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JeffS

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Everything posted by JeffS

  1. The seller also has a pair of rare Allison:Three's for $350. Woofers have already been refoamed. For anyone that has a couple of corners available.
  2. Hello Tom, I hadn’t thought about the KLH models with square cabinets. Those later designs support the notion that Henry may have been curious about building an AR system in a square cabinet. I believe this speaker was built as an AR-1 simply because if it were built as an AR-1W they wouldn’t have had to place the woofer tight to a corner. They could’ve built a custom AR-1W to the same dimensions as the original prototype (19” x 19” x 11"), or some variant thereof, with the woofer centered. There’s a lot of latitude in a custom build if the box only holds a woofer. The interesting thing about this speaker is that it is built to the minimum dimension needed to mount the two drivers diagonally on the front board, to make the smallest possible square. As you pointed out, the front board must be custom cut to allow for minimum spacing between the drivers, which necessitates that a portion of the 755A box sits below the woofer frame. This is shown in the pictures below, and it looks like they even took a rasp to knock down the corner of the upper portion of the 755A box. This is a tight fit to be sure, but due to the diagonal mounting, woofer removal is easy. I believe your assumption is right, this is a one-off prototype or built for a specific customer. If it was built as a square cabinet prototype, it’s easy to see that it is unattractive compared to the rectangular AR cabinets meant to be used horizontally alongside books. One plus here is that the front trim with gold pin stripe matches the grill cloth (though I wouldn’t have chosen black paint for the cabinet finish). Thanks for including pictures of SN: 0006. As with that speaker, this one also has a circular cutout for the woofer, pre-dating the later truncated cutouts. It’s also interesting to see the three hand wound resistors in the crossover, and the same use of a copper strap to hold the capacitor in place. And thanks also for your, as always, detailed and informative post! Jeff
  3. Thank you johnfalc, This speaker offers AR history and a good dose of mystery! I'd really like to know the backstory of this one. It looks like it worked near it's birthplace all of it's life. One of the things that excite me about this unit is the easy ability to get inside the cabinet. The grill board had been glued on years ago but the glue stopped working, so someone wisely put a nail in each corner and fastened it back to the cabinet. Removing the grill was easy. My guess is that anybody that keeps an intact AR-1 in their vintage audio collection doesn't try to remove the woofer. Even if the glue holding the grill cloth to the grill board has dried enough to cleanly remove the cloth, the grill board still has to be removed to get access to the woofer bolts, and there's a good chance that it will have to be removed in pieces. With this speaker I had easy access, and since the flat sides of the woofer frame aren't tight to the front molding like a conventional AR-1, woofer removal was also easy. That allowed me to shine light into an AR-1 that hasn't been opened since the woofer was replaced (probably in the 1960's), and be able to see the internal woodwork and crossover. This box, like other AR-1's, is very well built. So, it's a lot of fun to be able to acquire, examine, and share this find with the members of the CSP. I never thought that I'd see an AR-1 with a custom cabinet.
  4. Just recently, I had the opportunity to acquire this custom AR-1 from a seller in western Massachusetts. He found this speaker in the attic of a Boston area home a couple of years ago, along with a custom assembled mono preamp and amplifier which included an Acrosound TO-300 output transformer. The label on the rear of the cabinet is the earliest label used by AR, and has a handwritten model number: AR-1 Special. The serial number is 3-digit and looks like 150 (the writing has faded considerably). Sadly, all letters but the letter G in the printed word ‘WARNING’ fell off in transit. As you can see in the pictures, the cabinet is square, measuring 20 ½” on each side with a depth of 10 ¼”. The internal volume is approximately 1.67 cu ft, with 1.47 cu ft for the woofer section. The box for the 755A is 0.20 cu ft. The cabinet construction appears to be all plywood, with the sides and top veneered (likely mahogany) and painted with gloss black. Interestingly, the grain runs front to back, instead of side to side like all other AR’s. The bottom is plywood painted flat black. Unlike other AR-1’s, the cabinet sides are butted to the bottom panel, on the top the panels are mitered. The front grill frame has the same bevel and width as other AR-1’s. This one is painted gloss black with a painted gold pin stripe around the perimeter (matching the grill cloth). The grill cloth is the black with random gold swirl typical of the earliest AR-1’s with mahogany veneer. Unfortunately, there is no logo tag, but the masonite grill board has the hole for it in the same location as my other AR-1, but on this speaker the logo tag would be upper left instead of the opposite corner. The back panel still has the pencil marks made to determine the center for cutout of the hole for the crossover connections! ( I love it!) The drivers are an AR-3 woofer, and an Altec 755A with a date code of 5/55. It looks like the original 12” pleated surround woofer was replaced for some reason, and the various glues on the grill board and front panel indicate that the grill was pried off successfully and re-glued after the woofer change. At some point the glue must have failed and the owner resorted to putting a carpet tack in each corner to hold the grill panel to the cabinet. Thankfully they kept the grill and it’s in good shape (though some fraying has reduced its size), the exact cloth is impossible to find! I gave it a quick low level “test drive” and it works well. The woofer donut looks very dry, along with the foam ring just inside the surround, and the woofer springs back in about a ¼ second. I removed the woofer and as I suspected, the spider is coming loose on one side so I’ll need to apply some epoxy to it. The woofer surround will also get a coat of surround sealer (Roy’s, of course!). This all fits with being stored in a warm, dry attic, instead of a damp basement. The cabinet is stuffed with yellow fiberglass, with Kimpak between the woofer and stuffing. Inside the cabinet, the crossover uses two coils (one marked ‘4’), one for each driver, and two US Navy can capacitors in the tweeter circuit. The 3.5Ω resistor is there along with the others used to adjust the tweeter output level. The robust t-nuts are held in place with two carpet tacks each. One shim was tapped into place between the bottom of the 755A box and its supporting post and another spare was left in the bottom of the cabinet. I’m sure it’ll come in handy for something! The price sheet from AR, dated 12-1-54 stated that “Cabinets with custom dimensions available for models AR-1W and AR-1WU only.” I never thought that I’d see an AR-1 in a custom enclosure. Unbelievable.
  5. A rare sighting at the Kutztown Radio Show a couple of weeks ago, three pairs of Allison's for sale and all in great shape. The seller had pairs of AL115's, LC110's and Allison:Fours, and a pair of Allison:Ones off site about an hour away if there was an interested buyer. According to the seller, the AL115's, LC110's, and Allison:Fours had all had their woofers refurbished by Millersound and they looked like new. The first picture was taken by Audiokarma member AdamAnt316, and the picture of the Allison:Four was taken by me after I pulled it out of the box. I was interested in the Fours, but I already have a pair and the seller was asking $500, so I passed.
  6. Alex, Pairs of AR-1's with matching finishes occasionally come up for sale, if that's what you're hoping to find. Finding an AR-1 that matches yours will be more difficult since that veneer / grille cloth combination was much less prevalent than walnut with beige cloth, or mahogany with maroon cloth. You do have choices with your setup. You could run it in stereo as it is until you find another AR-1, or find another Janzsen I-30 to go with your AR-1 as I suggested above, or enjoy driving your single AR-1 in mono with period recordings. And, congratulations on your collection of Marantz Models 1 and 2. That's the envy of every Marantz collector! Those amplifiers should be fine, in either output mode, for safely driving your AR-1's. I'd love to hear the story of how you acquired this exceptional collection of 1950's hifi.
  7. Hello Alex, Congratulations on finding an early AR1 and AR-1W. That's quite a find, especially since you were able to obtain these from the original owner! Your AR-1 is a very rare early unit that was assembled at 23 Mt. Auburn St. in Cambridge, MA. The company founder, Edgar Villchur, in a Jan. 2005 article in Stereophile magazine stated: "In 1955, we shipped 455 speakers. About half were AR-1s and half were 1Ws." That dates 0519 to early 1956. If you're serious about adding another AR-1 to make a pair, one suggestion would be to take any one that you can find, and it may be more important to you to find another one with a birch cabinet and maroon grill cloth to match the one you have. The reality is that you could wait for years to find a match either in close serial number or cabinet finish, and the asking price will probably be between $2000-$3000. Another, more practical, suggestion is to use your AR-1 and AR-1W as a pair, and find another Janszen I-30 to go with the AR-1. This would require you to change the setting on the three binding posts on the bottom rear of the AR-1 to woofer only operation (switching the strap from A-B to B-C). This would shut off the 755A. Out of curiosity, does the finish on your AR-1W match that of the AR-1?
  8. I am not familiar enough with the LST to offer specific advice. One thought, is the 30 mfd cap, and the dual 6 and 4 mfd cap, wired in parallel to make a 40 mfd?
  9. Correct. I flipped the image in my post above to make the KLH Six appear as an AR (at least when not in sharp focus). The screen grab in Tom's post is the correct orientation. If you watch the video, you can briefly see the texture of the KLH grill cloth, which is another giveaway.
  10. This should fix it. I just read a couple of days ago that William Shatner did a 'Star Trek II, The Wrath Of Kahn' tour. For around $50 a seat, one could see the movie and chat with Bill. I wish it had come to my area, I think that would have been a lot of fun to chat with him for a minute or two. Acoustic suspension speakers and hearing aids, Ed Villchur is in the room!
  11. Your Sherwood amplifier and tuner look exceptionally nice.
  12. They were on sale at 16.67% off the original manufacturer's MSRP in 1968, and assembly was included!
  13. Jim, An original AR base (each piece) measures 17 7/8" wide by 11" high. The notches are 3/4" wide by 1 7/16" deep and angled 8 degrees from perpendicular.
  14. 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
  15. Hello Tom, These stands first got on my radar about six years ago, and I was thrilled to find this pair. With so many different ways to repurpose these when they’re no longer needed for speaker support, it’s surprising that more of them haven’t been found. I really like the understated and clean appearance; it mates well with the speakers. Thanks for including that great picture from the AR Music Room. It looks like the front and back legs were connected for added stability, necessary for supporting 140 or so pounds! I would have loved to have visited the Music Rooms, but they were slightly before my time. My first exposure to a big AR was the 10π at an audio show at a hotel near the Syracuse, NY Airport in November 1976. If I remember correctly, Acoustic Research was set up in a guest room and one of the speakers was in the middle of the room, either on a chair but probably on the dedicated stand (this would make sense for demonstrating the speaker with the woofer environmental control in the 4π position). They had a pipe organ recording playing when I entered the room. I was hooked! There was quite a variety of speakers at the show, and I’m sure a lot of them weren’t in an optimum position for best sound, but none of the others left the impression on me that the 10π did. It conveyed the sound and feel of the pipe organ! I found another picture from your collection showing a stand in use supporting two AR-3’s in vertical orientation, during a live vs. recorded session. A very versatile accessory!
  16. 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.
  17. Kent, Yes, those are Phoenix connectors. I didn't know that those were used for audio applications, not a bad idea. I use them with 4 conductor, 16 gauge wire on industrial battery cycling equipment. The item you show has an electrical rating of 320V, 12A, more than adequate for home audio. I don't know who makes the 'Phoenix type' supplied to Walmart / Parts Express, so I can't speak to their build quality. You can buy the Phoenix brand from Allied Electronics, though they cost more than twice as much.
  18. If memory serves, there is commentary from Julian Hirsch and Henry Kloss. A nice, if brief, record to have about the early hi-fi days.
  19. Hello Bill, Congratulations on getting a nice pair of AR-1's in original condition. The cabinets look like birch. Your plan to keep them as is is a good one, but I'll give a couple of suggestions on how to improve their appearance, if you wish to. The loose grill at the right side of the woofer is fairly common on these as there is only about a 1" width of grill board at that point, and it is not supported by the baffle board. My guess is that movement caused by the operating woofer over the years, along with old dried glue, allows the cloth to separate from the board. Since the cloth was glued to the board, and tucked under the frame, it's fairly easy to lift the cloth if the glue has dried. After having success cleaning a couple of AR-3 grill cloths, I decided to see if I could remove the grill cloth from an AR-1W that I've owned for many years, which had some spots on it that I wanted to remove. That grill was loose at the same spot on the right of the woofer and I was able to remove it fairly easily. You can use a plastic putty knife underneath the cloth to work it loose from the glue. I washed the cloth in a mild solution of Simple Green and water, and it cleaned up nicely. It now resides on an AR-1 that had a damaged original grill. The pictures show the grill before and after cleaning. I used 3M-VHB (1/8" thickness) double sided tape to reattach the cloth. Your grills don't have stains so you may not want to try this, but it can be done if you feel that you want to restore some brightness. The other side of this is that if you damage the cloth, you are not likely to find an original AR cloth for a long time, so you may not want to take the risk. The other enhancement you can do to refresh these is to simply wax the cabinets with paste wax. That will restore a nice sheen to them. The dings and abrasions from being rescued from a dumpster only enhance their beauty, in my opinion! You're right that these do sound good with recordings of the time, but the 755A is no match for good dome mids and tweeters. If you can still hear most of the top octave you will probably like a supertweeter with these. I've not used them so I won't offer connection guidelines, I believe it depends on what model you're using. As for preservation and maintenance, you can use RoyC's sealant on the woofer surrounds if you feel that they need it, but the half-round surround usually doesn't. Follow the installation instructions on the speaker label and play something with good low bass. That should tell you if it's operating properly. Remember that these are considered 'bookshelf' speakers, and that some boundary reinforcement is necessary for proper bass response. Out away from the walls, on stands, is not the best location. Because of their age, I wouldn't drive these too hard (the power output of the Dynaco's should be about right). If the woofer surround or spider separates from the frame, you'll then have to remove the grill board (probably by breaking it) to get the woofer out for repair. Good luck with these, and your AR-9's (get them a nice, big power amp!)
  20. Hello Michael, Congratulations, you've inherited a very early pair of AR-3's (1959) that look like they've been well taken care of. The cabinets look like walnut with a lacquer finish, and the grills have the attractive gold thread, with the logo and '3' pins present. That's as good as it gets for AR-3's, and they are still at home in Boston after all these years, and with the Dynaco amps! The experts here will respond shortly, but I'll give my advice based on being involved in the refurbishment of a few pairs of AR-3's. The good news is that all of the drivers are operating and that the pots work! The frequency response graphs you made actually look pretty good, but there is some variance left to right that could be caused by the aged driver suspensions. If these were mine and I planned to use them frequently, I would have the 'mid's' and the tweeters' suspensions updated. Having the 'mid' rebuilt is the most bang-for-the-buck update in an AR-3, along with properly operating pots. You can send a PM to Roy C here at CSP regarding this. He does an excellent job restoring these drivers. As for the crossovers, if the capacitors are the wax block type, you may want to replace them. I would suggest using NPE's. If the pots work, a simple cleaning may be all that's needed, along with an application of dielectric grease to the wiper / coil. AR woofers with cloth surrounds usually hold up well and don't need to be resealed, but you do want to check and see if the surround is still firmly attached to the frame. The same goes for the spider, and you'll need to remove the woofer to check this. New glue might be needed. I've used Aleene's Tacky Glue for this purpose, but an epoxy might be a better choice. If the woofer has a return time of at least a second when you push it in, you're seal is probably fine. If you decide to remove the woofer, add sealer to the surround after you re-install it, if it's needed.
  21. arcticfox, Glad to hear the problem was easily solved. If you acquired both of these speakers from the original owner, or if they've been together since the later one was made, then I'd say you have a mono-to-stereo pair of AR-2's. The only piece that flies-in-the-face of that thought is that the owner didn't order another lacquered birch unit to go with the first unit. Still, the pair is a great find. The later unit looks great and has all of the paperwork attached, and the earlier unit is a lacquered birch unit from 1958. These are not easily found! I agree with genek on how to treat the cabinets. Looking at the photos, the unfinished pine cabinet looks like it has birch veneer on the face only, instead of a solid birch frame as the earlier units have. Regardless, you could use some linseed oil diluted with mineral spirits on the front trim to give it some color to match the earlier speaker. Just my opinion, of course, but the combination of birch trim, grill cloth, and clean logos makes for some of the most attractive early AR speakers.
  22. Two things you could try are: Very lightly rest the tip of a finger on the dustcap while playing. Do you feel the vibration on one but not the other? Also, you could try removing the individual tweeters. If successful, disconnect the wires and hook each one directly to your speaker wire and play at a low volume to check for operation. This may require de-soldering the wires to each driver, which would add difficulty. Take care as the cones on these drivers can be torn easily.
  23. Welcome arcticfox. I have some fresh experience with these as I was gifted a similar pair of AR-2's last month. Both are in unfinished pine, with one having a slightly lower serial # than yours (B18023). The serial numbers on your speakers indicate that the earlier unit (B18877) was made around 1958, and that the later unit, with the AR Guarantee, was made after 1961. The pots on the earlier speakers tend to age well, and both of mine are problem free. You indicated that you're having a problem with the later speaker, and the pot stem looks like that used on the newer Aetna Pollock pots that tend to corrode more easily. Since the grill on the problem speaker is just a friction fit, you could remove it and check to make sure that both mid-tweeters are operating. You could also remove either the woofer or the mid-tweeters, and clean the pot if needed. The front of both of your speakers look the same, so I'll guess that the earlier speaker is in a lacquered birch cabinet. AR had two grill styles for the AR-2, one for the mahogany cabinets, and one for 'other finishes' (unfinished pine, birch). Also, use care when working with the grill cloth. Replacement cloth is very rare!
  24. To reinforce the color sample from geneK's post, I'll add this picture of one of a pair of unfinished pine AR-2's that were given to me a couple of weeks ago. I took this picture just before I took 220 grit sandpaper to it to give it a fresh look.
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