The burning question of course was whether a speaker, top of it's class 30 plus years ago, could be made to perform as well now as it did then? The wear and tear caused by use and age naturally would take a devastating toll on the condition of the electronic parts of the crossover and all the non-metallic parts of the speaker driver. The outer box with grill would be the easy part of the restoration process, and within whatever boundaries one set for staying as close to original as possible, some degree of cosmetic improvement would always be a possibility. As far as the cross-over was concerned, there could be no doubt that everything should be replaced, but while resistors and coils were easily renewed, to find capacitors with the exact characteristics could be somewhat of a challenge. Depending on what model you are looking at, there are a couple of suppliers offering complete replacement kits which makes it just a bit easier.
As for drivers themselves, there are two or three US suppliers still offering new factory originals which can be used as direct replacements, but stocks of these are running out fast, and some models are disappearing from the lists. The next avenue explored by some restorers is the use of new but not original drivers. These items have been rated by AR aficionados as worthy replacements for the originals, based on a combination of specifications, test measurements and subjective audio evaluations. In reality there are numerous reports of these refurbished jobs, despite sounding excellent in their own right, not measuring up 100% true to the original. I’m telling myself that things like the characteristics of the frame, the spider, the surround, the voice coil and the magnet all play a role in the forming of that particular sound which ultimately is perceived as being true to the nature of a specific brand of speaker – change one or more of these elements and you get a different sound.
The third and final option, and in my mind the next best thing to dropping in an exact original, is to restore the drivers you have. The most common part to be replaced is the surround, that papery/spongy black outer circle which connects the inner parts to the outer edge of the frame, and there is no doubt in my mind that due to a to-be-expected change in basic manufacturing material, the replacement surround will slightly alter the final sound, but hopefully, aided by the continued presence of the other 100% original factory parts, that will be closer to the performance of the original than that of a non-factory replacement. Proper AR replacement surrounds are available on the web, complete with glue and comprehensive instructions. Personally I would not try my hand at the rest (cones, spiders, voice coils etc), but there are a few specialists offering this service as well.
Ok, so now every day was filled with the excitement of wonderful expectations, but the one serious question to be answered was whether I would be able to lay my hands on any of these vintage speakers, and if I did, would I be able to restore them? Let’s be realistic about the odds against finding any of these old AR’s; despite the fact that some were sold here during the 1970’s and 80’s, South Africa is very far removed from the old AR hotspots of North America, Europe or the East. Also, back then when a speaker started making funny noises, it was simply chucked into the dumpster and replaced with whatever was fashionable at the time, so what hope could I have of these items surviving all those years?
I nevertheless started visiting all the local pawn shops and used equipment dealers, but unfortunately with no success – truth is, in 2009 most people simply were unfamiliar with the name, so why buy or even try to sell something old and unknown? I turned to eBay and yes, here you could certainly pick up a set for $10, but with the weight of these things, some could not even be shipped within the USA itself. Whenever a seller was willing to wrap it up, the cost of stamps ran up to ten times the selling price (For example, to ship a vintage amplifier from Northern America to South Africa, costing $50 and weighing 10kg (22 lbs), would cost you a really cool $200). In addition to that, none or very few were in really pristine condition, so on top of purchasing and shipping costs, one had to add the cost of refurbishing, and this all while shutting your brain off from morbid thoughts about unsuccessful recoveries.
But whatever the odds, the hook has already been swallowed whole in one gulp, and during the search my interest spread to other vintage equipment – there’s no stopping the rot! How about building up a surround sound system consisting of ancient components? A quick Internet search showed that it was indeed being done, despite the reservations of some pundits about the supposed fragility of older speaker designs and materials. In fact, part of the motivation for creating this blog was to prove to friends in the US, Canada and the UK that quality components from the 1960's can effortlessly stand out in a modern home theater setup. Unfortunately the range of ancient components available was limited to speakers, because the other two important cornerstones of the triangle did not exist during the classic or post-classic AR periods, these of course being multi-channel audio/video amplifiers and DVD players. A compromise would have to be made. What then follows on this blog, is my experiences in establishing both a vintage based home theater system, and the recreation of a very specific 1970's hi-fi setup. Frustrating, challenging, exciting and extremely fulfilling when successful. Starting out as a home theater project, it has now reached back into the past to also encompass high fidelity, and I have really underestimated the momentum which is still gathering - there's no immediate end in sight.