1973), do you have any idea about the stuffing being rockwool? The surrounds are foam--that's why I had them refoamed. The stuffing is yellow, with no brown, but it is clumpy. I wonder if fibreglass does that in its seniority? I assume, if it is rockwool, I should go to my local Home Depot and get some fiberglass?
:scratch2:
Thanks!

 

[henryf]

I don't know the age of these speakers. The serial #s are:178690 and178728.
The woofers are held in place with 4 machine screws and sealed with a foam gasket (pic).
Can anyone help?

 

[henryf]

Pics from last post

pics of speakers and woofer