Rustly AR18s

[Mark]

My 88 year-old father recently complained that the Acoustic Research AR18 speakers I gave him 30 years ago were sounding a bit “rustly”. I checked them out last weekend. One was dead, but as they were only 4ft apart I guess it was easy to miss one channel:-) and the other sounded sort of OK except for bass notes which were broken up. I took the grilles off and a handful of crumbly stuff fell on the floor and I saw that whatever was supposed to connect the cones to the surrounds had completely gone ! I have seen DIY repair kits for sale on the internet but I would rather let someone do it who does it all day every day. I need to get some quotes to see if they are economically repairable. Is there anywhere other than Wembley loudspeaker anyone would recommend ?

Thanks

Mark

[colin.hepburn]

Hi Mark
You may find someone to do the repairs for you but I don’t think it’ll be cheap
You probably have already done a Google search but try a search for acoustic research ar18 speakers cone repair Uk in your area it may pull up somebody But I think your best bet is to DIY them Check out Youtube for step-by-step tutorials
But unless your father likes them and wishes them repaired

Personally, I wouldn’t bother with them now there are way better speakers out there now for likely less than the repair cost you are likely to be quoted

I had a pair of the Ar18LXs with the same cone problems but didn’t bother with the repair I just kept the tweeters’ for another project and moved on if you move on from them keep the tweeters if they are still working
hope that helps a bit
Colin

[snowman_al]

Hi Mark,
You say one is dead and one is 'working'.
If they have been used for some time with the foam missing then it is likely the voice coils have rubbed / are rubbing on the magnets. That is the rustling you might hear.
I'm not sure a re-foam is going to be any good. Certainly expensive if you do not DIY.
A better solution if you want to keep them for your Dad would be to replace the woofer units with new 8 inch 8 ohm ones. I would not worry about specs, at least you would have a working pair. For example CPC have a paper cone unit
by Vistaton, search 8" Full Range Speaker Driver, 8 Ohm, 40W RMS @ ~£28 each.
Alan

[bob orbell]

Agree with all posts, bin them and buy new, as Colin said, there are MUCH better speakers out there for less than a repair. Bob

[bob orbell]

But unless your farther likes them and wishes them repaid ( should read, [ repaired ]

[colin.hepburn]

Originally Posted by bob orbell

But unless your farther likes them and wishes them repaid ( should read, [ repaired ]

now repaired. Bob

[bob orbell]

Well done Colin, again, the spell checker would see nothing wrong. Bob

[Pingushome]

Hi
Bit late I know but just found the speaker
So if you must have AR18s here’s a set on fleebay that have been re foamed so maybe this guy knows where and how much it cost if you don’t buy his speakers

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134145082...QAAOSwJgJik24M

Martin