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AR-58S


Gambolt

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Just found this site, after getting a pair of AR-58S from a friend. There doesnt seem to be many threads about them, so I figured I would start one. I ordered the 11" woofer foam surrounds from Msound yesterday, since many people recommended these kits. I've never done this before, so it will be a learning experience. Will update as work gets done.

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Received my refoam kit today and pulled the 1st woofer out and started cleaning the rotting surround off. Then pulled the 2nd woofer to clean the surround off it, but noticed a difference in the drivers.

The 1st has part number 1-2100030B with an AR stamp on it, the magnet is round.

The 2nd has part number 200003-1 but has about a 5in square magnet on the back but no AR stamp.

The guy, I bought them from never replaced anything, and he had them since the mid to late 80s.

Any ideas which is correct or just refoam both and use them? I havent seen anything in the drawings yet this tells me definitive which is correct.

Thanx Jim

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Hi Jim

The AR-58s uses square magnet 12" woofer which was designed for the AR-XXs and AR-XXLS series. The other uses round magnet 12" woofer which was carried over from the AR-10TT/AR-11 series. Just use them as is since they are very close in spec to each other. Could you let me know the serial numbers of both AR-58s speakers and indicate which one use square magnet? AR-58s on the left or right in the picture?

Minh Luong

mluong303@aol.com

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Left - S/N 6036

Woofer - 2100030B

Tweeter - 20043-0

larger silver ring on the tweeter

Right - S/N 6044

Woofer - 200003-1

Tweeter - 200C29

smaller silver ring on the tweeter

has a sticker on it that says service replacement

200c29 looks right but there is a stamp over it and couldnt read the entire number so I may be off

The prior owner was the 2nd owner I believe, so its possible things may have needed to be replaced in the early 80s. Thanx for the response to go ahead and use the woofers as is.

Jim

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Well finished my foam surrounds this past friday, the procedure given by Msound was pretty easy to follow and both woofers came out pretty good. The first time I put them on though I discovered one of the tweeters is dead. Swapped it to the other cabinet and its for sure the tweeter.

So is the replacements from Simplyspeakers a viable option? replace just the one or both, so that they will match better?

Btw they sound awesome, had them hooked up while listening to Gilmour Live in Gdansk in 5.1.

They seem to take a bit more power though, even more than my B&W 683s, I am powering them with an old Yamaha M-60, so there is plenty of power.

Next I need to refinish the cabinets and grille, also need to figure out what to do about the black gasket on the woofers they goes around the screws, one of them just disintegrated while refoaming the woofers.

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Did a little more reading and ran into a thread about Hi-Vi Q1R tweeters with an inductor parallel to it. Would this be the better option?

I guess I'm the HiVi Q1R guy in these parts. While I think the Q1R could be adapted to your speakers, my recommendation would be to first try a used AR 3/4" dome from the AR-11 on. The differences were not that great between the various versions of the AR tweeter original to your speakers.

The Simply Speakers' tweeter is the same as the AR replacement tweeter sold by AB Tech. It is not a sonic match to the old tweeter, and is WAY overpriced relative to quality of construction. Its main attribute is that it fits the cabinet hole very well.

Woofer gasket foam tape can be purchased from Parts Express. Gaskets can be made from sheets of craft foam found in crafts stores (ie. Michaels). Some folks use weather stripping foam as gasket material. It all works.

Roy

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well ordered my original tweeter yesterday, so started thinking about the grill cloth. The original cloth is brown. That color isnt really floating my boat. Black is always a staple but I was thinking about redoing them in the off-white cloth like the earlier ARs that I see threads about. Is this sacrilege? changing from the original cloth 8-) At least I would be staying in the AR realm so to speak.

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if the original grilles are in good shape, I'd be inclined to keep them as is, and build a second set out of maybe 1/4" thick luan (plywood floor underlayment), paint them black, and then cover with a fabric of your choice...

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The brown fabric of later ARs definitely left me cold, and I wasn't all that crazy about the black, either. I have frequently thought that if I ever ended up with one of the newer ARs I might put the lighter cloth on it. If I did I would probably go with one of the lighter weight, less "slubby" weaves, though, to maintain the smoother and more "modern" lines of the newer boxes, because somehow the coarser weave on cabinets without the frames strikes me as a bit odd-looking.

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  • 1 month later...

New question here... probably pretty simple too. How do you remove the AR badge off the cabinet. It spins, just dont want to break it by pulling on it.

Either blade will pry and lift the metal AR logo straight up and off the cabinet.

Minh Luong

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  • 3 years later...

Jim

2100030B was later replacement stock, not AR10TT / AR-11 woofer!

Minh Luong

Hi Minh,

May I ask, do you know whether AR, also used Tonegen woofers (round magnet) in the (late) AR11? ...It looks like Tonegen has been used in the showed AR58 speakers here?

I have five pairs of AR 11" inch woofers, 2 pairs from AR3a, 1 pair from AR11 (Tonegen) and two pairs from AR91. All of them with round magnets.

The two Tonegen chassis' has been electroplated in a yellow/reddish transparent color. Is the Tonegen woofers produced in Japan?

Do we have any original AR specs of the different woofers?

The AR91 woofers must have higher Fo because of the spider stiffness. The AR91 woofers has a smaller wood-ring compared to AR3a woofers.

I can't detect any difference in low frequences between a pair Tonegen woofers and a (later) pair of AR3a woofers placed in the same AR11 cabinet. So the conclusion must be a close Fo resonance for the two mentioned woofers.

I would like to use one of the mentioned woofer pairs for two damaged AR-10pi cabinets I bought for a very low price.

See AR-10pi cabinets and gathered AR repair photos:

https://picasaweb.google.com/vbkolsen/AcousticResearchAR3aAR11

Could you help me with the questions?

Kim Hansen

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Hi Kim

"May I ask, do you know whether AR, also used Tonegen woofers (round magnet) in the (late) AR11?"

No, Tonegen units were not produced until after the end-of-life of the AR-11 (and most likely also after the e-o-l of the AR-58)

Look here for extensive info on the 12" woofer history:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=8182

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=1147

BRgds Klaus

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Hi Kim

"May I ask, do you know whether AR, also used Tonegen woofers (round magnet) in the (late) AR11?"

No, Tonegen units were not produced until after the end-of-life of the AR-11 (and most likely also after the e-o-l of the AR-58)

Look here for extensive info on the 12" woofer history:

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=8182

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?showtopic=1147

BRgds Klaus

Hi Klaus,

Thank you for the info concerning AR woofers.

Rgds. Kim

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