Frozen AR-3a woofer... should I bail on the deal?

P

pabs911

Well-Known Member
Earlier today I bought a gorgeous pair of Acoustic Research AR-3a speakers, but one of the woofers is completely frozen. Otherwise it's in perfect shape. Is there any way to save this woofer/deal? I paid $450 for the speakers off CL, but the seller did say I could return them if I needed to.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Let's see....you paid big bucks for a set of speakers. The seller allows a return - under what exact circumstances? You discover a non-functional woofer. IMHO, your worse case scenario is you have to replace the woofer.

If you really want the speakers, why not allow the seller to offset the cost of a woofer; the price to be established by current eBay closed sales? This seems a better win/win for both parties unless, of course, you're having second thoughts about the deal.

Cheers,

David
 
dshoaf said:
Let's see....you paid big bucks for a set of speakers. The seller allows a return - under what exact circumstances? You discover a non-functional woofer. IMHO, your worse case scenario is you have to replace the woofer.

If you really want the speakers, why not allow the seller to offset the cost of a woofer; the price to be established by current eBay closed sales? This seems a better win/win for both parties unless, of course, you're having second thoughts about the deal.

Cheers,

David
Click to expand...

AR-3a woofers are fairly uncommon on the used market and are no doubt somewhat expensive (at least $100-$150 I'm guessing). There are none available as far as I can tell at this time. How do you look up closed sales on Ebay?
 
Moisture or water damage to the coil to deform? Tough fix, you may work out a refund or partial for the cost of a new woofer, may be a tough find to replace with the same. I would conceder a refund if possible and go back on the hunt for speakers. Good luck!
 
Remove the woofer and measure resistance to see if the voice coil still functions.....4 ohm resistance will indicate a good voice coil and a shifted magnet.
Also when you say the woofer is "stuck", does it appear that the cone has jumped up and maybe "resting" on the magnet structure....if so the cone can be lifted a bit higher and returned to normal position.
 
Last edited:
There were two closed auctions on the bay: separate listings from the same seller. Only one had a bid for $50. Of course there is no guarantee that that would be the price on a contested auction...

You use the advanced search and it will let you set it for closed auctions, if you are logged in.
 
tubed said:
Remove the woofer and measure resistance to see if the voice coil still functions.....4 ohm resistance will indicate a good voice coil and a shifted magnet.
Also when you say the woofer is "stuck", does it appear that the cone has jumped up and maybe "resting" on the magnet structure....if so the cone can be lifted a bit higher and returned to normal position.
Click to expand...

No, the cone is in it's normal "at rest" position, unfortunately. I tried shaking it to dislodge the cone, but no dice. Also, the woofer has wire mesh stopping me from touching the cone from the backside, although there is a small opening at the connectors for me to push on the cone a bit, but still no dice. I can't get it to budge at all in any direction. Thanks for the advice though guys. I'll probably be returning the speakers tomorrow. Oh well...
 
pabs911 said:
No, the cone is in it's normal "at rest" position, unfortunately. I tried shaking it to dislodge the cone, but no dice. Also, the woofer has wire mesh stopping me from touching the cone from the backside, although there is a small opening at the connectors for me to push on the cone a bit, but still no dice. I can't get it to budge at all in any direction. Thanks for the advice though guys. I'll probably be returning the speakers tomorrow. Oh well...
Click to expand...

IMO I think it's worth it to restore these to proper working order. You obviously really wanted them if you paid $450, and the seller IMO had an obligation to make sure they weren't DOA. See if you can't get him to cover the approx. cost of a replacement woofer (the one for our AR-3a pair cost $120 about a year ago).
 
It's possible to recone 3a woofers if they are the later version with foam surround and ferrite magnet. Perhaps the seller could reimburse you for the cost of the repair.

PM me for details.
 
There is a seller on evil bay that works wonders repairing vintage AR speakers. ID is Vintage AR Larry is his name. He fixed a 3A mid for me. Great guy good work and products.
 
spkrdtr said:
It's possible to recone 3a woofers if they are the later version with foam surround and ferrite magnet. Perhaps the seller could reimburse you for the cost of the repair.

PM me for details.
Click to expand...

It's the woofer with the cloth surround. I did email vintage-ar at fleabay, so perhaps he can help. Thanks again guys.
 
Last edited:
I love those cloth surround woofers. Get seller to drop price by $150 or return them. The art of negotiation is always to stay in a position to say no :yes:
 
Tom Brennan said:
I wouldn't pay $450 for something that's broken. I'd get my money back and be done with it.
Click to expand...

+2..maybe the seller could make the repair and then offer them to you again. Would you want to replace both woofers if going the repair route?
 
Teradacto58 said:
I've seen a few woofers sell locally over the last year....$60-75
How much to get it repaired??
Click to expand...

I just heard back from vintage-ar and he says he can fix the woofer for $65.00. Yes! I got a reimbursement from the seller to cover the repair, so in a couple weeks I should be good to go. Hopefully this will work out well in the end.

Mingo said:
+2..maybe the seller could make the repair and then offer them to you again. Would you want to replace both woofers if going the repair route?
Click to expand...

No, he says he can save the cone and surround most likely. Now I have to clean the pots and replace the caps etc.. Should be fun.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom