der

Worked on the grills with double stick tape and grill fabric to achieve a friction fit. I am pleased with the results. der

Many good responses. Thanks. I'm going to experiment with a friction fix since I have matching grill cloth material left over. der

Yes, like I mentioned about my 4x grills. I happen to have some leftover linen that I used for my 4x grills too. Think I'll give it a go. I work on golf clubs for friends, family, and myself and have double sided grip tape that I think would be ideal for attaching the linen strips. Thanks Aadams - I'll give it a go and report back. der

Frankmarsi's point on trying to staple into Masonite is well taken. I had an issue attaching new grill cloth to my AR4x frames when a put new grill cloth on them. I ended up using a tack hammer to finish off the staples on the frames. The new AR4x grill assembly friction fit the speakers and I've never had a problem with them falling out. Not so with the AR3a. Likely because they're larger and seem to have an issue with "bowing" a bit in the middle. I could use the same "tack hammer" approach to staple and finish off bits of stronger Velcro to the 3a frames but I'm not sure I want to take a hammer to the staples I'd put into the speakers themselves. There's not much room between the fixing points and the front frame of the speaker. One poorly done whack and you'd have a dent in the frames.

I did not use staples and the Velcro I used did not seem to grip too well. The Velcro itself had an adhesive backing and it peeled off as well. Sounds like I need to find better Velcro and add staples. der

I've done a variety of maintenance on my AR3a over the past few years which has included replacing the grill frames and grill cloth. I did not want to re glue the frames back on so I decide to try self adhesive Velcro. This has not been effective. I'm looking for an alternate method that will also allow me to easily remove the grills if need be. I've been thinking of trying Blu-tack. Will that work? Does anyone have any other suggestions of comments? Thank you, der

But no speakers?

I certainly remember reading about it and seeing pictures of it way back when. I never got to visit it. I remember that AR ads were extremely interesting. I remember one featuring either and 3 or a 3a being used at a medical school to amplify the human heartbeat.

I couldn't agree more. Back when I was getting into serious high fidelity, I had the good fortune to be directed to a high quality establishment with good, honest sales people that knew their stuff. They made recommendations based on your listening preferences and your budget. They had a good listening room and there was an option for home audition of speakers (especially) I listened to the AR3a in my home before I bought my pair. I've always loved that "boxy" sound that "moans" and "squeals" at you even after the power is turned off. Actually, I guess what we have today are self appointed gurus that opine on the merits of equipment pretty much based on the price tag. The Stereo store that I describe is long extinct - at least in my area.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

Just think how much better these 2 way ported boxes with 8 inch woofers would sound if they cost $65,000 a pair instead of a measly $6,500? A man would need to invent new superlatives! My "favorite" line in the trashing of Edgar Villchur - "I can hear their tweeters calling to me when I'm in the next room, making a phone call. I can hear their boxes hissing and groaning even after I turn off the stereo." Villchur's AR speakers initiated me into the world of high fidelity over 50 years ago now. For the scope of his life's work he stands as a personal hero to me. And the "*" stands for the letter i as in bullshit artist, which this reviewer most certainly is.

Quite an "interesting" opinion by someone called Herb Reichert as part of a review of the Harbeth Monitor 30.2 40th Anniversary Edition loudspeaker over at Stereophile. https://www.stereophile.com/content/harbeth-monitor-302-40th-anniversary-edition-loudspeaker "Everything sounds like what it's made of. I'm known for saying that, and to me, it's obvious: box speakers with dome tweeters sound like box speakers with dome tweeters. I can hear their tweeters calling to me when I'm in the next room, making a phone call. I can hear their boxes hissing and groaning even after I turn off the stereo. Many a day, I think Edgar Villchur, inventor of the acoustic-suspension loudspeaker and the dome tweeter, ruined audio, and that audiophiles will never stop denying how artificially colored the sounds of domes and cones in boxes really are." What say you? As far as I'm concerned the guy is a bullsh*t artist.

I owned one without the headphone jack. At the time I did listen quite a bit to headphones since we had a new baby. I had to add a stand alone headphone jack/speaker switch to do so. Many years later one channel went out on the amp and I pitched it. I've been kicking myself every since for doing so. Cosmetically, it was pristine with the wood enclosure. Love to have it back.

I have pair of HiVi tweeters ready to go into my 3as. Coil and cap included. I just never have tried them out. Guess I should give them a go since I went to all the trouble. der

I'm sure the 3's sound very good. My 3a are early ones that use the same woofer with the alnico magnets and cloth surrounds. I did have a friend many years ago that traded in his 4 AR3 for 4 AR3a when the 3a was introduced. It was at his home that I first heard AR speakers - his new AR3a. He was driving them with a massive array of McIntosh tube preamps and amplifiers. I was dumbstruck and vowed that instant to own a pair of AR3a. der

Never heard a 3 that I'm aware of. I've been listening to my 3a's since 1969. I'm happy enough. der

I am at one every time I play my guitar.

I wish I still had my AR amp. It was an early one without the headphone jack. It quit working long ago and I never got it repaired. Not sure what happened to it. It sat around for a long while and likely got trashed when I moved one time. Sad, I always liked it for it's utilitarian simplicity. der

Very nice. I've never seen one in person.

Thanks for the great information Steve! I'll check out the other reviews you mentioned. I was curious as to why they went with 8" woofers given what they were asking for them. I've owned a pair of AR 4x along with my AR3a for 40 years and you're exactly right - there's AR 8 bass and AR 12 bass. der

I just read a reprinted article about the AR MGC-1 speaker from 1985 on the Stereophile website. I was pretty busy back in those days with the family I guess because I've never heard of them until today. An interesting read. I can now add them along with the LST to my list of AR speakers I've not heard but would like to. Anyone own a pair? der