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briodo

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    Music, skiing, computers, and AR speakers

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  1. I'm sorry to go elementary on you but have seen some posts on reworking these speakers. Have you done a wiring polarity check all the way from amp to drivers on both speakers? That will definitely make a difference. There is a free polarity checker app for iphones I have used to verify polarity as well. Plays a recorded MP3 tone and allows visible depiction of + or - phasing on each driver. I think it's called Speaker Pop. I have multiple amps running speakers in different rooms and use that app to get polarity correct across the suite of speakers. My wife loves that (just kidding)
  2. Welcome to the forum. While the AR discussion site has a wealth of information, most of the technical documents for the AR family is in the library found here: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/ The AR303 schematics are there under the 303 series found here http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/ar_303_series/ar_303_series_schematicsser/ar_303a_schematic.pdf Good luck with your project!
  3. You mention refoaming, but nothing on capacitor replacement. This issue is what my AR9's had before I replaced the capacitors. Essentially night and day in sound performance. Amp is not enough to blow the windows out, but should give you reasonable sound at low volumes. i would check the caps have been replaced and wiring is correct before changing amp.
  4. My experience to a T. The bass was still great but the mids and highs were muddy and ill defined. I almost sold my AR9 speakers until I found this website. It took me a long time to rework them as I had to learn how to refoam drivers, find the right capacitors, then sand and reoil the exterior cabinets. it is worth while. I still get a grin every time I fire them up, every single time...
  5. Great find, very impressive speakers when restored. A key point from AR_Pro is the speakers should not be used until they are restored to avoid further damage. The foam surrounds on the woofer hold the speaker coil in careful alignment to the magnet surrounding it. Without foam the coil will scrape against the metal causing damage which is difficult to repair. Think of a piston which is cushioned by air within a cylinder where the surfaces should be close, but never touch. No foam means the surfaces can touch. A little use, maybe no issue. A lot of use without foams leads to scraping of the voice coil, leading to more extensive repairs... Take your time, ask lots of questions, and you too can become one the forum members with great pictures and stories shared about your restoration.
  6. I'm not sure why, but that many AR drivers and wood cabinets gets me a little excited... They look spectacular, and while I can't read the review, it appears they may have sounded as good as they look. Would be fun to audition the set.
  7. Your work looks spectacular, and the crossover is so familiar to those dealing with the LSi family after AR went to the printed circuit board design. Good news: so much cleaner design. Bad news: pain in the butte to recap when required! With the right amplifier, those speakers are amazing!! Listen to Eagles Hell Freezes Over version of Hotel California and tell me these speakers can't fill the room!
  8. Great article and amazing slice in time for a host of equipment vendor names, many no longer with us. I had forgotten those were the days when a magazine could actually contain 200 pages! Impressive amount of analysis and statistics, which is more difficult to find today unless going into the more expensive realm of vendors. The AR98LS is an impressive speaker to boot... They did an incredible design to deliver a four way in a very small package. Looks great except for the cheezy plastic front. What happened there?
  9. These are one of my favorite speakers. While hearing is so subjective, my ears know what they like. AR10π have the uncanny ability to disappear into the music in the same way AR9's do. I found a pair many years ago that I gifted to my eldest daughter who appreciates music the way I do. They never fail to impress me on how beautiful they sound every time I visit. Beautiful work restoring them to their original beauty
  10. Really the important question is the foam grill intact? 🙂
  11. Great pictures, I have never seen an AR woofer that was shiny. It appears to be original based on tag, is the shiny surface an added coating?
  12. During a search for more info on them I found this observation from Andrew over at Audikarma: https://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/acoustic-research-ar-8-what-are-these.388524/ The AR-8 was AR's entry into the rock speaker market and was voiced to emulate the west coast sound made famous by JBL. Longtime AR customers considered this model to be boomy and unrefined, and JBL owners liked JBL's version of the west coast sound better. In the end, no one was really happy and the AR-8 was not a big success, it lasted only a short period of time. If you are looking for a comparison, the AR-8 sounds most like a JBL L26. That said, the AR-8 is a fun speaker to listen to, and some folks really like them. Andrew I found it interesting that AR would voice a speaker to match a specific type of sound VS accurately reproducing the original signal, which was one of the reasons I bought mine back in 1980.
  13. I hit my vintage gear quota for 2021 but this appears to be a heck of a deal. Quantity 4 AR-8's, in Denver area. https://denver.craigslist.org/ele/d/littleton-acoustic-research-ar8/7374964296.html I have some AR-7's, these appear to be very similar with 10" driver VS the 8 on the AR-7?
  14. sorry to ask, but are the old ones defective or missing? The foam surrounds can be replaced, unless the coil is open or driver is missing... There was another thread from awhile back where someone found a pioneer driver with same dimension and sound.
  15. Yep, what @lARrybodysays. I was wondering when the XLS line would come up in this thread. I have two XLS 2002, one each for my AR9 and AR9LSi. There are some who believe sound reinforcement amps are subpar, but they sound pretty darn good to me.
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