QuestionQUESTION: Accidentally crossed wires on speaker. Blew fuse in the Marantz amp. Replaced. Amp fine but speaker now dead. Is this something I can fix or do I have to find a shop. I'm sure you know AR's are find speakers so I hate to lose one. I don't have a clue how to get into it, let alone repair it. Ha! Thanks Dan.
ANSWER: I find it hard to believe that the speaker itself was damaged by crossing the wires. It makes sense that the amp fuse smoked as the impedence load went from normal to 0. That being said, you need to isolate the problem a bit. Is the actual speaker driver open? Measure the terminals on the speaker frame itself with an ohm meter. If the driver is 8 ohm of impedence, expect the measurement to be about 6 ohms or so. Check the crossover for any damage. Is there a high frequency adjustment pot as well? Check that as well. Update this with what you find and we'll proceed based upon that.
Dan
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QUESTION: I really REALLY hate to bother you but I don't know what a driver is and I don't know what a crossover is either. I have a neighbor who can probably check ohms. There are two small knobs on the rear of AR speakers. Should clarify "crossing wires" was actually connecting one wire to proper terminal and another wire to a THIRD connection of some sort. Many thanks. I spent a couple years as an "expert" here (on fly fishing) but then a whole bunch of other fellas joined and they didn't need me any more so I left. Ha!
ANSWER: The adjustment knobs are part of the crossover. Inside the box you will find 2 or 3 actual speakers often referred to as drivers. The crossover separates different frequencies and sends them to the appropriate driver. Each driver is designed to handle certain frequency ranges. From what you describe, the problem is most likely in the crosspver not the drivers themselves. If you are nor comfortable working on these, the repair should not exceed $50 for at least a diagnosis of the problem. Most ARs are worth the investment.
Dan
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QUESTION: One quick and (I promise) FINAL question. How in the world do I get into the back of an AR3A Acoustic Research speaker to check things out. Solid fixed sealed looking back with only the little round "control" panel, adjustment knobs and wire terminals. No clue how to get in there. Ideas? And I PROMISE this is the last question! Ha!
AnswerFirst of all the questions are not a problem at all. Better to ask then the break something. As far as I know, for the AR series, access is through the front. You need to remove the grill and then the largest speaker to get access to the inside. I'm not aware of any other way.
Dan
