AR-2ax. On the Prowl. Typical Issues???

@elliottbnewcombjr 

My sound pressure meter came in handy measuring the output of the old tweeter against the new one, compared to the midrange. Old working tweeter was weak.

That's the kind of attention to detail that can make or break the whole project.

Good work.

cd318

when I first viewed your earlier post, I thought that image was of a larger model AR, I thought the AR-2ax were smaller, until I took them out of the box, definitely larger than I remembered.

Wonderful that they fit in/on a bookshelf, only 11-1/2" deep, sealed, no vents. Real wood is always my preference.

Original idea was just to get a working pair, nostalgia, use them down in the garage, maybe work on them someday. Now, forced to fix them, they sound better than anything I own that fits in my office.

Beat my Wharfedale's/B&W/Paradigm/Boston/Energy, and took the sub out of the office as these 10" woofers make plenty bass.

I need to update my system photos, I’ve made a few changes since posting them here.

fiesta75

you were right, these were matched, woofers had been renewed (cone and foam) (not older cloth type).

mids and tweeters type matched, but one tweeter was dead.

I replaced the caps as you advised, ended up changing to new level controls as long as I was going for new tweeters. surprisingly, those midrange paper cones are solid and sound terrific.

inefficient, yes, my small Luxman 10 wpc tube amp is just enough, they would definitely need more in a larger space.

I played them with a Fisher 200T SS receiver in the late 70's, lots more volume, I am surprised to find it is only 20wpc

jl35

I’ve got two 500cs, one all cleaned up to sell, very nice shape, dead quiet. Other a hard looking thing I took in as part of a trade. I also had an 800c, but traded that to Bill for his Mitsubishi Vertical Turntable LT-5V in my office which now plays into these AR-2ax.

The combo of new level controls, new tweeters, re-worked woofers (might as well consider new), new caps sounds better than you may think. Existing mids are crazy good.

Tweeter and Mid level controls adjusted to/in the space with the help of the sound meter is a large part of the success.