NEEDED !! Guidance on Rebuilding AR3A Need Parts

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ARJIm

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Joined 2012
#1
Hello,
I have an earlier pair of AR3a speakers.
It's time....
I need to rebuild/replace the tweets, mids and crossovers.
I have info on the newer substitution parts for the SEAS mids and tweets....
But without the RIGHT crossover.... I might as well buy a boom box.
So...
I would REALLY appreciate some input if you would.....
What Parts did you get?
Tweets?....
Mids?
Crossover design (I can build it if required)

And source for the above.
There is a gentleman who sells the package but hid price is more than twice what I can afford.

again... ANY good help would really be appreciated.
also... what would you have done differently in the rebuild?

Thanks again
 
#3
Thanks... great start but....
$500.... ouch. Carl has paid his dues... but paying that kind of money... for what is essentially a new/different speaker.... I couldn't defend buying a pair of speakers for $500 without auditioning them... $200 for mids, tweets and a crossover... ok maybe.
I am mechanically able and I built a Dynaco Power Amp years ago... and then sold it for way too cheap..... oh well....
So I was hoping for some alternatives. I can do the chopping.. give me a razor and I can use it lake a chain saw
I don't need a perfect restoration..... or original sound....
I'm hoping to find something that sounds good....

My other speakers, 1972 Smaller Advents and 1998 JBL L56...I miss the AR3a sound.
Thanks for helping.
 
#5
This has been approached a number of ways. I have an issue of Speaker Builder which subbed mid and hi drivers from the 80s that would cost less on Upay. When you say "early" do you mean cloth surround/cast frame? Be aware that the surround and the spider are glued to masonite which sometimes separates from the aluminum basket. Still. You are salvaging an audio classic. I regret letting go of my Heathkit version, since they don't show up so often these days. I have several early AR-2s, but it aint the same burly animal.
 
#6
The best choice is to get a modern little full range unit, that works like a medium power
mid-tweeter unit . An improvement is to put it into a wave guide ( that you might DIY from a dead speaker's cone).
Crossover frequency will then be dictated mostly on where the woofer ceases to emit according to ....
 
#7
ARJim,
Sounds like you don't have experience in speaker design, but are game for a DIY project.

Let's be objective:
The AR is a 40 year old design. The box was PB and not braced. The front edge worse than a sharp edge, it is two sharp edges. This was a killer speaker in 1970. ( I grew up on 2a's and 4's) Fortunately, both knowledge of speaker design and driver technology have greatly improved. You don't want to hear it, but you are chasing a ghost down a rabbit hole. Your time and money would be far better spent on an established modern DIY-kit design.
 
#9
The box was braced. They knew something. Mine are plywood. Modding a classic is a great way to learn how speakers work. You DON'T have to buy new to get great results, especially when sealed box woofers are still mostly odd fellows amongst all the BR aligned bass drivers. Big magnet!!!.
 
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