This is not for a sale of a woofer. Rather it is a REPAIR SERVICE of your defective woofer sent to us. This is for one original AR 12 inch woofer for the AR-3 model speaker. It is the cast aluminum, alnico magnet woofer. Some also carried over into early production of the AR-3a. We may add an additional charge or reject a woofer if a prior repair attempt was made. WE HAVE HAD DRIVERS SHOW UP WITH NO DOCUMENTATION. This will address two common failures of this woofer. 1 The bond of the cloth surround to the woofer edge and the bond of the spider (the corrugated disk holding the cone to the frame) are often failing, producing rattling or distortion, particularly on high volume notes. Do not play it any longer. 2 After all these years of playing and sometimes rather loudly, the spider sags and the voice coil sags down into the magnet gap. Continued playing will likely result in the voice coil colliding with the bottom of the magnet gap. Why are these two issues critical to the future of your AR-3 speakers. 1 The failing bonds can result in rubbing of the voice coil in the magnetic gap causing failure of the voice coil. If you can lift the edge of the surround or the spider anywhere along the edge lightly with your finger, this needs to be repaired. 2 If the spider sags appreciably, you run the risk of the voice coil bottoming out at the far end of it’s travel on high bass notes. This will peen over the edge of the voice coil or cause it to tear from the cone. You can check the condition of the spider by sighting across it’s face. All the folds should be at about the same height. A slight depression in the center is OK but a deep sag is not. This also shows as a pulling in on the roll of the surround. Totally disassemble the woofer. Install a new spider if needed. Rebond all surfaces with a lifetime adhesive. Clean and center the voice coil. Install a new dust cover. Reseal the cloth surround. Fully test the woofer with test equipment and a music source. You will need to use some type of spacer to ensure that the surround does not come in direct contact with the box. We use wooden spools from a craft store bolted in every mounting hole. Please browse our entire store. We are constantly adding new items. If you would like to be advised of new and exceptional items as well as our sales, please sign up for our newsletter. The item “ACOUSTIC RESEARCH AR-3 WOOFER, CAST ALUMINUM FRAME, ALNICO MGT. REPAIR SERVICE” is in sale since Wednesday, April 8, 2020. This item is in the category “Consumer Electronics\Vintage Electronics\Vintage Audio & Video\Vintage Speakers”. The seller is “vintage-ar” and is located in Albany, New York. This item can’t be shipped, the buyer must pick up the item.
- Model: AR-3
- MPN: Does Not Apply
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
- Brand: Acoustic Research