My $10 AR-2a's

[RoyC]

May be expensive, but judging by the looks in the pic it's worth it!

It certainly is to me...especially given the considerable effort involved in other aspects of an "authentic" AR restoration. At present, I don't use anything else, as it covers much of the very popular late 60's to mid 70's AR years. In the mid 70's, AR's linen thread count was gradually increased to 28, but the grilles looked essentially the same.

Attached is a photo of a piece of AR-3a grille cloth next to a piece of the Lambswool linen. The only difference is age discoloration.

Roy

 

[Mazeppa]

As with most speakers, the pleated surrounds should be flat when resting. Over the years, the constant pressure from the fiber glass gradually pushes the resting position forward, and deforms the cones. On mine, the voice coil was hardly in the magnet's gap any more. This resulted in weak, distorted mid range. I understand that they need correct damping, but constant pressure on the back of the cones can't be a good thing. That kind of asymmetrical resistance has to cause a lot of distortion. AR should have used less fiber glass, or put something over the back of the drivers to keep it from touching the cones.

As Bullwinkle was wont say, "That sounds logical!". Will be checking my 2a's for "forward leaning pleats", come to think of it, even if they're not showing that symptom there's got to be some reason for the uneven cone surface. Looks like the 2a's will be getting opened up again.

Thanks for the tip, that ought to be getting you some +Karma.

 

[audiojones]

Crap, now I'm gonna have to open these up again and check :sigh: Maybe this external e-wave thing is the right thing to do - would never have to futz with outdated xovers, worry about distorted cones, corroded pots, or weak tweets again... I'm so confused

One possible alternative to the e-wave route is to simply get a pair of 2ax midranges and some 3/4" plywood and make your own 2ax upgrade kit like AR offered in 1964. When the AR2a became the AR2ax in '64 that's all that they did, the crossover didn't change or anything - they just replaced the old CTS dual midranges with the single cone / fiberglass and mesh covered mid driver and replaced the plastic baffle with a plywood filler panel. On the early 2ax speakers you can find the filler panel and the cone mid as they were using up the pre-made 2a cabinets. The cone mid in the 2ax is easily available for very little money, as it is very common (it was also the tweeter in the original AR4) and doesn't burn out easily (lowering market demand). AR realized that many 2a owners wanted to upgrade their speakers so they offered the 2ax upgrade kit back in the day. I wonder if it came with new grill cloth :scratch2:

 

[chicks]

I wonder if it came with new grill cloth :scratch2:

I ran across the upgrade instructions somewhere, and they had you cut the original grille to get it off. They did include a replacement grille. An advantage of going this route, I should think, would be that the speakers could now be vertically oriented, correct?

 

[audiojones]

An advantage of going this route, I should think, would be that the speakers could now be vertically oriented, correct?

Huh, funny I never thought about it before but yeah, I guess so. The dual mids were placement sensitive, so it would stand to reason that the single mid would eliminate the direction of placement from the equation.

 

[chicks]

Been experimenting with these - hooked 'em up to my HH Scott LK-48, they seem to like toobz... Have to crank the volume up half way to get to normal levels, though. I have them sitting vertically on 24" bar stools, so the tweets/mids are a ear level. This makes a huge difference in the sound. Both pots are maxed out.

This setup seems perfect for the vintage Jazz that I normally listen to; sweet, rich, smooth, not a hint of harshness. Playing from the NAS right now, but will try some LP's later today; I've never actually hooked the Scott up to a turntable, though I've read that it has a very nice phono stage...

 

[shacky]

What does you Scott yse for OP tubes? My AR 5's sound great with my Fisher 7591 console amp. About 30 WPC.

But the bass comes alive with high power SS like my Sui 890DB :yes:

 

[chicks]

Well, I built some DIY vintage-looking stands for these, have them mounted vertically, and the sound is really pretty decent after all. I'm driving them right now with the wife's BPC Sony fake rack system, which claims to put out 100Wpc, highly unlikely, but plenty enough for these speakers in a large great room.

Enjoying these very much - not as accurate as the Advents or Avids, but nice, non-boomy bass. Need to spring for those badges on fleabay for the finishing touch...

 

[shacky]

Those stands look very original! You cat seems to like your chair and tunes too :yes:

What kind of leather chair is that? Looks comfy.:thmbsp:

 

[chicks]

What kind of leather chair is that? Looks comfy.:thmbsp:

It's a knockoff of the Ekornes Stressless Recliner. Couldn't afford the real deal at the time, some 25 years ago, but it's held up well, and is indeed very comfy.