Acoustic Research AR-2X restoration

[Zafsk]

Hi guys,

I recently came into possession of a pair of AR-2X's that I'm excited about restoring. Unfortunately, I've just begun my foray into speaker design (still working on designing my cabinets for my first pair of multi-way speakers) and I'm not quite sure how to go about this repair.

The first speaker just needs to have its surround replaced. The second, however, has a bit more wrong with it. No surround, and the woofer's cone keeps popping out during any heavy bass. I think it's due to a loose coil. The spider is also torn, I'm not sure how to approach this. Do I need to replace the entire driver, I'd rather not if I can fix it myself.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks.

[speaker dave]

Originally Posted by Zafsk

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks.

Not to direct you away from DIY, but this is a great web site for AR speakers and their repair:

Home Page | The Classic Speaker Pages

If your woofer has voice coil problems then you will most likely need to find a replacement AR woofer. They aren't too hard to find but be aware that there were a couple of diifferent versions over the life of the AR2, AR2a and AR2ax. There were also cast and stamped versions and they don't fit in the same hole.

Good Luck,
David

[Zafsk]

So would the cone pop out due to voice coil problems?

[speaker dave]

It sounds like the spider is totally detached from the cone and coil. If that is the case then there woun't be much restraining force and the coil could come totally out of the gap. Hard for me to say much more than that without seeing it.

If glue joints break cleanly they can usually be reattached. If the spider is torn then it probably can't be repaired. Likewise if the coil has been damaged from banging around in and out of the gap.

David

[Zafsk]

Ah okay! Thanks. Yeah, it's torn so I think I'm pretty screwed. I've found a woofer pair, and I'm just going to replace both. Hopefully these work like they're supposed to. Thanks again!

[spex]

It is very typical for the spider to be worn or stretched or to actually rip in many speakers but it is particuarly true with many AR models due to the heavier cone. It is easy to send your woofers to us for reconing or for us to send you DIY recone kits. Reconing replaces all the moving parts so that includes a brand new spider.
cathy@speakerex.com