AR55

I recently picked up a sales brochure (attached) for what appears to be an ad for the 2nd generation of the ADD Series AR-17. Until I came across this advert, I was unaware that AR made any revisions to the AR-17. The changes are readily apparent. On the plus side the 2nd generation AR-17’s tweeters are cooled with Ferrofluid, whereas the tweeters in my 1st generation 17’s are not. On the negative side the 2nd generation 17’s cabinets are skinned with walnut grained vinyl, whereas mine are true walnut veneered. Also, the wood panel along the bottom of the speaker was changed from walnut veneer to what appears to be cloth covered. My 1st Generation AR-17’s 2nd Generation AR-17’s AR-17 Sales Brochure Medium Compression.pdf

Ten page advertising brochure for the AR-9LSi, 98LSi, 8BXi, 18BXi, 28BXi, 38BXi, 48Bxi & 58BXi speakers. Also included in the brochure is info for the EB-101 turntable and the ARSRC remote control. AR Post Classic Brochure.pdf

Just letting you know that there is a pair of AR S-1 stands bidding on eBay. The bidding has already reached $213.50 + $55 shipping, which is way too high in my opinion. I got mine customed fabricated for $150. That price included repainting my existing stands.

Correction: My fabricated frames are made from 1/8" thick x 1.25" x 1.25" square tubing. Still can't tell the difference between the 2 frames unless you get up close. The main difference is that the S-1 frames have nearly square corners, whereas the fabricated tubes have slightly rounded corners.

My original AR S-1 stands are not filled with sand or steel shot. I just checked & each S-1 frame weighs 4.5 pounds. The fames that I had fabricated weigh 17 pounds each. The S-1 frames don't seem to have any issue supporting an AR-11, but I feel better having the stouter frames support the main left & right speakers. These heavy-weight frames can easily dampen anything the speaker can throw at them. Also, I don't worry about someone bumping into the speaker next to the door. My wife has, and she has the bruises to show it. The speaker & frame barely moved. If you go with thick wall tubing (12 gauge or more), I don't see a need to fill them with sand or shot.

AR had the S-1 speaker stands fabricated from lightweight 1" square steel tubing. A few years back, I had a local steel fabrication shop make me a pair. They didn't have 1" square tubing and substituted 1-1/8" structural square steel tubing (1/8" thick walls). The 1-1/8" structural tubing is twice as heavy as the original tubing, but its appearance is nearly indistinguishable from the 1" square tubing. Below is a picture of my outer AR-11's sitting on stands made with the 1-1/8" structural tubing and the center speaker sitting on the original AR S-1 speaker stands. If you have a pair fabricated, make sure that the all the joints are fully welded and ground smooth.

Attached is the crossover schematic for the TSW810, which should give you what you need to confirm that you have everything correctly hooked-upped. AR-Drawing445 - 102118 - Crossover Schematic - AR810TSW - 1987.pdf

I can't tell you when AR switched from dark brown to charcoal black grilles. I have a pair of AR-11A's & a pair of AR-11B's, both of which originally came with dark brown foam grilles. I also have a pair of AR-14's & a pair of AR-15's that both have charcoal black grilles. I know that the AR-11A's were originally purchased in 1977 and I purchased the AR-14's in 1979, but I don't know the original purchase date for the AR-11B's or AR-15's. I appreciate the offer to go in on a pair of new grilles, but I already have a pair of back up grilles. I picked up a good used pair on eBay a few years back, which happen to be charcoal black in color. AR-14 & AR-15 Charcoal Black Grilles AR-11A & AR-11B Dark Brown Grilles

I think genek & Aadams are correct. I also think that the fascination that people, particularly Millennials, had for vinyl and vintage gear is beginning to fade. Once again connivence & portability dominate. Twelve years ago, my daughter was ecstatic when I put together a vintage system for her to play vinyl records. The system includes a pair of AR-98LS’, a Pioneer SA-7500 integrated amp & a Dual CS621 turntable with a Shure M97XE cartridge. She was the envy of her friends. She went on to collect over 100 LPs. For the next 10 years, every time I dropped by, she was playing a LP. Now the system mostly just sits. She hasn’t played a LP in weeks. She mainly streams her music. Occasionally she plays it through her system, but more often she plays it through a pair of JBL powered Bluetooth speakers. Not great fidelity, but she likes that she can easily move it from room to room or even outside. All of her friends stream & have Bluetooth speakers. The people that I have helped with vintage or even new full range speakers over the past couple of years have all been over 55.

For the past 10+ years I’ve had a pair of AR98LS cabinets & a pair of AR98LSi cabinets stored in my garage. Recently, garage space has become a premium & I either needed to do something with them or get rid of them. The 98LSi cabinets were in horrible shape. They were free & I had only gotten them for their crossovers. The 98LS cabinets were scratched-up but were definitely candidates for restoration. In addition, they came with a nice pair of grilles. Over the years I have acquired a stock of replacement drivers for my existing 9LSi’s, 98LSi’s & 98LS’, so I had the drivers that I needed: Tonegen 210003-2A woofers & 2100450B LMR’s along with AR 200048 Dual Domes. AR98LSi Crossover & Drivers from Storage AR98LSi Crossover, 200048 Dual Domes, 2100450B LMR & 210003-2A woofers I had originally planned to upgrade the 98LS crossover and keep the 98LSi crossover as a spare, but I had forgotten that this 98LS has the newer version of the 98LS crossover with the capacitors buried in glue under a circuit board. I applaud Briodo and his 9LSi crossover work, but I wasn’t about to try to replace this 98LS crossover’s capacitors, let alone try to remove a capacitor from the circuit and add resistors to upgrade it to a 98LSi. Instead, I decided to just use the 98LSi crossovers with their original capacitors in the 98LS cabinets. AR98LSi Crossover AR98LS Crossover (Later Version) Removing the crossovers was a chore. In one of the cabinets the crossover was held in place with twenty-six staples and a 1½” wide ring of glue. I didn’t even try to pull the wires out of the 8” LMR sub-enclosure. Those wires were locked in place with a 2” diameter glob of glue. I just cut the wires & spliced them with the wires from the 98LSi crossover. I used a foam seal & screwed the crossover in place. Someone down the line will have a much easier time removing it. AR98LS LMR Wires Glued in Place AR98LSi Crossover Installed in AR98LS Cabinet - Screwed in Place with Spliced LMR Wires As I noted earlier, the 98LS cabinets were pretty scratched up & one cabinet had a slightly damaged top rear corner. I repaired the damaged corner with a ½” x ½” piece of veneer/particle board cutout of one of the 98LSi cabinets. I then sanded each cabinet to remove the existing finish & most of the scratches. I followed that with 3 coats of natural Watco Danish Oil. Wet sanding the first coat. The AR-101 finish calls for medium or even dark Watco Danish Oil, but I prefer the look of a natural Watco Danish Oil finish. I feel that it gives the speaker a little more character. Restored AR98LS-LSi Restored AR98LS-LSi – Corner Repair Restored AR98LS-LSi How do the speaker’s sound? They may not have the subwoofer level bass response of my 9LSi speakers, but otherwise they give them a run for their money. The 98LS-LSi is too big & heavy to be called a bookshelf speaker, but I have always felt that it was AR’s best non-tower speaker. Not counting my labor, I have probably spent less than $650 on these speakers. It is doubtful that you can find anything in the market today for $650 that can compete with them.

I have discovered that over time the fabric that I purchased from Vintage AR slightly relaxes. In one case, it led to some minor wrinkling of the fabric along the top of the spare set of grilles that I recovered a couple of years ago. A few months back, I decided to recover my original AR-9LSi's grilles. I felt that the best way to reduce the possibility of wrinkles was to pull the fabric even tighter. To minimize the potential for the fabric to tear at the corners, I slightly rounded the plastic frame (see 1st photo below). So far, it looks like it worked. The fabric didn't tear and there are no wrinkles. I had to hold the fabric very tight for about 15 minutes to get the glue to setup enough for the clips to hold the fabric in place. The sides didn't seem to take-up as well as the top, so I clipped the excess fabric to the frame rail (see 2nd photo below), as I released the fabric. My right hand was still sore 2 days later.

Pete, It may be just coincidental that later that year AR made improvements to the 98LSi, that just happened to have addressed many of Richard Heyser’s misgivings. On the other hand, I think that AR, as well as other manufacturers, paid very close attention to Richard's often very thorough, unvarnished reviews.

In my experience AR either used #6 or #8 all thread, wood screws. My guess is that AR used #8 x 1-1/8” or 1-1/4" long, black wood screws. To confirm this, check to see if a #8 screw slips through the hole in your plastic top without jamming. If it does, then I would go with the #8. If it doesn't, it is probably a #6 screw. To check the length of the screw, measure the depth of the existing hole in the top of the speaker with a straightened paper clip or similar, and add the depth of the plastic top less the recess for the screw head.

Below is a link to a US eBay site for a pair of 200037 woofers that have been re-foamed. The price for the pair is very good, but the shipping price ($41.12) from the US is obviously an issue. Link to eBay listing: ebay 200037 woofers from US If the price with shipping is more than you want to spend, I would check whatever used audio sites are available in England for a used pair. Note that the 200001 & 210037 (Tonegen version of the 200037) are interchangeable with the 200037. I would also consider the 200050 or 210050. They may not be exact matches, but they have the same voice coil & specs as the 200037.

AR obviously read the review and followed up with improvements incorporated into the 98LSi. The Audio review noted that there was an occasional harshness to the upper midrange - AR modified the crossover to eliminate it The Audio review noted that the grille adversely affected the sound - AR recessed the drivers and reduced the depth of the grilles from 1-3/4" to 3/4" The Audio review was not impressed with the cheesy plastic front - AR removed the plastic and added real wood veneer The 98LSi a noticeably better looking and better sounding speaker. One of my to do projects is to upgrade the 98LS' crossover to the 98LSi's.

I know this is a little off topic, but I wanted to give some support to the those that believe that McIntosh amplifiers are conservatively rated. I’m the original owner of a McIntosh MC7270 power amp with a rating of 270wpc into 2, 4 or 8 ohms. A few years after I purchased the amp, I had the opportunity to have its rating confirmed at a McIntosh Amplifier Clinic run by McIntosh’s Dave O’Brien. The following are the results of his tests: Confirmed the amp’s rms rated output of 270wpc @ a measured .015% distortion. Measured a maximum rms output of 380wpc prior to the amp’s Power Guard circuit engaging. Overdrove the amp by 6 dB (4 times its rated power) with a measured distortion of .25%. The test simulated the overdrive caused by a music source. The amp was fed 2 tones, 14 kHz and 15 kHz, with the input level adjusted to the amp’s rated power. The input level was then increased by 6dB and the IM & THD distortion measured. Even with Power Guard, the MC7270 is probably too much power for an AR-3a. My MC7270 originally powered a pair of 98LS’, but now it powers my AR-9LSi’s. The 2 are advertised to handle up to 250wpc & 400wpc respectively. For those that are unfamiliar with McIntosh amps, they have a protection circuit to prevent overload that McIntosh calls Power Guard: “McIntosh designed and patented a circuit that prevents speaker clipping. Photo-optics react in 1/1000th of a second to regulate power levels to speaker, protecting the speakers and the amplifier. A waveform comparison circuit continuously monitors both input and output signals. Power Guard dynamically adjusts the input level to avoid clipping while preventing harsh sounding distortion.” Does Power Guard work? It appears that it did for me. A number of years ago I left my then 3 year old daughter alone in the living room with my system playing and the cabinet doors open. Up to that point she followed her dad’s orders & never touched the system. That day she didn’t. A sudden very large increase in volume brought me rushing back into the room to find that she had turned the volume up all the way on my preamp. The indicators for the MC7270’s Power Guard circuits were brightly lit and the sound level was painfully loud, but it was not distorted. Fortunately, both the speakers (AR-98LS’) and the amp were undamaged. I found my daughter hiding in our bedroom closet. It scared her enough that she never messed with the preamp again. She now owns those 98LS’.

You guys are right. The woofers don't look like the 200037. It looks like someone took a Sharpe and marked out the actual label and stuck on the 200037 labels. Jas77, if you have a multimeter, check the DC resistance of the woofers. If they don't measure somewhere between 4.4 ohms & 4.8 ohms, it is very unlikely that they are either the 200037's or 1210037's.

The 200037 woofer is the woofer that was provided in AR-18s. It is almost a direct copy of the original 200001 woofer. Your pictures of the 2 woofers show that the original foam gasket is still on the inside flange, but it probably no longer provides a good seal. I agree with genek, a new seal could make all the difference. I use a gasketing tape sold by Parts Express - https://www.parts-express.com/Speaker-Gasketing-Tape-1-8-x-1-2-x-50-ft.-Roll-260-542. Remove the old gasket first before you install the new one.

I picked up a few sets at Home Depot. The stainless steel nuts came in a 2-pack & the brass nuts came in a 3-pack. I got 2 packs of each for $8.41 with tax. Note that the brass nuts have a full bearing surface, whereas the center surface of the stainless steel nuts is bowled. The stainless steel nuts provide good contact with the spade lugs that I am using, but you might want to verify that you are getting adequate contact with whatever termination you are using on your speaker wires.

If your 58s' crossover looks anything like the 48s' crossover, then you are right. The components of the 15's crossover may have different values and it is short a couple of capacitors and midrange wires, but there is definitely a resemblance. As I said in my earlier post, the 15's crossover is fairly elaborate for a 2-way speaker.

AR-15's do not show up often, but a little while back I saw a pair in decent shape with the original foam grilles selling for $275/pair. I got mine for $75/pair, but I was lucky. The original owner had painted them black, which probably kept anyone else from bidding on them. The 15's are a significant upgrade to the 17's. Not only does the 15 have a 1" dome tweeter, but its crossover is much more elaborate (see below).

The AR-17's crossover contains a single 6uF capacitor. When I restored my 17's, I wasn't able to locate a 6uF capacitor. I could have gone with a 6.2uF capacitor that is readily available from a number of manufactures, but I ultimately went with a pair of Dayton Audio 3.0uF capacitors from Parts Express: Parts Express.com-Dayton Audio PMPC-3.0-3.0uF-250V

Posts do appear to be disappearing from members history. I checked my posting history and everything appeared to be there from January 2018 thru to today. Prior to that I only have one post showing up, dated May 2, 2011. I went into the main AR forum and found a post that I made on March 13, 2011, that does not show up in my history. It was a response to a February 18th post – Speaker Height for AR10pi. Interestingly, the topic was archived. Could it be that if a post is archived, it disappears from your history? See a clip of that post below:

I have discovered that if you save a link to a post outside of this forum, you will often get the following message if you try to go back to it: The page you requested does not exist I have found that the post still exists, but the link doesn't work.

If you can't find a 200001 woofer or a 200014-3 tweeter, here are other AR drivers that are acceptable options. Below are copies of the research into AR's 1.25-in tweeters & 8" woofers that may be of help: AR 1.25-inch Tweeter Research.pdf AR 8-inch Woofer-Midrange Research.pdf