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tysontom
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Posts posted by tysontom
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Jeff, I think this uncommon speaker was an AR-1W “custom cabinet,” with Altec 755A and AR-1 crossover components added to make it an AR-1 “custom cabinet.” This is the first time I’ve ever seen this cabinet style, but I’ve heard and read about custom cabinets being offered by AR in the past. It was very likely a one-off prototype built in 1955 by Henry Kloss in his Mt. Auburn, Massachusetts loft—the first home of Acoustic Research. It has the earmarks of a Kloss-built cabinet; for one thing, he liked the square shape, and he later built several KLH speakers (Model One, Two, Seven, and Twelve) in that general configuration, though most were floor-standing models. It may well be the only one ever made.
On your speaker, one corner of the 755A inner-box cutout is rounded and custom-fabricated because it is too close to the edge of the baffle board and is practically on top of the woofer opening, demonstrating how tight and impractical this would have been for a production version and impractical for a production model. In other words, the 755A box could not comfortably fit on the front panel in this configuration. Other cut marks for the 755A sub enclosure are obviously hand-cut. In addition, the crossover-component placement is much cleaner and neater than normal—depicting careful hand fabrication—and the wiring is different (heavier) from typical AR-1s from this very early period.
Insofar as this speaker has a standard AR label on the back, standard components (perhaps except for the crossover wiring), front-molding material and so forth, it was most likely built alongside the first AR-1s and 1Ws fabricated by AR in the Mt. Auburn location. The handwriting on the label appears to be Kloss’ handwriting, very similar to my AR-1 #0006 prototype.
According to the December, 1955 price list, “cabinets to custom dimensions available for models AR-1W and AR-1WU only.” This might have been a one-off prototype or one-off special for a specific customer. I remember hearing that a point of contention (there were several) between Villchur and Kloss was to offer “specials” from the factory, and these were eventually reduced in number over time. The two men did not get along well and finally parted in February, 1957. Kloss was a cabinetmaker of sorts and more into custom fabrication; Villchur was not and did not want to get into building specials, especially after production began to ramp up, causing the small company to be very busy in the late spring and summer of 1955.
Insofar as the AR-1 was introduced to the public in October, 1954 at the New York Audio Fair, AR-1 production units didn’t begin shipping until March of 1955, and the factory began building around 50 speakers/month during the summer and fall of that year for a total of 450 or so AR-1s and AR-1Ws in 1955. There were only six employees during the beginning of that first year, and production was limited to the confines of Kloss’ small loft (around 2000 sq. ft.) at 23 Auburn Street in Cambridge. As production began to rapidly expand, employment ramped up to around 50 by the time the company moved from Mt. Auburn Street to the four-story building at 24 Thorndike Street in 1956. Building custom cabinets just wasn’t even remotely practical.
Also, the square shape of this cabinet was not considered as practical, attractive or convenient as the rectangular cabinet shape for placing on bookshelves, and the original AR prototype—which was also square at 19" x 19" x 11"—was not put into production because of the awkward square shape.
—Tom Tyson
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On 3/18/2023 at 1:10 PM, Steve F said:
I probably WANTED them to be 2ax’s!
Oh definitely! So did I, and I'm sorry they weren't AR-2axs. Likely studio props anyway, but still it's fun to see these old speakers appear in pictures or on the screen.
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4 hours ago, genek said:
It's a video.
On 3/16/2023 at 12:22 AM, tysontom said:William Shatner (tender age of 91) shown in hearing-aid commercial (!) with a pair of AR-2ax or possibly AR-5 speakers flanking the fireplace. This commercial first appeared in December 2022 and is still current. The AR-2axs (or AR-5s, less likely) are nicely positioned on each side of the fireplace, back against the fireplace wall. Even the logo plates are straight.
William Shatner developed tinnitus filming some sequences of the filming of Star Trek episode "Arena."
AR-2axs or AR-5s?
Tom Tyson
2 minutes ago, RoyC said:Those are KLH 6's.
Roy
Hard to know for sure, but they do seem to be KLH Sixes or Fours just by the appearance of the grill and logo. It seems a bit ironic to have a pair of stereo loudspeakers shown in the background of a hearing-loss commercial, and perhaps they are just props in a studio setting, but it caught my attention.
Tom
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Yeah, you are right, the logo *should* be on the lower-right when mounted vertically. Could possibly be KLH Sixes, but the box shape is not quite right for the Six, and the Six has a silver-colored aluminum logo, which would be brighter. Hmmm....
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William Shatner (tender age of 91) shown in hearing-aid commercial (!) with a pair of AR-2ax or possibly AR-5 speakers flanking the fireplace. This commercial first appeared in December 2022 and is still current. The AR-2axs (or AR-5s, less likely) are nicely positioned on each side of the fireplace, back against the fireplace wall. Even the logo plates are straight.
William Shatner developed tinnitus filming some sequences of the filming of Star Trek episode "Arena."
AR-2axs or AR-5s?
Tom Tyson
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On 2/20/2023 at 4:03 PM, mvboland said:
@tysontom - the two speakers are indeed not consistently represented above so here they are in a more orderly fashion (both now back together):
The internal wiring was identical between the two and it looks like I only got one wide-angle shot showing the potentiometers and capacitors:
Let me know if there is more worth seeing!
-Michael
Michael, great images! You do have a rare set of early AR-3s; there are very few this old that are still in this condition. As for your grill, allow the grill material to go beyond the grill panel itself since the grill is tucked-in under the molding. This was a complicated way to do this, and AR did later change the method to the later AR-3a style, but frankly, the early AR-3 grill (when properly installed) was a much more elegant-looking grill than the later AR-3a grill with the noticeable gap around the edges of the molding. The older ARs with the gold thread were very handsome, in my view!
Note that the grill tucks in flush within the grill panel, and it's usually best to use a kitchen knife or putty knife to gently tuck the grill in under the molding. AR actually applied glue under the molding, but it's not always necessary to do that, but the grill need to be carefully positioned to line up the threads and the panel, and to remove any creases or wrinkles. Properly done, the grill should lie flat without any creases or bows, and so forth, of course easier said than done. The "3" stick pin is always in the lower right corner, spaced away from the corners the same distance as the logo badge itself. I sent this AR-3 to the San Francisco Air Port Museum for their exhibit on high-fidelity sound in 2006.
Another view from an old WTFM radio ad:
Notice the location of the "3" stick pin in the lower-right corner.
Tom
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On 2/5/2023 at 8:47 PM, mvboland said:
Thanks as always to @tysontom for sharing AR wisdom. I was led astray after going down a YouTube rabbit hole on speaker placement as modern speakers seem to be best away from walls. Instead, I should have paid more attention to item #4 on the decal on the back of the speaker:
Perhaps as expected, the bass response is much improved with the speaker in that position. The frequency plot below is with a calibrated microphone at 1 meter (red line - still showing some room acoustic artifacts) and right in front of the woofer (orange line). Still lacking a home anechoic chamber but both are much flatter than the ones above.
In terms of the missing screw, I do still believe that was a factory boo-boo since the sealing putty that had filled the hole was painted over (just like the screws) and the t-nut underneath worked great fine once I got a new screw. I can see how it might have been missed as it was the screw that is closest to the top of the case, almost under the overhang where the grill mounts. These have also been in the family since they were new and have not been opened or taken for repair in my memory (40+ years). I checked with my mom and she doesn't remember any service either (her memory goes back somewhat further 😉)
Thanks again to everyone for contributing!
“In terms of the missing screw, I do still believe that was a factory boo-boo since the sealing putty that had filled the hole was painted over (just like the screws) and the t-nut underneath worked great fine once I got a new screw. I can see how it might have been missed as it was the screw that is closest to the top of the case, almost under the overhang where the grill mounts. These have also been in the family since they were new and have not been opened or taken for repair in my memory (40+ years). I checked with my mom and she doesn't remember any service either (her memory goes back somewhat further.”
Michael, it definitely is possible (as Roy suggests, too) that this screw was missing from production when the speaker was produced. Most of the screw-ups (NPI) occurred during repair; but no one is perfect, and the factory was under pressure to build a lot of speakers during early 1959 when this speaker was manufactured.
Looking back, the AR-3 prototype was first displayed to the public in the summer of 1958 at the Chicago Hi-Fi Show. In October of that year, the AR-3 was officially introduced in its “production” form at the New York High Fidelity Music Show. To say it was the “hit” of the show is an understatement; by November, Acoustic Research had received 500 firm orders for the brand-new speaker system!
Because SN C 0997—definitely finished in lacquered walnut—was manufactured in the early part of 1959, mistakes would have been more prevalent even with several quality-control inspections along the way. It was common to fix air leaks with Mortite putty anyway, so a screw was somehow left out and the screw hole filled it in with Mortite. The big machine screws were overkill anyway, so a single missing screw would hardly affect performance if there were no air leaks. No big deal, but QC probably missed it or ignored it at the time since AR was rushed to fulfill a high order rate at the time (AR was growing quickly, as employment had grown from around six at the beginning in the summer of 1954 to 50 employees in 1956 when the company moved into the four-story building at 24 Thorndike Street in Cambridge).
Can you show some images of the other AR-3 (#C 0978)? I didn’t see it anywhere, but I may have missed it.
Note that AR didn’t add an additional “0” to the serial-number range until 1960. It is also unusual to have consecutive serial numbers with early AR speakers, as they were never produced in “pairs” until the AR-7. It’s more happenstance than intentional to find a consecutive pair, so it is not as though AR matched-up speaker pairs.
—Tom
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On 1/27/2023 at 6:55 AM, Giorgio AR said:
Good morning Tom, splendid "warehouse", from the number of cardboard boxes I feel a "slight envy", but an enormous pleasure for the conservation of a piece of history.
I circled this instrument of yours which I think is used to produce energy (human propulsion) to air-condition and properly store part of your collection!!With this photo I have exhausted my quota of attachments!
Yes, wouldn't it be great to hook that Schwinn "AirDyne" exercize bicycle to a generator-battery system to help air-condition the space! It has a blower blade attached to the big wheel, and it blows air into your face (whether you want it or not), so perhaps a generator could be attached. It would require some heavy pumping on those pedals to make enough electricity to handle the HVAC load, however! Go back in your previous posts and remove some images to regain some file space (I think it will work; that is what I did).
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>I did seal the cloth surround with the solution devised and it made things much more airtight based on the time for the displaced woofer to return to rest (went from maybe 1 second to at least 2 seconds) but the low end response remains the same. All testing above has been done with a single speaker at a time on the floor (so they are not cancelling each other out) and a calibrated microphone connected to a DATS v3. The speakers are currently being driven by Dynaco Mark IIIs. I don't have any other full-range speakers to try with the Dynacos and also only have an AV receiver as another amp which I am not sure is up to the task for these low-impedance speakers."
"One of the screws mounting the tweeter to the enclosure was missing (so only 2 of 3 present). The screw hole was filled with the sealing putty and so probably looked OK to the builder."
Finding a screw hole patched with putty clearly suggests that someone has worked on the speaker in the past and probably stripped-out a T-nut and just simply caulked the hole. T-nuts can be temperamental after many years. I am confident that the speaker never left the factory in 1959 (early serial number) that way originally, as there were too many QC checks and inspections to have allowed that to happen. It's possible, of course, but highly unlikely.
There are several things that can affect the roll-off in deep-bass measurements, and it could involve your microphone, test setup, amplifier/preamp and so forth, but more importantly, the speakers should be measured facing into a 2-Pi environment. Your measurement appears to resemble a 4-Pi measurement as if in an anechoic chamber, if the response begins to fall off long before resonance of around 43 Hz In a sense the floor measurement is close but probably not ideal, but its likely that something else is at play.
Another possible issue may be the damping of the speaker, and you mentioned that it had "squares of pink fiberglass" in it, which suggests that someone has definitely been inside the speakers in the past. Many of the early AR-3s used a rock-wool insulation, and it was in ramdom pieces of a specific weight. I don't remember AR using squares of fiberglass (KLH did at one point), but some may have had "squares." The important thing, however, is the correct weight (amount) of fiberglass/rock wool in the cabinet, as this will directly affect the damping ("Q") of the acoustic-suspension system and thus the output down close to resonance. An air leak will also affect damping, so there other issues at hand here. The roll-off suggests more a problem with the measurement solid angle.
The response of a properly working AR-3 (or AR-1 or AR-3a) would be very close to this (below) if measured correctly into 180 solid angle:
This is what happens when the same loudspeaker is measured when facing into full space, looking into a 360 degree solid angle:
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This measurement was taken of an AR-3 measured in Harvard University's large anechoic chamber, with the speaker measured into full space (360 degrees). This would be akin to attaching a rope to your AR-3 and lowering it into the center of your listening room so that it was away from all surfaces. The bass response would be thin. This anechoic-chamber measurement shows the reduced output, starting at the frequency of ultimate air-load resistance (Lambda) down to resonance, where the 12 dB/octave begins to occur. The speaker will have flat output down to resonance when it is faces a 180 degree solid angle, as against a wall and up off the floor a foot or two, so that it looks into the proper angle.
Tom Tyson
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On 2/1/2023 at 7:48 AM, AR surround said:
That was my first thought when I saw the high mounting height...potentially compromised sound from that position. Did you ever lower them a bit to correct the matter?
People complain about placement issues with the AR9 and 90's, but the footprints of those speakers are about the same as an upright large bookshelf speaker; even less than for the bookshelf units placed horizontally on those early AR stands.
I would have loved to mount the LSTs lower in that room, but it wasn't possible. They were just barely above head-height walking into the den from the right side, so it was not possible. There was also the wife factor: it had to look presentable, and this installation was satisfactory. The main reason for "not-great" sound was the room itself: it had lots of casement windows around each side, and a lot of window glass -- particularly pane-glass windows -- will usually harm sound reproduction somewhat, but the high mounting position caused a lot of interference effects from the ceiling, etc., which hurt the sound.
Speakers such as the AR-LST and LST/2 (and even MST) are room sensitive and need to be carefully mounted for best performance. Space is needed on the sides without too much obstruction, with the speakers well up off the floor, such as on a shelf or stand. They need to be placed relatively close to a front wall (back against the front wall is fine and actually desirable) for proper bass reproduction (2-Pi). When I first got the LSTs, I mounted them in on a shelf about three feet off the floor, three or four feet from the room corners and about eight feet between each other in a fairly large room. The sound was great, it seemed to me, at the time.
The tower speakers such as the AR9 and AR90 are somewhat less restricted, at least from the viewpoint of forward radiation, but they, too, should be placed fairly close to the front wall and away from the corners, if possible. They take up very little space considering the massiveness of the speakers themselves.
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19 hours ago, Jim Pearce said:
Does anyone know where I can find the dimensions for the originals to compare the ones that I have and see if they might be genuine?
Those appear to be the solid-walnut AR Speaker Base(s) designed originally for the AR-3, AR-2-series and AR-3a, AR-5, etc.
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On 1/28/2023 at 10:01 AM, JeffS said:
Tom,
Your AR-LST setup did look great with the custom stands, sorry to hear it didn’t sound as good as you hoped. The custom made stands blended well with the room.
I’ll bet the stacked LST’s sounded great. What amplifiers did you use to drive them?
You certainly have the most comprehensive AR collection, and this is just one more piece of supporting evidence! It looks like you not only have the stands, but the assembly wrench!
That made my day! Thanks for the pictures.
Jeff
Jeff, the LSTs were up too high on the wall installation, but I had no choice and could never get the right balance. I mean, they actually sounded great overall, but I knew there was room for improvement. The low end was upset somewhat, too. Also, the room had too much glass in it (windows), and this didn't help matters. Those stands were fabricated from HDF, and the bottom shelf was double-thickness. Each stand thing weighed around 30 lbs. or so but was very dense. The stands were fastened to the brick wall with six wall anchors on each stand with light caulking around the edges and then the stands were painted the same color as the room (satin enamel) in Shasta White color. It looked better than it sounded. I later added a Velodyne subwoofer to fill in the problem with the bass response, and this helped quite a bit.
With the LSTs (single pair), I used at first a Dynaco ST400 amp but blew out one entire channel. I then found a Marantz 500 that worked quite well, but it developed some performance issues too, and it eventually failed. I think the LST's reactive load, plus impedance and relatively low sensitivity, caused many amplifiers to choke before they lived a full life. AR-LSTs and AR-3s pushed many amplifiers to the breaking point. I sold the Marantz and bought a new McIntosh MC 2205 -- which had less power -- but it worked flawlessly with never a problem. I kept that amp until I bought a second pair of LSTs (these belonged to the Boston Audio Society members and were used as a standard to compare with the newly introduced Dahlquist DQ-10. There was even a write-up in the BAS Speaker magazine on this comparison. The LST was easily superior to the Dahlquist, by the way, the the LSTs were sold to me as members wanted to get a pair of Allison: One speakers.
In any event, when I had both LSTs together, I wired them in parallel and used the 2205 for a period of time, but this amp would enter into the "Power Guard" limited output on frequent occasions. With stacked LSTs, the bass response had more impact, of course, due to the additive effect of mutual-radiation impedance with the woofers fairly close together. This is somewhat akin to the "stacked-Advent" effect that was so widely admired years ago, despite the Advent's other shortcomings. Anyway, I subsequently traded the 2205 amp for a new MC-2500, which I kept for several years. It worked perfectly and provided all the power I needed. I never drove the LSTs needlessly hard, but on some music with wide dynamic range, even the 2500 would light-up the Power Guard soft-clipping lights. The sound was about as dynamic as anything I've ever had either before or since! The AR9s had a wider dynamic range with better clarity, but the LSTs had the most spacious, life-like sound on certain music due to the extremely wide dispersion.
Well, quite a bit of my speaker collection has been either given away to family/friends or sold, so I don't have nearly what I used to have. There are many collections here and abroad that far outclass what I have at this point -- which is a good thing! Can't keep it forever, and it seemed like I was storing equipment for a museum(I thought of that once, but even Edgar Villchur told me how impractical that would be). I did donate equipment to the Smithsonian, of course, so that felt good to have it on display. By the way, I only have one stand! It was given to me several years ago, and it included the original little wrench.
Tom
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On 1/25/2023 at 12:46 AM, tysontom said:
Congratulations! That is indeed a rare find, as these things are seldom turn up in public. Usually, parents who had stands used for AR speakers passed them down to their kids for use as writing tables, or they held TVs. AR's woodworking suppliers made these panels in diffeent finishes -- mostly walnut or mahogany -- and supplied the iron legs and hardware and a special wrench (!) for fastening the hardware. Beautiful stands, IMO, and appropriate for any of the AR bookshelf speakers. I think the AR-2 looks better in your presentation, but that's probably because there were many more of these stands sold in the years prior to the AR-3a. The stand also wasn't inexpensive, and this contributed to being dropped some years later.
_Music-Room_Listening-to-AR-2a-AR-3-AR-1.thumb.jpg.9cd47170127bc052f83c0c39e6a4575f.jpg)
AR had some special stands, too, such as this special version shown around 1959-1960 in the New York AR Music Room, shortly after the AR-3 and 2a were introduced. The red indicator lights to the right of the speakers indicated which was playing at any given time. Note that these shelves were wider than the regular stands, and the wrought-iron posts were a bit thicker and sturdier to support the weight.
Tom
The little wrench that was included with the sale of each AR Speaker stand:
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On 9/10/2022 at 11:18 AM, Glitch said:
Tom,
I thought that you might like to know that "your" L1590's are still going strong. I installed them as part of my main system when they first arrived. I regularly rotate speakers in-and-out in my secondary systems, but I cannot imagine doing so with the L1590's. The L1590's are my go-to speakers when I need a reference for how a speaker "should sound".
I still have the original boxes. Yes, I know it is weird to mention this, but it somehow important to us "box guys" that will store the original packaging for decades. I've actually repurposed the boxes. For reference, a pair of L880's fit perfectly in a L1590 box for storage purposes. 😉
I know it may be months (or years) before you see this, and possibly the same for me if you reply.
Also, thanks for posting the pictures of the speakers on the dollies. I enjoyed seeing them.
Glitch
Glitch, isn't it incredible that I just happened to see your post tonight (rather, this early AM), January 27th, 2023! I just happened to check out on this site to see how many people have visited this topic, and it was a surprisingly high 106k or so! That says a lot about this remarkable loudspeaker, many consider to be the best speaker ADS ever designed! In any event, I apologize for not seeing your post; you alluded to this possible problem. So, it has been months, and I apologize for that! I also am glad to hear that you consider those speakers your "go-to" speakers: the 1590 is a very accurate loudspeaker! I really enjoyed them very much during the years I owned them, and I'm very happy that they are in such good hands now!
I would never have considered not keeping shipping cartons for anything as important as loudspeakers, and I have always kept cartons for any new audio product I have purchased. These cartons offer protection should you have to move or need to store an item. I realilze that storing cartons can be a problem, but I've always found a place in the attic or basement or a closet; not everyone has that luxury, of course, but keep them if you can. When you see the original cartons with a used item, you generally can feel more comfortable that the owner cared a lot for that item enought to keep all of the original literature and shipping cartons, etc.
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This basement is probably the definition of "sick." Lots of old Acoustic Research shipping cartons, some for even the oldest AR-1. Notice that hygrometer on the shelves. I keep the basement around 50% RH. Fortunately it is a very dry area with a lot of space for storage.
By the way, I wrote an article about the development of the AR9, another tower speaker very similar in performance to the ADS L1590. I loved them both! Here is the article:
https://www.audioholics.com/editorials/acoustic-research-ar9
Tom
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5 hours ago, AR surround said:
Wonderful article, Tom. I read it before I noticed that you were the author. My only complaint is that you talk about the AR9's in the past tense. My AR9's have been in my "present" since August 1978.
A family member has my first pair of AR speakers, the AR5's. Another relative has a pair of AR18's...possibly the most remarkable AR product ever made in light of it's diminutive size.
You're right! It's really the present tense for many people. I even have a pair of 9s that I haven't completed restoring, so I'm in that group as well. AR's efforts with these tower speakers, especially the AR9 and AR90, was well spent! There were a lot of reviewers over time who considered the AR18s to be great little speakers; I also think the earliest AR-6s were this way, too.
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7 hours ago, Aadams said:
Outstanding!! Based on my memory, it seems you have expanded the information content during the final buffing period. Thanks.
Thank you! I crammed a lot of information into that article, so it definitely gets into the weeds. AR people like this, however, so it's a good thing.
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1 minute ago, tysontom said:
Here is the on-line version published in Audioholics: Revisiting the Acoustic Research AR9 - Audioholics.url
Let's try that again: https://www.audioholics.com/editorials/acoustic-research-ar9
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On 1/2/2022 at 12:51 AM, tysontom said:
This is an article I wrote last year about the development of the AR9 loudspeaker, a powerful and no-compromise loudspeaker that was clearly ahead of its time when it was introduced in 1978. This article is somewhat about the philosophy behind the development and engineering of this speaker, and it speaks to the huge amount of work that was done to create this fine loudspeaker. Thanks to former AR employees Ken Kantor, James Kates, Lucette Nicoll and others at AR for their help on some matters regarding this fine loudspeaker. I had hoped to track down many others that were involved in the creation of this speaker, but many are gone now or have moved on to other ventures in life. I would be interested in any reaction to this article -- pro or con! Thanks for reading it.
Tom Tyson
Here is the on-line version published in Audioholics: Revisiting the Acoustic Research AR9 - Audioholics.url
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BTW, the $30.00 AR Stands from around 1960 would cost $300.00 in today's money! Pretty expensive stands, but elegant.
AR-LST custom wall-mounting stands:
I went to great lengths to mount my LSTs in our den back in the late 1980s, and I thought they looked great but sounded crappy up so high.
These stands worked much better, and the sound of stacked LSTs was very impressive. Probably had some minor interference effects from the molding around the top of the stands.
Tom
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On 1/7/2023 at 4:50 PM, JeffS said:
I was looking through the local estate sale ads this week and found a couple of pictures of what looked like AR speaker stands, with one of them supporting a 27” CRT TV. I decided to check it out, and sure enough, I found what I believe are a pair of AR speaker stands with oiled walnut veneered shelves. I can’t believe my luck, these things are very rare.
I checked the dimensions to verify and they are the same as AR advertised in the AR High Fidelity Components catalog from ~ 1968. They measure 30 ½” wide, 15 ½” deep, 29” high (the earlier version, shown in the various AR-3 brochures had a depth of 15 3/8”). The only measurement that is different from those advertised is the height of the bottom shelf which is 13” instead of the stated 14”. As with the smaller speaker bases, there is nothing that indicates that these were made by AR.
They are well built. The legs are one continuous piece (½” square stock, 28” long) with one fixed (welded) flange to support the bottom shelf, and one removable flange for the top shelf. There is a protective plastic cap on the bottom. To assemble the shelf, a leg is passed through one of the square holes on the bottom panel. Then the removable flange is screwed to the top of the leg, and both flanges are then fastened with four screws into pre-drilled holes on the bottom of each panel. Interestingly, two of the top flanges on each shelf are partial units with one side missing.
I searched around at the sale in the hope of spotting the pair of AR’s that these shelves might have supported, but no luck. However, there was a period H.H. Scott 388-B receiver in excellent cosmetic shape.
This pair is in good overall shape, and they look like they supported not only speakers and televisions over the years, but plants as well. The legs could use some new gloss black paint. The panels have some light rings, and one has some damage on one of the long edges, but sanding and some linseed oil should fix all of that.
I've included a few pictures. I couldn't decide what looked better, an AR-2 or a 3a, on the shelf, so I posted both.
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Congratulations! That is indeed a rare find, as these things are seldom turn up in public. Usually, parents who had stands used for AR speakers passed them down to their kids for use as writing tables, or they held TVs. AR's woodworking suppliers made these panels in diffeent finishes -- mostly walnut or mahogany -- and supplied the iron legs and hardware and a special wrench (!) for fastening the hardware. Beautiful stands, IMO, and appropriate for any of the AR bookshelf speakers. I think the AR-2 looks better in your presentation, but that's probably because there were many more of these stands sold in the years prior to the AR-3a. The stand also wasn't inexpensive, and this contributed to being dropped some years later.
AR had some special stands, too, such as this special version shown around 1959-1960 in the New York AR Music Room, shortly after the AR-3 and 2a were introduced. The red indicator lights to the right of the speakers indicated which was playing at any given time. Note that these shelves were wider than the regular stands, and the wrought-iron posts were a bit thicker and sturdier to support the weight.
Tom
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On 12/8/2022 at 7:39 AM, AR surround said:
OK Tom, here are four pics of the train layout that surrounds the AR surround sound system. The layout goes through four rooms around the walls of the basement. I don't want to post too many pics as this is a forum on AR speakers and not model railroading. However...in the third pic, note the Boston Acoustics A70 loudspeaker on the back wall. That is the right-rear-surround speaker in the 7.1.5 system. (Actually it is 7.0.5 because there is not need for subwoofers when the five main speakers are AR9, 90 and 915.)
I still can't get over how nice a job you did with your HO layout! Great engine shed in that last image (I apologize to the CSP group for deviating from the topic of AR loudspeakers). I think it's great to combine two hobbies in one setting, and you definitely must have a very accomodating and sweet wife, too!
Fantastic! —Tom
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On 12/8/2022 at 7:39 AM, AR surround said:
OK Tom, here are four pics of the train layout that surrounds the AR surround sound system. The layout goes through four rooms around the walls of the basement. I don't want to post too many pics as this is a forum on AR speakers and not model railroading. However...in the third pic, note the Boston Acoustics A70 loudspeaker on the back wall. That is the right-rear-surround speaker in the 7.1.5 system. (Actually it is 7.0.5 because there is not need for subwoofers when the five main speakers are AR9, 90 and 915.)
Wow, that is a very nice layout! Very, very impressive, along with your sound system! Well done!
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1 hour ago, frankmarsi said:
Hi Tom Tyson, just to be clear I’m not or at least haven’t set up three sets of AR-LST’s just yet.
What you are seeing is a bit of “AR-Surround’s” trickery using a foto-editing app. It was from another post months ago if you’ve missed it. Thanks for complement and the system is impressive for the eyes and certainly impressive sound quality. A culmination of time and experience with AR-3a's since 1971.
Issues like elevating myself with a LST cabinet in hands about 6 feet to be placed on top of the second speaker cabinet. Logistics such as balance while using a single ladder. I’m under 200lbs. or so, the LST is about 90 or so lbs… most home ladders don’t support more than 300 lbs. and I wouldn’t attempt working at the ladder’s limits. Fusing changing would be absolutely dangerous as the speakers are close to the front wall and need to be pivoted, and that would be a very perilous task. Otherwise I have an identical PL-700 amp ready to be pulled from my AR-9’s and give them double PL-400’s in place of the PL-700.
Other regards are that even with just four LST’s with very high amplifier power at higher volumes with suitable program material the room becomes pressurized as it is. I myself can only imagine what the rendered sound effect would be with six LST’s plying their power levels through the air backed by high wattage. All things considered it might be too much for the room being used but, a very exciting possibility just waiting to happen.
See amateur video: https://community.classicspeakerpages.net/topic/10649-do-ar-speakers-really-sound-that-good-more-new-video/
FM
Well, that fooled me! I haven't been paying close-enough attention. Six LSTs would be overpowering, for sure. Tom
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On 11/28/2022 at 1:03 PM, bjmsam said:
Great story. Thank you!
Wow, another extremely impressive setup! I love that center channel, too! I did a similar "live-end-dead-end" treatment to a listening room a few years ago, and it worked really well. Are you using a projector screen setup? What all are you using in this setup? Very nice! Tom Tyson
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Steve Feinstein has passed away.
in News
Posted
Dear Ella,
We are all heartbroken by this sad news about Steve!
Steve was an integral part of the knowledge-base of The Classic Speaker Pages, and his contributions over time were invaluable. He knew not just about AR, Bose or Boston Acoustics, but he knew all about the high-fidelity industry, and he contributed a great deal on many subjects that simply enrichened the site. He had a broad view of the industry, grounded in years of experience.
We send our condolences and will miss Steve very much!
—Tom Tyson