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tysontom

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Posts posted by tysontom

  1. On 8/10/2021 at 5:34 PM, RoyC said:

    They were probably oiled walnut. I have seen many AR cabinets being re-finished in "Vintage_AR's" shop, and the lacquered specimens are extremely difficult to strip. They tend to come out blotchy and uneven. Yours appears to be much more uniform despite the black paint.

    I agree with Roy.  I think these are oiled-walnut cabinets with quarter-cut grain, giving the straight sap lines -- with all of the veneer flitches from the same lot, likely.  I also think I see the "demarcation" line between the molding and the side-veneer panel.  It is very close.  Tom

  2. On 7/30/2021 at 1:00 AM, Giorgio AR said:

    Usually if the AR speakers have labels on the back, these allow you to distinguish the assembly and build status of the cabinets:
    AR3a USA, on label is indicated: Serial no. 3A xxxxx
    AR3a England, on label is indicated: Serial no.E (EA) 3A xxxxx
    AR3a Holland, on label is indicated: Serial no. H3A xxxxx

    In England, cabinets was built in Ingham ( Norfolk ), if I remember correctly.

    Label AR3a USA made

    801317173_s-l1600(2).thumb.jpg.8fc2aa30036ea62e8604ccafd5f3cec9.jpg

    Label AR3a Holland made

    1273502940_AR3ae4.jpg.1205c50f565abd964fc924d9825dcc94.thumb.jpg.f0870fc641bcd441211ca575353bf598.jpg

     

     

    On 7/30/2021 at 1:00 AM, Giorgio AR said:

    Usually if the AR speakers have labels on the back, these allow you to distinguish the assembly and build status of the cabinets:
    AR3a USA, on label is indicated: Serial no. 3A xxxxx
    AR3a England, on label is indicated: Serial no.E (EA) 3A xxxxx
    AR3a Holland, on label is indicated: Serial no. H3A xxxxx

    In England, cabinets was built in Ingham ( Norfolk ), if I remember correctly.

    Label AR3a USA made

    801317173_s-l1600(2).thumb.jpg.8fc2aa30036ea62e8604ccafd5f3cec9.jpg

    Label AR3a Holland made

    1273502940_AR3ae4.jpg.1205c50f565abd964fc924d9825dcc94.thumb.jpg.f0870fc641bcd441211ca575353bf598.jpg

     

    This is partially correct.  After AR moved operations to Norwood and the new blue labels appeared, the AR-3a serial numbers no longer had the "3a-XXXXX" designation, simply the serial number.  But to the left of the number was the model number and wood finish.  The first AR models used an alpha-numeric numbering scheme, so AR tried different ways over the years.  —Tom

    112863878_AR-3a_Norwood.thumb.jpg.31155b506e65d0d27a128af7f8daff5d.jpg

  3. Just now, tysontom said:

    This is the least-common optional AR cabinet finish: korina.  I believe that AR made some custom-order rosewood-finished cabinets as well, but very few.  This wood was often used for guitars and other musical instruments, but it had a beautiful grain that was very popular in the early 1950s.  Much like mahogany, it (as well as other blond finishes) fell out of favor for cabinet finishes in the mid-to-late 1960s when walnut became so popular.  American black walnut is one of the finest woods of any type for furniture use, and the fact that it takes an oiled finish makes the wood ideal for speaker finishes!  The finish was durable and scratch-resistant and easily restored.  AR was a pioneer in the use of "oiled-walnut" finishes, but numerous other speaker companies also made it available by the late 60s.   By the way, I've graduated to "Rookie" status.  Tom 

    One other note: The AR-7 was originally available in vinyl and wood cabinets.  The wood cabinet, only made for a few years, was walnut-stained birch veneer.

  4. On 8/2/2021 at 10:43 PM, lARrybody said:

    Those have to be birch. The only other blonde veneer offered was Korina, and that grain is totally different. Here are my Korina AR2a's. I think I may have some birch AR 6's that were stained walnut. Those are some rare birds. I would keep the lacquer finish restoring them. I am jealous. 

    AsZUJn0.jpg  

    This is the least-common optional AR cabinet finish: korina.  I believe that AR made some custom-order rosewood-finished cabinets as well, but very few.  This wood was often used for guitars and other musical instruments, but it had a beautiful grain that was very popular in the early 1950s.  Much like mahogany, it (as well as other blond finishes) fell out of favor for cabinet finishes in the mid-to-late 1960s when walnut became so popular.  American black walnut is one of the finest woods of any type for furniture use, and the fact that it takes an oiled finish makes the wood ideal for speaker finishes!  The finish was durable and scratch-resistant and easily restored.  AR was a pioneer in the use of "oiled-walnut" finishes, but numerous other speaker companies also made it available by the late 60s.   By the way, I've graduated to "Rookie" status.  Tom 

  5. On 8/2/2021 at 8:06 AM, lakecat said:

    Were made? Is it more rare than pine? Just picked up a really nice pair of 3's yesterday...thinking they were pine...till I got them home. Opinions? 

    123_1_10.jpeg

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    Yes, these are 100% birch-veneer cabinets (note that unfinished pine and birch cabinets usually were made with plywood panels) with solid-birch molding.  There were not a huge number made, but they are not "rare" in the AR-3.  Very rare cabinets would be an AR-3 in Korina, but they are out there.  I had a pair of KLH Fours in Korina, and it was a beautiful cabinet.  It was great that Acoustic Research had such a large variety of cabinet choices, but having one of the cabinet makers next door to the plant helped quite a bit!  Tom

  6. On 7/29/2021 at 3:59 PM, Freek said:

    I found some other pics in my library. ED1F0487-5CAC-4ED4-90CD-9E31972B6659.thumb.jpeg.774f0d8bb2193a8b770faad8679325c4.jpeg

    8A6B0FAC-2355-4B64-8381-29BC0DA841EF.jpeg

    AFF336C7-99ED-49C0-944C-53EAEA67B0E7.jpeg

    CAED703A-FF51-408B-97D1-AB262EB945B9.jpeg

    4D2285E4-F916-4E81-AA3C-CF1D31988FAC.jpeg

    F88C9182-273E-49B0-961D-518492E6082C.jpeg

    EF755CEF-0D3E-4A85-AC8B-A4395737DDFA.jpeg

    There is almost a faint outline of the cabinet molding in some of these images, particularly in the black-finish picture, which I assume is one of the speakers in question.  Yet perhaps the molding on these speakers was covered with veneer all the way to the edge of the speaker cabinet, as with some of the AR-2-series cabinets (and most of the KLH cabinets, but without actual solid-stock moldings as with ARs).  This must have been European-only (Holland or UK) characteristic in cabinet design for the 3a, as I'm pretty confident that the US-built AR-3as had the cabinet molding attached directly to the front baffle and sanded smooth with the sides of the cabinet.  Covering the solid-stock molding with veneer would also have been wasteful on the AR-3a, so it doesn't make sense.  

    Tom

  7. On 7/31/2021 at 9:36 PM, Lucky Pierre said:

    Hi Tom,

    Here are some pics of my 3s in lacquered mahogany.  As you can see, these have battle scars.  I considered restoring the cabs, but as I mentioned earlier, lacquering is not my forte.  I've decided I will just clean them really well, then color the scratches, then wax.  I figure the scars tell a long story.

    I'll post pics again when they are cleaned up.  Just waiting on my new workshop to be done.

     

     

    IMG_0844.JPG

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    IMG_0842.JPG

    IMG_0843.JPG

    Those scars are very typical of old lacquered-mahogany cabinets, and there is a history in each case for the battle scars.  My first AR-3 was in mahogany (it was a mono unit, all I could afford at the time), and I had it perched on a metal stand with a towel under it.  A family member needed the towel for something and moved the AR-3 and managed to make the bottom look almost exactly like the scratched bottom of this AR-3.  After many years, lacquer-finished mahogany (or black walnut) will not only easily scratch, but it dulls as well, as shown in the pictures here.    

    I think that a mahogany veneer could be coated with something like Mohawk's M603-3016 Pour-N-Wipe finish:

     https://www.amazon.com/Mohawk-Finishing-Products-M603-3016-Pour-N-Wipe/dp/B07NC7VTJ3/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw3riIBhAwEiwAzD3TidYRTb0r-3uIRIFhG9p4B_oj1TYatND7JE4037fFYbaFvkqi43XmPhoCWiYQAvD_BwE&hvadid=418676322453&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9009599&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1095600853971296636&hvtargid=kwd-883475645436&hydadcr=7693_9898649&keywords=mohawk+pour+and+wipe&qid=1628391453&sr=8-2

    This Mohawk finish was developed for the marine industry, and the finish gives a satin finish that is difficult to scratch.  I've used Mohawk on oiled-walnut and oiled-teak veneer with great success, and it would probably work well with mahogany as long as the wood was carefully prepared prior to application.  Lacquer is wonderful and is the ultimate may to finish this wood, but it's difficult to apply.

    Tom

     

     

     

  8. On 7/29/2021 at 2:28 PM, RoyC said:

    Coincidentally, I recently completed work for a local repair shop customer who owns two pairs of late AR-3a (serial numbers over 90,000) with lacquered mahogany cabinets, as printed on the rear tags. Manufacture dates, as indicated by the drivers, are early 1974.

    I have also seen a number of 3a cabinets with early serial numbers (under 15,000) with continuous veneer to the edge of the cabinet. These were all original, with nothing else out of the ordinary. The edges were solid, and no indication of being converted AR-3's.

    Yesterday, I received an interesting pair of original AR-3's, with oiled AR-3a style cabinets, 3a style woofers, and 3a style mids. The completely original crossover is the last iteration of the 3, which includes the additional mid circuit inductor and capacitor. The early style 3a woofers have multiple date stamps on them, with the most legible stamp being March 1973. These are obviously very late AR-3's. Interestingly, the serial numbers are hand-written in as just over 50,000, which seems early for this configuration.

    Roy

    PS Hey Tom, I noticed this forum has provided us with the ranks of "rookie". That should inspire confidence in our posts. At least Giorgio is an "apprentice". Who comes up with this nonsense.

    Roy, it feels reassuring to begin as a "newbie" again; I notice that you are a class higher as an "apprentice."  Congratulations on your ranking!

    Your AR-3s are yet another interesting variation in the AR production scheme.  Production AR-3s went up to at least serial number C70228, but serial numbers may have been changed when the company moved to Norwood, perhaps in line with the hand-written serial numbers.  When AR moved from Cambridge to Norwood in 1973, some of the old-style parts went there, but soon production was changed quite a bit.  As you know, AR began to run out of original AR-3 2-inch midrange drivers in late 1973 or early 1974, so AR-3s were supplied with the modified 3a midrange and instructions for updating the crossover in order to "pad" down the output of the newer midrange to match the old unit in output.  Never a dull moment in the AR hobby!

    By the way, do you have any pictures of those AR-3a cabinets in lacquered mahogany or lacquered walnut?  Those cabinets are not common.  I don't think I have any pictures of AR-3as (or AR-5s or AR-2axs) in those finishes, but they were available for several years.

    Tom 

     

  9. 4 hours ago, Giorgio AR said:

    Tom, the AR3a version of Freek, is completely veneered, does not have the (visible) solid wood frame as usual in US cabinets.
    From the photos, the grain is longitudinal and uniform (already the effect of the paint remover is good), very particular, perhaps it deserves a single color stain and subsequent well-done oiling and then see the effect achieved.

    Other images of the speakers would help a lot, including the back, label if present, and individual speakers.
    Freek you have to be patient, show us your AR3a, eventually we will discover the veneer wood, which in my opinion is very beautiful.

    That is an excellent point!  There were different moldings used for the AR-3, one thicker (deeper) than the other but always a molding: but with the AR-3a, the molding was standardized in size (depth) but made from different types of solid-stock wood, be it mahogany, walnut, birch (for unfinished cabinets), teak or cherry (or Korina in very eary cabinets).  This does not show that at all, you are right.  The European cabinets (and moldings) were different, of course, and this is another reason it would be great to see other images, especially of the front and back of the cabinet.

  10. On 7/12/2021 at 2:11 AM, Freek said:

    Hello, I’m restoring the cabinets of a pair AR-3a.

    The cabinets were painted black by the previous owner.

    I stripped of (as much of possible) the black paint.

    To be 100% sure, are these the walnut version? 

    I attached some photo’s.

    Thank you in advance for your help.

    Freek

    663C4403-FF98-4984-853A-5BB97CA42BD5.jpeg

    59F44FB3-8131-470E-9BDE-8A3768F0BB38.jpeg

     

    Do you have some other images of the speakers, such as from the front and possibly a 3/4 view?  The molding should be a clue, too.  If you take a damp cloth and whipe down part of the sanded surface, what color do you get?  Is it reddish or brown in tint?  The walnut veneer used for these speakers was sometimes wavy and figured and sometimes very straight, depending on whether it was half-round slicing, quarter sliced, etc.  —Tom Tyson

  11. On 7/12/2021 at 3:27 AM, genek said:

    Is the grain that straight on all the cabinet faces?

    Moisten the surface and post a pic of how that looks. It's possible that you have mahogany.

    The grain does resemble mahogany, but AR-3as in lacquered mahagony are rare, even though the finish was available from 1967 until 1973 (move to Norwood).  Nearly all AR-3as were done in oiled walnut, lacquered walnut, cherry, oiled teak or unfinished birch.  There were many thousands of AR-3s and AR-2as done in mahogany, but few AR-3as.  It's likely oiled-walnut veneer. 

    AR-3_Mahogany_003.thumb.jpg.63b86f3fbd63d918e697fd404d435823.jpg

    AR-3 in lacquered mahogany.

    All of the AR "black" cabinets, such as the AR-6s and AR-LSTs used in The Royal Danish Opera House, were black-lacquer finish over walnut.  I wonder if anyone here has a pair of mahogany AR-3as or even pictures of the 3a in mahogany.   —Tom

  12. On 6/22/2021 at 10:51 AM, SteveP02 said:

    Hi, old topic I know, but new for me. I see that Permatex High Tack Gasket sealant was recommended after much careful testing a few years back. Is that still the suggested stuff to use?

    I'm going to need to make new cloth surround from scratch, so suggestions for the fabric would also be welcome.

    Thanks

    The original AR "cloth" surround was made of treated-linen material, heat-pressed in a mold for the "half-round" curvature. The initial treatment kept the material pliable but helped it retain its shape.  After attachment to the woofer cone and frame, the surround was then treated with a butyl-rubber sustance, originally not water-soluable.  Later butyl-rubber materials, such as LORD Aqualast BL-100 treatment, work equally well on urethane-foam as well as linen materials.  The BL-100 cures to a clear color, but lamp black (carbon dust) was usually mixed to make the material black.  BL-100 is relatively expensive and doesn't have a long shelf life, so getting a quantity of it might be diffucult.

    Aqualast® BL-100 butyl elastomer emulsion is an anionic emulsion of butyl rubber which offers broad latitude in formulating waterborne coatings. It is used as a modifier to enhance the flexibility and adhesion properties of many anionic emulsions.  Aqualast BL-100 emulsion can also be used as a coating for a variety of woven and non-woven fabrics to enhance barrier properties, improve fabric strength and handling properties. Typical commercial/industrial applications include: awnings, tents, carpet backing, protective clothing and upholstery. Typical medical applications include: bed sheets, operating room apparel, hospital gowns and incontinence pads.

     

    AR-1_Woofer_Coated_3700_Surround_Treatment_002.jpg.b07c7bfc06313c191aa14f369ee76677.jpg

    Tom Tyson (ARHPG files)

  13. 4 hours ago, teknofossil said:

    Yes, when compared to drivers from other manufacturers they looked poorly made. But, that said they performed better than many if not most of their contemporaries. Objective performance wise that is... (I add this because there are many that find the whizzer cone goodness of single driver systems to be the subjective best)

     

    -T

     

    Ha, ha!  This was so typical of Ed Villchur.  He could care less what the drivers looked like as long as they performed as designed!  Early ARs did not have removable grills, as we know, so it was not intended to the owner to go inside to look at anything.  In fact, during those early years, a warning was gently posted on the speaker that the speaker was a sealed unit, etc., and that repair would have to be made directly by AR or by an authorized service center, not the owner.

    So while the drivers might seem to be ugly (actually, some were quite beautiful),

    AR-3_Tweeter_NOS-T056_005.thumb.jpg.e5f598449acd1a64fb250e15fbc65e67.jpg

    the performance was simply unsurpassed.  I know of no manufacturer who had loudspeakers that could measure as flat or uniform, both on- and off-axis, as the ARs of that period.  Believe me, I've looked for decades.  Nothing JBL made came even remotely close, but some of their drivers were very finely crafted transducers and very handsome.  However, only a precious-few manufacturers published anechoic response and distortion measurements of their products.  AR loved to do it.  The AR Archives probably have 50,000 response measurements scattered throughout the files of various speakers.

    The 2-inch midrange tweeter and the 1-3/8-inch super tweeters shown in the disclosure article were the prototype drivers that EV had at his lab for testing, and even the magnets were painted black originally for some reason.  That very first prototype AR-3, with the single cast-aluminum plate to house both drivers, was used as a show piece in Chicago during the summer of 1958 -- even before the speaker was introduced at the New York High Fidelity Music Show.  AR quickly redesigned that plate and used separate mounting flanges for the drivers.  Love to know whatever happened to that prototype AR-3, but it's long-gone.  The first prototype AR-1W that was shown in the patent drawing (19" x 19" x 11") later ended up in the men's room at the AR plant in Cambridge.

    Tom Tyson

  14. On 3/15/2020 at 11:57 AM, Jim Pearce said:

    Super happy to find this thread, I have a pair of these and had no idea they would be included in the class of loudspeakers featured by this page.

    Thank you all very much for your writings!

    The ADS L1590/2 Loudspeaker

    Great that you found this thread!  It’s amazing to me that there have been so many views on this topic alone—now over 100,000!  There are very few topics of any kind that have had more viewers.

    I really enjoyed my ADS L1590/2s, and I had them for many years before finally selling them a few years ago.  I miss them, but I simply did not have a place for them in recent years.  They were in Rosewood and were beautiful in appearance and spectacular in performance, particularly with good electronics.  Midrange and treble clarity and smoothness probably not surpassed by anything I know of during this period of time—perhaps even to this day. 

    IMG_0768.thumb.JPG.e1c9bd813316c5005c48869c6bd3fd0c.JPG

    1590s shown in later life.  I made dollies to move them.

    Prior to the 1590s, I had a pair of AR9s, stacked AR-LSTs and a pair of Allison: Ones (not all at once, of course).  I had been driving these speakers with various Crown, Adcom and McIntosh amplifiers, and by the time of the 1590s, I had a MC2500 power amp which was capable of prodigious output power into the 1590s.  On several occasions—usually while entertaining friends—the McIntosh “Power Guard” would activate on large peak power to prevent clipping or damaging drivers.  That is very loud, but my listening room was large (25' x 18') and well-damped.  The 1590s (the AR9s and LSTs even more so) could handle large amounts of output power effortlessly and without audible strain, so the Power Guard was a welcome design.  Once, while playing a sustained below-20 Hz organ passage (Mendelssohn Organ Works, Peter Hurford, Argo CD 414-420-2) at near-live levels, the 15-amp 120V circuit tripped, which truly startled me!  When the house circuit breaker trips, you know you've got one foot into the abyss.  After that, I wired a dedicated 20-amp circuit for my electronics, and this never occurred again.

    The 1590s were (and are) excellent, capable and beautifully designed speakers.  There has been some comment about the L980 (a great bookshelf speaker) being seemingly more potent than the 1590, but that’s simply nonsense.  The 1590 has a lower system resonance and uses two 10-inch, long-excursion woofers capable of moving much more air than a single 12-inch woofer, all at lower distortion. 

    ADS_1590_Woofer-Cross-Section_04Aug2015.thumb.jpg.998d3ccbb7084d49260225f7f18d9241.jpg

    The motor structure of the L1590s 10-inch woofer.  It's built much like a 12-inch heavy-duty woofer, but uses a 10-inch cone with long-excursion capability.  Air-moving capability of a single 15-inch woofer.

     ADS_L1590-2_Woofer_Test_20Hz_Low-Power_004.thumb.jpg.1a5038c8ae92766e1fdf59df039c8252.jpg 

    Showing one (of two) 10-inch woofer effortlessly pumping air at 20 Hz. 

    It’s really that simple.  Of this genre of tower loudspeakers, only the AR9 technically has more power in the deep bass, but not very audibly so.  I felt that the two were very close!

    —Tom Tyson [20May2021]

    ADS_L159_(01).jpg

  15. Roy, it is one of the early versions.  But what about that transformer?  It almost looks a little like a "special" AR-6.

    Well, you were the only one at this point to mention anything about it, but it was one of several AR-6s specially built by AR in Holland for the old Royal Opera House in Copenhagen.  I think when they were building the new $500 million opera house or before, they took out all of the old stuff, but I'm not sure of the actual history.  Klause was on hand to get many of the older ARs when they were removed several years back. 

    AR-6_Royal-Danish-Opera-House_(02a).thumb.jpg.6135904d26cc49b7194d53b358048188.jpg

    Through a little woofer "horse trading" with Klause, I got one black AR-6 a few years ago, but I never looked inside of it until recently, and that's when I noticed the transformer.  That is a line-matching (likely 70-volt) transformer, and I guess all of these AR-6s and the many AR-LSTs also had those transformers due to the big distances between speakers and power source. 

    AR-6_Royal-Danish-Opera-House_ARHPG_(17.thumb.jpg.bbb15b30645d796a2091d38e71ff482e.jpg

    The original woofer was replaced with a newer ferrite version, which I re-foamed, but the tweeter and crossover are still original.  In most installations such as this, the transformer is usually attached to the back of a speaker, but in this case it was integral with the crossover internally.  AR installed the transformers, painted the oiled-walnut (probably before oiling) cabinet in flat black and sprayed the grill with black paint as well.

    AR-6_Royal-Danish-Opera-House_ARHPG_(16).thumb.jpg.d8381d611e76cb6e5f37937c3cb30ea4.jpg

    Hope everyone is staying safe!

    --Tom Tyson

  16. On 5/25/2020 at 10:53 PM, RTally said:

     

     With current camera technology, large-format scanners are not necessarily needed for scanning drawings. I am finding that using a camera to capture documents is more convenient and typically as good a quality as using a scanner. Line drawings, in particular, do not require high resolution scanning. 

    A good option to scan large drawings is to mount them on a wall and position the camera on a tripod with the lens centered on the drawing. If a smartphone camera is used, depth of field can be increased by using very bright lighting. It is important to ensure that the drawing is flat. I am used to large-format drawings (D to F sized) being stored flat, not folded. 

    I've done just that with many drawings, but you may not realize the scope of the number of drawings that would have to be done this way.  I've used my Canon 5D-MkIII to take pictures of several drawings with great results -- and this camera is very precise with high resolution -- but it is very cumbersome and time-consuming to mount a drawing on the wall or tape each drawing to a drafting table with the camera on a tripod above (which is the way I've done it most of the time).  A large-format scanner is much faster will give much better results because there is little lens distortion or light variation, but even that is a real problem. 

  17. On 5/8/2020 at 9:55 AM, dna said:

    Tom;

            What is the current status of your project? BTW I think many conventional expenses of self publishing could be reduced or eliminated if you self- publish the book on Amazon, in a electronic form; (no actual book, no actual printing, binding, physical distribution, boxes, shipping) this may be the answer your looking for. On another subject; would it be possible to post all the appropriate archives to the AR library here?

    dna, thanks for your inquiry. 

    I am working on the book project, but it goes slowly considering many other responsibilities, so there is still a way to go on it.  I was a bit premature in "presenting" the project so early; I should have waited a bit later, but I'll get there.  The Administrator posted this "separate" topic before I was ready, so this is where we are at this point.  As for printing, I prefer to have it printed by a publisher, but we'll have to wait to see how that works.  One has to have an agent to get a publisher.

    As for the "AR Archives."  There are around 15 5-drawer, legal-size, filing cabinets full of data, many millions of pieces of paper, I suspect, and this doesn't include everything that was originally in these files.  There are also thousands of large blue-line drawings and prints that can not be easily scanned unless a large-page scanner is used.  In addition, someone from International Jensen actually, unknowingly, "deep-sixed" hundreds of old files, I was told by Victor Campos, before the filing cabinets were sent out to Benicia, California in the early 1990s, several years before I acquired them.  So, many early files are now gone.  Even with that, I have not actually read every single item in every file in every cabinet, even after several years.  It is nearly overwhelming. 

    There is one important thing, however, and that is that I have preserved these files (they were going to be distributed elsewhere or discarded) and went to great expense to acquire them -- legally -- through Recoton at the time to prevent them from being lost, distributed elsewhere or destroyed, and I had them shipped back to me on the east coast.     

    To answer your question, "would it be possible to post all of the appropriate archives in the AR Library here," I would love to, but the answer is a simple "no."  There are several reasons: (1) the files would overwhelm any storage method, even if compressed; (2) there are many "personal," non-public files and memos heavily mixed in with general-information files; (3) I don't have the resources of a half-dozen workers organizing and scanning the zillions of files and (4) many files are still somewhat sensitive and involve financial information or personnel information, and should not be shared, even though they date back many years.  In addition, there are many "workbooks" on the design of various products, and these include hundreds of anechoic-chamber measurements, arcane calculations and mathematics, physics and so forth that only a few people would understand.  This is part of the method of designing a loudspeaker, and it is tedious, dull and difficult to follow in some circumstances unless you are a speaker engineer.  Nevertheless, if I see things that will be pertinent to general information that is not in the Library, I will scan them and send on to the Library.  

    The Library, as a part of this website, is really quite complete and comprehensive, and most of the information needed for hobbyist work can be found in those files.  Stuff is added all the time, and will continue to be added over time, and when I do see things in the Archives that are pertinent, I will send that information forward.

    Thanks, --Tom

  18. On 8/12/2019 at 4:41 PM, Chet said:

    I have acquired a pair of AR LST speakers. The serial number is 00775 and it also shows under Acoustic Research Inc the number L-1672.

    I have being doing some research using your site but as yet can't absolutely identify how old these speakers are, can you help?

    Extrapolating the dates of other LSTs; e.g., LST No. 00367 was built in August, 1972 and No. 00609 was built in December 1972, and AR was building around 60 per month during this period, on average.  Therefore, I think 00775, an early style LST, was built in Cambridge around February 1973, just before AR moved from Cambridge to Norwood.  The L-1672 is the tag publication number, I believe, but not the build number.

    --Tom Tyson

  19. On 7/25/2019 at 4:44 PM, Nes said:

    Ciao Adriano Immagini molto belle di papà e mamma. Tre anni fa ho iniziato con il mio primo AR 2ax e continuo ad ascoltarli, sono entusiasta di questo nuovo progetto, i saluti da Buenos Aires.

    Greetings, Adriano!  I love your pictures of your family's AR-2s.  They were almost perfectly placed on the shelf, and the sound would definitely have been very clean and smooth!  An early picture of Ann-Margret Olsson adjacent to her left-channel AR-2ax speakers, somewhere out in Hollywood in the late 1970s. 

    267223884_Ann-Margretathome_AR-2axLeft-Channel1978.jpg.158929a31065a50fadcadf8439585721.jpg

    Ann-Margret and her husband Roger Smith were music-lovers, and Ann-Margret was an accomplished singer and dancer, not to mention expert in high-fidelity sound reproduction!  This extraordinary actress could ride a motorcycle well, too!

    --Tom Tyson

  20. 3 hours ago, Stimpy said:

    I hope the documentary comes to fruition.  That would be very interesting to see.

    Also, in a similar vein, the Vilchur home was recently sold?  I'd love to hear the stories that it could tell.

    Vilchur Home

    Thanks for that update.  I've been to that house and actually stayed over a weekend as a guest of the Villchur family some time ago.  It is a great house up on a hill!  Price came down a little, but it still did well!  Beautiful land!

  21. Hello Friend of Acoustic Research:

    A documentary filmmaker from New York -- living in the same town as and acquainted with Edgar Villchur -- is making a documentary film on the life of Edgar Villchur.  This film producer is Cambiz Khosravi, a well-known documentary producer, and he is well on the way with his project, "Edgar Villchur: The American Inventor."  I've helped him quite a bit, and I think the documentary production will be very nice and a great tribute to Edgar Villchur and Acoustic Research.  Mr. Khosravi does need any help he can get to cover the cost of the "production stage" of the film, and PBS -- the likely presenter -- will cover the remaining costs.  Therefore, Khosravi has set up a funding site:

    "https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcambiz.khosravi%2Fposts%2F10217946219041185&width=500"  

    If you can help in any way, it would be fantastic!

    --Tom Tyson 

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