Hello everybody
What was the difference about sound between AR 3 and AR 3a (especially in mid-range band reproduction) when they were new (or, nowadays, when they are in a perfect state of functioning)?
I'm asking this question, because, for the first time in my life, I have listened to a pair of AR3s and I have noticed that the speaker balance of bass, mid-range and treble is different in comparison to AR 3a's. Listening to AR3, the sound pressure level of mid- range band was not so "powerful" as AR 3a's, so, for example, human voices were smaller than AR3a's and also details and nuances in mid-range band were not so accurate as AR3a's.
In AR 3, even if almost all the fundamentals of human voices are reproduced by the woofer, the 1000Hz first order crossover, cause a wide overlap between woofer and midrange, exactly around 1000Hz. So, either a defective midrange or woofer could cause less sound pressure level in the mid-range band and affect human voice reproduction.
I have thought about defective drivers because I've never read in old audio magazines about a difference in balance of bass, mid-range and treble between AR 3 and AR3a, but the old reviews examined perfect and new speakers. So I'm wondering if the difference in balance I have listened to is normal or could be caused by some problem of AR3 drivers although there was no distortion (or other issues) in those AR3s sound.
I will appreciate any information about this question.
Thanks
Luigi
