Lets get this party started.... without a tweeter

[agusdfv]

Hey audio enthusiasts,

I'm a young college student living in an apartment. My flatmate & I have laid-back parties every once in a while - but until recently didn't exactly have the best hardware for it. Instead of buying 'bullsith party speakers' like my one audiophile friend terms them, I decided I should get some home theater type equipment, particularly because growing up in my parents house they had a home theater setup in one room that I remember really liking. Being on a college student budget, I went to the second-hand market and bought a pair of bookshelf speakers with an amp for $220. I thought it was a fairly good bargain. They are Acoustic research model 312 HO.

--------------------- Thing is, after the first party I noticed the sound was missing something, and after investigating, it was clear that the tweeter on the right speaker wasn't playing. So after redoing the biwiring, I did some diagnostics, grabbed a friend's voltimeter and read the voltage at the very end of the cables that connect to the tweeter (from inside the cabinet) - and it seemed there was a current when playing music. So that would indicate the tweeter itself was broken. I tried reconnecting the tweeter to this cable, and at this point I had some bad luck (or misfortune due to lack of experience and precaution) as the prongs that match the cabling ends actually broke off just like the tabs of soda cans do when you fiddle with them too much. So then I took them to my school's comp engineering lab where I tried soldering the prongs back into place... but I lost the end that broke off. It's a lost cause. Either way, it wouldn't be helpful to fix it if the tweeter is broken as I deducted. So.. what now? From word of mouth during the purchase and with my friend, it seems these were made back in the 70s.. and the company that made them, AR, isn't around anymore.

---------------------- What do you all think of my story? Where would you go from here. I'm mostly moving on and looking into getting a sound bar, which could handle the mids and hi frequencies well, to complement the powerful bass of the ARs. I've been told that the amp might not be strong enough to demonstrate the full potential of the ARs - and I'm all for investing in a new amp, especially one that has bluetooth; but I don't think I can allocate much more than $60-80 for that right now, or do I really want to. The amp is Sony STR-DE595. Maybe you all have recommendations? Anyone selling second hand? I'm in the Miami area.

 

[shadyJ]

I would try to fix the AR speakers, if possible. I don't know where you would find a replacement tweeter for them, but AR was a pretty common brand back in the day so there may be parts out there for it. It will definitely take some googling.

 

[lovinthehd]

So what do you mean by "redoing the bi-wiring"? Something happen there? Didn't remove the straps between the terminals or ? No benefits to bi-wiring anyways, just increases chances of problems...

Acoustic Research is sort of still around, not the old original AR that pre-date your speakers, nor the same AR that produced your speakers, but you might see if these guys have any information...https://cmtechsupport.com/

 

[agusdfv]

when I checked the wiring the first time one of the screws holding the exposed speaker wire in place in the terminal was a little loose, So I tightened that. before I did though, I cut the wire down a little bit more and re-exposed it . I don't have the tool that snips the protective plastic around the wire and exposes it so I was DIYing it with some scissors, and I figured that I might redo it more carefully with respect to not damaging the exposed part of the wire. I did the same for the ends going into the amp.

It is encouraging that some form of AR is still around or that their prevalence could promise an aftermarket/ replacement possibility. I will get around to contacting CMtech support and doing some internet research/googling on the tweater speaker. This week I'm finishing up some work for the semester and will be busy, but next week I have off for thanksgiving and will update you guys on if I find anything.

In the meantime, what about the Amp - is it good enough, to power my speakers to their full and have decent sound quality & buy a $20 bluetooth device to add-on to it
(Like This: h ttps://w ww.bestbuy.c om/site/logitech-wireless-bluetooth-speaker-adapter-black/5294033.p?skuId=5294033&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1260672&ds_rl=1266837&ref=212&loc=1&ds_rl=1266837&gclid=CjwKCAiA5qTfBRAoEiwAwQy-6T6fyoRea-ZAc3IH1p2MhEW0sy6nFBLHFmx9cshFDniPQMFxyZowWBoCiQMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds )
OR rather invest in a new, contemporary amp, ideally that comes with bluetooth functionality?

 

[lovinthehd]

Can't imagine not having at least a simple wire insulation stripper, have had one around like this one ever since I can remember https://www.amazon.com/DOWELL-Stripper-Multi-Function-Tool，Professional-Craftsmanship/dp/B06X9875Z7/ref=sr_1_49/132-7958993-2708754?ie=UTF8&qid=1542051084&sr=8-49&keywords=wire+insulation+stripping+tool

I now also have one of the fancier ones https://www.amazon.com/Stripper-Electrical-Klein-Tools-11063W/dp/B00BC39YFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1542051382&sr=8-1&keywords=wire+insulation+stripping+tool+klein

The receiver is serviceable (I have a similar unit, the 597) but powering speakers to "full" maybe not. Powering speakers to "full" is how you break them I have a similar BT device for use in my car and have also used it in the house, it'll work but I prefer wifi using a Chromecast Audio unit.

 

[KaatheSnake]

Hey audio enthusiasts,

I'm a young college student living in an apartment. My flatmate & I have laid-back parties every once in a while - but until recently didn't exactly have the best hardware for it. Instead of buying 'bullsith party speakers' like my one audiophile friend terms them, I decided I should get some home theater type equipment, particularly because growing up in my parents house they had a home theater setup in one room that I remember really liking. Being on a college student budget, I went to the second-hand market and bought a pair of bookshelf speakers with an amp for $220. I thought it was a fairly good bargain. They are Acoustic research model 312 HO.

--------------------- Thing is, after the first party I noticed the sound was missing something, and after investigating, it was clear that the tweeter on the right speaker wasn't playing. So after redoing the biwiring, I did some diagnostics, grabbed a friend's voltimeter and read the voltage at the very end of the cables that connect to the tweeter (from inside the cabinet) - and it seemed there was a current when playing music. So that would indicate the tweeter itself was broken. I tried reconnecting the tweeter to this cable, and at this point I had some bad luck (or misfortune due to lack of experience and precaution) as the prongs that match the cabling ends actually broke off just like the tabs of soda cans do when you fiddle with them too much. So then I took them to my school's comp engineering lab where I tried soldering the prongs back into place... but I lost the end that broke off. It's a lost cause. Either way, it wouldn't be helpful to fix it if the tweeter is broken as I deducted. So.. what now? From word of mouth during the purchase and with my friend, it seems these were made back in the 70s.. and the company that made them, AR, isn't around anymore.

---------------------- What do you all think of my story? Where would you go from here. I'm mostly moving on and looking into getting a sound bar, which could handle the mids and hi frequencies well, to complement the powerful bass of the ARs. I've been told that the amp might not be strong enough to demonstrate the full potential of the ARs - and I'm all for investing in a new amp, especially one that has bluetooth; but I don't think I can allocate much more than $60-80 for that right now, or do I really want to. The amp is Sony STR-DE595. Maybe you all have recommendations? Anyone selling second hand? I'm in the Miami area.

Hey, welcome to AH! You'll love it here, and meet several nice and fun to talk to guys. I'm one of them. Other examples would be @speakerman39 , @lovinthehd , @TechHDS , and @TLS Guy . I'm sorry to hear about your tweeter problem. Well, you don't need an original tweeter in a speaker for it to sound good. I've changed out woofers and tweeters just to experiment with sound quality. What size are your speakers? What type of tweeter is it? Horn, or the regular type? I wish I could help in any way I could.
Thanks,
Ryan (Or Kaa, or Snake)